The American Soldier

Starring:Marius Aicher, Hark Bohm, Marquard Bohm, Ingrid Caven, Gustl Datz, Jan George, Irm Hermann, Ulli Lommel, Kurt Raab, Peer Raben, Katrin Schaake, Karl Scheydt, Eva Ingeborg Scholz, Elga Sorbas, Margarethe von Trotta
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

A GI (Gene Kelly) stays in Paris after the war to become an artist, and has to choose between the patronage of a rich American woman (Nina Foch) and a French gamine (Leslie Caron) engaged to an older man. The plot is mostly an excuse for director Vincente Minnelli to pool his own extraordinary talent with those of choreographer-dancer-actor Kelly and the artists behind the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and score, creating a rapturous musical not quite like anything else in cinema. The final section of the film comprises a 17-minute dance sequence that took a month to film and is breathtaking. Songs include "'S Wonderful," "I Got Rhythm," and "Love Is Here to Stay." --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as "Singin' in the Rain".......2007-05-25

Okay, I know I'm in the minority and this is supposed to be an amazing classic musical that everyone loves, but it didn't really grab me. Here's my situation: my daughter takes tap-dancing lessons and loves them, so I picked up "Singin' in the Rain" on DVD because I thought she might enjoy it. Well, both of us LOVED that movie! Entertaining, funny story, colorful memorable characters, and absolutely breathtaking tap dance numbers.

Since we loved "Singin' in the Rain," I ordered a ton of other Gene Kelly musicals. The first one we watched was "An American in Paris," and honestly, we were disappointed. The story wasn't nearly as good, the characters weren't as likable. Yeah, there's the big ballet in the end, but I'm not into ballet and I don't like overlong numbers like that (in "Singin' in the Rain," I wasn't into "Broadway Melody" either). There are a couple of tap dance numbers in this that were mildly entertaining (Kelly dancing in a funny way to entertain the French kids was cute), but nothing as exuberant and jaw-droppingly amazing as "Moses Supposes" or Donald O'Connor's "Make 'em Laugh", both of which I could watch endlessly.

So speaking totally as a layman who knows nothing about musicals, I can say that personally, I adored "Singin' in the Rain," but didn't enjoy "An American in Paris" nearly as much. (Next up we're going to check out "On the Town," "Les Girls," "Summer Stock" and "Brigadoon.")

Great George Gershwin so so Kelly.......2007-04-02

Jerry Mulligan (Gene Kelly) ex-GI stays in Paris to practice painting. There he is patronized by a jealous Milo Roberts (Nina Foch). Mean time he is trying to make time with a store clerk that is more than she appears to be (Leslie Caron).

Not one of Kelly's best but passable. However even at his best one has to have a taste for that sort of thing. He is sort of a Danny Kay type. His high-water pants are his signature and really looks out of place. He can not sing worth beans. However he did do a good job in "What a Way to Go."

Even though this film is not a notable movie it was directed by Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986.) He directed some great movies and some that you would never suspect such as "The Long Long Trailer."

s'mahvelous.......2007-01-16

I've been watching this movie since I was a little, and couldn't find it anywhere! Gene Kelly is once again wonderful, and his smile still gets me. Leslie Caron aparently made her debut in this and her delicate, beautiful dancing is a joy to watch. This movie does try to be a little more daring and modern in certain scenes than your average musical, but all in all it's great.

All Show.......2007-01-03

This movie looks great and that is about it. Not a lot of plot, acting, etc. just a lot of color, costumes and dancing.

A display of breathtaking colors dizzyingly romantic..........2006-12-17

Vincente Minnelli directed some of the most celebrated entertainments in cinema history... He was among the first Hollywood directors to show that a profound love of color, motion and music might produce intelligent entertainment... His 'American in Paris' is a display of breathtaking colors dizzyingly romantic...

'American in Paris' is the story of an ex-GI who remains in France after the war to study and paint... He falls in love with a graceful dancer... Their romantic love affair sparkles as brightly as the City of lights itself... The whole movie brings a touch of French elegance where technique, artistic style and music all come together in perfect synchronism...

The first musical sequence introduces the exciting personality of Leslie Caron in her screen debut... She is like a diamond, a touch of class... George Guetary describes his fiancée ambiguous grace in a montage of different dance styles, sweet and shy, vivacious and modern, graceful and awesome... The number leads to an unpretentious bistro, where Kelly and his very good friends in Paris share a gentle parody of Viennese waltzes... Later Kelly celebrates a popular tap dancing with a crowd of enthusiastic children singing with him 'I Got Rhythm,' and at the massive jazz nightclub Kelly spots the girl of his dreams... He is instantly hit by her sparkling sapphire blue eyes, and only one clear thing is in his mind, to pull Lize onto the dance floor and sing to her: "It's very clear, Our love is here to stay."

To the joyful 'Tra-La-La,' Kelly provides humor, wit and talent all around Oscar Levant's room ,and even on the top of his brown piano...

When he meets his pretty Cinderella along the Seine river, Kelly is swept away by his happy meeting with Caron... He expresses all his emotions with 'Our Love Is Here to Stay.' The piece had a definite nighttime feel as the two lovers were bathed in soft, blue smoky light... They start an enchanting dance-duet juxtaposing differing elements... Caron dances with her head on his shoulder, then tries to run away in a fluid way... They move backward, away from each other, then pause to rush toward each other, for a little kiss, and a warm hug...

The film's weakest numbers were those that bear little relation to the story... In one, Georges Guetary performs an entertaining stage show with showgirls in giant ornaments floating down to the stage... In another, Oscar Levant imagines himself conducting a concert, and playing not only a piano recital, but the other instruments as well... He even applauds to himself as members of the audience...

The extravagant climactic super ballet of the film is quite an adventure, a breakthrough in taste, direction and design... It is a blaze of love, fury and vividness... It is Kelly's major fantasy of his lost love and of his feeling about Paris as viewed through the huge backdrops of some of France's most Impressionist painters...

The number starts at the Beaux Arts Ball after Kelly finds himself separated from Lise, and begins a sketch with a black crayon... It gathers the important parts of the film's story through a constantly changing locations, all in the style of the painters who have influenced Jerry... The tour, richly attractive and superbly atmospheric, includes the Place De la Concorde Fountain, the Madeleine flower market, the Place De l'Opéra, to his Rendez-Vous at Montmartre, with the cancan dancers in a representation of Lautrec's Moulin Rouge...

Kelly seems to defy the boundaries of his physical self... Caron seems to dominate her space and sweeps you away to another time and place...

Nina Foch appeared very attractive and elegant in her one-shouldered white gown... In one of the film's most famous lines, Kelly asks her: 'That's quite a dress you almost have on. What holds it up?" Nina, cleverly replies, "modesty!"

'An American in Paris' garnered six Oscars, including an honorary award to Gene Kelly... The film gave us a wealth of memories to take home...

Average customer rating:

A Quite Musical Western
Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor.
Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing
The most sentimental of Ford's movies...
Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie

Rio Grande
Starring: John Wayne , Maureen O'Hara , Ben Johnson , Claude Jarman Jr. , and Harry Carey Jr.
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0782010059
Release Date: 1998-07-14

Amazon.com

The last and least memorable of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy (following Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), Rio Grande nonetheless has an interesting continuity about the gentlemanly rules of military conduct. Here the focus is on the family. While creating a heated controversy over his handling of the Apache war, John Wayne must also contend with disgruntled wife Maureen O'Hara and estranged son Claude Jarman Jr., a new recruit trying to earn his father's love and respect. Ford seems to suggest that there are two conflicting codes of honor in every cavalry officer's life, the personal as well as the professional, and that it takes an act of heroism to maintain both. It's fascinating to observe Wayne's progression throughout the trilogy, as his personal stakes intensify. Also, this is the first of five onscreen appearances between the Duke and O'Hara, each filled with a competitive spirit and stormy sexuality. --Bill Desowitz

Customer Reviews:

A Quite Musical Western.......2007-05-24

One characteristic of this old black-and-white flick is the singing of old folk songs by the men of the US Cavalry. There is also a display of various cavalry skills. For instance, the mounted men must jump over a 6-foot fence.

Lt. Colonel Yorke (John Wayne) has his son in the cavalry unit, but pledges to treat him equally to everyone else. Yorke's son had failed West Point, and now wants to redeem himself in the US Cavalry. His mother (Maureen O'Hara) comes, and tries to have him removed from the unit. The other soldiers think that the son is privileged, and this leads to a fistfight.

The US Cavalry is fighting against the Apache Indians. Yorke is limited by the fact that he is forbidden to cross into Mexico to pursue the Apaches. The Mexicans have the opposite problem. This becomes obvious when Yorke meets with his Mexican counterpart on an isle in the middle of the Rio Grande.

In time, there is a savage Apache attack, and some children are kidnapped and taken across the border into Mexico. Yorke decides to disobey the directive and to cross the Rio Grande in pursuit of the Apaches and their hostages. Will his unexpected move catch the Apaches by surprise? Will he succeed in freeing the hostages? During the operation, he takes an arrow in the chest. Will he live?

Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor........2007-03-11

This John Wayne Western movie is great.
I intend to make it a part of my DVD library
including other Western classics.

Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing.......2007-03-08

Rio Grande was conceived as a movie to pay for the making of another film. John Ford wanted to make a little film called "The Quiet Man" but Columbia Studios wanted a quick money maker to pay for the next production. The result was "Rio Grande." A classic in its own right, one that should not be missed. Directed by John Ford and starring Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne together for the first time. The story is what hyou should expect from Ford, good action and get characters. Look for many familar faces in this film, like Victor MacLagen, Chill Wills, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. This film is part of the fabled cavalry trilogy. It is rousing and exciting. Atrue classic, don't miss it.

The most sentimental of Ford's movies..........2006-11-08

Ford's cavalry trilogy is, in its way, just as much Victor McLaglen's trilogy, for he appears once again in 'Rio Grande', still superbly filling the tough-soft sergeant part, still providing the Ford horse-play comedy element with just a touch of parody, still, one might add, probably fulfilling Ford's own particular vision of revering the heroes who have helped conquer the West...

The McLaglen sergeant seems drawn on the spreading of lines, but in retrospect, one realizes that somehow, paradoxically, he has inspired a remarkable degree of realism into the three motion pictures... (They would be not the same without him.)

'Rio Grande' has a very strong domestic flavor...

John Wayne - a casualty of the Civil War - is a cavalry officer, under strict orders, with great family problems... He's a northerner who, not surprisingly, has left his wife, a southerner, because he obediently did his military duty and burned several southern plantations - including the one owned by his wife's family... Maureen O'Hara - bringing a fitting maturity to her stereotyped assignment in the film - never forgives her husband for burning her plantation, and abruptly takes their son and goes away, effectively ending their marriage...

Fifteen years later, Wayne, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Cavalry officer, attempts to maintain the truce calm at his southwestern post, which is besieged by marauding renegade Apaches who are continually using the border with Mexico as an escape route after their raids, a lost cause since the U.S. and Mexican governments agreed that their military forces will not cross the Rio Grande under any circumstances...

He hurries to put down an Indian uprising when his past and his wife cross his path again... He is confronted by a new recruit: his West Point dropout son (Claude Jarman Jr.) and, later, the arrival of his frigid wife, desperate to buy her son out of the cavalry...

Everything, domestically and militarily is, of course, resolved successfully and, indeed, predictably, but it is the texture of the film that gives it its enjoyment - the gentle study of the reconciliation of a colonel and his estranged wife; the interplay of a father compelled to send his son on a dangerous mission; the peculiar supporting contributions of the 'beloved brute sergeant,' or the cavalry side-kicks, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr.

The three films (even considered singly) give a feeling of frontier military life, however colored by a director's highly personal viewpoint, that has hardly been approached, let alone surpassed...

There's a beautiful scene in which Wayne and Maureen are serenaded by soldiers of his troop... We can observe a husband meditating about all that went wrong with his marriage, and watch the inclination and desire that exist in his longing sideways brief look at his wife...

With first rate acting and lushly sentimental score, 'Rio Grande' can never be missed... It is the last of John Ford's cavalry movies and the most sentimental...

Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie.......2006-09-24

The third and last of the calvary is also the weakest. That's not to say its a bad film. Rio Grande explores the Army officer's conflicted devotions to his family and to his uniform. The first half is quite good with Wayne contending with having both his son and his estranged wife (who's house he burned down in the Civil War) underfoot as he tries to do his job fighting the Indian Wars. Unfortunately, the second half of the film is a bit of a letdown. Instead of further developing the fascinating character of Wayne as an excellent soldier and poor father and husband, Ford gives the viewer far too many singing cowboy interludes and an elaborate and unconvincing fight sequence and daring rescue mission. Can't help but feel Ford and Wayne ducked a great opportunity in favor of easy action entertainment.

Average customer rating:

We enjoyed this movie, but...
Has Some Amusement Value
Excellent Video
The English Crown and greedy commerce
Not just a movie

Allegheny Uprising
Starring: Claire Trevor , John Wayne , George Sanders , Brian Donlevy , and Wilfrid Lawson
Director: William A. Seiter
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Tycoon
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Reunion in France

ASIN: B000O599LW
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

Allegheny Uprising is an engaging blend of historical fiction, boisterous backwoods comedy, and pretty much nonstop rowdydow that qualifies as one of John Wayne's more offbeat vehicles. Made half a year after his stellar breakout in Stagecoach, the picture re-teams Wayne with Claire Trevor as a frontier tomboy who supplies feisty love interest. A decade and a half before the Revolutionary War, a community in south-central Pennsylvania (apparently Chambersburg) stages a principled rebellion against King George III's forces that's more social protest than full-fledged revolt. Wayne plays a thoughtful fellow named Jim Smith who, with his "men of the Conococheague," demonstrates to the Crown that it's bad faith to lend military protection to unscrupulous traders (cue Brian Donlevy) clandestinely peddling firearms and English-made weaponry to the Indians.

Now, there just aren't that many "Westerns" set in Pennsylvania, so Allegheny Uprising gets points for freshness. It also falls into a limbo between A and B movies, coming in at a trim 80 minutes but boasting larger action set-pieces (shot on location in credibly Pennsylvanian pockets of California) than was customary for RKO, a studio that tended toward in-house miniatures; Nicholas Musuraca, a future Val Lewton and film noir mainstay, proves himself a master of sunlit cinematography as well. Director William A. Seiter (with a string of Shirley Temple movies behind him) never finds a satisfying overall rhythm, and there are odd scraps of unrealized intentions in producer P.J. Wolfson's script (e.g., the sudden murder of a captured Indian raider at knifepoint, whereupon Smith ruefully observes, "We teach 'em everything, don't we?"). The most interesting element of the film is George Sanders' performance as an intransigent Brit officer who causes much of the strife with the Colonials, yet discloses unexpected vulnerability in private moments. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

We enjoyed this movie, but..........2006-11-03

We enjoyed our copy of Allegheny Uprising that was recently purchased on Amazon. We are history buffs, so picking up a few more facts about about US history pleased us. However, the Claire Trevor character was totally un-necessary! We wondered what movie she was acting in because her part didn't fit in at all. Here were these colonial characters talking and then Trevor starts talking a la 1930s movie style. Great for 1939, but not for the 1700s! Kinda reminds one of the bouffant hairdos on the 1960s tv shows like "The Big Valley"! Anyway, if you want something with a plot and is interesting, buy it. Especially if you want to just relax and not worry about something distasteful popping up on the screen -- it won't. Just phase out the Trevor character!

Has Some Amusement Value.......2006-05-27

John Wayne had been making low budget movies for almost 15 years when he starred with Claire Trevor in the William Seiter directed "Allegheny Uprising". He must have felt his career was going backwards as the production values here are second rate even by the marginal standards of his earlier films. Cast before the release of "Stagecoach", he and Trevor were given a more central role in "Allegheny Uprising" as it is not an ensemble piece like "Stagecoach".

The new popularity of the two B-Movie actors required P. J. Wolfson to alter his adaptation of Neil Swanson's novel "The First Rebel". In place of his straight historical fiction action-adventure tale (based on the Smith's Rebellion and Fort Loudoun in southern Pennsylvania) Wolfson was forced to add a romance and pad Trevor's role. Unfortunately adapting a novel to the screen is difficult enough without having to insert a character utterly irrelevant to a story already too expansive for easy adaptation. Contemporary viewers will find the forced insertion of Trevor into most of the scenes rather puzzling, at least in part because she has little going for herself as an actress or a screen presence. The younger John Wayne was much better when paired with talented leading ladies like Ella Raines and Cecilia Parker.

Set in Pennsylvania's Conococheague Valley in 1759, Wayne plays title character James Smith who returns to the valley with a friend called The Professor (John Frank Hamilton). They find the local British commander (George Sanders) a martinet and a local civilian (Brian Donley) trading contraband goods (whiskey and weapons) with the Indians, in league with some corrupt soldiers.

Trevor plays Janie MacDougall, a loud tomboy who loves Smith and manages to insert herself into his affairs at every turn.

1939 was not a good time for a movie which portrayed our soon to be allies (insert the British here) as stupid and corrupt. And southern California was not a good location for shooting a film about colonial America. There are far too many shots of grassy, almost treeless, California valleys to maintain the necessary geographical illusion. Also jarring is the contemporary dialogue which leaves you expecting Mickey Rooney and Lewis Stone to pull up outside the fort in the family sedan.

When not painful, the inattention to period detail is unintentionally amusing. My favorite scene involves the British soldiers laughing at the idea of the settlers taking over the fort. It will remind you of the "Robin Huck" episode of "Huckleberry Hound" where he exhorts his merry men to "yuk it up a bit" and they respond by going "yuk, yuk, yuk".

All in all, a weak example of the B-movie product.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Excellent Video.......2005-09-12

I'm a big John Wayne fan. This video to me was one of the best. I'd highly recommend this to anyone. Clair Trevor is spectacular in her performance. Brian Donlevy is also at his best also. A must for classic video fans.

The English Crown and greedy commerce.......2003-10-19

John Wayne, a very young John Wayne, is animating (giving some life to) the situation exposed in the film : the unacceptable duplicity of the English, and particularly English soldiers and English businessmen in the territory of New York before the Independence of the USA. The businessmen want to make a profit from both the settlers and the Indians by selling both camps anything, even arms. The soldiers want to establish their own peace that is founded on the integration of Indians in their own scheme which is to control the territory more than govern the people : if they have to encourage the Indians in their skirmishes and wars to control the settlers, they will do it. If they have to encourage the settlers in their anti-indian attitudes and posses they will do it. The best situation from their military point of view is to encourage both camps into constant war because then they may appear as the intermediary or go-between, the peace maker or at least the peace keeper between the two camps, and the English Crown may find its interest in both camps. That is true if you do not take into account the wider perspective that the settlers represent and independence is already in their minds.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Not just a movie.......2001-10-31

Not only is this film good entertainment it is based on historical fact. The Place Fort Loudoun does exist in South Central PA and Smiths rebellion actually did take place. Hollywood did take liberties as usual with certain things presented in the film but most of it is very sound. The events portrayed did not take place in the short time that Hollywood led you to believe in this film, but all did take place....

Average customer rating:

Soldier Blue
Soldier Blue
Heady western
Too little too late
Soldier Blue

Soldier Blue
Starring: Marco Antonio Arzate , Candice Bergen , Dana Elcar , James Hampton , and Mort Mills
Director: Ralph Nelson
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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I Will Fight No More Forever
There Was a Crooked Man...
White Feather
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Broken Arrow

ASIN: B000ION22Q
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Description

Honus Gent, a U.S. soldier devoted to his duty, and Cresta, a white woman who had lived with the Cheyenne for two years, are the only two survivors of a slaughter committed by the Cheyennes on a cavalry group. Together they are hoping to stay alive until they reach the cavalry's base camp. As they travel, Honus feels a growing affection for Cresta, but he is disgusted with her anti-American beliefs as she has more sympathy for Indians than for the U.S. government. They arrive at the cavalry outpost on the eve of an attack on a Cheyenne village, where Honus will learn who has been telling him the truth.

Customer Reviews:

Soldier Blue .......2007-06-27

I got this movie for my mother for her birth day. She like it and I don't know if she watch it. I have and it very good.

Soldier Blue.......2007-05-07

It is the Roy Budd's first film music work. We never listen to its brilliant title song in other media, such as soundtrack cd...It's one of the best Roy Budd fan's collector item.

Heady western.......2007-03-12

Graphic even by today's standards. With each of these movies about the
American West, you see the cavalry and the established tribes, interact.
Actually no good guys, no bad guys...just one group stronger at the scene
at the time. Sure, there are good people on both sides but crowd mentality
reigns when sabres are rattling, arrows are flying, tomahawks are threatening and gunpowder is exploding. A sobering movie about a different
scenerio but the violence is still existing today.

Too little too late.......2007-02-27

After an excruciatingly boring trek across the wilderness with C. Bergman and the other dull actor, we finally see a rather short version of America's version of genocide. The sound quality of the film is so poor, Buffy Sainte-Marie's brilliant title song is almost painful to listen to. It's also a bit different than the way she recoreded it on her albums. Buffy Sainte-Marie fans shouldn't bother with the film, as I did just to hear the song. Anyone involved in Native American rights knows the story anyway and it's not worth sitting through.

Soldier Blue.......2007-02-07

This movie broke ground for subsequent films in dealing with some facts that Non-Native America was not aware of. Some cheesy parts.

Average customer rating:

A Quite Musical Western
Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor.
Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing
The most sentimental of Ford's movies...
Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie

Rio Grande (Collector's Edition)
Starring: John Wayne , Maureen O'Hara , Ben Johnson , Claude Jarman Jr. , and Harry Carey Jr.
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00006JMRF
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Quite Musical Western.......2007-05-24

Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor........2007-03-11

This John Wayne Western movie is great.
I intend to make it a part of my DVD library
including other Western classics.

Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing.......2007-03-08

The most sentimental of Ford's movies..........2006-11-08

Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie.......2006-09-24

Average customer rating:

"He possess great skill !!!"
A Good Example of 80s Action Movies!
"The Black Star Ninja has betrayed the code. "
Good for Martial Arts
Dudikoff, baby!

American Ninja
Starring: Michael Dudikoff , Steve James , Judie Aronson , Guich Koock , and John Fujioka
Director: Sam Firstenberg
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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Best of the Best

ASIN: B00005N89J
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Description

Get ready for breathtaking action and electrifying martial arts magic as a young American becomes one of the greatest masters of Ninjitsu, the deadliest art of the Orient. American Ninja is entertainment as swift and sure as the flashing blade of a samurai's sword! Stationed in the Philippines, 18-year-old U.S. Army private Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is escorting a supply convoy when it is ambushed by rebelsone of whom he recognizes as a Black Ninja warrior. Instinctively, Joe defends himself using the esoteric martial art of Ninjitsuan ability that puts him under suspicion by his commander and fellow soldiers. Alone in his fight against corruption, the boy finally discovers the secret of his mysterious pasta secret that pits him against the evil Black Star Ninja in the ultimate martial arts battle.

Customer Reviews:

"He possess great skill !!!".......2005-12-23

"American Ninja" is one of my favourite 80's actioners produced by the unforgettable Golan-Globus team of "Delta Force" fame.
Though the body count is not massive, there are definitely some stirring scenes, in particular the truck hijack by the black-star ninja and the final confrontation with throwing stars, lasers, mini-bullet firing gloves etc. etc.
Dudikoff is a decent actor, mute most of the time, while the colonel's daughter is just fun.
The reunion with his childhood ninja mentor is high level (unintentional) comedy, "Ninjaish" dialogue galore.
Overall, a solid action film that should be frequently watched and appreciated.

A Good Example of 80s Action Movies!.......2005-06-04

some maybe find this movie an old fashioned, but I'm an 80s action movies fan. I Suck Rambo trilogy, Watched "Big trouble in little china" more than 20 times and still watching the Predator occationally. This is not an old fashioned but a classic 80s action! and a good one, most of us have our best memories from that decade, and these movies help us to remember our childhood and our interests. In 80s, We used to watch G.I.JOE which should probably rated as "R" by these days standards. War and fight was the most important part of our lives in 80s. I bought this movie and many 80s actions and I'll buy any new releases of that good time actions!

"The Black Star Ninja has betrayed the code. ".......2005-02-24

I watched this film earlier today and you know what? For being 20 years old this movie holds up remarkably well. Much better than the previous year's NINJA III: THE DOMINATION, which was instantly dated thanks to the FLASHDANCE influence.

New recruit Michael Dudikoff unwillingly gets mixed up in some illegal arms transaction between crooked Army brass and a group of ninjas. He also accidentally arouses the lustful attention of the Colonel's hot tan daughter! But before he can make sweet love he's got to stop the evil ninja clan!

Some reviewers mention this as a "guilty pleasure" I disagree. With great fight scenes, icky sound effects every time somebody gets stabbed, a fun story and a energetic performance by Steve James there's no way you can classify this as a guilty pleasure. It's too good for that.

Judie Aronson who plays Dudikoff's hot girlfriend gets naked a few times in FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER.

D: Sam Fastener (NINJA III: THE DOMINATION, REVENGE OF THE NINJA)

Joe Armstrong - Michael Davidoff (BACHELOR PARTY, TRON)
Curtis Jackson - Steve James (I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA, WEIRD SCIENCE)
Patricia Hickock - Judie Aronson (FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER, WEIRD SCIENCE)

Good for Martial Arts.......2004-09-17

Good martial arts movie. Better than today's versions that are all special effects. Decent storyline but the action was great

Dudikoff, baby!.......2004-02-06

Our buddies at Cannon figured they should strike while the iron was hot and get a little more out of their successful ninja franchise. Having found success with already established action stars, they tried to make their own in the form of MICHAEL DUDIKOFF-THE AMERICAN NINJAAAAAA! Well, Dudikoff never achieved superstardom, but he'll always be recognized as "Joe". His screen presence isn't bad at all. He's got a boyish look and a rather soft spoken demeanor different from most action tough guys. He plays a soldier who, like Rodney, gets no respect. When he finally beats Steve James(a cool sidekick I might add) in a fight, he becomes rather popular. He takes on an army of evil ninjas that threaten the fate of the world! Ther lead ninja is a mean brute who kills his fellow ninjas during routine practices. This movie's fun.....very fun. Sure it's lame as all hell, but someone must have liked it coz it spawned four sequels.

Average customer rating:

Knowledge of history....
Not very realistic.
The best of Milius
A sporadically glorious mess - in a slightly different cut to the European version
This should be a classic war-film!

Farewell to the King
Starring: Nigel Havers , Frank McRae , Gerry Lopez , Nick Nolte , and Marilyn Tokuda
Director: John Milius
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000F1IQIW
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Description

During the Second World War, an American soldier escapes his Japanese captors and flees into the jungles of Borneo, where he is found and taken in by Dayak headhunters. Two years later, British commandos arrive and are amazed to discover that the American has become king of the tribe. Initially reluctant to help the commandos, the king wages an all-out war on the Japanese after the invaders destroy his village.

Customer Reviews:

Knowledge of history...........2007-05-25

Here a 'deserter' finds a way of life more meaningful than that offered by 'civilization'. He is acutely aware of protocol, cruelty, the fragility of family and the inevitable extinction of value in the pursuit of pacification. It's not the greatest anti-war movie made, but it touches upon all the forgotten values of the people that we extinguish in our drive for peace and domination.

Not very realistic........2007-02-01

An American setting himself up as king in the middle of Borneo during WWII? That's a bit of a stretch. Although there was actually a white rajah of Sarawak (Borneo) at the time, who was living in exile, it is really difficult to imagine a GI fleeing the Philippines to wind up in a native paradise. But that's Hollywood...

Overall, unrealistic with good scenery, and a seemingly good ending because the bad guys lose and the good guys win.

The best of Milius.......2006-09-22

Beyond the hyperbole of other reviews (best WWII film?), there is much good to say about this messy but wonderful movie.

Messy? While I love Milius' movies, one must admit they often seem to lack the production quality and polish of typical hollywood fare (the opening rowboat scene and escape while dramatic were poorly dubbed and the cinmatography seems like it could have offered more). This should be excused by the epic storytelling. Milius' movies are like garage band music that compensate in spirit what it lacks in polish.

One might say this is an original story but Milius shows us it's derivitaive nature when one scene describes the narrator's adventures as akin to Conrad or Kipling. Certainly this story is cut from the same cloth as The Man Whould Would be King and Lord Jim. But somehow that still seems to qualify as original in the current Hollywood.

If you are a lover of the aforementioned writers or Milius himself, or you are looking for adventure tales told well, get the DVD. I think it ranks with Big Wednesday as Milius's best movie.

A sporadically glorious mess - in a slightly different cut to the European version.......2006-09-15

Farewell to the King should have been John Milius' masterpiece. Harking back to Joseph Conrad and the days of high adventure so beloved of the writer-director, this WW2 tale of a deserter who becomes a king in Borneo only to lose everything fighting the Japanese and betrayed by the Allies, it seemed made to measure for his brand of bravado and myth making. Even had Milius not ill-advisedly taken Spielberg's advice to trim half an hour from his original cut and the film not been released in two slightly different cuts on either side of the Atlantic, Farewell would almost certainly still have been an awkward and under-achieving film so problematic are many aspects: yet for all its many faults, there's enough there that IS unique to keep on drawing me back time and again. Part old-fashioned adventure, part folie de grandeur, all box-office disaster, it's a mess, but it's an intriguing one that's hard to dislike despite its many flaws, and Basil Poledouris' remarkable score is a thing of wonder.

The performances are variable: Nigel Havers is fine as the narrator who knows that one day he'll have to betray the King, but in a part that really calls for a Steve McQueen or a Russell Crowe, Nick Nolte has a few too many eccentric moments and isn't always able to make Milius' dialog sound as good as it reads (a common problem in many of his scripts). Frank McRae, Marius Weyers and Milius' old surfing buddy Gerry Lopez offer good support, but there's a truly terrible but mercifully brief performance from the future Mrs Milius, Elan Oberon. The film feels somewhat cramped at times due to Milius' decision not to shoot in Scope (he dislikes 2.35:1 despite doing his most visually impressive work in the ratio), although cinematographer Dean Semler pulls off an impressive sequence where a night time ambush goes horribly wrong due to a sudden shift in the weather.

It would have been interesting to see what author Pierre Schoendoerffer would have made of it had he been able to direct it himself. Like Milius an unashamed admirer of Joseph Conrad (the story is basically a WW2 reworking of Lord Jim), the French writer-director's own films, particularly the haunting Le Crabe Tambour, hint at a more melancholy, less gung-ho attack on the material. But Milius' film has enough going for it to make it worth a look.

The US cut recently released on Region 1 DVD by MGM/UA is different in quite a few ways to the European version. For a start, it's shorter, although it has some additional footage: the battle montage as the Japanese retreat is much longer (the entire battle at the river is cut from the European versions), while there's a scene of James Fox reminiscing about a girl he knew in India that is missing from the European cut, as well as a few additional lines of dialogue in some scenes. However, there is a huge and fairly important scene cut from near the end of the picture, where Fairbourne (Havers) visits the Japanese general as he has his last meal before his execution: it's not an entirely successful scene, but the film works better with it than without. There's also a big structural difference, with the US cut showing Learoyd deserting and watching his companions being executed as a pretitle sequence - this footage is in the European cut, but much more comfortably included much later when Learoyd is telling the story of how he became king. Also, the opening quote has been dropped and replaced with title cards specifying the date and location, while the closing narration is longer. On the whole, aside from the missing battle montage footage, the European version plays better.

It was too much to hope for deleted scenes or even Milius' original two-and-a-half hour cut of the film on the R1 disc, but MGM/UA could have at least included the trailer - but unfortunately the disc is completely extras free. The widescreen transfer is good, but the contrast could be better in some jungle scenes. The R2 PAL discs are fullframe without any extras, but do have the European cut of the film.

This should be a classic war-film!.......2006-09-01

This is one of those rare movies one can watch a number of times, and its always a spectacle! An American soldier, utilizing common-sense, flees the Philipines after its conquest by the Japanese forces in the early years of World War 2. In doing so, he avoids a miserable death in a concentration camp, as so many other allied POWs experienced. Instead, he finds himself amongst the indigenous people of Borneo, a culture of warriors and hunters, living as they did for thousands of years in the forests and mountains. They are a people whose hearts and minds yearn for an age of heroic deeds to equal that of their legendary ancestors. They live by the sword, spear, and axe, courage and valor in battle is the highest ideal. The soldier becomes a leader among them, uniting the clans, and lives in peace as the war rages abroad. However, near war's end, he and his new people collaborate with a special-operations team of allied SOE/OSS personnel, who train them to fight a guerrilla war against the remnants of Japanese forces on the island. As a result, the people are subjected to unspeakable atrocities and war-crimes...but the Japanese soldiers soon find they have subjugated a people who will take terrible revenge!

Average customer rating:

Poor story telling - L:ots of Unrelated Action
LOL
Well Done John Woo
Awesome Action Pic!
Im 14 and seen lots of war movies and this one...

Windtalkers [Blu-ray]
Starring: Adam Beach , Nicolas Cage , Jason Isaacs , Christian Slater , and Peter Stormare
Director: John Woo
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000JSI7C6
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Amazon.com

Having earned Hollywood's respect with blockbusters like Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2, Hong Kong action master John Woo lends his signature style to serious World War II action in Windtalkers. Recognizing the long-forgotten contribution of Navajo "code talkers," whose use of an unbreakable Navajo-language radio code was instrumental in defeating the Japanese, the film serves as an admirable tribute to those Native American heroes. Unfortunately, it falls short of importance with its standard-issue story about a battle-scarred sergeant (Nicolas Cage) assigned to protect a code-talker (Adam Beach, from Smoke Signals), with unspoken orders to kill him if Japanese capture is imminent. This allows for an involving drama of hard-won friendship, but cardboard supporting characters suffer in the shadow of nonstop action that's as repetitious as it is technically impressive. Windtalkers is best appreciated as a more substantial vehicle for Woo's trademark ballet of bullets. --Jeff Shannon

Description

In the brutal World War II Battle of Saipan, Sergeant Joe Enders (Academy Award(r) winner*Nicolas Cage) guardsand ultimately befriendsBen Yahzee (Adam Beach), a young Navajo trained in the one wartime code never broken by the enemy, the Navajo Code. But if Yahzee should fall into Japanese hands, how far will Enders go to save the military's most powerful secret? John Woodirects this "exciting" (Premiere),

Customer Reviews:

Poor story telling - L:ots of Unrelated Action.......2007-06-22

The movie SEEMS to focus on Nic Cage's character. However, there were other themes that the story teller only half-heartedly explored. I felt he truly did a poor job developing Nic's change of heart that it made it unrealistic at the end. Overall he could have done a much better job telling this story, there was so much to work with!

LOL.......2007-05-28

The worst war movie I have ever seen. It is in no way realistic. And to call it an action movie is an insulting joke. War shouldn't be treated as "action."

Well Done John Woo.......2007-04-16

Personally I view Windtalkers as one of the most realistic war movie, from the "horror of war" point of view.
That's why I feel very sorry that this movie has the same fate with "When Trumpets Fade". Too much negative comments for an interesting movie.
Anyway, Well done John Woo. Looking forward to your next War Movie.

Awesome Action Pic!.......2007-04-14

Windtalkers is an awesome action picture and I recommend this to those who like action, war and Nicholas Cage (The Rock).

It is not as realistic as Flags of Our Fathers (where people complained about the lack of action) and far more realisitc than Die Hard.

Compared to what has been going on at Hollywood productions (releases) in the last few years I can recommend this film highly, as I like Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers and Behind Enemy Lines as well. All these movies have something in common and that is they are based on History. While Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers were more accurate to history than Behind Enemy Lines and Windtalkers, I can say that these films are worthy action pics.

Well done to John Woo, and please more where that came from. How about a John Woo Berlin/Germany film (1945) with Nicholas Cage?

Im 14 and seen lots of war movies and this one..........2007-03-25

It was just OK because it was just totally unrealistic.I watched this with a friend and every time nicolas Cage ran down the screen we just thought, here we go again nicolas cage kills ALL!!! Okay there would be a whole trenchful of japs and nicolas Cage would run over and kill them all with just one clip from his Thompson. Talk about unrealistic. Plus this movie lacked blood and gore!!! In the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan some guy gets off the landing craft, gets shot in the stomach and his intestines fall all over the beach. In Windtalkers, when someone gets shot in the stomach, a hole and one drop of blood spurts out. Not graphical enough. Me and my friend watched saving private ryan a few years ago and thought it was the greatest war movie ever(which is very true). After we watched this we were pissed off and threw in Enemy At The Gates(Which isnt half bad). So if your depressed or pissed and looking to cool down get Saving Private Ryan or Enemy At The Gates. It really helps to think you are actually on the battlefeild yourself and that just didnt happen here.

American Experience: The Battle of the Bulge

Average customer rating:

A story of courage, suffering and triumph

American Experience: The Battle of the Bulge
Starring: David McCullough
Manufacturer: WGBH Boston
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Battle of the Bulge [HD DVD]
D-Day - The Total Story
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ASIN: B0001WTUKS
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Description

In mid-1944, it looked as if the war in Europe was coming to an end. Hitler was on the run, and the Allies had triumphantly regained Paris, as well as Casablanca and Tripoli, Naples, and Rome. After five hard years of war, Allied soldiers were breathing easier—even stopping to enjoy dances and parties.

Hitler, however, had one final card to play. In December 1944, he struck back with a brutal counterattack. The Battle of the Bulge was the single biggest and bloodiest battle U.S. soldiers have ever fought. Almost 80,000 Americans were killed, injured, or captured in an infernal test of courage and endurance that ultimately ended with a hard-won victory for the Allies.

Battle of the Bulge looks at the battle through the eyes of the U.S. soldiers and combat officers in the field—the young men charged with holding the line and closing the bulge. They describe the events leading up to the attack and how the Allied forces were caught unprepared—and talk with disarming honesty about the grueling physical and psychological conditions under which they fought and of the memories that still haunt them. Packed with rare archival newsreel and Army footage, this documentary offers a compelling chronicle of war that captures both the action on the front lines and the strategy behind the scenes.

Special DVD features include: link to the American Experience Web site; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: 4x3 full screen.

Customer Reviews:

A story of courage, suffering and triumph.......2004-06-20

During World War II, there were two times when the armed forces of the United States were caught completely unawares. The first, the Japanese attacks at Pearl Harbor, began United States involvement. The second, the German attacks in the Ardennes forest in late 1944, actually served to shorten the war in Europe.
There is no doubt that Adolph Hitler was a master at strategic thinking. Before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, he was able to take control of vast amounts of European territory without firing a shot. Had he stopped there, Germany would have been a superpower, most likely the most powerful nation on Earth. Fortunately for those who opposed him, he was a tactical dunderhead, and he made no mistake bigger than when he launched the counterattack that is now known as the Battle of the Bulge. As the forces allied against him pushed to the edges of German territory, he decided to launch a counterattack against the thinly held American lines. The goal was to seize the port at Antwerp and foment divisions between the British and Americans.
This was of course the thought of a delusional mind. After fighting together for three years, the alliance between Great Britain and the United States would not crack so easily. Also, the overwhelming air power of the United States would allow them to chew up the extended German forces once the weather permitted it. The best tactics would have been to place all forces on the defensive, concentrate them as much as possible in the East, which would force the allies, especially the Soviets, to fight for every foot of German territory.
While the Battle of the Bulge caused more American combat casualties than any other battle in history, it eliminated all German reserves and quite likely shortened the war in Europe by months. Had it not taken place, it is very possible that the first use of atomic weapons in war would have been against Germany rather than Japan.
This video provides the entire historical context, but the emphasis is on the actions and experiences of the American soldiers in the rifle companies. After the initial German impetus was blunted, the allied commanders made the decision to push the Germans back on all fronts rather than engage in a dramatic pincer movement. This meant that men on foot did nearly all the fighting with rifles in the worst winter weather that Europe had seen in decades. The soldiers were always cold, and frostbite was a constant problem. With their years of experience in the colder weather of the Soviet Union, the troops of the Wehrmacht were better able to deal with it.
So many American soldiers were killed or wounded that a shortage developed. Men were patched together physically and mentally and sent back up to the front. Companies were nearly wiped out, yet green, untrained men were sent as replacements rather than pull the company out of the line. Essentially, the decision was made to simply grind the Germans down at whatever the cost. Several of the survivors are interviewed and they tell a tale of their survival while many of their comrades did not. The most telling moment in the tape is when the French civilian said it was two years after the end of the war before all of the hastily and partly buried bodies were finally dealt with.
It will always be a point of debate as to whether the final fate of Germany had been decided by late 1944, which would mean that the Battle of the Bulge was irrelevant to the final outcome. Whatever it meant to the end result, it was the deadliest battle in American military history and this tape is an excellent description of the history, courage and suffering that made it an American victory.

Average customer rating: