Seven Days in May

Starring:Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Martin Balsam, Andrew Duggan, Hugh Marlowe, Whit Bissell, Helen Kleeb, George Macready, Richard Anderson, Bart Burns, John Larkin (VI), Jack Mullaney, Colette Jackson, Fredd Wayne, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Clegg Hoyt, John Houseman
Director: John Frankenheimer
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

John Frankenheimer's follow-up to The Manchurian Candidate is as intimate and subdued as its predecessor is flamboyant and energetic. Burt Lancaster is calm and calculating as the steely-eyed military hawk General Scott, who opposes the president's (Fredric March) plan to end the cold war with a bold nuclear disarmament plan. Lancaster's longtime friend and frequent costar Kirk Douglas is his smiling, joking right-hand man, Colonel "Jiggs" Casey, whose easygoing manner is jolted by evidence of a possible plot to overthrow the American government. Scripted by Rod Serling from the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, the film plays much like a classic live TV drama (the medium that spawned both Frankenheimer and Serling), with the drama arising from conversations and confrontations and the action largely limited to scenes within the Pentagon and the White House. An ominous undercurrent of danger seeps through the realistic (and often real) settings of the film, conveyed chiefly through the intensity of the excellent ensemble performances. Notable among the supporting cast are Ava Gardner as a lonely Washington socialite who was once the general's mistress, Edmond O'Brien as an amiable alcoholic senator, Martin Balsam as the president's shrewd but skeptical secretary, and underrated character actor George Macready as the wily presidential advisor. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Seven Days in May.......2007-06-28

Two years after "The Manchurian Candidate," director Frankenheimer scored again with this gripping political thriller. Beyond serving as a showcase for two frequently paired stars- Lancaster as power-mad general, Douglas as principled whistle-blower--the movie works because in the context of the paranoic Cold War era, the premise feels all-too-plausible. Stark black-and-white photography and brisk pacing only add to the film's breathless tension.

Frightening.......2007-06-02

This film is remarkable and far better than the updated version from a few years back. It demonstrates the dangers of politicizing the military and their desire to formulate foreign policy.

Though I first viewed it many years ago, it is still fresh and "edge-of-the-seat" exciting.

A classic of it's kind.......2007-05-13

A superb example of a great political thriller. Director Frankenheimer had just completed "the Manchurian Candidate", and with a great script from Rod Serling, a stellar cast helmed by Dougals and Lancaster, made a brilliant what-if of American history. As we are learning today, our cherised freedoms do, as the movie says "rest on the point of the Washington Mounument, ready to fall to the pavement below". A superb film, and one that shows where we were a a people not to long ago, and where, if we are not careful, we could wind up again.

MUST SEE.......2007-04-22

Beautiful cinematography a la Missiles of October and Threads...great suspense/political thriller....you won't be disappointed. You won't soon forget it.

THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING FOR ALL MILITARY OFFICERS.......2007-03-20

This is an excellent film that is just as current now as it was when it came out during the early 1960's. This is a graphic example of manipulation, old boys clubs, tainted politics and even loose canons in positions of military leadership. It even lends one to take a closer look at political leaders who have military experience in their backgrounds because this often leads to gunboat diplomacy and the big stick stigma. The cloak and dagger cliches are also found throughout the movie.

There is an outstanding cast with Kirk Douglas as an investigative boatrocker with not one ounce of quit in his bones. Burt Lancaster is also very convincing as the general who wants to be a modern Caesar. Ava Gardner is also charming as the female who travels in all the circles of power. These characters are very evident in any society. It strengthens the argument to seperate military and civilian leadership from each other because the passions will always run deep.

The film should be required viewing for all military officers.

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