For Those I Loved (1983)

I watched this whilst off school with an illness in 1983 in three Betamax tapes, for some reason my father was also at home whilst I was at home. We watched the three tapes together and it has left a life long impression on my sole. A truley remarkable and underrated film. A must see

Your impression of this film will be greatly influenced by the version you watched. I watched 374 minute mini-series, as the short version (145 minutes) is not to be found. So my first impression is this film is way, way, way too long! More so this film feels like a 1983 MFTV film. It has the obligatory star (Michael York) who we all like and the supporting cast of unknowns. And like most MFTV films it is pretty much start to finish bad acting (overdramatic) and bad directing. It is after all 1983! Yet there is merit to this film. First off it tells a fascinating and heroic tale of a holocaust survivor. It is a story of perseverance and prosperity under the worst conditions. Specifically it tells the story of Martin Grey (AKA Mieczysław Grajewski) a Polish Jew that was sent to a Nazis Death Camp (Treblinka) ... escaped that camp ... joined The Russian or Red Army ... became an NKVD Lieutenant searching for Nazis in Poland and then participated in the Battle of Berlin and fall of the Nazis empire? Not many can tell a similar story. Secondly the film was ambitious with great sets, scenes, props and location work. This film deserves to be released on DVD here in the USA as it is a story that should be remembered. Yes it will need to be edited down to about 4.5 hours and it will need to be cleaned up in many places but this film is deserves to be remembered. Martin Gray's story taken at face value (he has detractors) is most compelling.6/10

i have watched stuff like this, e.g. holocaust and some b/w movies in the 70s and 80s, like "der fall Gleiwitz". i can remember one scene of this movie, the protagonist trying to hide from the German SS in a hole under a restroom. i did not read the novel, but if i have some spare time, i will do so. As far as the title is concerned, martin gray was arguing with his parents because he put his life at stake to help others in the Warsaw ghetto. i was reading the documentary "the yellow star" in the 70s and i remember there was a young boy being asked, what he wanted to be, and he replied:"a dog, because the German guards like dogs". i thought "the poor boy" but what could i do? and so just the protagonist Martin G. has to deal with a lost childhood, as he struggles for survival of his family and others since the Nazis were occupying Poland. there is just one little reference that this is not a Hollywood movie, as the smugglers leave two bags of food in front of the "Orphelinat Juif"(=Jewish orphan's home). What it makes worth watching, is the language and the history of people who really existed and suffered. I for my part can be more neutral since i was born in the 60s. even if someone should read this who lost family members in this time wants to ask questions or visit some important places. i was in England and later traveling to Auschwitz in the 90s and i just don't feel like arguing with people who don't like Germans because of world war 2. I had just the idea of looking for some old movies on youtube so I suddenly remembered this. So, i do not arrogate to judge the behavior of people whose country was occupied by the Germans. What the movie and the author tells us is that the sacrifice of the people who fought for their freedom must not be forgotten. this movie deserves for sure, more reviews than it got yet, as it is not based on figments but on true facts. if you like it, you will also like "hitlerjunge Salomon", "Holocaust", "Jeder Stirbt Für Sich Allein", "Sansibar Oder Der Letzte Grund", or "swing kids".

I was 17, and living in France when this movie was made, and even then, I found it very inspirational and sad at the same time. I never forgot it. Even today, I still remember the face of the actor who played young Martin Gray, and that was 20 years ago. This movie had an impact on me and it would be a treasure to own, as much as Schindler's List.Michael York plays a middle-aged holocaust survivor who tapes his account of how he used his survival instincts as a young teenager to escape his possible fate. Unfortunately, his pain didn't end there.This movie demonstrates the incredible strength of the human spirit, the desire to survive, and how one can never give up, no matter what.FH