The War at Home

Starring:Penelope Allen, Kathy Bates, Geoffrey Blake, Efrain Briones Jr., Tyler Cone, Harvey L. Cyphers, Christopher Dahlberg, Paloma Estevez, RenÃ©e Estevez, Carla Gugino, Ann Hearn, Jena Kraus, Chad Morgan, Marcus H. Nelson, Corin Nemec, Martin Sheen, Tuan Tran, Kimberly Williams, Michael Wiseman
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Sir Jeremy Isaacs highly deserves the numerous awards for documentaries he has earned: the Royal Television Society's Desmond Davis Award, l'Ordre National du Mérit, an Emmy, and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. His epic The World at War remains unsurpassed as the definitive visual history of World War II.

The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative. Some highlights:

A New Germany 1933-39: early German and Nazi documentation of Hitler's rise to power through the impending attack on Poland
Whirlwind: the early British losses in the blitz in the skies over Britain and in North Africa
Stalingrad: the turning point of the war and Germany's first defeat
Inside the Reich--Germany 1940-44: one of the most fascinating documentaries that exists on life inside Nazi Germany, from Lebensborn to the Hitler Youth
Morning: prior to Saving Private Ryan, one of the only unromanticized views of the Normandy invasion
Genocide: this film is one of the most widely shown introductions to the Holocaust
Japan 1941-45: although The World at War is decidedly focused more on the European theater, this is an important look into wartime Japan and its expansion--early 20th-century history that lead to Japan's role in World War II is superficial
The bomb: another widely shown documentary of the Manhattan Project, the Enola Gay, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki

The World at War will remain the definitive visual history of World War II, analogous to Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. No serious historian should be missing The World at War in a collection, and no student should leave school without having seen at least some of its salient episodes. Rarely is film so essential. --Erik J. Macki

Customer Reviews:

Surely the best?.......2007-06-25

For me, as a British viewer this is almost like the `authorised' documentary television series about The Second World War. Considering the fact that most of the participants in this conflict, as young men and women were now middle-aged at the time of the production of this series in the early 1970's; they could relate their individual experiences which for them would have been recent memories.

American viewers criticize the lack of emphasis on the war in the Pacific. At the time, long before the concept of home video, cable and satellite television was conceivable I'm sure it was thought very unlikely that this excellent series would ever tempt the American broadcasting networks to buy it. So therefore it is not surprising that the series emphasises the war from the British point of view.

As there was little British, or British empire participation in the Pacific theatre it can hardly come as a surprise that the bitter conflict in Burma, Malaya and New Guinea should hold our primary attention. Should the series be made today, with the avowed intention of making a documentary series that would have to be sold around the world to recoup production costs alone, the story would more encompassing in its scope.

Please don't forget that the war began for Britain and France when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 and the security of the British people and homeland did not finally arrive until the surrender of Germany in May 1945. Our focus was on the war in Europe and the Soviet Union. The war in the Pacific was a dim and distant event for the "Blacked-out" and severely rationed British people more concerned with the daily struggle just to keep body and soul together.

Just okay ..........2007-06-19

The very first episode was great ... after that it was hit and miss. I found multiple times I wanted to fall asleep on some episodes, but stayed awake out of some desire to feel I watched the whole thing. It is also narrated from a British perspective, and so as an American, I found little to entertain my appetite. Especially Pacific theatre combat with the Americans was almost none existent, as if British combat and especially in Burma was the only real thing that happened. It does have good insights into the Nazi's and rewards itself here and there, but overall I think the British slant and focus ruined the series.

I also found it humorous that the narrator tried to label Hitler as "right-wing" when he was a Socialist dictator. What?

World at War--Good look at history!.......2007-06-18

World at War is a classic! The combination of high-level policymakers' viewpoints and individual citizens' and soldiers' viewpoints gives excellent understanding of the events and issues. I highly recommend it for individuals or classes who want to learn about WWII.

The Worlod at War.......2007-05-13

A fabulous review of WW II through the eyes of the British. Complements the "Vistory at Sea" series.

WWII Done Right.......2007-05-13

I bought this set because it was so darned cheap. I forgot how good this series was. It's well worth the price. The only bad thing about it is that sometimes the video hangs or skips for a few seconds. It is something to see the real players in WWII tell their story in color. I'm very pleased with it.

Average customer rating:

tom selleck rides again
Last Stand at Saber River
Last Stand at Saber River
The first of Tom Selleck's excellent TNT Westerns
Well I'll Bow!....

Last Stand at Saber River
Starring: Tom Selleck , Suzy Amis , Rachel Duncan , Haley Joel Osment , and Keith Carradine
Director: Dick Lowry
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Crossfire Trail
Louis L'Amour's The Sacketts
Conagher
Monte Walsh
The Quick and the Dead

ASIN: B0007OY2OE
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Amazon.com

Tom Selleck shows a harder side of his persona as a disillusioned Confederate who returns home in the waning days of the Civil War in this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. His wife, Suzy Amis, isn't ready to forgive him for leaving his family behind for the "adventure" of war, and his children hardly remember him. Haunted by his actions in the war and caught in a power struggle in the Arizona territory, Selleck's soul-scarred survivor makes a last stand to protect the only thing left that matters to him--his homestead and his family. The film has its share of gunfights, showdowns, conspiracies, and Civil War rivalries, and even a runaway stagecoach, but its power lies in the somber exploration of how misunderstandings and conflicts tear at a marriage during such a volatile time, when ideals are set against duty to family. Director Dick Lowry's lean style makes the most of the gorgeous landscapes, and he creates a strong dramatic tension in the bubbling undercurrent between Selleck, who leaves behind the jovial character of his Louis L'Amour Westerns for a man hardened and embittered by war, and Amis, an excellent actress who brings to life a woman who shoots, speaks her mind, and harbors resentment just as well as any brooding male hero. Keith and David Carradine costar as Union wranglers who hold a grudge against the Confederate veteran. One of the most mature TV Westerns ever made. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Tom Selleck rides into Western adventure in grand, gritty style as Paul Cable in Last Stand at Saber River, from the novel by Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of Sight Customer Reviews:

tom selleck rides again.......2007-06-19

my husband a big western lover really liked this film. in typical tom selleck fashion he leaves the civil war after witnessing a massacar of innocents. the resulting story will please ater fans.

Last Stand at Saber River.......2007-05-12

It is an outstanding movie. It goes back to what we grew up with. A hero who is fighting against odds, but wins out in the end. Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott are the top western "story tellers" of our time. You can tell they love it.

Last Stand at Saber River.......2007-02-14

The movie was excellent and is typical of a Tom Selleck Western. It's to bad he is type-cast as Magnum PI, because he is a great portrayer of the Westerns and I would love to see him star in more of them.

The first of Tom Selleck's excellent TNT Westerns.......2006-11-04

"Last Stand at Saber River" was the first of three excellent Westerns that Tom Selleck made for TNT between 1997 and 2003 (and I'm still hoping there'll be at least a fourth one some day). Selleck has starred in five made-for-TV Westerns total, three of which are based on Louis L'Amour stories. This one, however, is based on a book by Elmore Leonard, and the difference is obvious in both the lack of idealism and in the extreme violence.

Selleck is Paul Cable, a Confederate cavalryman who has come home from the Civil War (only slightly) early. He knows the war is lost for the South, he is worn out, and he only wants to take his family back to their homestead in Arizona to live a normal life. His wife, who was told that he was dead, is less than thrilled to have him back home because she is resentful that he left to fight in the war in the first place. Suzy Amis does an excellent job as Martha Cable. She is not the stereotypical beauty who runs around in a bustle under fancy dresses. She is a tough frontierswoman who has experienced many hardships and gets her husband out of some tight spots as the movie progresses.

While the majority of the movie is good at depicting the divisions between North and South that caused the Civil War and which the Civil War then exacerbated, the subplot of the inner struggles that Paul and Martha Cable face is far more interesting. It's a great movie until the end, when we get the additional time-worn subplot of a Confederate soldier who just can't give up the Lost Cause. No, it's not Selleck's character who has this problem, but Selleck already had covered this territory in 1982's "The Shadow Riders" (though it wasn't his character who wanted to keep fighting in that movie either); John Wayne's "The Undefeated" is another well-known film with the Lost Cause plotline.

In spite of the needlessly melodramatic ending, this is a strong Western. Selleck and TNT kept getting better and better with "Crossfire Trail" and "Monte Walsh". Check out all three, and you'll join me in wishing for number four.

Well I'll Bow!...........2006-06-26

Tom Selleck takes on a serious role in this made for TV western. He stars as Confederate soldier Paul Cable, realizing the war is lost, returning to find his wife and family...hoping to pick up the pieces of a life he left behind. His wife Martha(Suzy Amis) isn't so happy to see him..she had thought him long dead..and was trying to get on with her life. With family, daughter Clare and son Davis(Haley Joel Osment), they leave Martha's father(Harry Carey Jr.) in Texas and head for Arizona and their ranch home. Upon arriving in Arizona, they find that the Union sympathizers(Keith and David Carradine) have confiscated their land..everyone still thinking he was dead. This requires them to fight for their home and for their acceptance in the rebuilding of life after the Civil War.

This is a well put together movie with good continuity. Not only does it have the western action but it also effectively shows the rebuilding of the marriage relationship between Cable and his wife. Susy Amis does a great job in portraying a wife that is ready to make her stand for family and home. Selleck puts in one of his better performances and shows that he can seriously act. Well worth adding to any western collection.

The War at Home - The Complete First Season

Average customer rating:

Great show, great cast!
The War at Home
My Favourite New shows of last season!
Hilarious, but ...
War at Home is Great

The War at Home - The Complete First Season
Starring: War at Home
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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What I Like About You - The Complete First Season
The Loop - Season 1
George Lopez - The Complete First and Second Seasons
The Drew Carey Show - The Complete First Season
American Dad!, Vol. 2

ASIN: B000MTEFVE
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

When Dave and Vicky were growing up, their parents had it easy. Back then, there were no "time-outs," no one had any "boundaries" and their parents had no idea what their kids were really up to. Now Dave and Vicky have teenagers of their own, and anything their kids might even think about doing, Dave and Vicky have already done at least twice. But knowledge isn't power; it's a giant pain as every day is a battle to keep their kids in line. Fifteen-year-old Larry isn't exactly a frequent diner at the 'cool kids' table in the cafeteria, while 16-year-old Hillary is a know-it-all and is just emerging onto the dating scene. Meanwhile, thirteen-year-old Mike is all hormones and video games. Dave and Vicky figure if they can send these three off to college without a police record or kids of their own, they've done their job. This witty, irreverent show goes inside the heads of a modern family through the use of a confessional space where the characters reveal everything they could never actually say to one another.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Featurette:Living Room Confessions ? All new featurette with cast and crew
Gag Reel

Customer Reviews:

Great show, great cast!.......2007-05-27

If you really have to watch a sitcom... it should be this one. It's hillariously funny, realistic, not always ( so boringly) politcally correct, has a great cast, a great lead in Michael Rapaport (one of the most underrated actors ever). Normally I'm more into shows like Galactica, Lost or Heroes... but this one really rocks!

The War at Home.......2007-05-08

Need your do for a humorous, fun-loving sitcom? If so, The War at Home is the show you should be watching! The War at Home (Fox, Sundays, 6:00) tells the story of a mother and father that have no idea to raise their three kids. This is currently the most rapidly growing sitcom on TV with its unique characters, well thought writing, and outstanding plotline.
The plotline of The War at Home is "Parents struggle to raise their teens".
They have no problem expressing that! The War at Home stars Michael Rappaport as Dave Gold, a working yet very lazy father. His wife, Vicky Gold (Anita Barone) is the neighborhood "hot mom". Together, they have three kids. Sixteen year old, Hilary (Kaylee DeFer) is just emerging into the dating scene, Larry (Kyle Sullivan) doesn't exactly sit at the "cool table" in the lunchroom, and last thirteen year old Mike (Dean Collins) is all hormones and video games. All together the make up an extraordinary cast.
The writing of The War at Home is the best that I have ever seen in a sitcom. The writers should be proud! In this sitcom, everyone can express their personal feelings in their own confessional space. I think that this way is a great way for all of the characters to express what they feel on the inside, rather than what they pretend to be on the outside. The writers make each character so unique that you couldn't believe they are a family.
Since all of the characters are so different, put together they make up a very dysfunctional family. It is humorous to see how all of the opposites get along in a TV show. From the first to the second season, all of the characters changed drastically. Dave quit his job and is planning on starting his own business. Though we all know that wont work out. Hilary has become more mature, and became a lot more serious with her boyfriend. Dave and Vicky put Larry on depression pills thinking that he would open up and make more friends. Mike finally has a girlfriend though now he is barley one the show.
The War at Home is a humorous heart-warming comedy that everyone should be watching! From its outstanding plotline, to its fun-loving characters, the war at home is the best show on TV! Fox would be wise to keep the show running as long as Malcolm in the Middle.

My Favourite New shows of last season!.......2007-04-17

i loved this series since episode 1. this reminds me very of "Grounded for life" and well, it's good too. i am sure going to buy it.

Hilarious, but ..........2007-04-12

With 2 kids now in their 20s, I have pretty much lived this show in one form or the other. Dave's dry humor and honesty are great. Show's also not afraid to take on issues - teen homosexuality, daughter losing her virginity, etc. Doesn't get overly serious (like Scrubs is starting to do), but gives us a serious insight into controversial issues, while making us laugh at the same time.

War at Home is Great.......2007-02-24

This is one of my favorite shows. We all talk about it at work the next day. It is hilareous!! I cannot wait until it comes out on DVD as I have already pre-ordered it.

Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel)

Average customer rating:

Dramatic Documentary
Is it just me, or
5 Stars for original documentary - 2 stars for DVD transfer
Disturbing and boring
Don't overstate audio concern

Victory at Sea - The Legendary World War II Documentary (History Channel)
Starring: Michael Lewis (XX)
Director: M. Clay Adams
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)
Victory at Sea (Music from the Original Television Series)
The First World War - The Complete Series
Rodgers: More Victory at Sea
Victory at Sea

ASIN: B0000AQS3X
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Amazon.com

A 26-episode World War II documentary, Victory at Sea is one of the most important series in the history of television. Made in 1952, the show was a huge success, winning many major awards and even spawning albums featuring the orchestral score by Richard Rodgers, best known for his musicals with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy, each 26-minute program consists of black-and-white wartime film set to a narration by Leonard Graves. The two years leading up to America's entry into the war are dismissed in episode one, while the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor gets a show of its own, the raid depicted in a brilliantly edited montage that almost certainly contains "docu-drama" footage. Each episode contains at least one powerful stand-alone sequence in the tradition of Serge Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin), these action-suspense set-pieces giving the programs an urgent, surprisingly modern feel. Indeed, the emphasis is at least as much on entertainment as information, the factual content delivered in poetic narration, the score transforming the war into a more than usually serious Hollywood adventure. The documentaries are nothing if not wide-ranging, covering parts of the land war despite the title, and including everything from the Atlantic convoys and U-boat "Wolfpacks" to war in Alaska, the South Atlantic, and the Far East, the Pacific War, and the Fall of Japan. There is an attempt to include other nations--certainly the D-Day episode acknowledges the British far more than Saving Private Ryan--but inevitably the focus is on America's war. The very dated narration gives a fascinating insight into how America saw WWII in the early 1950s, while the dynamic cutting and often genuinely remarkable wartime footage make Victory at Sea still gripping today. Twenty years later, Granada's The World at War would become the definitive television WWII history, but this release offers a unique opportunity to see a series of great importance from the very early days of television. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

Dramatic Documentary.......2007-05-30

Since 1952, when NBC television first aired "Victory at Sea," the 26 half-hour programs have been repeatedly shown on television and finally released on home video. Admittedly, the sound quality of the narration, music, and sound effects is typical of television in the early 1950s, but the visual impact of the actual wartime footage remains quite powerful.

For those who want to enjoy a true high fidelity version of much of the music Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett produced, the RCA Victor albums (first released in the early 1960s) remain the best source. It is known that Rodgers composed the melodies in a piano version, then turned it over to Bennett to arrange and orchestrate. The albums take the 13 hours of music, which repeated themes, and present them in a cohesive and concise version. Bennett conducted the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, which was drawn from the Symphony of the Air, itself a reorganization of Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra. Back in 1952, when the documentary was prepared, Bennett used the actual NBC Symphony, presumably with the blessings of the Maestro, who was a big fan of early television as well as Broadway musicals.

The main focus in the 26 episodes is on the American Navy's involvement in World War II. In editing millions of feet of archival footage, NBC assembled programs which captured not only the naval and aerial battles but the lighter moments when the sailors, pilots, and crew waited for the inevitable deadly combat to begin or resume. The most important elements of the war are vividly represented here in sharp black and white.

Yes, "The World of War" was probably more comprehensive and utilized some of the rare color footage of the war, but this was the first television documentary to chronicle the historic events, complete with glimpses of the famous and infamous leaders -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Tojo, and Stalin. When you see the real figures, instead of actors portaying them, you recognize their unique and remarkable qualities.

The visual images remain quite powerful on the videos. To enjoy the brilliance of the music, listen to the CDs for the outstanding musical performances by the New York musicians.

Is it just me, or.......2007-05-25

...has the History Channel version been cut? I have been watching a version played on PBS that has scenes that my version does not possess, or so it seems. I am old enough to have watched the originals, and still enjoy each segment, and especially the Score. Sound being the weakest feature (IMO) cost it a star.

5 Stars for original documentary - 2 stars for DVD transfer.......2007-05-13

Excellent documentary about our brave fighting men of WWII. Anyone who's ever wondered why the depression/WWII generation is often refered too as "The Greatest Generation" need only to watch this documentary to find out. Made before the America hating looney left took over our media, when it was still okay to be unashamedly patriotic.
Unfortunately, the audio transfer to DVD was badly botched. The narrator's voice is barely audible when the musical score is played at a normal volume. You basically have to blast the musical score to make out what the narrator is saying.
Maybe I'll try watching it again with the surround sound turned off. Sometimes the transfer doesn't work very well when they try to take an old program that was origninally done in mono and transfer it to a surround sound DVD.

Disturbing and boring.......2007-05-12

This is classic cold war propaganda about good over evil. Of course, the U.S. is the good. Some of the "reconstructions" are hokey. It is quite boring at times. However, in places, the producers had the guts to show some pretty graphic images of the violence of war. The show does not include much detail about battles and strategy.

The film quality is ok, after all, it is 60 years old.

Don't overstate audio concern.......2007-03-25

The so-called audio problem is NOT a big deal. The sound on the set can be adjusted upward a bit without changing any Digital TV settings. I took a chance and purchased this series, and I am not disappointed. I first saw it as a boy and the impact of seeing it today is the same as then. I suppose that if you are an audiophile purist you can jump up and down. But while you are jumping, I enjoy the series.

Average customer rating:

This 2003 release vs May 22,2007 release
.....It's Time To Set The Record Straight.....
Superb War Film
One of John Wayne's Best Performances
No bazooka

Operation Pacific
Starring: John Wayne , Patricia Neal , Ward Bond , Scott Forbes (II) , and Philip Carey
Director: George Waggner
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Action & Combat | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000O599Z8
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

If not a seminal World War II submarine picture, then Operation Pacific is at least an entertaining one. John Wayne stars as "Duke" Gifford, first officer of the submarine Thunderfish. Patricia Neal is Duke's ex-wife, and when they meet again after four years, the couple tries to recapture "that old zing." Complications arise when Duke goes on a mission with dud torpedoes, and his best friend's younger brother goes after Neal. Fans will be pleased with Wayne's role, as the Gifford character is one of Wayne's simplest, but most honest performances. Wayne regulars Ward Bond and Jack Pennick are on hand as well; Bond plays sub captain "Pop" Perry, and Pennick the sub's Chief. The scene in which Pop tells his crew to "Take 'er down!" came from real life; a sub skipper uttered the famous command during a desperate surface action. --Mark Savary

Description

World War II rages across the Pacific and Lt. Cmdr. Duke E. Gifford is in the thick of it. He evacuates children from enemy-held islands. Oversees the development of torpedoes at Pearl Harbor. And prowls the depths in the submarine Thunderfish for a chance to aim his improved "tin fish" - torpedoes - at the enemy. John Wayne plays Gifford in Operation Pacific. "I'm no theory man. I'm a line officer," Gifford barks. He backs it up with lots of bite in several feverish sea battles. He's also a man of heart with a loving wife at home (fellow Academy AwardO winner* Patricia Neal). Vice Adm. Charles Lockwood, World War II commander of all U.S. Pacific submarines, was technical advisor for this adventure packing real you-are-there thrills!

Customer Reviews:

This 2003 release vs May 22,2007 release.......2007-05-04

I recently bought (on 4/09/06) this DVD which notes "standard version" and "presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition." Amazon is now taking pre-orders for a new May 22, 2007 release, stating it's in widescreen. How can this be? Is part of the top and/or bottom of the film cut off?

.....It's Time To Set The Record Straight............2007-04-20

John Wayne's intrepid portrayal in this movie was taken from true life US Navy happenings that are skillfully blended for substenance for the backdrop of this story...John Wayne needs not to apoligize, either...there was...the raising of the USS Squaliss in 1939 just off the coast of Boston...there was...a US Navy rescue of Catholic Nuns and children from Guadalcanal before the 1st Marine Division's invasion of that island...there was...the sinking of the USS Corvina as noted in this film, as well as other disclosures stated by other Reviewers in here..."Operation Pacific" for whatever warts [imagined or not] is a monumental tribute to the Navy's Silent Service...I admit there were a couple of John Wayne moments, but that's to be expected, [pogey-bait time]...they didn't wrinkle my feathers one iota...I like the guy...the camera was very exquisite in the close/ups of Patricia Neal...wonderous close/ups of her adorable face in fadeout scenes...you can't tell me that these two [2] 'love/birds' maybe carried on/off screen??...Wayne and Neal generated plenty of 'steam' at those dockside scenes...look more closely...just read the know-it-all smirks [of envy] from the other male/stars at the dockside footage...that white-hot tidbit aside, a darn good Navy show and the intrinsic operation of submariner duty deep below the waves...Ward Bond was terrific, Scott Forbes made you notice his contribution, Martin Milner, as the young Ensign, came through with the impact of his declaration of sinking a Japanese submarine..."total silence on the screen"...only imprinted, what may be their lethal/fate along the way...Max Steiner's stiring music/score only adds to the heroic theme, as always...this is a well made Warner Bros' movie and a truly favorite of mine...in summation, I'm so glad we WON WW2...under the cruel sea our steadfast sailors of the US Navy's Silent Service sacrificed to preserve our heritage and the American way of life... 52 US Navy submarines were lost resulting in watery graves for 3,500 officers and enlisted men that marked the way back to Tokyo...God bless 'em all...SGGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

Superb War Film.......2007-01-21

I bought the DVD of "Operation Pacific" over a year ago, but have only just watched it. I thought it would be just an average war film which I could watch when I had nothing better to see. However, I was quite wrong. This is definitely one of the best films of any kind that I have seen in the last couple of years. Why, I wonder, has it been forgotten (I had never heard of it until I saw it advertised on Amazon)? It is convincingly realistic, both when the submarine and its crew are at sea, and when they are having a break in port. I found some parts of the film very moving, there is no "false heroism" or cheapness about any of it, and the action when it comes is extremely exiting. Why, I wonder, do people sneer at John Wayne, or at his supposed lack of acting talent? In this film he is superb. I have seen quite a lot of his films in recent years, and I think that this may be one of his very best. The same applies, I think to Ward Bond, who is also superb in this.
Just a note: to anyone who watches this, and likes it as much as I do, make sure you also watch "They Were Expendable", also set in the Pacific in WWII, and also absolutely first rate.

One of John Wayne's Best Performances.......2006-10-26

This post-war made film (1951) about WWII is rather retrospective and honest in its telling of the tale. Wayne is very good here in an uncomplicated role. Mixing, submarines, lurking enemy, and old flings or ex-flings with a lot of macho dialogue (without preaching) along the way, this film does not fail to entertain. George Waggner's direction give a lot of freedom to get his story across.

No bazooka.......2006-07-03

Don't let the cover fool you that is not a bazooka that JW is holding. This is a navy war film and a good one. Vintage John Wayne with an excellent cast.

Average customer rating:

im satisfyed but............
1950s paranoia just misses the mark
Dead Man, Haunting
A great movie to relax and watch
Tracy's one-armed lawman against one of Robert Ryan's inimitable villains...

Bad Day at Black Rock
Starring: Spencer Tracy , Robert Ryan , Anne Francis , Dean Jagger , and Walter Brennan
Director: John Sturges
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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Point Blank
Judgment at Nuremberg

ASIN: B0007TKNH4
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Amazon.com essential video

One of the first Hollywood films to deal openly with white racism toward Japanese Americans during World War II, this drama directed by 1950s action maestro John Sturges (The Great Escape) stars Spencer Tracy as a one-armed stranger named MacReedy, who arrives in the tiny town of Black Rock on a hot day in 1945. Seeking a hotel room and the whereabouts of an ethnic Japanese farmer named Komoko, MacReedy runs smack into a wall of hostility that escalates into serious threats. In time it becomes apparent that Komoko has been murdered by a local, racist chieftain, Reno Smith (Robert Ryan), who also plans on dispensing with MacReedy. Tracy's hero is forced to fight his way past Smith's goons (among them Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin) and sundry allies (Anne Francis) to keep alive, setting the stage for memorable suspense crisply orchestrated by Sturges. Casting is the film's principal strength, however: Tracy, the indispensable icon of integrity, and Ryan, the indispensable noir image of spiritual blight, are as creatively unlikely a pairing as Sturges's shotgun marriage of Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in The Magnificent Seven. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

im satisfyed but...................2007-05-21

hi thanks for your best services i recived my dvd cd of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK within time in mumbai india, but sir the money is didected from my 2 credit cards for 2 dvd cds. and i got only 1 dvd cd. so plz try to send another dvd cd of the same as soon as possible

im happy with your services and thinking to place some more orders
thanks SUBHASH JADHAV

1950s paranoia just misses the mark.......2007-04-19

an interesting take on small-town paranoia, as an entire community is subsumed by the attempt to cover up an old murder in the mistaken belief that they are about to be found out. spencer tracy plays the unwitting investigator, with robert ryan his principal antagonist and dean jagger, walter brennan, lee marvin, and ernest borgnine among a cast of familiar faces either proactively or tacitly hiding the truth. sad to say, director john sturges (whose work on films like "great escape" or "gunfight at the ok corral" i admire) was not up to the themes involved here, and what could have been a great political thriller instead is merely a good adventure pic -- but hey, thats not bad either ...

Dead Man, Haunting.......2007-03-02

I've tried to find a copy of Howard Breslin's short story to round out the sense of dissatisfaction I found with this film. Thus far, BAD DAY AT HONDO appears to out of print, but the next best thing is the shooting script which is available online. A side-by-side comparison of script and film reveals a great many omissions and revisions that make for a kind of open-source experience, and many of the peculiarities in the film are justified in the script. I believe the longer film would have been significantly better, but the one we have is Plenty-stimulating.
Dore Schary also produced GO FOR BROKE, a 1951 film that tells the very poignant tale of 442nd RCT Japanese-American volunteer GIs in Italy and France, and works as a fine prequel to BLACK ROCK by grounding Macreedy's rationale for coming to a hostile, flyspeck cowtown (where you'll never see a horse) and probing buried animosities until they gush with fresh blood.
The very literate script for BLACK ROCK also brings a satisfying roundness to the dimestore loafers (Marvin and Borgnine), while making Francis necessary and every other speaking role more plausible and real, most especially Macreedy.
It WAS explosively subversive, and it still is, despite the fact that this film that bristles with subtext was meant to contain much more than was shot (or much more that was left on the cutting room floor).
I also think the score is tremendously manipulative, instructing us when and what it insists that we feel. All in all, it's a truly fascinating Grade B Cinemascope launchpoint with a shower of rising and radiant stars
(how many oxymorons can I pack into this sentence?)
for thought about film, politics, culture and pretty much everything!

A great movie to relax and watch.......2007-01-10

I loved this movie and had waited for the dvd to finally come available. It is clear and a wonderful copy of the first reel that ran in the movie houses. The action is strong and never dull and ofcourse the actors are some of the greatest in Hollywood at that time. I don't believe the movie is based on a true life fact , however it could have happened and that is what I liked about it. It is easy to put yourself in Macreedy's {Spencer Tracy} position and then ask yourself "what would I do". It is a class A movie in every detail. I watch it offen . Hope you enjoy it as well. Wiley

Tracy's one-armed lawman against one of Robert Ryan's inimitable villains..........2006-12-18

John Sturges' "Bad Day at Black Rock" is a great contemporary Western nominated for three Academy Awards, and set on one sunny morning in 1945, when the Santa Fe train pulls in and John Macreedy (Tracy) gets off...

Macreedy is a challenging fellow with only one arm... He is looking for a Japanese farmer in order to give him his son's posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism... The miserable-looking town is under the thrall of an ungracious boss-man (Ryan) and his two rough henchmen (Borgnine and Marvin).

Brooding silences, with intimidations of an explosive climax at any moment, characterized Tracy's performance and the movie itself, keeping audiences in suspense and exhibitors out of the red... Sturges imposes cool, hard, detached style, emphasizing action, excitement and the rugged environment of the unequivocal title, endorses the point...

Average customer rating:

YOU KNOW HOW TO WHISTLE, DON'T YOU?
Beat Bogie!
Great Movie To Watch
Bogie And Bacall - Where It All Began....
Bacall was blessed by nature with two advantages...

To Have and Have Not (Snap case)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Walter Brennan , Lauren Bacall , Dolores Moran , and Hoagy Carmichael
Director: Howard Hawks , and Robert Clampett
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B0000B1OGH
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Amazon.com essential video

Yes, it's true: you can virtually see Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall falling for each other in this Howard Hawks variation on Casablanca but adapted from--as legend has it--Ernest Hemingway's self-declared "worst novel." (The story goes that Hawks told Hemingway he could make a movie of the author's least work, and Hemingway gave him the rights to this story.) The script by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman actually makes this one of Hawks's and Bogart's most interesting and often exciting films. Bogart plays a boat captain who reluctantly agrees to help the French Resistance while wooing chanteuse Bacall. Hoagy Carmichael, wry at the piano, adds a delicious accent to an already wonderful mood. --Tom Keogh

Description

Help the Free French? Not world-weary gunrunner Harry Morgan (Humphrey Bogart). But he changes his mind when a sultry siren-in-distress named Marie asks, "Anybody got a match?" That red-hot match is Bogart and 19-year-old first-time film actress Lauren Bacall. Full of intrigue and racy banter (including Bacall's legendary whistling instructions), this thriller excites further interest for what it has and has not. Cannily directed by Howard Hawks and smartly written by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman, it doesn't have much similarity to the Ernest Hemingway novel that inspired it. And it strongly resembles Casablanca: French resistance fighters, a piano-playing bluesman (Hoagy Carmichael) and a Martinique bar much like Rick's Cafe Americaine. But first and foremost, it showcases Bogart and Bacall, carrying on with a passion that smolders from the tips of their cigarettes clear through to their souls.

Customer Reviews:

YOU KNOW HOW TO WHISTLE, DON'T YOU? .......2007-04-19

A story based, very loosely based I might add, on Ernest Hemingway's short novel. A screenplay written in part by William Faulkner. The lead roles played by the charismatic Humphrey Bogart and the dishy Lauren Bacall with able assists by Walter Brennan and the legendary songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Some classic Hollywood lines. What is not to like about this 1940's black white film that still plays well after over fifty years. Only if you naively expected faithfulness to the author's novelistic intent by those who bought the film rights. But, don't be silly it happens all the time. If you want Hemingway's gritty tale of a down and out sea captain scratching out a living for his family anyway he can go read the book. Here we are talking about the film adaptation. And on those terms what a seamless piece of cinematic art.

As is the case in most of the early movies the story line is simple. Jaded boy meets slightly world-weary girl in the throes of Vichy-administered Martinique during World War II. Naturally, given the times, the local variant of the French Resistance is in need of help and a skittish, but in the end courageous, Captain Morgan (the Bogart role) is dragged into the middle of it. Some of this is an echo of the story line in Casablanca but this time Bogart, thankfully, does not let the dame go. All the politics and heroics aside this film is all about the romance. For a 1940's film the sexual tension and resolution between Morgan and Slim (Bacall's role) is as steamy as it gets with two people who still have their clothes on. It probably does not hurt the romantic buildup that Bogart and Bacall were becoming an item off-screen, as well. If you want classic Bogart and Bacall this is for you.

Beat Bogie!.......2007-04-10

DVD's have really spruced up my life! This is probably my favorite Bogart of them all. For years I have wanted to see it again and now to have it for anytime I want is great!

To me this is just a hair under Casablaca. The whole Nazi thing and the period of World War II movies. Bacall does a pretty good job for a 19 year old! Walter Brennan almost stole the show and it was good to see Delores Moran, what a doll! Always wondered why she made so few movies.

Bogie at his best in a film that almost did'nt get made.

Great Movie To Watch.......2007-04-01

I was inspired to watch "To Have and Have Not" by to reasons: Humphrey Bogart was always one of my favorite actors of Golden Age and also after reading an amazing book by Lauren Bacall " By myself and Some More".

The movie shows a great chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, the good actors can always convince us that there is chemistry, but when it's the real thing it is something different. "To Have and Have Not" is the starting point of one of the most romantic relationships in Old Hollywood.

Movie has great humour, some lines are hilarious, and leaves you cheered up. My only regret that it is a bit too short!

Bogie And Bacall - Where It All Began...........2007-01-19

Supposedly Howard Hawkes told Ernest Hemingway a movie could be made of the "least" of the author's novels. And Hemingway signed over the rights to this novel. Between the movie and novel there is barely anything to compare, other than the main character's name is Harry Morgan, he has a sidekick by the name of Eddie, and a romantic interest by name of Marie. Mercifully, Howard Hawkes changed everything about the novel and cast Humphrey Bogart in the lead role. By casting up and coming model Lauren Bacall opposite Humphrey Bogart, movie history - and legend - was born.

The plot and dialogue in this film are certainly not stellar, and there are many other films from the 1940s that far outshine this one. However, the chemistry and sparks that ignite between Bogie and Bacall cannot be denied. Bogie plays the role he is most known for: self-possessed, street-wise, hard-boiled, with just a touch of desperation. This is the man one wants around in a crisis.

But Lauren Bacall plays a new type of leading lady. Beautiful and sexy, yes, but smart. This gal is not given over to hysterics or drama. Her life hasn't been easy, but she isn't sinking into a bottle or embittered about it. She faces life like a challenge - and knows that somehow she's going to win it. She's tough without being rough, strong while still looking fabulous, and she can turn a man to jello with "the look." If for no other reason, it is worth seeing this movie just to watch the debut of this actress!

When the movie ends, I'll doubt one remembers the plot or what everyone was up to and it won't even matter. This movie revolves so strongly around Bogie and Bacall, and they certainly do hold it together so very, very well, one doesn't even miss the rest of the movie. A pure delight!

Bacall was blessed by nature with two advantages..........2007-01-15

Lauren Bacall, who gave men the license to whistle, was blessed by nature with two advantages: the personality of a buddy and the look of a Femme Fatale...

This combination initially took the only 19-years-old actress to the top with her first two films - 'To Have and Have Not' and 'The Big Sleep' - scoring a success even the deadpan expressions of a Buster Keaton could not undermine...

It helped, of course, to be co-starred in them with Humphrey Bogart who fell in love with her during shooting, and to have Howard Hawks, who deliberately set out to prove that he could make her a star, directing her every move in the same totally controlled way Joseph Von Sternberg had done with Marlene Dietrich...

'To Have and Have Not' is an almost unrecognizable adaptation of the Hemingway novel... The Rick character again appears, though with a new name... The film is a fairly routinely adventure, with a plot that isn't all that interesting, and with a frequently laughable dialog, but it sparks into life when Bogart and the leading blonde, with whom he is deeply in love and to whom he will later be married, appear...

The girl is Lauren Bacall, in her first movie... Cool, smooth, and gorgeous, she sets the screen on fire from her first entrance... She was a new kind of heroine...

Opposite Bogart she was colorful and believable... She had no illusions about herself... She was used to getting by, making out as best she could... She wanted Bogey and she let him know it... She offers herself to him, bravely and without shame: ' You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. (She opens his door and pauses.) You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together - and blow.'

With the effective use of her sexy, sultry, speaking voice and her confident eyes, Howard Hawks creates a new screen image, and one of the most sizzling yet sexual propositions on film...

Lauren Bacall has become heir to our memories of the truly memorable star of the 1940s, and, in her own way, one of them...

"To Have or Have Not" was remade as "The Breaking Point" with John Garfield and "The Gun Runners" with Audie Murphy and both were, inferior to the original...

Average customer rating:

The Clock
Not as wonderful as I'd hoped.
A Perfect Classic Film by the great Minnelli
The Clock
The Clock - Great Movie

The Clock
Starring: Judy Garland , Robert Walker , James Gleason , Keenan Wynn , and Marshall Thompson
Director: Vincente Minnelli , and Tex Avery
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000JU8H8S
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

Sometimes simplicity can be heartbreaking. So it is with The Clock, a wonderfully simple love story that stands as one of the gems of the MGM golden years. It should be noted right off that this 1945 film is not a musical, despite a talent roster led by the maestro of MGM musicals, producer Arthur Freed. Rather, it's a straight, black and white romance about a soldier (Robert Walker) with a two-day pass in unfamiliar, overwhelming New York City. He meets an office worker (Judy Garland), and in the glow of the city and each other, they fall in love. Underlying the sweetness of the romance is the time limit of the soldier's leave, after which he will be sent overseas; the clock brings an urgency to the action, especially after the lovers lose each other in the crush of a subway. Veteran character actor James Gleason provides lovely support, as does his real-life wife, Lucile. Director Vincente Minnelli brought his designer's eye to the film, turning (by his own avowed intention) New York City itself into the third main character in the drama. It's not difficult to guess the reason for the film's strong emotional tug, or for Judy Garland's radiance; Minnelli had fallen in love with Garland during the making of Meet Me in St. Louis a year earlier, and they would marry after filming The Clock. She was never lovelier than in these two pictures. --Robert Horton

Description

Soldier Joe Allen is on a two-day leave in New York, and there he meets Alice. She agrees to show him the sights and they spend the day together. In this short time they find themselves falling in love with each other, and they decide to get married before Joe has to return to camp.

Customer Reviews:

The Clock.......2007-06-25

Minnelli's sentimental, spirited and touching wartime romance was a small picture by MGM standards, but Garland's star power and the backdrop of bustling Manhattan (actually Hollywood sound stages) give the picture a dynamic, worldly feel. Walker is likable as the earnest hayseed, and doe-eyed Garland is grand as ever without once singing a tune. (Minnelli, of course, married Judy as soon as the film wrapped!) Great support work from James and Lucille Gleason as a milkman and wife round out this sweet film about love on a very tight schedule.

Not as wonderful as I'd hoped........2007-05-30

This movie, only now out on DVD, does not impress me as a classic. It's slow. The writing is adequate. The characters are not that engaging. It's not baaad. It's just nothing to write home about.

A Perfect Classic Film by the great Minnelli.......2007-05-01

I thought I had seen all of Vincente Minnelli's greatest films, well, I was so wrong... 'The Clock' is truly comparable to his great 'Meet Me in St. Louis', 'Gigi', 'The Band Wagon'... He has so many great classics, but I believe this one may be his third best.

As it starts you don't expect anything great: an aerial view of New York, Central Station, lots of people going on their daily routines... it goes increscendo though. And how! This is the romantic story of a young soldier (Robert Walker) in 1945 who has a couple of free days to spend in NYC before returning to serve in the Army (probably to go to England). He's never been in the big city before but he will meet a girl (Judy Garland) who will show him around. Love is in the making meanwhile, but there's only 2 days to spend. What can happen in two days? Well, that's exactly what they both are thinking too, while watching at the "clock" to see how much time is left for them together (more rapport between the characters and the viewers is hardly possible).

I say this film is perfect because it looks so simple, its story, its characters... it must be really difficult to tell when there's not that much plot going on. But the viewer gets so involved with these young couple that he won't have time to blink. I mean, every second of film is purposeful, meaningful, and beautiful. You can't do more with less. That's why Minnelli is one of the greatest American directors, comparable to Ford, Hawks, Vidor... Personally, it took me some minutes to forget Robert Walker's role in 'Strangers on a train', which left an indelible impression on me. He wouldn't be my first choice at all for this role, but he is fine. A must see classic.

The Clock.......2007-04-08

They just don't make movies like this any more. I enjoyed it and the fact that Judy did not sing in the movie reinforces the nature of the love story. In other words you are not put aside listening to music instead of concentrating on the love between two people. If you never saw this movie, you do not know what you are missing.

The Clock - Great Movie.......2007-04-04

This is a great movie for any JudyGarland fan out there. I was happy to add this one to my collection!

Average customer rating:

OK
ALAN HALE WHO?
Good Sunday Afternoon Movie
UP PERISCOPE
Up Periscope

Up Periscope
Starring: James Garner , Edmond O'Brien , Andra Martin , Alan Hale Jr. , and Carleton Carpenter
Director: Gordon Douglas
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B00005JN9P
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Amazon.com

Anyone with a fondness for the conventions of the submarine picture will be content with the modest pleasures of Up Periscope, a World War II melodrama starring James Garner in one of his early Maverick-era roles. Pulled away from a week-long romance, Garner tags along with the sub to a Japanese-held island, where he will SCUBA ashore and copy a secret radio code. On top of the reliable suspense of a man alone behind enemy lines, the film also offers captain Edmond O'Brien, whose previous mission has his crew suspecting him of cowardice. Will he cut and run before Garner returns to the submarine? Director Gordon Douglas made a batch of entertaining pictures over the years (a bunch of Sinatra titles, the giant-bug classic Them!, In Like Flint) and he coolly finds some effective ways to photograph men in the close quarters of a sub. The main draw is James Garner in his youthful prime; even if the movie doesn't exploit his comic talent, it shows how effortlessly he connects with an audience. The supporting cast consists of the kind of actors who inevitably seem to people a WWII ship's crew: solid character actors (Alan Hale Jr., who performed similar undersea duties in Destination Tokyo), oddballs and one-offs (Frank Gifford, Edd "Kooky" Byrnes), and future names (Warren Oates). --Robert Horton

Description

A navy lieutenant (James Garner "Maverick") during World War II is ordered aboard a submarine to get special photographs of a Japanese-controlled island.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

OK.......2007-06-14

As an old diesel submarine officer collecting old diesel submarine movies, I enjoyed this one I had missed.

ALAN HALE WHO?.......2007-03-12

Robert Horton is mistaken. Alan Hale Jr. was not in Destination Tokyo, That was his father Alan Hale Senior.

Good Sunday Afternoon Movie.......2007-02-20

Great movie for a Sunday afternoon. James Garner's acting is what you would expect from an excellant actor. The Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) was also a pleasure, even though he plays a fun loving Officer.

UP PERISCOPE.......2007-02-08

AN OLD FAVORITE WITH JAMES GARNER. IT IS AN ENJOYABLE CHARACTER DRIVEN MOVIE, THAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO OWN. MANY THANKS.

Up Periscope.......2007-01-04

This is a great movie. I had look forward to the DVD and I wasn't disappointed.

Average customer rating:

A different type of movie for Ford and Wayne
Poetic John Ford Film
A Modern-day Odyssey
SO SO
Ford's best. Wayne's best.

The Long Voyage Home
Starring: John Wayne , Thomas Mitchell , Ian Hunter , Barry Fitzgerald , and Wilfrid Lawson
Director: John Ford
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Three Faces West

ASIN: B000O179JA
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

Eugene O'Neill loved this feature-length adaptation of his one-act sea plays, with intelligent bridging material written by Dudley Nichols and a final movement, both hellish and elegiac, appropriate to the onset of World War II. John Ford directed, in his more self-consciously arty vein (à la The Informer) but with no loss of power or passion. It's entirely fitting that the director shared his panel in the credits with cinematographer Gregg Toland, who had just shot The Grapes of Wrath for him in hard, dust-bowl sunlight and would next enter the labyrinth of Orson Welles's Citizen Kane; you'd be thrilled to have any frame of this film blown up and hanging on your wall.

The focus is on the working seamen aboard a merchant ship making its way from the Caribbean to New York harbor and then England, with dangerous cargo on the transatlantic leg. Thomas Mitchell (who had won a 1939 Oscar in Ford's Stagecoach) gives a career-best performance as Driscoll; Ian Hunter plays the enigmatic shipmate known only as "Smitty"; Ford regulars Barry Fitzgerald, John Qualen, Ward Bond, Arthur Shields, and Joseph Sawyer fill key roles; and the top-billed John Wayne contributes a surprisingly effective supporting performance as Ole, a gentle Swedish giant who really belongs on a farm somewhere. Although neglected in recent years--and seriously in need of restoration to do justice to its magnificent images--this movie has a permanent place of honor in one of the most amazing three-year creative streaks (throw in Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, and How Green Was My Valley) any director ever had. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

The merchant ship Glencairn rolls and shivers in the black North Atlantic. On board, her anxious crewmen search the sky for German planes. And hope they'll survive The Long Voyage Home. Director John Ford and screenwriter Dudley Nichols adapted four Eugene O'Neill one-acts into this compelling, lyrical look at men at sea that O'Neill considered his favorite of all his filmed works. As his sailors, Ford cast members of his so-called "Stock Company:" Thomas Mitchell, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Shields, Ward Bond, John Qualen and the star of the previous year's Stagecoach, John Wayne. As sunny, sweet-natured Ole Olsen, Wayne does winning work in an atypical role. Nominated for six Academy Awards?* incuding Best Picture, The Long Voyage Home is a journey to remember. Come aboard! Director John Ford and screenwriter Dudley Nichols adapted four Eugene O'Neill one-acts into this compelling, lyrical look at men at sea that O'Neill considered his favorite of all his filmed works. As his sailors, Ford cast members of his so-called "Stock Company:" Thomas Mitchell, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Shields, Ward Bond, John Qualen and the star of the previous year's Stagecoach, John Wayne. As sunny, sweet-natured Ole Olsen, Wayne does winning work in an atypical role. Nominated for six Academy Awards incuding Best Picture, The Long Voyage Home is a journey to remember. Come aboard!

Customer Reviews:

A different type of movie for Ford and Wayne.......2007-05-25

The Long Voyage Home is yet another film featuring John Wayne and director John Ford, and though it may be very different from the other movies the duo made, it is as good, if not better, than some of their other collaborations. In the early years of WWII, the SS Glencairn, a freighter in the Atlantic, receives a shipment of ammunition to transport to England from the West Indies. The ship must then sail through the dangerous waters of the Atlantic, hoping to not run into German subs. This simple plot is very much secondary to the real storyline, the lives of the crew of the Glencairn. Over the course of the film, the viewer comes to know all of the crew pretty well through four separate stories from writer Eugene O'Neil; a party with local girls on the boat before setting sail, the accidental death of a crewman during a storm, a possible German spy posing as one of the crew, and the efforts of the crew to get one of their own on a boat home after the Glencairn docks. Don't go into this movie expecting action, it is a character driven movie with many great scenes of dialogue that lets the cast do their thing. It might not be your typical John Ford and John Wayne teaming, but The Long Voyage Home is a worthy addition to any fans of the director/star combo.

While John Wayne gets top billing, he really has a somewhat smaller supporting part. Wayne plays Ole Olsen, a Swedish sailor trying to save money to get back home to Stockholm. The Duke pulls off a good Swedish accent, and does an excellent turn overall in his supporting part. The star of the movie is Thomas Mitchell as Aloysius Driscoll, "Drisk" to the crew, a veteran Irish crewman who stands as the crew's leader through the movie. Ian Hunter is also very good as Smitty, an educated man who comes under the suspicion of the Glencairn's crew. The rest of the crew is a who's who of John Ford stock company actors including Barry Fitzgerald as Cocky, John Qualen as Axel Swanson, Ward Bond as Yank, Arthur Shields as Donkeyman, Joe Sawyer as Davis, and Jack Pennick as Johnny Bergman. The ensemble cast works perfectly together and holds the movie together through the four episodic storylines.

The DVD only offers one special feature, a featurette called "Serenity at Sea: John Ford and the Araner," which has some home movies of Ford on his personal ship. The B & W presentation looks really strong overall for a movie made almost 70 years ago, and shows what a good job cinematographer Gregg Toland did in shooting the film. So for a good ensemble character study that is beautifully shot and all builds to a surprising ending, check out The Long Voyage Home! John Ford and John Wayne fans will not be disappointed!

Poetic John Ford Film.......2007-04-24

Along with "Anna Christie", these are two great adaptations of plays by O'Neil. Here we have a wonderful cast of typical Ford actors: John Wayne, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald... a script by Dudley Nichols (Stagecoach), and a unique photography by Greg Tolland (Citizen Kane). Directed all by John Ford; what else can you wish for?

So what is it that keeps "The Long Voyage Home" from being one of Ford's greatest films? I think there's more of the spirit of Ford here than of O'Neil: The tabern brawls, the excess of drinking, the fist fights, the omnipresent Irishness... his seal is stamped all over the film, which -to me- takes away from the original plays. O'Neil liked this take on his plays? Sure, it's John Ford directing. But it's one more case of a great literary work that doesn't translate -as one would wish- to the big screen.

And what about the rough sea scenes? Makes "The Deadliest Catch" look like children's stuff. Sad and beautiful film. A poem in black and white about men at sea.

A Modern-day Odyssey.......2007-01-10

It is widely acknowledged that John Ford is one of the great Hollywood directors. But he was more than just a great director. He was also a great artist, as is especially seen in a great many of his earlier films. "The Long Voyage Home" is just such a film.

Based on a series of p[lays by Eugene O'Neill, this film is an ode to the sea and to the men who live on the sea. It is the tale of their struggles: fighting for life, salvation, and their fellow man. O'Neill himself said that this was his favorite adaptation of any of his plays.

It is a film graced with beatiful performances by its actors. Many of the members of the famous "John Ford Stock Company" are here: Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, Arthur Shields, and of course, John Wayne. Film experts often cite another Ford film, "The Searchers", as proof that Wayne was actually a great actor. That is true, but I have always felt that the same is true for this film. He plays the part of a Swedish sailor, and it is a difficult assignment- one which he handled admirably. He even performs the role with a convincing Swedish accent. Ford took a gamble with casting choices such as this, and it is a testament to his skill that he was able to make it work.

This is a film blessed with great direction, beautiful cinematography, and strong performances by its stars. One can't help but admire how Ford crafted this tale of the sea into his own version of man's struggle not only with the elements, but with himself as well.

SO SO.......2007-01-10

NOT A BAD MOVIE BUT AS FAR AS JOHN WAYNE GOES NOT A BIG ACTION MOVIE BUT INSTRESTING

Ford's best. Wayne's best........2006-10-24

My dad told me about this movie about twenty years ago, I watched it, and have loved it ever since. He's an old merchant seaman, and says the film very movingly and accurately evokes the feelings of melancholy and loneliness that so often permeate the lives of many merchant seamen.

I think this is the best movie ever made by both John Wayne and John Ford. That's saying a lot. It's just brilliant. Most of Ford's stock company of actors are here, and in top form. Great, atmospheric camerawork from Greg Toland, in what I believe was the film he shot right before his legendary work on Citizen Kane. Orson Welles was so impressed by the film, that he had the entire cast of Kane watch it before they began filming. It has a similar look and feel as Welles masterpiece. The dark, gloomy compositions, and deep focus camerawork, are a testament to Toland's well deserved status as one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of film.

The final moments of this movie are simply some of the saddest and most beautiful I have ever seen in a film. If you haven't seen it, do so as soon as possible. It's one of the greatest films of the forties, and one of the greatest ever made.

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