Resistance

Starring:Alastair Buchanan, Jennifer Claire, Ralph Cotterill, Arianthe Galani, Vincent Gil, Harold Hopkins, Helen Jones, Stephen Leeder, Lorna Lesley, Christopher Lewis (II), Rangi Nikora, Bob Noble, Mirabai Peart, Allan Penney, Bill Radford, Yul Sastrawan, Maya Sheridan, Lawrence Woodward, Doris Younane
Studio: Leo Films
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

HD DVD blows away the BD version with all the Extra features
good movie
Blood Diamond (Blu-ray Disc) Review by Justin Sluss
Liked the movie, but save the format war stuff for nerdy message board virgins
Buy This and Blu-Ray makes it even better

Blood Diamond [Blu-ray]
Starring: Leonard DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , and Jennifer Connelly
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

Action & Adventure | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Drama | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto [Blu-ray]
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest [Blu-ray]
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl [Blu-ray]
Letters from Iwo Jima [Blu-ray]
Casino Royale [Blu-ray]

ASIN: B000N0WCLC
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Description

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

Customer Reviews:

HD DVD blows away the BD version with all the Extra features.......2007-07-03

Again HD DVD has all the extra features that BD does not have...Why would anyone support BD for less features is beyond me. Sad!

good movie .......2007-06-27

besides the superb quality of Blu Ray the film itself is worth the buy alone.

good actors, beatiful pictures and of course a meaningful story about the conflicts
that sorounding Diamonds and other resources that cost human lifes, sad thing.

as for the extras Nas Musicvideo included but not 1080p
and actor and director sugesstions mostly in 1080p

TIA :)

Blood Diamond (Blu-ray Disc) Review by Justin Sluss.......2007-06-21

The Movie Itself received 5 Academy Award nominations, including best actor and best supporting actor. "Blood Diamond" was directed by Edward Zwick. The film itself is set in Sierra Leone Africa in 1999 during a civil war over "blood diamonds." These diamonds in the mines are found by the kidnapped boys that are forced to be made part of the rebel forces. Once found the diamonds then are smuggled out of the country and used basically to buy more weapons and just make the war even worse.

The film primarily stars Leonardo DiCaprio as "Danny Archer" (an ex-mercenary turned smuggler), Dijimon Honsou as "Solomon Vandy" (an African fisherman who's struggling against rebel forces to reunite with his family) and Jennifer Connelly as "Maddy Bowen" (an American journalist trying to expose the "Blood Diamond" ordeal going on in Africa).

The basic plot here to the film is that "Solomon Vandy" has been kidnapped by rebels who took his family and put his son "Dia Vandy" in the rebel army. "Soloman" is forced to work in the diamond mines and finds a huge pink diamond. After seeing that others who try to hide diamonds they find get executed by the commander of the rebel forces, "Soloman" still tries to hide this one in between his toes. He tells the foreman he needs to use the bathroom to try to make a smooth get away and hide the diamond but things don't go as planned. Long story short "Soloman" ends up in jail with "Danny Archer" who knows that he has hid the diamond. So "Archer" arranges for him to be released after he gets out himself and offers to help him get back his family in exchange for the diamond. Sounds simple enough, right?

I can now see why this film got the Academy Award nominations it that it did for best actor and best supporting actor. This is honestly a really good film.

Video Quality on this release is in VC-1 on a 50 gigabyte Dual-Layer Blu-ray Disc. The real problem here is consistency in the video quality. A majority of the time (especially the outdoors scenes) the picture is great but there are some rare occasions that (even other reviewers have noted) have some artifacts and pixilation problems. The real thing that tends to make this show is smoke in dark scenes. The black level is overall solid. Chances are by the time this film makes it's way to HD DVD I would say Warner Brothers will redo the video transfer. Considering like I said, this problem has been stated by others than just myself.

Overall though the video quality is good on this release and the rare problems in the consistency should not discourage the Blu-ray consumer from purchasing this release. If it does discourage you from purchasing this Blu-ray and you don't own a HD DVD player, you're totally going to be missing out on a really good film. If you do own a HD DVD player and are still a bit skeptic, my best advice for you is to wait until July when the film will be released on HD DVD.

Audio Quality on this release is in Uncompressed Linear PCM 5.1 @4.6Mbps as well as standard Dolby Digital 5.1. Like "The Departed" on Blu-ray Disc Warner Brothers decided to give this release a PCM 5.1 track. This is one of the few Warner releases on Blu-ray Disc to feature this and it's a shame because this really pays off to make for an amazing sound experience. The sounds of everything from crickets to gunfire to explosions to even the score sound absolutely awesome.

Bonus Materials on this release are in 16:9 (Widescreen) standard definition. First off is obviously an audio commentary by Director Edward Zwick. All of the bonus materials have subtitles to them here and pretty much describe what they are so I won't be going into a lot of detail unless it's noteworthy. There's "Focus Points: Featurettes and Production Diaries (46 minutes) which is pretty much the "making of" to this film. "Blood on the Stone: Follow a Diamond's Path from the Ground to the Store" (50 minutes) is a really in-depth look at the real "Blood Diamonds" out there. "Becoming Archer: Profiling Leonardo DiCaprio" (8 minutes) is just as it says, just a profile on Leo in this film. "Journalism on the Front Line: Jennifer Connelly on Women Journalists at War" (5 minutes) on the other hand is less about her and more about the actual women journalists that do cover these type of events. "Inside the Siege of Freetown: Edward Zwick on One of the Movie's Pivotal Sequences" (10 minutes) is really interesting and worth watching. Lastly there is the music video for "Shine on Em" by Nas. Overall this release has some pretty decent bonus materials but I have a feeling that an "In-Movie Experience" on HD DVD will be a tad better.

-- Review written by Justin Sluss of HighDefDiscNews.com

Liked the movie, but save the format war stuff for nerdy message board virgins.......2007-06-18

The movie was good. Buy it, rent it, rip it, whatever you want to do - just watch the movie.

From what I understand, ALL the Warner Bros high def transfers are mastered for HD-DVD first and then ported to Blu-Ray, making the technology argument completely moot. It's mastered in HD-DVD format first because it's easier and more economical for the studio to do so. What have we learned today? To date (as far as I know), all WB high def titles are mastered for HD-DVD, even if it's on Blu-Ray.

I still think Leo DiCaprio should have been Oscar nominated and won for his role in The Departed. But he did well in Blood Diamond, too. If you are fortunate enough to have both HD-DVD and BR, spread the love and pick up The Departed in HD-DVD, since it'll look identical to the BR version ;-O

It really is a shame that one has to go to the standard def DVD page to find out if people liked the movie, rather than have a typing war on why one format is superior than the other. If the studios really were as smart as they think they are, they'd release the same titles on both formats, allowing the people to decide who wins. Plus, they'd make potloads of money by having their cake and eating it, too.

Just my two cents.

Buy This and Blu-Ray makes it even better.......2007-06-08

Great moivie and love it, thought it was Dicapro's best performance. I enjoyed this movie at the theatre and thought the Blu-ray made this movie more enjoyable. It is not the best transfer not it is any reference material but the movie is great. I don't understand why those HD-DVD fanboi making comment on a Blu-ray disc, I will not buy a HD-DVD disk or player ever, that format is dying and thanks to my intelligent I pick the right format. All I can say is enjoy this great movie.

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Blood Diamond
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie

Blood Diamond [HD DVD]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , and Jennifer Connelly
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

Action & Adventure | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

General | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

Drama | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000MZHW1S
Release Date: 2007-07-03

Amazon.com

Leonardo DiCaprio puts a handsome face on an ugly industry: In parts of Africa, diamond mining fuels civil warfare, killing thousands of innocents and drafting preteen children as vicious soldiers. DiCaprio (The Departed) plays Danny Archer, a white African soldier-turned-diamond-smuggler who gets wind of a large raw jewel found by Solomon Vandy, a native fisherman (Djimon Hounsou, In America) recently escaped from enslavement by a brutal rebel leader. Archer offers a deal: He'll help Vandy find his war-scattered family if Vandy will share the diamond with him. Drawn into this web of exploitation is journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly, Little Children), who agrees to help if Archer will tell her the details of how conflict diamonds make their way into the hands of the corporations who sell them to the Western world. DiCaprio is compelling because he never flinches from Archer's utter ruthlessness; Archer ends up doing the morally justifiable thing, but only because his desperate greed has led him to it. Hounsou and Connelly, though saddled with all the moral and political speeches, rise above the cant and keep the movie's treacherously formulaic plot rooted in human characters. But in the end, the story won't stick with you as much as the dead stillness in the child soldiers' eyes; the horror of African civil strife refuses to be contained by Blood Diamond's uplifting message--and the movie is all the more potent as a result. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

This movie truly is an eye opener. Even though it is very hard to watch because of all of the killing, it is still a must see movie. Well written and well acted. I'm not a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but this movie made me think twice. Djimon Hansu is phenomenal. This movie shows the brutality of greed and power. Highly recommended.

Blood Diamond.......2007-06-27

Excellent movie, something orginial and thoughtfull, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves good well thought out movies- a must see.

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Greed is the dark heart of "Blood Diamond," director Edward Zwick's ("Traffic," "The Last Samurai") uncompromising look into the underground trafficking of illegally-traded gems in sub-Saharan Africa. Greed of corrupt men for power, greed of an amoral mercenary willing to sacrifice anything for a chance to escape Africa, greed of Western businessmen who seek to artificially control the diamond market, and the greed of a simple man for his family's return. This movie powerfully demonstrates the valuelessness of a human life to those persons obsessed with blood diamond collection in war-ravaged Sierra Leone.

Djimon Hounsou plays Solomon Vandy, a simple fisherman and father of two who witnesses his idyllic existence crumble before his eyes. Rebels seeking new recruits, slaves, and random carnage swarm into his village. They select his adolescent son and other young men as future cadets in their guerilla army--following suitable brainwashing and manipulation techniques--before then getting down to the real business of slave collection. Seemingly devoid of any mental workings besides casual sadism, these bandits top-off their kidnapping and slave-taking exercise with the mutilation and execution of men deemed too troublesome for them to bother with. Vandy is rescued from dismemberment at the last minute when the rebels recognize his strength, seeing it as an asset they can utilize in their constant search for capital: the blood diamond pits. Condemned to toiling underneath the blazing sun with nary a chance of reaping any benefit (besides possible continued survival) for his efforts, Vandy happens to discover an egg-sized blood diamond hidden in the streambed. Hiding it underneath his foot, he buries it when the rebel encampment is attacked by government troops. The only witness to his "theft" is the wounded slave captain--now captured, along with Vandy, by government forces--who swears that the former fisherman will soon be begging to reveal the diamond's whereabouts.

Parallel to Djimon's character's storyline is the tale of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an opportunistic solider of fortune caught within a dichotomy of conflicting motivation. He desires escape from Africa at any cost, yet secretly knows that his blood will someday mix with the earth of his homeland. Perhaps it is this realization that he is doomed which propels Archer forward: in every action and every word, he seems to be daring destiny to obliterate him. Taken in and trained from a young age by Colonel Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo), Archer is easily the most dangerous entity alive on the continent: ruthless, misanthropic, callous, manipulative, and incredibly lethal with bullet and blade. After a close-call haggling with rebel leaders over fair prices for blood diamonds, Archer is arrested for smuggling while crossing the Sierra Leone border. It is here that he intercepts the distraught Vandy and begins weaving a plan to save himself from the war-torn country: by dangling the freedom of the fisherman's family as bait to cajole Vandy into revealing the gigantic diamond's location. Solomon, though a simple man, is not so easily fooled. He eventually agrees to help Archer--but only if the mercenary agrees to help locate his family and also permit Solomon to be his travel companion.

There is barely time for indrawn breath during the watching of this movie. Action sequences are furious, brutal, and frequent. The pace of the movie is frenetic. The score is perfect throughout. The "education" of Vandy's son by the rebels is heart-wrenching. Solomon's overarching belief that fatherhood trumps all initially feels naïve, but is eventually revealed to be the singularly most powerful force in the entire movie. Danny's character--the realist mercenary who seems most capable of surviving, when compared to Vandy--shows the most evolution, shedding layers of the personality onion until an actual human appears. He is moved to reveal an element of his past to the beautiful American reporter (Jennifer Connelly), whose persistence and mutual survivorship cements a bond they both were too proud to admit from their first meeting. Archer and Vandy relationship morphs into something beautiful when a sacrifice is needed, prompting Solomon to reverse that remarkably chauvinistic statement made by Rudyard Kipling over one hundred years ago: the "white man's burden."

This is hands-down Djimon's most impressive performance: I have never seen him better represent a character. In fact, he blurs the line between character and actor, totally suspending my disbelief to the point where I "knew" him only as Vandy. I have been told by an acquaintance--currently living in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia)--that DiCaprio's accent is spot-on. In addition, he was utterly believable as heartless mercenary, and his later transformation was also quite convincing. The action sequences were, as mentioned, jaw-dropping in their intensity, but never felt gratuitous or over-the-top.

Easily one of my five favorite movies of 2006--miss it, and you risk missing some of the finest cinematographic wizardry and directorial finesse of cinema from the last year, period.

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

The Blood Diamond has double meaning. An extremely bloody war is being funded by diamonds, and the stars of the movie are after a huge stone that has a red tint to it. Leonardo Dicaprio is after the diamond and Djimon Hounsou (named Solomon in the movie) agrees to show him where it is, but only goes along with Dicaprio so that he can find his son. Solomon's son has been been taken and made into a 10 year old rebel soldier. Jennifer Connelly plays a journalist and does a great job of using her charm to help forget about the war that is going on, even if it is just for a moment. The best parts are the action scenes. Solomon will do whatever he has to to get his son back, and likewise for Dicaprio with the diamond. It all leads to a very exciting ending.

There is great drama, a great story, and marvelous acting from everybody, but the action sequences stood out the most to me. The rebels seem to enjoy killing everyone and anyone. When they show up, expect to see some intense shoutouts. The 2 fight scenes are also good, mainly because Djimon Hounsou is such a superb actor. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of his rage. Dicaprio also gives an extraordinary performance. He may be better in this than he was in 'The Aviator'.

This is the best movie I have seen in at least a couple months, and I am a hardcore movie junkie. I don't like giving away too much in my reviews, in fact I always try to give away as little as possible. My rating sums up how I feel the best. This movie gets a perfect 5/5 from me. It is relentless, and I couldn't look away for a second. I can't believe I waited so long to finally watch this.

Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Blood Diamond
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie

Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Two-Disc Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00005JPGO
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Description

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary with Director, Edward Zwick (A revealing look at a filmmaker?s personal journey.)
Documentary:Blood on the Stone (RT: 50:00) Follow the path of a diamond from the ground to the store.
Featurette:1) Becoming Archer (RT: 8:29) - A profile of Leonardo DiCaprio and how he trained for the war; 2) Journalism on the Front Line (RT: approx 6:07) - Jennifer Connelly on Women Journalists at war; 3) Inside the Siege of Freetown (RT: 10:28) - See how Ed Zwick tackled the pivotal scene.
Music Video:"Shine On Em" by rap artist Nas

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

Blood Diamond.......2007-06-27

Excellent movie, something orginial and thoughtfull, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves good well thought out movies- a must see.

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Blood Diamond
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie

Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000MZHW40
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

Blood Diamond.......2007-06-27

Excellent movie, something orginial and thoughtfull, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves good well thought out movies- a must see.

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

Average customer rating:

Got Boringly Familiar
eye opening movie
Blood Diamond
Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade
Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie

Blood Diamond (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000MZHW4A
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

Got Boringly Familiar.......2007-07-05

Yes, there is action. Yes, there is decent acting. But ultimately, it becomes another preachy, and bogged down film.

eye opening movie.......2007-06-27

Blood Diamond.......2007-06-27

Excellent movie, something orginial and thoughtfull, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that loves good well thought out movies- a must see.

Human life is the currency of those powerful enough to control the blood diamond trade.......2007-06-23

Excellent action sequences and an all around magnificent movie.......2007-06-22

Average customer rating:

A Long Time Favorite
A classic war movie!
A Thrilling yet Fictional Commando Raid
Excellent Classic Movie
The Legend of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone (Special Edition)
Starring: Gregory Peck , David Niven , Anthony Quinn , Stanley Baker , and Anthony Quayle
Director: J. Lee Thompson , and Alexander Mackendrick
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

War Epics | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Where Eagles Dare
Force 10 From Navarone
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Dirty Dozen (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Great Escape

ASIN: 0767821785
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

This rousing, explosive 1961 WWII adventure, based on Alistair MacLean's thrilling novel, turns the war thriller into a deadly caper film. Gregory Peck heads a star-studded cast charged with a near impossible mission: destroy a pair of German guns nestled in a protective cave on the strategic Mediterranean island of Navarone, from where they can control a vital sea passage. As world famous mountain climber turned British army Captain Mallory, Peck leads a guerrilla force composed of the humanistic explosives expert, Miller (David Niven), the ruthless Greek patriot with a grudge, Stavros (Anthony Quinn), veteran special forces soldier Brown (Stanley Baker), and the cool, quiet young marksman Pappadimos (James Darren). This disparate collection of classic types must overcome internal conflicts, enemy attacks, betrayal, and capture to complete their mission. Director J. Lee Thompson sets a driving pace for this exciting (if familiar) military operation, a succession of close calls, pitched battles, and last-minute escapes as our heroes infiltrate the garrisoned town with the help of resistance leader Maria (Irene Papas) and plot their entry into the heavily guarded mountain fort. Carl Foreman's screenplay embraces MacLean's role call of clichés and delivers them with style, creating one of the liveliest mixes of espionage, combat, and good old-fashioned military derring-do put on film. In 1978, the sequel Force 10 from Navarone was released, but MacLean fans will prefer to check out the action-packed thriller Where Eagles Dare. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A Long Time Favorite.......2007-04-02

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE has been a long time favorite around my house. We saw it years ago and have never forgotten it. I think the performances and the strong characterizations are indelible. We watch it whenever it is on TV even though my son has it on tape, laserdisc and DVD. There is just something reassuring about that film, something of value you take away each time you watch it. There are a lot of heroics yet there is dignity and honor demonstrated throughout the tale. I suppose it has now become a legend for all time.

A classic war movie!.......2007-03-08

I first saw this film at a British army outdoor cinema in Cyprus in 1962 when I was 11 years old. I have lost count of how many times I have seen it since. It still rates for me as one of the greatest war films ever. Great performances by all the cast: one of David Niven's best roles but all of them seemed to be at the top of their game. I own an earlier DVD than the Special Edition, so cannot speak to the special features.

A Thrilling yet Fictional Commando Raid.......2007-03-07

Oh, to destroy the heavy ship-killing artillery housed on an enemy-held island! Bombing cannot take out the site, and it would take a suicide plane loaded with explosives to destroy it. How about a commando raid? Intelligence indicates that the island of Navarone has a cliff so tall and steep that the Germans don't bother to guard it.

A group of commandos leaves in a fishing boat, and the miracles begin to happen. The fishing boat is stopped at sea by a German naval vessel, and the commandos manage to shoot and fight off all the Germans. And, to top it all off, the Germans situated at Navarone are not warned of the commandos.

After that, everything goes wrong that possibly can. The wooden fishing boat in which they are traveling gets battered to pieces by the storm against the cliff. During the arduous climb, one of the climbers breaks both legs, thereby becoming a liability to the rest of the commando outfit for the remainder of the mission. The climb is successful, but the commandos discover that they have lost their food. They manage to kill a German guard at the top of the cliff, only to fail to convince a German, calling the field phone used by that guard, that they are Germans. The search is on. The commandos belatedly link up with some Greek partisans, and make is just in time into a cave, from which they hide from German bombing.

Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, they end up in German hands. The German commander reminds them that they, not wearing uniforms, are not entitled to rights as POWs, and will be shot (as spies or saboteurs). He calls in the SS to torture them into divulging the location of the explosives, beginning with the man with broken legs, whose splints are to be rearranged. To make things worse, it turns out that one of the Greek partisans is a German agent, and that she has rendered the explosives useless.

Will the commandos escape death? If so, will the miracles continue and will they destroy the artillery at Navarone? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.

Navarone does not appear in any atlas, and it takes a while for the viewer to realize that this account is fictional. It would be helpful if there was a disclaimer in the beginning of this flick indicating that it is fiction.

Excellent Classic Movie.......2007-01-11

Great classic WWII flick. Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Nivven.
Good acting - nominated / won like 8 acadamy awards...

The Legend of Navarone.......2007-01-08

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE have long been silent but the legend of this extraordinary and endearing film lingers on in our memory. They just don't make them like this any more. The script, the score, the cinematography, the actors and the characters they played are indelibly etched into the psyche. I often have fleeting thoughts of this film, happy ones, of the images, the words and the music from this WWII legend. The examination of camaraderie, the morality of killing and not killing, bravery, survival, betrayal, forgiveness and getting the job done are all integrated into a logical and emotional cohesive film that is both entertaining yet important in its representation of the extraordinary human qualities that can only be realized during war.This is one of my favorite films and the less said the better. I just savor my memories of it and get a little warmth in my heart.

Average customer rating:

A question of morality.. transfer slightly below grade
Excellent war film
The Train
What a Train ride should be like...
"Mancaster"

The Train
Starring: Burt Lancaster , Paul Scofield , Jeanne Moreau , Suzanne Flon , and Michel Simon
Director: John Frankenheimer , and Arthur Penn
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

International | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Von Ryan's Express (Special Edition)
The Bridge at Remagen
The Desert Rats
The Devil's Brigade
Seven Days in May

ASIN: 079284047X
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Amazon.com essential video

This is one of John Frankenheimer's breathless gems--all marvelous action that never lets up. Burt Lancaster plays a French train engineer during the waning days of the German occupation who tries to prevent Nazi colonel Paul Scofield from transporting a precious art collection back to Germany. Utilizing sabotage and cunning deception, Lancaster and his Resistance colleagues stall for time with the Allies on their way. It's a brilliantly made film, showing off Lancaster's acrobatic skills (he performed all of his own stunts) and Frankenheimer's sense of pacing and brilliant use of space. It's choreographed with the utmost precision (those are real explosions during the pivotal strafing sequence) and extremely authentic in its details. Lancaster is in rare minimalist form, and Scofield manages to extract intelligence and sympathy. A firecracker action film shot in crisp black and white, with yet another telling audio commentary by the always instructive director. --Bill Desowitz

Description

Paris, August 1944. With the Allied army closing in, German commander and art fanatic Colonel von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) steals a vast collection of rare French paintings and loads them onto a train bound for Berlin. But when a beloved French patriot is murdered while trying to sabotage von Waldheim's scheme, Labiche (Burt Lancaster), a stalwart member of the Resistance, vows to stop the train at any cost. Calling upon his vast arsenal of skills, Labiche unleashes a torrent of devastation anddestructionloosened rails, shattered tracks and head-on collisionsin an impassioned, suspense-filled quest for justice, retribution and revenge. Inspired by an actual event and highlighted by spectacular stuntwork and visual effects, The Train is "an edge-of-your-seat, thrilling, suspenseful and superior film" (The Motion Picture Guide).

Customer Reviews:

A question of morality.. transfer slightly below grade.......2007-05-17

Are great works of art worth the lives of many human beings to protect them?Lancaster is at his best , the film is swift and rousing,and the trains are the real star of the show.There are explosions and nazis and french resistance fighters and then there is Jeanne Morreau.What more can you ask for? A crackerjack directors commentary by John Frankenheimer , that is worth the price of admission.Transfer is a tad soft, audio good;but dvd content well worth the $9.00 they are asking.(in black & white)

Excellent war film.......2007-05-14

War films can be good or bad just like any movie however this film is Excellent with great acting from everyone a suspenseful war film with lots of action French freedom fighters try saving French paintings the pride of France and thier heritage and the Germans who want to steal them aboard a train leaving to Germany at the end days of WW2 there is a lot of espionage in this film nice cinematography and location scenes you feel as if you are there with these freedom fighters and cheer them on Burt Lancaster does a excellent job in this film the film moves at a great pace keeping the viewer interested in what is going to happen next very interesting movie it is a black and white film but nice picture and I like the B&W films anyways it looks WW2 this is a excellent film to any collection enjoy.

The Train.......2007-05-12

This movie was great. If did not give you how the movie was going to end, until the end, and a great ending it was. I wish we could see more quality movies/actors like this one.

What a Train ride should be like..........2007-04-20

Burt Lancaster plays Labiche, a railroad yardmaster, forced by the Nazi's to do their work. Although you can see a fierce undercurrent to Labiche, he is strangely satisfied with this working arrangement until he is asked to decide whether he is a patriot or a collaborator. He is presented with the opportunity to help save a shipment of French Impressionist paintings from being taken in to Germany as loot. It so happens that the German commander, Paul Scofield playing Colonel von Waldheim, commandeers a train and coerces Labiche into being the engineer driving the train for him. The original engineer was caught rather clumsily sabotaging the train and is summarily shot. Talk about igniting a fire under Burt, even though he is forced to engineer the train, he now has a compelling reason to do something good in this war, even though being a member of the Resistance, he has participated in other acts of sabotage himself. So heeding the imploring of the erstwhile Museum Curator Miss Villard, he takes matters into his own capable hands.

John Frankenheimer and his cast and crew did a masterful job of making "The Train" a runaway, non-stop suspense vehicle. Burt Lancaster gets to show his athleticism to the max and the supporting cast rolls right along with him. The action sequences were well designed and superbly filmed. Frankenheimer had a remarkable decade of hits in the 60's, most starring Burt Lancaster, starting with "The Young Savages", ending with "The Gypsy Moths" and with "The Train" in the middle. It also includes two of my all-time favorites, "Seven Days in May" and "The Manchurian Candidate". And though he never won an Oscar or Golden Globe for his efforts, his body of work is a tribute to what great film-making should be.

"Mancaster".......2007-03-14

Great old time WW11 movie. Good action, decent special effects. This Black and white tells an interesting story (True?)of Paintings being smuggled out of France to Germany by German officer with good taste. Some really excellent preformances by old school French/ euro actors. Lancaster is Young and Studly, and quite nimble. American Accent, well doesn't work. Don't get too deep with this one. This movie is well made however and has real grit to it as people die and are roughed up good. Fun little film at a good price.

The Guns of Navarone (Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

The Guns of Naverone
I have both the special edition and this edition
Columbia outdoes itself with new release of classic
Five Stars For Movie (Hoping SE DVD gives movie it's due)
The Legend of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Gregory Peck , David Niven , Anthony Quinn , Stanley Baker , and Anthony Quayle
Director: J. Lee Thompson , and Alexander Mackendrick
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Caine Mutiny (Collector's Edition)
Becket
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Rio Bravo (Two-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)
The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition)

ASIN: B000MGTQ7U
Release Date: 2007-05-08

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Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven are Allied saboteurs assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers. Blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman (High Noon,The Bridge on the River Kwai) was determined to re-establish both his name and credibility after spending most of the 50's working in anonymity. To accomplish this, he decided to bring Alistair MacLean's best-selling novel, The Guns of Navarone, to the screen. Supported by an all-star cast and produced on a grand scale, the film was an enormous success, receiving seven 1961 Academy AwardÂ® nominations (including Best Picture) and winning for Best Special Effects. Although Foreman achieved his goal, it was MacLean who would wind up the true beneficiary; his novels became the source for many high adventure screen epics, including Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare. However, it is The Guns of Navarone that remains not only the best of the MacLean adaptations, but one of the greatest action/adventure spectacles ever produced.

Customer Reviews:

The Guns of Naverone.......2007-06-28

Epic-scale adventure based on Alistair MacLean's book. The movie boasts terrific action sequences, but is also an engrossing ensemble drama thanks to a sterling screenplay from producer Carl Foreman and terrific turns from a top international cast, including Niven, Quinn, and Quayle.

I have both the special edition and this edition.......2007-05-13

I bought the 2000 video last year. When I heard about this I decided to get it anyway hoping there was additional information. There is. I could have down without the previews of the three new movies, but I suppose the studio does need to advertise them. In addition to the new information, interviews with Irene Pappas (who wasn't available for the first edition) and James Darren, since he's about the only one of the major male cast members still alive, would have been good.

The movie is very good. It makes me miss movies when the heros for the most part kept their language clean. It does seem strange to see them smoking.

In the complaint department I thought that Stanley Baker's and James Darren's characters should have been more developed. Especially James Darren's (OK, I admit it - James Darren (when he was on Time Tunnel) is the first actor I ever had a crush on.

Columbia outdoes itself with new release of classic.......2007-05-09

The second movie in Columbia's newest wave of World War II movies (along with "The Caine Mutiny") is the 1961 Academy Award-winning film for Best Special Effects, "The Guns of Navarone," which stars Gregory Peck as Keith Mallory, the leader of a group of British commandos tasked with destroying two gigantic German anti-ship guns.
The British are desperate to evacuate 2,000 soldiers from the Aegean island of Kiros, with the only sea route through a stretch of water commanded by the guns that are encased inside a massive cliffside bunker that is immune to air attack.
Based on the best selling novel by Alistair (Where Eagles Dare) MacLean, Mallory has been working on occupied Crete for two years and as an expert mountaineer is the perfect choice to ferry the team to the only part of Navarone not monitored by the Germans - a 400-foot cliff.
Joining Peck is David Niven as explosives expert John Anthony Miller and Anthony Quinn as a Greek resistance fighter.
MacLean is known for being able to weave together a great story and this movie is consistently entertaining. In fact the film was already afforded a respectable special release on DVD in 2000. Columbia though have outdone themselves with this 2-disc set by adding a second audio commentary and four new documentaries.
The original release included a rather dry, faltering, but informative commentary by director J. Lee Thompson, a smattering of archival featurettes of varying quality and an anecdotal documentary on the making of the picture featuring on-camera interviews with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, James Darren and J. Lee Thompson named "Memories of Navarone" and running at 29:34. It's a nice, breezy documentary and entertaining - detailing some of the experiences the cast had working on the picture.
However this new release includes a lively commentary with historian Stephen J. Rubin who mentions that this film started the trend of Hollywood going outdoors. Up until this time most movies were filmed on the studios backlot, whereas this movie was filmed on the island of Rhodes. He also discusses the cast (including a very young Richard Harris). Rubin also discusses some of the differences between the MacLean novel and the movie - which appear to be a number of changes to characterization and details some of the criticisms of the movie when it was released - including the fact that the actors were too old to play commando's, many being as they were in their 40s and 50s. Though Rubin quickly adds that he feels it was cast perfectly.
Also included are two new documentaries, the first of these "Forging the Guns of Navarone" runs at 13:58 and includes on camera interviews with Eve Williams-Jones (the former wife of producer Carl Foreman) and Assistant Director Peter Yates (who himself went on to become a very successful director in his own right). Apparently Thompson was not the original director for the project and Yates credits Thompson for his ability to jump straight into a film that had already shot much of its second unit work as well as his ability to manage so many big name actors. Yates also reveals that despite their on-screen animosity towards each other, both Niven and Peck got along well together determined to have as much fun as possible on the picture. Yates also recounts how the crew would refer to it as "The biggest B-feature ever made."
The second new documentary "The Ironic Epic of Heroism" runs longer at 23:38 and is essentially an on-camera analysis of the movie by noted Film Historian Sir Christopher Frayling (who was mistakenly credited with providing an audio commentary in the press release for this DVD release). Frayling is quite engaging as he recounts such facts as Foreman's initial reluctance to handle the project. Foreman once said that he was incapable of making a movie that did not make statements and he initially saw the MacLean book as a simple action adventure. It was not until he re-read the novel that he realized it could serve to make statements about the futility of war and the ability of war to bring out the best in people.
Frayling also reflects on the fact that the movie was the first global production caper-style World War II movie to be played as an action adventure in a style he describes as "incredibly innovative."
Also included on this new release is the restored intermission with score that was seen in some European cities (it is listed as an extra since it is not part of the official cut of the movie) and featurettes on the Dimitri Tiomkin score which details the subtle differences throughout the movie and a fascinating look at the UCLA restoration.
The restoration featurette details the tortured path towards restoring a film that was in such terrible shape that they needed several sources of original negative, both from Columbia and a private collector. In an example of the work the UCLA team had to do, the print they were provided by Columbia had the plane crash at the beginning of the movie happen in broad daylight. This apparently is how most people have seen the scene in recent years. That was until one of the eagle-eyed team at UCLA noticed that one of the trucks had it's headlights on and wondered why. Sure enough they were able to track down a copy of the print from a private collector that showed that the crash happened at night with the screen various shades of blue - and that is how it was restored.
In another instance the print UCLA had also had the infamous dubbing of Richard Harris where the censor had the word "bloody" replaced with "ruddy" for some of the screenings in the UK (the word "bloody" is considered a swear word in the UK). The UCLA team prevailed again and were able to locate a copy of the correct audio still intact).
On a sidenote the DVD also affords fans of Tiomkin the opportinity to hear the opening sequence sans the narrative as a special feature on the second disc. This apparently is a special feature that had been requested for years.

Five Stars For Movie (Hoping SE DVD gives movie it's due).......2007-03-09

This is a fantastic movie! I've given 5 stars in hopes that this Special Edition will significantly improve upon both the original DVD and the Superbit editions...which quite frankly are disappointing visually. I know this film is old, but this is a cinematic treasure and if possible needs to be given the once over. Many of the more darker settings are really bad and lots of color splotchiness elsewhere. I'm not a DVD technical expert, but I think other non experts could easily sit down with this film and compare to say something like the job Paramount did on Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in the West'...and you'd obviously see the issues with the earlier editions of 'Guns'. Let's just hope that Special Edition means 'special' and that when we break that seal, pop it in to the player and see those first scenes of the Acropolis and then Gregory Peck arriving to discover he's not going home, but on another seemingly impossible mission, we see a more clean, crisp and brighter representation of 'Guns' as it should be...a piece of movie history! Keep your fingers crossed!

The Legend of Navarone.......2007-02-28

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE have long been silent but the legend of this extraordinary and endearing film lingers on in our memory. They just don't make them like this any more. The script, the score, the cinematography, the actors and the characters they played are indelibly etched into the psyche. I often have fleeting thoughts of this film, happy ones, of the images, the words and the music from this WWII legend. The examination of camaraderie, the morality of killing and not killing, bravery, survival, betrayal, forgiveness and getting the job done are all integrated into a logical and emotional cohesive film that is both entertaining yet important in its representation of the extraordinary human qualities that can only be realized during war. This is one of my favorite films and the less said the better. I just savor my memories of it and get a little warmth in my heart.