Product Description

Run out of Germany by the Nazis, a small contingent of German Jewish intellectuals exacted the perfect revenge--returning to Europe as U.S. soldiers to defeat the enemy. Groundbreaking and unforgettable, THE RITCHIE BOYS is the never-before-told tale of a handful of German nationals who used their language and cultural knowledge to wage psychological warfare against the Nazis and to liberate Europe. Still sharp as octogenarians, The Ritchie Boys --a medley of hilariously unlikely soldiers--vividly recall their treacherous and heroic slog through World War II, from their training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland to the beaches of Normandy, from dark weeks spent in a German POW camp to D-Day ebullience. Now highly successful artists, businessmen, and professors, The Ritchie Boys laugh at their clumbsy fit within the U.S. military, cry at the horrors of war, and marvel at the unorthodox--but effective--forms of interrogation and subterfuge that helped them to defeat the Nazis.

Shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and widely acclaimed upon its release, THE RITCHIE BOYS mixes newsreels with razor-sharp interviews to spin a touchingly personal saga of men whose chutzpah, ingenuity, and playful camaraderie had a lasting effect on world history. A great human tale (San Francisco Chronicle), THE RITCHIE BOYS is a documentary of staggering importance.

DVD Features: Individual War Stories; Filmmaker Biography

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21953 in DVD
• Brand: New Video
• Released on: 2007-11-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

Funny interrogators of World War II
Put me to use. That's what the so-called Ritchie Boys asked of the U.S. Army in World War II, and they got what they wanted. These new recruits, alien refugees--some fresh off the boat from Europe--were shipped off to Camp Ritchie to learn how the German military did its thing so they could interrogate prisoners in warzones. It's a World War II story that hadn't been told yet, and the Ritchie Boys themselves make for engaging watching and a wonderful story. These are soldiers most of us can relate to, people who weren't so good at handling firearms but became single-minded in their work to charm, confuse, and terrify POWs who showed up and had information they wanted.

This is an excellent addition to the growing sub-genres of Jewish and World War II documentaries, and sports skillful use of talking-head inteviews, music, and archival footage.

DVD Extras: A full 43 minutes of deleted scenes and personal accounts fill out the disc.

Incredible
After just happening to see this on television, my son took my brother an I on a tour of World War II Europe. Among others, we took a guided tours of Normandy, Ste Mar Eglise, Malmady, Bastogne and Auschwitz. Returning home, I took another look at The Boys - and it all came alive. Rather than a well done documentary, it a classic story of of the human race at its best - up against the human race at its worst. I'd reccomend this to anyone who enjoys authentic history, a great story and an excellent piece of film. The production is 5-star.

The stories of these gentlemen before, during and after the war is incredible. There's sad dark events and hysterical humor - all in the same film. It's a treasure.

One of the Best
I first saw this as a special on the Discovery Network's Military Channel. I had to wait several months before it became available on Amazon but it was worth the wait to own it. These men's stories are compelling and fascinating. This dvd should be shown in every civics class in the country (provided we started HAVING civics classes again).

The men who trained at Camp Ritchie were almost exclusively European Jewish refugees who had just recently escaped from the Nazis. Yet they all volunteered to return to Europe to serve their newly adopted country.

They all took this very seriously but the dvd does make use of the usual humorous soldier stories. Such as the one where two of the Richie Boys who are now with the US Army in a forward area doing POW interrogations complete a fake prisoner interrogation report stating that they have captured Hitler's latrine orderly and he gave them very detailed information on the fuhrer's private parts. They sent it to their immediate superiors and they all had a good laugh. Until someone forwarded it to a higher HQ and a Colonel from Washington showed up to meet the latrine orderly for himself!

This is a must for any student of WW II.