The Tenth Man
The Tenth Man
| 04 December 1988 (USA)
The Tenth Man Trailers

During World War 2 the Germans arrested people at random off the streets of Paris and in retaliation to sabotage by the resistance announced the execution of one in ten prisoners. Chosen as one of the victims, lawyer Chavel trades his place with another man in return for all his possessions. At the end of the war he returns to his house and tries to integrate himself with the family of the man who traded places with him, all the while hiding his true identity. However matters are complicated when a stranger arrives claiming to be Chavel.

Reviews
Bereamic Awesome Movie
WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
ravitchn Derek Jacobi is always for me the Emperor Claudius. Every other character he has played leaves me cold. This is a very clever story about French people during and right after the Nazi occupation from 1940-44. But the people all speak good English and act nothing at all like the French. The Germans of course act like Germans, brutal, vicious, violent as we expect them to be.I guess one could sympathize with Clavel and his dilemma as the one who sent Therese's brother to his death. But Anthony Hopkins here is not the Hopkins we have come to appreciate and love. He seems very wooden to me. I saw this on MGM HD quite by accident and it seemed to have prospects but I have nothing really good to say about ti.
filmalamosa A WWII dark story by Graham Greene (who also wrote the Third Man).A prisoner makes a deal with another prisoner to save himself from being executed they swap places in exchange for everything the one owns including a secluded mansion.I won't spoil the story or bore you (if you have seen it) with more of the plot.It is well done...the acting good...the screen adaptation of the book not ponderous like they sometimes are trying to cram too much in.Anthony Hopkins like Anthony Perkins before him was type caste by one horror role. This younger version of him makes it easier to forget.A good watch. RECOMMEND.
Joseph Smith In the late 1980s, I had just seen Anthony Hopkins in "The Bounty," which together with the earlier "Magic" convinced me he was an actor to watch for; and I had read Graham Greene's recently unearthed little novel "The Tenth Man," when I heard about this TV adaptation. My excited anticipation was not disappointed, and since then I have probably seen this little gem 25 times, often screening it for high school students, who watch in rapt fascination. The plot is amazing -- as only GG could concoct -- and I am still convinced this is Hopkins's best performance. Also superb are Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, Cyril Cusack and Brenda Bruce. Production values are strong if not stellar (after all, it's made for TV). Too bad this film is all but unavailable -- you'll have to buy a used VHS online if you want to see it; but you won't be sorry.
verbusen I just want to add a little balance to the glowing reviews here saying this one of Anthony Hopkins "best". Ummm, I don't think so, and it's not his doing. The Tenth Man starts out with a LOT of promise as Hopkins character a French Lawyer is rounded up in a hostage sweep by the Nazi's on the streets of Paris. Now I guess that could have happened but something tells me even Nazi's aren't that stupid to take one of the french upper crust in a hostage sweep and why after he was forced to go to the castle prison someone didn't come to get him out, I guess poor planning on his part not to have a contingency for that. Anyway he is in a cell with other hostages used as reprisal against the resistance. Not long after he is imprisoned the Nazi's call for every tenth man to be taken out and shot and the Nazi's the sadists they are tell the prisoners to chose. Hopkins draws the lot and pleads for mercy, and than offers his rich estate to anyone who will take his place. A young drifter takes his offer, does an impromptu will and gets shot in the morning. About 3 years later Hopkins is out of prison finally because France has been liberated (yeah I know, they were shooting guys 2 days into his captivity and somehow he makes it through 3 years, go figure). Hopkins is a wreck of a man goes back to his estate, tries to live there as a landscaper and falls in love. The girl there, the dead guys sister, has a burning passion to see the guy who "killed" her brother, she hates him with all get out. Anyway, after the prison scenes which are maybe 20 minutes, its 80 minutes of a really drawn out melodrama. The sisters character has absolutely no pity for why they got in this situation and blames only the rich guy, the rich guy is scared to tell her the truth, some others come along to expose him, she after living with this guy a long time still has no sympathy for him, the bad tattletale shoots Hopkins in the heart, and I just saved you 100 minutes to do other things. I guess a chick wartime flick but with the sister being such a b##ch it was hard to get into it, I am glad I watched the ending though so I could see how it all turned out, not pretty. Definitely NOT Hopkins best but he is of course good, its just the script that sucks. I recommend "Random Harvest" for a better watch pertaining to war, lost identities, and love.