Reviews (61)

Loneliness, Love, Solitude, Eternity
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir" is one of those extraodinary films that works on a deeply emotional level. One would think, "A romance between a woman and a ghost? How silly!" Well, that kind of reasoning does not apply here. Joseph Mankiewicz, along with splendid performances by Tierney, Harrison, Sanders, along with the rest of the cast (including a very young Natalie Wood) achieve a very moving, touching story about loneliness and unrequited love. Miss Tierney, one of my favorite actresses, portrays Lucy Muir-a young widow of strong character who moves into a haunted cottage by the sea, and develops a friendship/romance with the cottage's ghostly former owner, Captain Gregg, played with great charm and gusto by Rex Harrison. This "love that can never be" will only reach fruition when Lucy dies. Captain Gregg, knowing this, decides to leave Lucy, leaving her with no memory of him. After a disastrous affair with a philandering author, played by George Sanders in one of his signature "cad" roles, Mrs. Muir resolves to live her life companionless-until her true love comes to claim her in death. Lucy grows old and finally dies, Captain Gregg returns for her, and the two walk off together into the mists of eternity. This film has a very quiet charm-it never bashes you over the head with pathos-it just works its way into your heart. Even its humor is very subtle-not the thigh-slapping kind, but far more subtle. Add to this lovely photography, and, of course, Bernard Herrmann's remarkable score. Herrmann proclaimed this score his personal favorite, even jokingly referring to it as "my Max Steiner score". It is filled with great warmth and longing, and, even listening to it by itself without the images, brings tears to my eyes. It is very hard, in my opinion, to pull off romantic films without becoming maudlin and sappy. Happily, this gem of a film pulls it off beautifully. They certainly DON'T make them like this anymore!

A Little Gem
This is a fabulous film. The gorgeous Gene Tierney was born to play the widowed Lucy Muir--a young woman seeking personal fulfillment, as well as financial independence from her loathsome in-laws for herself and her young daughter, Anna (portrayed by Natalie Wood). While house hunting, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a seaside dwelling considered uninhabitable by its agent and, after taking up residence, falls in love with the spectral former owner, Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), a full-of-himself sea captain who hasn't quite come to terms with his accidentally having taken his own life. After helping Lucy to acquire financial security, Gregg unselfishly opts to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of his soulmate: concerned that she feels divided between his world and that of the living, he suggests to her while she sleeps that her recollection of their association, if any, is a dream and so it is until the film's climax. This tender, perfectly-cast love story is presented without the slightest trace of mawkishness under Joseph L. Mankewicz' direction and the performances are all stellar--George Sanders as Lucy's caddish suitor is particularly entertaining. Bernard Herrmann's appropriately haunting soundtrack is justifiably famous--one can detect the direction he'll take in his future work--and is available on CD from Amazon. It's entertaining on its own and definitely worth having.
The DVD is mastered from a good print and has nice, crisp contrast; the audio is fine, too. I haven't watched the film with the commentary, but the extras are nice and include an A&E Biography segment of the life of Rex Harrison, a theatrical trailer, and a collection of stills. Viewers are offered a choice of Spanish or French dubbing, as well as Spanish or English subtitles, and the menus are easily navigable. This film spawned a short-lived, late-60's TV show starring Edward Mulhare and Hope Lange in the title roles, as well as a condensed, made-for-TV production on Fox's Hour of Stars in the late 50's that has only recently resurfaced--it stars Michael Wilding and Joan Fontaine.
Kudos to Fox for staying competitive with the likes of heavyweights such as Criterion and Kino in their treatment of the classics in their catalogue. They provide quality (including nice keep cases as opposed to Warner's crummy cardboard "snappers") at very attractive prices and are clearly attuned to the public's expectations unlike, for instance, Universal. Fox has made it very easy on the wallet to own some of the finest movies ever made. If you agree with me that they're doing a good job, drop them a line at FoxDrop@4icc.com to let them know.

Unexpectedly wonderful love story
On paper, the premise of the movie sounds ridiculous. A ghost and a woman falling in love with one another? But watch what happens and you'll totally be drawn in. After Lucy Muir moves with her young daughter and trusted servant to a seaside cottage, she discovers that it's haunted. However, she is so in love with the house - it suits her in a way she can't define - that she can't stand the thought of leaving. After the ghost, a sea captain named Daniel, fails to scare her away, they reach an agreement to live amicably with one another.

The conversations between the two are initially hilarious, but gain a strong emotional dimension as the prim Victorian woman and coarse sea captain get to know each other better. Their connection becomes so powerful, you almost forget at times that the captain is a spirit. However, as right as they are for one another, there is still that physical barrier between the living and the fleshless. What's also interesting about the film is its psychology. Daniel is Lucy's ideal man - is he really a ghost, or just the product of her overactive imagination? Regardless of what you think the answer is, the question becomes increasingly important during the second half of the movie, when Lucy is pursued by a flesh-and-blood man, a suave and oily writer, who is certainly not her ideal but makes her commitment to the sea captain waver.

As Lucy, Gene Tierney is wonderful - she is great in both the humorous scenes and the troubled, emotional ones. She makes Lucy come alive as the proper, well-bred lady who also has a quirky side to her, and a resilience not found in many women of the time. And Rex Harrison is marvelous as Daniel. Though I first cracked up when hearing his gruff, earthy voice, he quickly won me over. Especially memorable is his bedside monologue to Lucy, which will bring tears to your eyes.

An unusual film with spectacular music and cinematography
More of a romance and a mood piece than a ghost story, this lovely little one-of-a-kind work from Fox (of all studios) brought out the very best in most of the people concerned. The score by Bernard Herrmann, has been justly praised again and again, and its evocative and sophisticated (and extremely non-sugary) romanticism it rivals his later beautiful work for Hitchcock and Truffaut. The gorgeous cinematography (eloquently described on the commentary by Greg Kimball) is exceptional, with exceptional black and white tonalities and use of mise en scene. And Gene Tierney, that most beautiful and inconstant of Hollywood actresses, was never more up to a script than here: her manneredness never seemed more charming, and she is quite fine in her later scenes when she's asked to be her character in middle age (and then old age). Only Rex Harrison, in a barking performance as the dead Captain Gregg, doesn't seem up to standards of the others. The film has nice extras, especially in Kimball's very informative commentary, which gives fine background material about how things were filmed and how Fox operated.

Poodle rates this 5 wags of a tail
This great film touched me deeply.
I love everything about it.
Please do not forgett the tissues. ... Read more

Amazon.com

From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction and costume design suggests an impassioned pursuit of craftsmanship from a bygone era; every frame seems to glow with gilded detail. And while DiCaprio bears little physical resemblance to Hughes during the film's 20-year span (late 1920s to late '40s), he efficiently captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy essence, and his tragic descent into obsessive-compulsive seclusion. Bolstered by Cate Blanchett's uncannily accurate portrayal of Katharine Hepburn as Hughes' most beloved lover, The Aviator is easily Scorsese's most accessible film, inviting mainstream popularity without compromising Scorsese's artistic reputation. As compelling crowd-pleasers go, it's a class act from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Features
In his commentary track, director Martin Scorsese offers his own impressions of Howard Hughes and rattles off his memories of experiencing Hughes's films.He mentions how he made Cate Blanchett watch every Katharine Hepburn film from the '30s on the big screen, and observes that Kate Beckinsale had "a real sense of the stature of a Hollywood goddess."But in general he doesn't talk much about the craft of making the film.That area is covered better by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who also appears on the commentary track, and producer Michael Mann makes a few appearances (all were recorded separately).The picture is brilliant, but the 5.1 sound is not as aggressive in the rear speakers and subwoofer as one might expect, other than some nice surround effects in the Hell's Angels flying sequence.

The second disc collects almost three hours of features.There's one unnecessary deleted scene, and an 11-minute making-of featurette that's basically the cast and director heaping praise on each other.More interesting are the short featurettes on visual effects (including the XF-11 scene, of course), production design, costumes, hair and makeup, and score, and Loudon Wainwright discusses his and his children's musical performances.Historical perspective is provided by spotlights on Hughes's role in aviation and his obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a 43-minute Hughes documentary from the History Channel (part of the Modern Marvels series, it focuses on his mechanical innovations and spends less than a minute on his movies).More unusual are DiCaprio and Scorsese's appearance on an OCD panel, and a half-hour interview segment DiCaprio did with Alan Alda.--David Horiuchi

The Personalities ofThe Aviator

Click the links to explore more movies by these stars.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes "Sometimes I truly fear that I... am losing my mind. And if I did it... it would be like flying blind."

Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn Howard Hughes: "You're the tallest woman I have ever met." Katharine Hepburn: "And all sharp elbows and knees. Beware."

	Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner Howard Hughes: "Does that look clean to you?" Ava Gardner: "Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best, right?"

Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow Jean Harlow in Hell's Angels: "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?"

Jude Law as Errol Flynn Errol Flynn in Captain Blood: "Up the riggings, you monkeys! Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's carrying us all to freedom!"

Director Martin Scorsese "You get a sense of Howard Hughes being Icarus with the wax wings. Those wings were great for a while, but he flies too close to the sun." --Martin Scorsese

Other Movies by The Aviator's Oscar® Winners

Production Designer Dante Ferretti
Film Editor Thelma Schoonmaker
Costume Designer Sandy Powell
Cinematographer Robert Richardson
See all the Oscar® winners atOscar Central

The Aviator at Amazon.com

The Aviator soundtrack

The Screenplay

Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator

Howard Hughes movies

Great movies of the 1930s

The films of Martin Scorsese

Reviews (148)

Hughes at His Peak But Epic Biopic Not Quite a Masterpiece
This is an audacious, surprisingly amusing piece of Hollywood filmmaking by a veteran craftsman of the first magnitude, yet for a number of reasons, not necessarily of Martin Scorsese's sole doing, the movie does not resonate as much as you wish it would. In staying true to the spirit of multimillionaire magnate Howard Hughes between the late 1920's and the late 40's, Scorsese and screenwriter John Logan are stuck with the facts as they happened, and consequently, the film feels episodic with a great, sometimes dazzling story in the first 2/3 of its epic 166-minute running time and a pedantic, only occasionally involving last hour.

You need to have some familiarity with Hughes' life to understand his halcyon years proving himself as a Hollywood tycoon worthy of respect, and his legendary excess during the three-year production of the now-forgotten "Hell's Angels" is captured perfectly here with truly thrilling aviation sequences. Scorsese then focuses on Hughes' romance with Katharine Hepburn and captures the oddball chemistry of burgeoning eccentrics amid the frenzied environment of studio-owned Hollywood, in particular, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. These sequences remind me a lot of Scorsese's failed musical, "New York, New York", but this time he seems far more assured. Ava Gardner enters the picture in the forties, as Hughes builds luxury airplanes that can't fly and his obsessions and paranoia start to take over. There's a magnificently filmed sequence of Hughes crashing his XF-11 plane in the middle of Beverly Hills.

Once he recovers from this incident, the film starts to drag, as the story focuses on his power struggles of positioning Hughes' airline TWA against the European-route monopoly of Pan Am and the machinations of Pan Am CEO Juan Trippe and the corrupt Maine senator Owen Brewster who investigates Hughes' WWII government contracts. Even the legendary mini-flight of the Spruce Goose fails to excite this late in the story. Only Scorsese's famous "Taxi Driver"-like, mind-bending touch brings off the surrealism of the sequences where Hughes locks himself up in his room. The film ends rather anticlimactically with Hughes' successful 1947 appearance before Brewster's committee before he drowns in his obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Leonardo DiCaprio's chief asset as an actor is his intensity of purpose, and as Hughes, he has plenty of opportunities to display this attribute with his character's obsessions with aviation, moviemaking, glamorous movie stars and ultimately germs. What he is missing is a level of gravitas that would have made his character's increasing eccentricities more bearable to watch. Even though the reed-thin Texas-tinged voice is accurate, there is something perpetually juvenile about DiCaprio's appearance regardless of the twenty-year span of the story. This unfortunately compromises the chemistry between him and the obviously more mature Cate Blanchett, who initially seems to be crossing the border into parody as Hepburn. She displays the familiar brusque manner without caution and even affecting the even more familiar voice but with an inaccurate throatiness that belies the legendary actress' high, fluttery pitch at the time. But she eventually finds her grounding, especially as she recognizes their too-similar personalities and softens during the Hepburn family gathering scene.

With less to do, the too-patrician Kate Beckinsale is in over her head as Ava Gardner, unable to convey the real actress' palpable sultriness or predatory voraciousness without posturing. On the other hand, Alec Baldwin is becoming a strong character actor with every new film, and he plays Trippe with disquieting authority. John C. Reilly plays assistant Noah Dietrich in his typically hangdog fashion as he subsists more in the shadows. Alan Alda plays Brewster with Hawkeye's familiar mannerisms unafraid to show the underlying sliminess of his character. All the externals are impressive - Thelma Schoonmaker's sharp editing (the pacing never drags...just the story), Robert Richardson's cinematography, Dante Ferretti's production design, Sandy Powell's costumes. Yet for all of this, the movie fall short as a masterwork in Scorsese's filmography.

The first disc has an excellent commentary track by Scorsese, Schoonover and producer Michael Mann - all full of insights without being pedantic. The number of extras on the second disc of the two-DVD set is staggering, really too much for anyone except for those deeply interested in Hughes. There is one deleted scene and twelve separate featurettes and documentaries covering everything from the production to Hughes' role in aviation to OCD to the music. Beyond the sheer number, my complaint about the set is that it's hard to maneuver around the decidedly viewer-unfriendly menus.

"Bring in the milk!"
Let me state a few facts about myself and, in doing so, set up a very sincere question about "The Aviator."

1) I'm a huge fan of Howard Hughes, an absolute buff on the guy.I've read two biographies of him and have to say he's one of the most interesting historical figures of the past century: His brilliance, his wealth, his flaws, his successes, his peculiarities and the periods in which he lived all combine to create a fascinating figure.

2) I'm a tremendous fan of Martin Scorsese.He's made some of my favorite movies and I think he's probably one of the top five greatest directors working today.There's just something about the way he photographs images and people that makes even his worst movies worthwhile.

3) I also think Leonardo DiCaprio is a really good actor, a fact that has been publicly obscurred (but not hampered) by the "Titanic" hype and by some poor choices (or lack of choices, in recent years).

4) And I think "The Aviator" was probably the best produced movie of 2004.The cast is excellent, the sets and costumes and designs are fabulous, the cinematography is exquisite.

So, THAT SAID, why didn't I like the movie more?It's an impressive achievement but I seem to appreciate the parts more than the whole.And as good as DiCaprio is, I think he may have been miscast.Only a star of his level could've gotten this kind of budget, but he simply doesn't look right in the part.It's not until after he grows a moustache that he really start to resemble Hughes.Most of the time, Hughes looked like a guy who was quietly trying very hard not to leap out of his skin but DiCaprio seems more intent on burrowing deeply *into* his body.
He just doesn't have the same kind of intrinsic uncomfortability.

Still, it's an impossible movie not to recommend.There are long stretches of space but every so often, there's a brilliant explosion.

The opulance and scope. Brought to you by Scorsese.
This film is entertaining, and much more effective than any one biography of Howard Hughes. The pace of the movie, coupled with the fantastic acting by Leonardo DiCaprio as the livid Howard Hughes, gives an aura of 3hrs much in the way of inspiration. For underachievers this is a shockingly, unbelievable film. You can feel the energy pulse out of the life of Howard. Sharing his passions for aviation. Revealing the breadth of his contributions to air america. The esprit de corp is flavorful, in symbolisms of the fastest jet planes and the hardest hitting reality at zero hour. A much more breaking of the usual norm of film. It is so wonderful to think that movies such as these aren't being overlooked by the latest craze. When will Scorsese win a *(**( academy award for best director!

IT WAS OKAY!
THE AVIATOR WAS OKAY I REALLY DIDN'T CARE TOO MUCH ABOUT IT IT WAS TOO LONG!

FROM KIRSTEN

Another Oscar-worthy epic from Martin Scorsese.
Director Martin Scorsese makes filmmaking look so easy sometimes.With "The Aviator" he once again breaks from the Gangland themes of his more famous films such as "Mean Streets" and "Goodfellas" and journeys off on yet another unexpected road (e.g. "The Age of Innocence," "Kundun," "The Last Temptation of Christ").Yes, he recently directed "Gangs of New York," but he followed that with yet another left turn by doing a biography on the intensely eccentric Howard Hughes, "The Aviator."Leonardo DiCaprio owns his role here of the off-center genius who has frequent and exponential mental breakdowns, leaving all around him wide-eyed and wondering why he keeps repeating himself as if a record in his brain is skipping.This is easily the best work he has done in years.There are two other actors here that match him.One is Cate Blanchett who nails her characature of the late, great Katherine Hepburn and her short-lived romance with Howard Hughes.Her performance is a breath of fresh air amid all the seriousness of the story.The other is a diabolical and utterly slimy turn from veteran actor Alan Alda.It doesn't hurt that he has some of the best lines in the script, but his scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio have some of the best ebb-and-flow, subtelty acting that I've seen in a very long time.The two pros are butting heads and enjoying every minute of it!There are many solid acting performances from a stellar cast of name actors, though it would have been nice to see the character of Ava Gardner, played competently here by Kate Beckinsale, in depth and her more substantial connection to Howard Hughes.But the movie was long enough, anyway.The visual effects and overall production value are excellent, and the scope of the picture is epic and professionally done.This is top-notch filmmaking in every respect, and is easy to recommend. ... Read more

Reviews (28)

My favorite childhood movie - and it has a message!
I first saw this movie in theaters when it came out, which would make me nine or ten at the time. I loved the movie then. The environmental message made sense to me, and it really got its point across even to a young kid, though I didn't understand consciously that Batty had be a subject of animal experimentation (now I'm an 18 year old animal rights activist, so maybe it registered on some level though).

But a great message alone isn't enough to make a movie. It's got all the classic elements necessary for a kids movie. A great villian - Hexx is scary, unique, and voiced to perfection by Tim Curry, two strong protagonists for guys and girls in Zak and Crysta, a mythical past and setting, fun comic relief - Robin Willians is terrific as Batty, and plenty of great songs.

It's different enough from your typical Disney movie to be great, but similar enough that kids will love it. Plus, it will be something they've never seen before and it will send many important messages (about taking care of the environment, believing in yourself, and how you can make a difference) that every kid should hear. I definatly believe this is the best children's movie ever made.

Very beautiful, gentle nature story
Well, I'll just be brief with this one.
Synopsis:Zach, a 15-20 year old city boy comes to work for a deforestation company in the rainforest. A fairy, Chrysta, falls upon him by chance and to save his life, she attempts to give him fairy SIGHT, but ends up giving him fairy SIZE. Once Zack begins to explore the beautiful world of Fern Gully, he sees a side to nature that must be preserved. All of this is threatened though by Hexxus, an evil spirit that feeds on pollution.
Cons: A very overly pretty boy characters...but that's not always bad. An almost irritatingly naive female character, a shrinking violet a lot of times. Magic that unfortunately doesn't exist.
Pros: A good story to get across without being boring, dreary, or scary although a lot of people said that Hexxus terrified them. Batty Koda! Robin Williams plays the character of the brain scrambled bat very well and adds humor to the movie. Very sweet little movie to teach children about the destruction of the rainforest.
Overall: It's quite worth buying. A very charming movie for all ages, Fern Gully will help people to see another side to the rainforest while, not exactly realistic, is very lovable and lively. Enjoyable.

Spectacular beyond words!!
(...)Lovely animation, wonderful message, lovable characters....it has everything! It deals with the most important issue plaguing our planet to this day. It shows that living things deserve to be left alone, and that humans should stop interfearing (sp?). When I remembered this movie from years and years ago, I knew this had to be where my passion for animals and nature originated. This is a deeply moving and empathetic movie; the fairies can feel a tree's pain. It's seriously the best movie on the face of the earth to me. It's absolutely brilliant, spectacular, inspiring, powerful, uplifting, etc. I'm passing it on to my children and their children, without a doubt!

Message to everyone: Speak out for things that can't speak for themselves. Go vegetarian, adopt needy animals from shelters.....any little bit helps. We have alternatives to meat and paper and pencils.....why don't we use them and save a couple trees and animals? We need to have more sympathy and respect for the suffering of innocent lives who never did anything to deserve what they go through.

Long live tree-huggers!

(...)

Surprisingly Good
This is one of my favorite animated movies. Obviously this movie is one big enviornmental awarness message but so is about 90% of all movies. Although this movie features a very well told story, the best feature is the beautiful animation. Showcases early use of CGI effects that are used today. This movie does have musical numbers but they are good musical numbers. And of course, who could forget Robin Williams as the crazy bat. Recomended to anyone.

Important Lessons Sometimes Come in Small Packages
I absolutely adore this movie. It presents a delightful mix of humor and poignant symbolism. Perhaps if more children watched movies like this they would grow into enviromentally conscious adults. The characters are as loveable as they are educational. If I could, I'd buy a copy of this movie for all the children I know. ... Read more

Description

Nazi Panzer forces stage a last-ditch Belgian front offensive that could turn the tide of WWII. Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan in the spectacular recreation of a crucial campaign. ... Read more

Reviews (81)

A seemingly controversial film!
Judging from all the previous opinions written on this movie, it is obvious few see it in the same light.This movie, while highly Hollywoodized (is there such a word?) is entertaining and only remotely connected to any historical reality. There is a star-studded cast with heavyweights (all gone now, I believe) like Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, and Dana Andrews, among many others, and it is an interesting, and I found it to be, a very entertaining movie. I have owned this movie for many years on VHS and was disappointed for many of those years that it was unavailable on DVD.Why was it not available?Who cares now--it is finally out on DVD.If you don't like the movie, DVD won't change that, however.

This movie, with whatever faults (and it has many) you wish to attribute to it, is a must in any collection of war genre movies simply because of the stars and the insight it gives to movies made in 1965 while another, but realtively unpopular, war was going on. Even if you're not into war movies per se, I think it is enjoyable to watch.

If you are looking for a documentary on the history of The Battle Of the Bulge, this isn't it. As others more knowledgable than I have pointed out already, there are many inaccuracies, historically, with equipment, etc,etc.Most Hollywood movies are that way--Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, MacArthur, Patton--that's just a movie fact of life.I am sure only period films of actual combat would please some purests, so put that aside, it is worth a look soley as entertainment.In my opinion, a movie that generates this much controversy also generates curiosity as to why the controversy.See it, if you can, before buying and make up your own minds.

As comic book man would say..."Worst War Movie Ever!"
Mildly entertaining, this movie lacks in so many areas I don't know where to begin. I like to watch war movies to relive my days in the Army (I was in a tanker unit for awhile), and this movie just loses all realism and historical accuracy to the point that it resembles a circus. I saw it as a kid and liked it of course, and viewers who aren't so discerning might actually like it also, but watching it as an adult who has already watched the greatest war movies ever, I now have to give a thumbs down to this flick.
There are no unit patches on any of the soldiers whatsover. Obviously the studio must have had to cut costs somewhere. The German Tiger and Panther tanks suspiciously resemble American made tanks, the acting is so horrendous and hollywoodish, that I actually found myself rooting for the Nazis to kill them so I would no longer have to listen to their phony imitation of real soldiers over and over. Yes it was a big budget film and yes they did assemble a very all star cast, but did any of those actors ever spend 15 minutes trying to learn how actual soldiers act and talk? Actors are supposed to be believable in their roles, and this group just couldn't do it. They obviously didn't even know the right military expressions or jargon at all. Example: One of the generals making a call to HQ asks for "One hundred and fifty fives" (Howitzers), which to my knowledge has always been called one five fives (especially over a radio). Small error though it is, to me it's enough to remove any belivabilitythat the actor has ever spent a day in uniform.
The special effects are laughable, but you do have to remember the era in which this movie was filmed.High explosive tank rounds only cause a puff of smoke on enemy tanks followed by gasoline being lit on the turret.Dont expect to see turrets flying off as would be the case, oh and, soldiers don't bleed when shot either.
The end of the movie was so preposterous that I couldn't help but chuckling as Henry Fonda and Savalas rolled barrels of gasoline towards an entire column of German tanks and then tossed grenades at them and singlehandedly won the Battle of the Bulge.
This movie just seems like a sorry excuse to put Charles Bronson and Telly Savalas in other movie together to attempt to entertain the public.I'll stick to "Band Of Brothers", "When Trumpets Fade", "The Thin Red Line" or even "The Big Red One", when I need my WWII fix.

WW II Action Drama of the 1944 Ardennes Counter-Offensive
Warner Brother's 1965 epic war movie that portrays the German Ardennes Counter-Offensive in December of 1944 during WWII."Battle of the Bulge" depicts Adolf Hitler's gamble that committed three German armies to attack west to Antwerp, Belgium, and halt the Allies to force a negotiation for peace.Producer Milton Sperling and Director Ken Annakin created a movie of grand scale, but apparently chose big-screen action over historical precision to maximize box office revenue.Long relegated to infrequent television play and a chopped video tape edition, it returns on DVD restored for movie fans who like tanks and a screenplay that borders on camp by contemporary standards.

The movie depicts this historic battle through several fictional characters that eventually meet in a climatic battle that seals the Germans' fate.Henry Fonda is Lieutenant Colonel Dan Kiley, an American intelligence officer whose warnings of the coming attack fall on deaf ears.Robert Shaw is Colonel Hessler, the charismatic German Panzer (tank) commander who leads the armor spearhead towards Belgium.Charles Bronson is Major Wolinski, a tough American commander fighting the German onslaught to the last man.Telly Savalas is Sergeant Guffy, a jaded American tanker who is in the thick of the battle facing superior German tanks that relegate his to a tin can.James MacArther is Lieutenant Weaver, a slack infantry leader who survives a massacre of Allied prisoners by German soldiers.Sperling and Annakin appear to have chosen this simpler screenplay to create a few heroes who fight to overcome a seemingly invincible villain-forgoing a complex storyline as used in 20th Century Fox's 1962 "Longest Day."It works OK, certainly not on the level of "Band of Brothers," and lends a somewhat campy appeal for this 1960's action flick.

The movie does portray actual events with German paratroopers disguised as American soldiers who disrupt Allied operations, the Malmedy Massacre, and the siege of Bastogne.Their depictions contain a lot of artistic manipulation, and the relatively simple storyline faults the German defeat to depleted gasoline reserves-setting the stage for a climatic battle when Kiley, Guffy, and Weaver find themselves face-to-face with Hessler at a gasoline dump.Another gross oversight is a massive tank battle in the latter part of the movie that was apparently filmed during the spring-summer season in Spain-deplete of snow.

As long as viewers don't mind these faults-this is an entertaining movie.The M24 Chafee and M47 Patton tanks rented from the Spanish Army serve well as facsimiles for American Sherman and German Tiger tanks, and the live sets look great on the wide screen.Robert Shaw is the most charismatic in this feature and the Panzerlied chorus near the beginning of the movie is rousing.

I've always enjoyed this movie and I'm pleased with the DVD edition's restored imagery and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, particularly the restoration of footage that I've not seen in years.

A good transfer
I will not review the movie but the DVD. It's in Widescreen. No scenes have been cut. Every minute of the movie is on this DVD. It has the overture, intermission & exit music.I saw no pops or lines in the picture. The sound & pitcure quality of this 60s movie is as good as any DVD I have. I like the movie & wish all old movies on DVD were as well done as this DVD.

dump your VHS version
I'm not going to waste your time telling you about the movie, and how great it is.
The only thing I have to say is someone did something right for a change. Whoever put this one together gave you the full version as it was first shown.
My advice if you know and love this movie, this is the one to buy, and dump your VHS. ... Read more

Reviews (144)

The greatest Rock N' Roll Film of all time.
From start to finish this film captures everything that is, or was, rock n' roll.You have Blues with Muddy Waters, Eric clapton and Paul Butterfield.You have Rockabilly with Ronnie Hawkins. You have Countryfied rock with Neil Young ,Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris. Then there is the soul of The Staple Singers and Van Morrison.The singer/songwriting of Neil Diamond.Last but not least, Bob Dylan.Who shows up at the end of the movie to put it all together with the stars of the show, THE BAND.All the styles mentioned above can be found in any given BAND song. I highly doubt that if you are reading this that you are unfamiller with the music of The Band. MArtin Scorsese does a great job of capturing the raw emotion that could take place at a real rock n' roll show. I could go on forever, but I won't. The main reason I'm writng this is to say that Robbie and Mr. Scorsese are finally getting together to work on the DVD Version of this fantastic document. No word on when it is to be released, but I will be one of the first persons to buy a copy and you should be too.

ONE WORD - AWESOME
This film's music has had a lasting effect on me from when I first saw it with my father at the movie theater as a young teenager, through the time I could not wait to get back to the states from my summer vacation to listen to the LP again, to this day as I order the DVD.

A few highlights; 1. Rick Danko's soulful and honest singing of "It Makes No Difference", "Stagefright" and many others. God bless his soul. 2. Levon Helm's "americana personified" singing on "The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down" and his perfect drumming. 3. Dylan's God-like presence and powerful performance. 4. Vann Morrison's deep and electrifying performance that raised the hair on my arms. 5. Neil Young's sincerity with a haunting behind the scenes Joni Mitchell singing "Helpless, Helpless". 6. Clapton showing his usual class by letting Robbie outduel him in their guitar solos. 7. Robbie Robertson's guitar on Van's song "Caravan" and many others. 8. Garth Hudson's unique keyboards and Richard Manuel's spirited piano and singing.

[Forget] the imperfections, this is a musical masterpiece, showcasing many of the greatest musical talents of the last 40 years. The Band are simply one of the greats of all time. John X. Condos

Presentation overshadows music
I must say I'm not a huge fan of The Band, but I like "Before the Flood". However, I was amazed at how poorly The Band played, and sang even worse, in this, their farewell concert. It is hard to believe they had played together for 17 years.

Even the guests, such as Bob Dylan, seemed to use their worst voice. Only Eric Clapton was really any good, though Van Morrison was acceptable. Otherwise, fairly embarrassing musical performances. At the end, *everybody* is onstage singing "I Shall Be Released" - killing an otherwise nice song.

Obviously Scorsese got all the good film people and photographers to work on the project, and it was well done. So well done that the presentation outshines the music.

There are some nice extras, including multiple commentaries. Hard to recommend it unless you are truly a Band fan.

Not bad for a fiver
I got this DVD at my brother's recommendation for a fiver in Heathrow Airport, and it was good value at that. Good American music and a very well shot concert movie (well, it is Scorsese!) The interview sequences are intersting and as a Chaucer fan I delighted at the intro to the Canterbury Tales being read out. I was unfamiliar with the group's music before seeing this, and whilst they aren't a patch on Creedence Clearwater Revival I still admire their music. An interesting insight to a little segment of rock history.

when the best rock band and movie director collide ...
It's a worn-out formula nowadays. Bob Dylan did it, Chuck Berry did it, and Luciano Pavarotti does it all the time. They also do it every time somebody dies, and in this case you don't even have to be a musician. Yeah, I'm talking about that dreary event, the celebration concert with guest musician buddies. But there are exceptions to the rule, and this is definitely the case here.

To celebrate that they were quitting the 'god---n impossible' life on the road after 16 years, The Band gave a farewell concert in San Francisco, on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. To join them, they invited artists who represented the rich and varied array of styles that went into their musical melting pot: Rock'n' Roll, Blues, Folk, New Orleans R'n'B, Country, Gospel, Rockabilly ... who would sing their own numbers backed up by them. They, noblesse oblige, brought in their first mentor, Ronnie Hawkings, a man who sure knows how to entice a teenager into joining a rock'n'roll band, and Bob Dylan, of course, (who had just released Blood on the Tracks and Desire), Joni Mitchell (The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira her most recent albums), Neil Young (Tonight's the Night and Zuma were his latest solo efforts), Muddy Waters (who would release Hard Again, his best late day work the following year), and many, many more I have no space here to mention. All top-notch and in their musical prime. Well, and Neil Diamond.

The result was a concert that can only be described as dazzling and magical. The Band do ecstatic versions of some of their best songs and the guest appereances are also amazing, Van Morrison does what's probably the best version ever of Caravan, Muddy Waters proves why he is the M-A-N, chile, The Staple Singers send a shiver up your spine that can rend you comatose for life, and Robbie Robertson and Eric Clapton bring the house down with their scorching six-strings and then they burn the ruins to ashes. All this just to quote a few. But I have a minor complaint here, the movie only features one song (The Shape I'm in) sung by Richard Manuel, one of the most soulful and moving singers that ever walked the face of the earth. This gives the newcomer a somewhat off-balanced account of how vocal duties were shared in The Band, as one can deduct that Levon Helm sang almost everything with a little help from his friends Rick and Richard. And Levon is darn good, but Richard is the shhh ....sheer top of the heap.

Casting these trifles aside, the movie is a masterpiece. Direcrted by a Martin Scorsese in a state of grace (those were the days of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull), and beautifully darkly photographed by Michael Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), Michael W. Watkins (later X-Files direcror and producer), and Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate), this was to be more than your average rock concert documentary.

The filmmakers were set on an ambitious goal, to show what it is and what does it feel to play great music. And they achieved it in such a way that we mere mortals get to feel what it is to be up there on the stage, enraptured, playing that great music to an enthusiastic and receptive crowd. The featurette that is one of the DVD bonus add-ons shows how Scorsese had these sheets of paper with the lyrics of each song to be played written down in one column, the main moments of each performance in another (when a singer would join in the chorus, or the guitar solo was to begin, or a special part of the lyric would be sung, etc), and the camera shots and movements for each moment in a third column. This is called making the best of the means of your art instead of just doing anything that would do, and it shows on the screen in a way that leaves you breathless. Watching Scorsese frantically directing the movie like a tightrope walker with no net to fall down on must've been worth another documentary. They had only one take for everything, mind that, and I guess that's what might have attracted such a brave and audacious director as Scorsese: Jumping into the unstopping swirling midst of life and trying to extract art out of it with just spotlights and cameras. Souns enticing, isnt't it? And for no money nor any promises of getting more you-know-what than Frank Sinatra. ... Read more

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Dashing Ioan Gruffud stars as dashing Horatio Hornblower, unparalleledBritish naval hero, in two more delightful episodes from the A&E series.In Loyalty, a peace with France has left Hornblower decommissionedand short on funds. Only the help of his landlady's daughter Maria(heartbreaking Julie Sawalha, Absolutely Fabulous) keeps him frombeing kicked out into the street. Fortunately for our hero, Napoleon'sarmies are afoot, and Hornblower soon finds himself sailing to France incommand of the Hotspur, grappling with Irish traitors and Frenchskullduggery. Duty picks up where Loyalty leaves off;Hornblower marries Maria with some ambivalence, but the day after hiswedding sails for the coast of France to find a missing ship. Afterrescuing a supposedly Swiss man and his American wife in a storm,Hornblower finds himself caught between an old foe in France and diplomatsin England. Though the derring-do is sometimes melodramatic, HoratioHornblower swiftly becomes engrossing and suspenseful. Credit is dueto smart scripts, efficient direction, Gruffud's heroically curly hair,and a superb supporting cast, including Robert Lindsay and Paul McGann(Withnail and I). --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Hornblower Lives! Three cheers for A&E!
A&E continues to treat fans of the Horatio Hornblower book series with two new movies. These movies are at least of equal quality, if not better, than the six previous films. Everything from the ships to the costumes to the sets hit all the notes and make you feel a part of the period.

Likewise the stories and acting are fabulous. Horatio is given command of the Hotspur and is forced to deal with a new crew (with some old faces), the French, spies, and rebel Irishmen. Coming through with flying colors, Hornblower tackles the unthinnkable - marriage. This second film, Duty, is the best of the series. The central theme of 'duty' is so thoroughly woven into the fabric of the story that almost all of the relationships in the narrative are faced with the question of duty.

Ioan Gruffud continues to give a truly inspiring performance as Captain Hornblower. He continues to let the character grow and mature, while at the same time maintaining the core identity of Hornblower - an honorable, intelligent, courageous soldier who is wholeheartedly devoted to Britain and her navy. The relationship between Hornblower and Admiral Pellew continues to become more of a father-son relationship. Paul McGann (of Doctor Who fame, among many other things) returns as Lt. Bush. McGann gives a strong performance as Hornblower's second in command, showing that that he is more than capable of both being a leading man and an excellent supporting character.

Something that many may find as a negative is the lack of totally new music. Much of the score seems to be a reworking of the major musical themes found in the first four films of the series. Personally, I find this a 'plus.' It helps establish a certain continuity to the series that is nice. I always find myself grinning when the "Horatio has done it again" theme begins playing across the cheers or astonished looks of the other characters!

For those of you who have seen the Gregory Peck film, Horatio Hornblower, the A&E series is just about to catch up (chronologicall) to the events portayed in that film. Let's hope that A&E continues producing the films until the complete life & times of Horatio Hornblower are done with such excellent acting and production values!

Hip-hip Horay! Hip-hip HORAY! HIP-HIP! HORAY!

Those of you who giggle at the word ¿frigate¿...
Will nevertheless enjoy the latest two entries in this neat little series of movies. Fifth Officer Lowe from Titanic has received a promotion to Captain Horatio Hornblower in this rousing seafaring adventure. Ioan Gruffudd, a charmer in the tall, dark, and handsome mold, plays C.S. Forrester's idealistic early 19th century British naval hero in two movies, "Duty" and "Loyalty." Hornblower is passionate about the sea and his duty to King and country, but less so about the woman he marries, Maria Mason. Forrester's hero is a man so ethical that he marries beneath him not out of love, but duty (hence the first title). He cannot bear Maria's complete adoration of him to go unnoticed, and for her to realize his own lack of feeling for her, so he marries her and lives a charade. Alack and alas, this pairing is bound to be ill-advised.

Those who dig rip-roaring stories of the sea will enjoy this one. The writing and direction are excellent. There is enough historical information to please purists. There are swordfights, spies, war, cannons, Napoleon, and enough things blowing up to please action fans. Still, the series is suitable for older children, as the violence is rather tame and the lack of sparks between "Horrie" and the dumpy Maria translates into prim kisses but little else. The relationship between Hornblower and his superior, Admiral Pellew, is distinctly father and son, and between Hornblower and his second-in-command, Lieutenant Bush, distinctly brotherly. Shades of gray do not appear in Forrester's stories as A&E has brought them to the screen; characters are mostly polarized as good or bad. The turncoats aboard Hornblower's ship are entirely devious, the loyal ones entirely good.

The somewhat priggish Hornblower is idolized near-completely by his crew, especially when he throws himself on a bomb thrown on board the Hotspur and claps it out with his hand-knitted gloves (two guesses who lovingly knit them). Then he orders it thrown overboard. Why not just throw it overboard to begin with? Then he is too modest to mention it in his report to the Admiral. When Maria reads of his bravery later, she starts blubbering, as per usual. I love Julia Sawalha, and she does her job well here, as Maria is too googly for words.

The effects aren't half bad, but the same picture of the harbor standing in for Portsmouth every time got a bit tiresome. Comic moments abound, my favorite being with the hapless Styles, who gets into trouble at every turn. "Who's first down the privy, then? Styles?" Barbara Flynn as Maria's conniving mother and Hornblower's landlady, seems to have trotted directly out of a William Hogarth illustration, albeit she's about fifty years out of date. Also brilliant is Greg Wise as Major Cotard, the Frenchman "frog dandy" who Hornblower suspects may not be on the side of the British after all. He is almost, but not quite, as dashing as Mr. Gruffudd, who appears to have a nifty little franchise going here in the upright Hornblower. Let's hope he gets a spirited woman companion to loosen him up a little in later episodes.

All in all, most will enjoy the story, acting, and production values. It appears to remain true to the novels. Rent it or buy it, you will not be disappointed.

The best yet!
Of all the hornblower movies, the two newest are my favorite. All the old charecters are still there- Bush, Matthews, Pellew, Stiles- and better than before, with some interesting new charecters. Keeps you gessing who the enemy is. A new twist to an old tale, you're sure to love these!

Worth Every Penny
Our boy is back. This time he is on a secret mission to return a French defertor to France. I know that doesn't make any sense but you have to see the show to understand. Also at home he stuggling with a marriage that he does not want be involved in. Really interesting to see him back a decision, will he grow up or have the mindset of a midshipmen forever?

Overall-I always enjoy the vast majority of A&E stuff especially these movies. The characters are mostly due true to the books, the actors seem to care about their job and when the movie is boring it never stays that way for long. highly recommended

Great Fun!
Horatio Hornblower and the crew of the Hotspur are sent to investigate Napoleon Bonaparte and the rising threat of the French. Accompanied by a suave French officer and the young son of a rival officer, Horatio is challenged by saboteurs, a shipboard fire and other menaces. Along the way Horatio marries the daughter of his landlady not out of love- but more out of guilt.

I really loved this 2 DVD set! Horatio shows a great deal of humanity and some weakness in this series and we learn a bit more about the rest of the crew.

Peeves: I'm probably the only one, but I thought his Steward was treated terribly. I felt Styles was awful towards him, and that anyone could see that the Steward did not intentionally hit the officer. I also wish that Horatio's relationship with his wife was more solid. I just didn't get the sense that he was happy.

Overall, an excellent, excellent video series. I hope and pray there will be another sequel. ... Read more

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It may have been underrated when first broadcast on PBS on consecutive nights in the fall of '03, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for these seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Some of the films (like Wim Wenders's The Soul of a Man and Charles Burnett's Warming by the Devil's Fire) use extensive fictional film sequences, generally to good effect. There's also plenty of documentary footage, interviews, and contemporary studio performances recorded especially for these films.

The last are among the best aspects of the DVDs, as the bonus material features the set's only complete tunes. Lou Reed's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and the ElektriK Mud Kats' (with Chuck D. of Public Enemy) hip-hop-cum-traditional updating of Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy" are among the best of them; on the other hand, a rendition of "Cry Me a River" by Lulu (?!) is a curious choice, even with Jeff Beck on hand. The absence of lengthier vintage clips, meanwhile, is the principal drawback. For that reason alone, Clint Eastwood's Piano Blues is the best of the lot; a musician himself, Eastwood simply lets the players play, which means we get extensive file footage of the likes of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Nat "King" Cole, as well as new performances by Ray Charles, Dr. John, and others. Overall, this is a set to savor, a worthwhile investment guaranteed to grow on you over the course of repeated viewings. --Sam Graham ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Finally a DVD box set thats truly special
Pros: Great Films and Bonus Features are top notch.
Cons: You just want more vintage clips

Scorsese seems to have decided to use a variety of directors to tell the story of the blues from a new and fresh perspective. Its not as much a history lesson as it is indeed a journey. Some are documentary and some mix fictional segments with historical reality. But whether the high concepts work or not really doesn't matter as much as how enjoyable the music and content is when exploring the set as a whole. There's great documentary footage, interviews, and contemporary performances. One of the best aspects of the DVDs, is the way it was designed to make finding the music easily, more than finding a narative chapter. The bonus material features everything from complete never before seen out takes to extensions of performances and clips seen in the films. The DVD's all open with beautiful graphics and interesting menu design pages. The standard extras like director commentary and bios are there, but there is also so much more including interviews with the directors, no shortage of bonus music most in 5.1 and stereo, and best of all is the fact that the menus, navigation and architechture is state of the art, and the new feature to play just the music from the films skipping the narrative that brackets each tune is a tremendous idea. Although, since some clips are short, it does leave you wanting to hear more in almost every case. The fact that Scorsese used his skills and that of 6 other directors including Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Wim Wenders, Richard Pearce, Charles Burnett and Marc Levin to make these films was overall a very successful idea. The films alone would make a good box set to own, but add the fact that they brought veteran music filmmaker Michael Borofsky into the mix to create the DVD's from the sensitivities of what a serious music consumer would like to do with these DVDs makes the overall package one of the best I have ever owned. David Michaels

Every Blues Lover Should Have This Series...
This is a great seven-DVD series on blues music. Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest American film makers of the 20th century, has rendered a tremendous service to his fellow man. Anyone with even a remote interest in that great American musical artform will appreciate this series. The main reason why I'm only giving it four (instead of five) stars is because I wish that it had devoted more to exploring BLUES HARMONICA. As a blues harp enthusiast, I was a tad disappointed that it didn't have much on that particular aspect of blues music (save for some old footage of Paul Butterfield and Howlin' Wolf). Aside from that, I highly recommend this entire series.

Take an American Journey With the Blues
The premise is a good one: take seven visionary directors and turn them loose on a subject like the blues. The result, while for the most part excellent has a slight tendency to lag a little.

The Blues takes us on a musical journey through perhaps the only true American art form. The journey begins in the Mississippi delta and winds its way to Mali and all points in between. What we wind up with is a history of the black influence in American and its expansion to the world.

The series opens with Martin Scorsese's Feel Like Goin' Home a documentary that takes modern blues player Cory Harris from the Misissipii delta to Mali in Africa to explore the similarities in the music that moved from Africa with the slave transports to the Southern United States.

German director Wim Wenders film The Soul of a Man chronicles the lives of three blues players that affected the director. Through fictional recreation and archival footage we get biographies of Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James, and J.B. Lenoir.

Richard Pearce takes us on a musical journey with B.B King. and Rosco Gordon back to Memphis and Beale Street og the past and present in his Road to Memphis. Also explored is the story of moden player Bobby Rush who continues to travel the "chitlin circuit" of his ancestors. The film culminates in a performance of bles legends at the W.C. Handy Awards.

Charles Burnett tells the story of his youthful travels with his southern blues loving uncle in Warming By the Devil's Fire. This film relies heavily on archival footage of the great southern blues artists and explains the differences between the music that was played on Saturday nights in contrast with the gospel music of Sunday mornings. It is interesting to note that in many respects that there was not a whole lot of difference between the two genres in style.

Perhaps the most interesting film is Marc Levin's Godfathers and Sons which explores the Chicago blues scene. The film profiles Marshall Chess, son of Leonard Chess and founder of the legendary Chess Records. Chess meets with rap icon Chuck D to take the blues to its next level with a modern recording of Electric Mud. The reunion of the origal band with blues next generation makes for an interesting film.

Red, White and Blues by director Mike Figgis explains the blues impact on classic rock in the 60's and 70's. This is a straight interview piece that covers the British invasion by the music and its branching out to the world.

Piano Blues is Clint Eastwood's contribution to the series. This film features interviews with piano masters Ray Charles, Dr. John and Dave Brubeck. This piece also includes archival footage of Art Tatum, Theolonious Monk, Fats Domino, and Professor Longhair.

The series is a good one if not necessary one that you'll want to watch over and over. The main problem is that there too little emphasis on the actual recordings. The films stress the music but I would have enjoyed hearing more.

Everybody Hollerin' More Blues
The videos are rich in material but leave you craving for more. The movies themselves run about 80-90 minutes each, covering a tremendous amount of ground but leave you with just little bits and pieces of the Blues. There are additional tracks on the DVD's but I was hoping to hear more of Ali Farka Toure and instead got more of Corey Harris. I like Harris, and I like the way Scorcese followed him on his pilgrimage from Mississippi to Mali, but Toure seemed so subdued on this recording. It would have been better to see him jam with his own musicians.

The movies are reverential in their presentation. The directors seem cautious in their approach, which surprised me given their own stature in the cinematic world. Wenders flirts with his musicians the same way he did on the Buena Vista Social Club, without revealing what really makes them tick. However, there is a great mix of music and some fantastic old footage such as a couple of pieces with Son House. But, it seems to me that Scorcese could have taken this PBS series much further.

Great Stuff, But Expensive
I've been a student of the blues for a long time, reading what I can find and listening to a wide variety of the music. But I still managed to learn quite a few details in this set. I don't consider this set to be the ultimate, but until something better comes out, it's the best you can find. I would have liked to have seen many more tunes in their entirety, but admit that the tidbits are tasty. The special features are a real plus, I admit, but I was left wanting more. The overall video and audio quality are as good as one could expect for the archival material and are excellent for the current material.

About the cost: The Amazon discount brings this down to 15 bucks per disc and although I love the material, if I'd had to have paid that price, I would have balked. I would understand the price for individual discs in the set being that high or even a little higher, but in a set, I expect a significant discount. These aren't DVDs you're going to watch over and over like you might some movie box sets, so the cost is a real concern. ... Read more

Reviews (155)

Great Entertainment, but . . .
George C. Scott's portrayal of General George S. Patton is outstanding in capturing the essense of the man; so much so that one thinks of Scott when considering the historic Patton! Scott's deep voice better fits the profane and volcanic nature of the General, who was "blessed" with a high and squeaky voice! A classic war film that provides great entertainment with each viewing. That said, I must take exception with a reviewer who lauded the film's accuracy. It is anything but historically accurate. The overall timeline is correct, but anyone who has read a book on Patton (especially the "Patton Papers") will spot the dramatic license taken by the Hollywood producers. Just to name a few: Patton knew that he would command Third Army before he left the Mediteranean for England. In the film, he wasn't told until after D-Day! Another: the entire exchange between Patton and Montgomery in Messina was fabricated; as was the competition between the two for Messina. This said, "Patton" remains one of my favorite movies, and I recommend it to anyone. Just have that book ready on the coffee table (also available from Amazon!)

Not the best war movie, but great character study
It may be treasonous to suggest that Patton is a flawed WW2 movie, although it is leaps and bounds the best character study ever developed inside a war movie. Not for nothing was this Nixon's favorite flick. George C. Scott justly deserved an Oscar for his portrayal of the hugely idiosyncratic Patton. I was 14 when I first saw it, and it was a real eye-opener for someone who (growing up in the military) thought all Army generals were bland smiley Eisenhower clones.

Scott's Patton is sensational, and manipulates the audience into a genuine love-hate relationship with the man. He was a tyrant, but soft-skinned. He was a brilliant tactician who was respected above all others by the Germans. He was also a mean, petty, competitive SOB who could waste soldier's lives to feed his ego, and with primitive political sensibilities - kind of an American Arik Sharon.

Flaws? Well... the movie certainly blitzes through WW2 history. Near the end of the film, the flim shows Patton's troopers rescuing the surrounded 101st Airborne at Bastogne (December 1944), and suddenly, it's May 1945. This skips over perhaps Patton's worst moment, when in 1945 he ordered a small task force to penetrate far behind German lines to attempt a rescue of his son-in law languishing in a POW camp (he was captured during the Kassarine Pass battles). The mission was a dramatic and costly failure.

I did have problems with the other significant generals portrayed in the movie. Montgomery was pompous, but he did pull the British through in North Africa. In Patton, he has few redeeming features. Karl Maulden's Omar Bradley is just too nice for a four-star general - probably because the real Bradley served as a technical consultant for the movie, which must have stirred interesting emotions in the man. The real Bradley experienced a real love-hate relationship with the flashy, tempermental Patton.

The biggest flaw in Patton is technical. Like the earlier film, "Battle of the Bulge", American tankers drive 1950's tanks (Chafees?), and the Germans get bigger American tanks. (In unlikely movies like Kelly's Heroes, they used real Shermans). This is way before "Private Ryan", so the battle scenes are dramatic enough but do not have the punch of recent movies.

The real reason for "Patton" is the man, not the battles. In this, the movie surpasses "MacArthur" and similar biopics. And this definitely has the best music score of any war movie. So maybe it gets a "five" after all.

Decent Film/No Frills DVD
It's to the much-deserved credit of the underrated George C. Scott--simply brilliant here--and director Franklin Schaffner that the celebrated general of "Patton's" title comes across more the tragic hero and less the right-wing nutjob, especially considering that the film debuted in 1970. "Patton" is worth a look for that bit of storytelling finesse alone, but the film offers much more, effectively examining both the highs and lows of the headstrong general's World War II days. Though it lacks the poetic grandeur of epics like "Lawrence of Arabia" or "How the West Was Won," "Patton" nonetheless operates on a big scale, and Scott's larger-than-life portrayal is never obscured by the production's legions of soldiers or frequent changes of scenery. The script, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, stays focused on the professional aspects of Patton's life--his devotion to duty, command, and career--and wisely avoids bogging down with diversions into romance or family life. Some might find such an approach imbalanced, but most viewers will likely enjoy the "purity" of what is, for lack of a better term, a satisfying "guy's story." Look for Karl Malden in a great supporting role as Omar Bradley, and enjoy Jerry Goldsmith's bombastic score, rivaled only by John Williams' Indiana Jones overtures. Still, "Patton" is not without faults. Military buffs may bemoan some technical inaccuracies, such as using tanks that don't fit the historical period; at times, the characterizations devolve into caricature, especially that of British General Montgomery; and some of Patton's borderline psychotic behavior--his various rages and obsessions with dreams and reincarnation--seem too easily dismissed as colorful idiosyncracies. The DVD itself is rather bare for a film that received many Oscars, perhaps the biggest flaw of all.

GREATEST WAR FILM EVER MADE
In 1970, two films juxtaposed each other. "Patton" was an unlikely winner of eight Oscars. The pacifist Scott for all practical purposes took his Buck Turgidson character and refined him into the real-life Patton. In interviews, Scott said he found his research of Patton revealed an unbalanced man, but on screen Scott nailed him as the vainglorious, brilliant, driven warmonger he was. Steiger was offered the role first but turned it down because it glorified war. Vietnam was absolutely at its apex. It was very surprising that Hollywood would make such a film at that time. But director Frankin Schaffner had served under Patton, and after making "The Planet of the Apes" had the clout to call his shots. The film did not get America behind the war, but it did cause Nixon to start bombing Cambodia because the Patton story convinced him to get tough. The screenwriter, oddly enough, was Francis Ford Coppola, who may have done himself a turn. Coppola was no war lover, and wrote "Patton" as a man obsessed with war ("God help me, I love it so"), deluded by visions of Napoleonic grandeur mixed with Episcopalian Christianity and karmic reincarnation. The intent may have been to show a psychotic military man, to de-mask his heroism, and this may have been what prompted Scott to play it. From page to screen there are virtually no changes, but if Coppola was trying to put down the military by showing Patton's human warts, the result was a brilliant work that now is one of, if not the most, conservative pictures ever made. Watching "Patton" stirs wonderful pride in two countries (Great Britain is prominent in the film) that were tough enough to stand up to the Nazis when the rest of the world cowered in victimhood. Karl Malden's Omar Bradley is Patton's perfect foil, as is the Bernard Law Montgomery character. The film saved Coppola, who was about to be fired as "The Godfather" director. When he won the Oscar for "Patton", it gave him too much clout to get the axe.

(...)

WORTH SEEING JUST FOR THE OPENING SPEECH
In this post-9/11 world everyone should see this film if only to see and hear the famous speech Patton gave to his troops, opening the film. He starts out by saying that no one ever won a war by dying for his country. One wins a war by getting the guy on the other side to die for HIS (other) country. The Islamic terrorist plaguing the world today all say they want to die. Patton would say that he is glad to oblige them.

Just a warning, don't expect to learn anything about the conduct of the Second World War from this film. It is first and formost a character study of Patton, the man, and I can't praise George C. Scott enough for his stupendous performance. It is rare in history that an actor adapts so well to the role he is playing. ... Read more

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Prepare to get hooked on Everwood, a family drama-comedy from the WB television network that looks and feels like a hybrid of Northern Exposure and Picket Fences--both shows, incidentally, being major influences on Everwood's talented creator, Greg Berlanti (Dawson's Creek). A fish-out-of-water tale with unusually high stakes in the relationship arena, Everwood gets much of its charge from near-perfect performances by Treat Williams (The Deep End of the Ocean) and Gregory Smith (The Patriot) as a contentious father and son trying to keep their family going after a catastrophic loss. Williams plays Andy Brown, a world-class neurosurgeon whose Manhattan practice caters to the rich and famous; it also keeps him far removed from daily life and big events within his family. After Andy's wife (Brenda Strong) dies in a car accident, he finds himself raising a gifted 15-year-old boy, Ephram (Smith), who hates him because of years of neglect, and the much younger Delia (Vivien Cardone from A Beautiful Mind), who is scared and confused without her mom.

Andy, often seen in the first couple of episodes speaking to his late spouse, decides the best way to honor her memory is to move the family to little Everwood, Colorado, a special place in her memory. Not just a move--more of a wholesale re-invention, beginning with Andy's new salt-and-pepper beard and including a no-charge medical clinic he opens in Everwood's former train station. The free practice puts Andy at odds with the unpleasant Dr. Abbott (Tom Amandes of the syndicated The Untouchables), whose daughter, Amy (Emily VanCamp), develops a friendship with lonely Ephram while she also pines for her boyfriend, Colin (Mike Erwin), long lost in a deep coma. Over the course of the first season, many lines of connection will be drawn between these folks. Andy will be asked to attempt a risky operation on Colin, with ramifications affecting his son, Amy, and others. Abbott's sour relationship with Andy will lighten up enough for the former to join Andy's practice, and other surprises are in store.

The series is filled out by other, sweet and eccentric regulars, including Debra Mooney as Andy's nurse (also Abbott's plain-speaking mom), John Beasley as her husband and Delia's bus driver, and Stephanie Niznik as Andy's neighbor, Nina, a surrogate mother. Surprisingly gutsy storytelling, generally understated dialogue, heartfelt performances, and gorgeous Colorado exteriors keep one coming back for more. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Unbelievable
This is like a dream come true!!
I cannot wait for the second season to come out!!

everwood
this is awsome everwood is the best shoe ever. the whole family can relate to the many colorful and differnt people in the show

it started with a train station....
this is a magical drama that gives you the feeling of curling up by the fire with a warm drink and a good book. the characters struggle through the undeniable hardship of losing the beloved mother of ephram and delia, julia brown. her husband andy, a workaholic doctor, is grief-stricken and makes a split-second decision to relocate the family from the bustle of new york city to a small town that julia had once seen when her train got delayed as a child. everwood, colorado brings the brown family into a small world complete with its own trials and tribulations. amy abbott's struggling with the injury of her comatose boyfriend, and yet somehow she and ephram collide, helping each other, and ultimately getting hurt. this is an amazingly intelligent, thought-provoking show unlike any other.

Now Entering Everwood, CO
Thank God for the WB. It has been a while since there has been a family drama that is so refrshingly honest, sincere, engaging, and brave. Since it's debut in September of 2002, this show has emerged as a crown jewel in the network's arsenal. Filled with fresh stories and new twists on old conventions, the show also boasts an incredible cast who bring to life realistic and engaging characters. Treat Williams stars as famed New York surgeon Dr. Andrew Brown. A workaholic with a wife and 2 kids. When tragedy strikes the family, he makes an about face in his life and moves his kids to the idyllic environs of Everwood, Colorado. There he sets up shop with a practice in the town's old train station right across the street from the town's only other physician, Dr. Harold Abbott(Perfectly played by the fantastic Tom Amandes). Andy's son is 16 year old Ephram(The superb Gregory Smith), a loner type kid with a major chip on his shoulder concerning his father. And then there is 9 year old Delia(Vivian Cardone), a little dynamo with a penchant for baseball caps. Others include Dr. Abbott's daughter Amy(the adorable Emily Van Camp), his son Bright(the entertaining Chris Pratt), Abbott's mother Edna(the great Debra Mooney)who also becomes Andy's nurse, her husband Irv(John Beasley), who is the town bus driver and the show's narrator, and Andy's neighbor Nina(Stephanie Niznik). It had been a long time since I had seen such a stellar debut season. It was perfect. The show manages to be as realistic as possible and tries to go as far as a show can with a certain topic. One of the show strengths is taking overused storylines and giving them a fresh and invigorated new shot at life. The ongoing arc this season between Ephram's love for Amy and her comatose boyfriend Colin Hart regaining his self and wanting to be Ephram's friend, is one example. The show is intelligently and creatively written, and it is one of the most beautifully shot shows on TV. Treat Williams has been given one heck of a career resurgence. He is so perfect for the show and this is really his moment. Tom Amandes as Dr. Abbott is right up there. He has made his character a pompous fuss bucket and then turned him into a real human being who isn't all he seems. The banter and wars between him and Andy are priceless and are about as enjoyable as you can get. Episodes here range from the great to the fantastic. Some include the brilliant "Episode 20", about abortion. A teen mother comes to Andy with help about terminating her pregnancy. What happens is an episode that is impeccably written and able to view both sides and different angles of the subject and it's choices. Very well done. And other highlights include "A Thanksgiving Tale", "Is There A Doctor In The House", "The Kissing Bridge", "Colin The Second", and the fantastic finale, "Home". The kids here are all very well represented and Smith is a true find. Give this kid some award nominations now!. His performance as Ephram is one of the most refrshing presentations of a kid who isn't perfect and has issues on TV. Van Camp is equally engaging as Amy, the object of Ephram's affection. Her big doe eyes are nice too!. This is a show that is nothing but honest, tender, funny, realistic and brave. A show that The WB should be proud to call it's own, and a show that any one who loves good TV would be glad to get hooked on. Hoped you liked your visit in Everwood. Please come again

Great Show
Everwood is one of the best shows on T.V. Since it's 2002 first broadcast I have been hooked. Treat Williams is a great actor and his very entertaining acting skills are well used here. As for Gregory Smith, he is also a great actor and very hot too! The DVD box set will be in Widescreen for the pilot and finale and Fullscreen for the rest. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (235)

A major league letdown.
Major league letdown of the comic book Hellblazer lacks the drama and horror of that book and put in a dumb sense of humor that not only does not fly but has a leading man that does not do his character any justice at all. I'm not as hard as a lot of people are on Keanu Reeves because I think he has a certain charm to him but I have to agree with the majority that he is miscast in the role of John Constantine. He does not come across well and his brooding streak does not fit the character at all. He acts more like Batman than the charming and humorous John Constantine of the comic books and the performance he gives is not very good at all because of it. The story is not very compelling at all and it feels like it was rush into production with out a single rewrite to put things in order because everything feels like it has no structure at all. The special effects also feel rushed and certain scenes actually feel awkward because of the direction, which is not bad but could have been more original than it was. The ending of the film contradicts the beginning and the plot lines concerning certain characters especially John Constantine himself doesn't really fit the movie at all. The only thing that worked in this film is the performance of Rachel Weisz, which not only kept the movie from spiraling into its own vat of stupidity but also made the movie a lot more compelling than it really was.Weisz gave this movie more dignity and substance than it deserved and her performance really does deserve a better movie than this because it's the only real thing about the entire film. You actually believe in her character and her struggles with her own faith while you don't buy the story that she is stuck in.Rachel