Oliver Reed gives one of his usually visceral turns in this wartime comedy thriller by - of all people - Michael Winner.A British soldier captured by the Germans; he is put to work at the zoo where he soon develops a bond with Lucy the solitary female elephant. During an air-raid, the zoo is destroyed, and he is tasked with the animal's evacuation supervised by two German soldiers. One is inevitably harsh and mean-spirited, the other bookish and kindly. At a crisis, the kindly one kills the other and is persuaded to help Brooks take the animal to Switzerland. Along the way, they have adventures.At the same time, a German officer played by Wolfgang Preiss, with a venal dislike and sneaking respect for Brooks, endeavours to procure his recapture.Also at the same time, a group of partisans led by fellow escapees (leader played by Pollard) are busily engaged in sundry sabotage.The emphasis is more upon humour than war or tragedy, resembling that other great wartime comedy 'Kelly's Heroes'. But what makes this movie so compelling is the emphasis upon cultural collateral. No other movie (so far as I'm aware) spares a thought for the plight of the other species we lock up in prisons, or the loss of cultural assets. They're almost exclusively centred upon humans and human suffering.Reed, Pollard, Preiss, Lohner et al, each give creditable performances, as indeed does the elephant itself. Filming - quite evidently on location - is expansive with quite wonderful vistas of alpine landscape, allowing personalities to expand alike. I am reminded of the professor picking flowers in the equally vintaged 'Italian Job' - 'Pity people aren't more like flowers.' War-effects are solidly recreated and grim. There are plenty of good humorous moments. Most are predictable, but fun all the same. A pleasant, romantic theme music matches the elephant's languid pace. Those who criticise and down-score this movie because of its almost perfect ending are completely missing the point. It's a feelgood movie set in the war - and what's wrong with that? Would you have the elephant killed for greater authenticity? Maybe deprive Kelly and his heroes of their bullion? Perhaps the Von Trapp family should have been machine-gunned on the threshold of escape. Near miracles do happen in wars; I see no reason why a movie shouldn't depict one.This is a 'complete' work. Everything meshes. It's one of the few genuinely creative efforts from Michael Winner. Although it reflects its age in every way that's no criticism. Let the warmongers and realists soak up the blood and guts of 'Private Ryan's' beach-landing. Those who prefer a little light relief sometimes should enjoy 'Hannibal Brooks' immensely.

How can you not love this film? I have grown up watching this film, and grown up using the phrase 'we're here' instead of elephant! lots of laughs are involved in watching this film, except from went he zoo is bombed :( all good films from this decade end with a happy ending, like this one! Just wish i could find it on DVD so i could watch it an endless amount of times. You can't get bored of a film this brilliantly bizarre! I love it! You should too! This film is the film that made me want a zoo when i was little, and to have lots of 'we're here's! Before i watched this film i didn't know quite how useful and elephant could be at freeing prisoners from wars, i'll remember this if i ever join the army!

Sadly they do not make films of this type today. an innocent film (if a film about war can be that), and very funny in places which also does not surprisingly, conflict with the film's war content.I have seen this brilliant 'British' film only twice and narrowly missed seeing (and recording)it for the third time recently. As it doesn't seem to be shown on TV (as often as the Great Escape anyway), I tried to buy a DVD instead. I was therefore completely surprised and frustrated to find it isn't listed as available anywhere, as far as I could see.Mr Winner, if you ever read this, please, please, please, make arrangements for this excellent film to be made available (again?) with possibly,dare I suggest, a Director's commentary, and comments from some of the (sadly few) remaining actors.

What can you say about a war movie where an elephant crosses the Alps? It's silly but a heck of a lot of fun. The scenery is gorgeous, the acting is light and the action sequences are top notch. Oliver Reed is perfectly cast as our hero Brooks. He has played so many villain roles that it's great to see him play a nice guy for a change. The beautiful Austrian scenery steals the show. Somehow every time we see a breathtaking view of the mountains, we forget we're watching a war movie. The war is shown in a very comedic way(especially all of Michael J. Pollard's scenes, which are priceless) and this works to some extent. The comedy never goes overboard (a fine balance is kept throughout the film). A good example of this is the final action sequence at the border crossing which is exciting and well played with a nice dash of humour thrown in. At many times we are required to check our disbelief at the door but this is such a good natured movie that we don't really care.We root for our heroes to make it to safety, all the way to the end, without ever really wondering if they will make it, but that's part of the film's charm. Overall a great movie to see on a cold winter day.