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Movie
Poster for Breakthrough

Breakthrough

1979 · 93 min

A gritty, slow-burning war drama that keeps you tense with moral dilemmas and sudden violence.

Tagline
Burton...Mitchum...Steiger...Enemies...Yet Allies In Combat With Destiny!
Overview
Starting in late May 1944, during the German retreat on the Eastern Front, Captain Stransky (Helmut Griem) orders Sergeant Steiner (Richard Burton) to blow up a railway tunnel to prevent Russian forces from using it. Steiner's platoon fails in its mission by coming up against a Russian tank. Steiner then takes a furlough to Paris just as the Allies launch their invasion of Normandy.

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Stream in the UK
  • Cultpix
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
  • morality
  • survival
Places
  • countryside
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror2
Humour1
Realism7
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness7
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Cultpix
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history, war
Directed by
Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring
Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, Robert Mitchum, Véronique Vendell, Werner Pochath, Klaus Löwitsch, Michael Parks, Helmut Griem
Music
Peter Thomas
Cinematography
Tony Imi
Runtime
93 min
Country
Germany
Languages
English, French, German, Russian

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