Counterpoint
Film Poster
Directed by	Ralph Nelson
Written by	James Lee (Screenplay) Joel Oliansky (Screenplay)
Based on	The General by Alan Sillitoe
Produced by	Richard Berg
Starring	Charlton Heston Maximilian Schell Leslie Nielsen Kathryn Hays
Cinematography	Russell Metty
Edited by	Howard Epstein
Music by	Bronislau Kaper
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	March 13, 1968 (1968-03-13) (New York City)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Counterpoint is a 1968 war film starring Charlton Heston, Maximilian Schell, Kathryn Hays and Leslie Nielsen. It is based on the novel The General by Alan Sillitoe. In the United States the film was released as a double feature with Sergeant Ryker, a 1963 television film starring Lee Marvin.

Plot

Lionel Evans is the director of a well-respected symphony orchestra touring European concert halls in Belgium in December 1944 in World War II. In the midst of one concert, the city where they are playing is attacked by German troops, and when Evans and his musicians try to escape, they are captured by Nazi soldiers led by Col. Arndt. Evans and the orchestra are taken to a castle where they are to bide their time before being executed; but it turns out that Arndt's superior, Gen. Schiller, is a big classical music fan. Schiller commands Evans and his symphony to prepare a special concert for the Nazis, but Evans realizes that the moment the concert is over, he and his musicians will be killed.

Cast

Music

The orchestra's performances, which include works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and Schubert, were performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.^[1]

Production

Filmed at Universal Studios including a set built for the 1923 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film began shooting on 21 November 1966 and concluded 24 January 1967. Two days were removed from the production schedule and the script was rewritten without consulting the director Ralph Nelson.^[2]