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

Reviews (119)

Candidate for the Best Political Satire of its Time
Have you ever seen Frank Sinatra kicking a Korean man and shouting: What was Raymond doing with his hands? No? Well, here is your chance. Quite seriously though, this is one of the better movies out there. It turns out Raymond was brainwashed into becoming an unconscionable killing machine, and his hand movements were imitating a game of solitaire--the trigger for thoughtless actions, including the taking of human life.

The movie is a dark political satire that exposes politics as a game in which the lust for power is the dominant motive. Angela Lansbury is here in one of her best roles as a traitorous witch behind a bluffing, blustering, Joseph McCarthy-ite Senator. This is also one of Sinatra's better roles, as he displays quite a range of acting: from depressed aloofness to irrepressible violence. The movie has real characters, even though there was a danger it would end up with stick figures and straw men. But no, everything is done superbly, including the McCarthy-ite thug of the Senate and the liberal senator with a milk cartons. Even the Russian operative from the Pavlov Institute in Moscow is a real character.... "always with a touch of humor."

Excellent Classic Thriller
The Manchurian Candidate, starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury, is a well-acted film based on the novel about a mind-controlled assassin created to facilitate a political coup. Sinatra is the former army colleague of the man programmed for the deed, and he begins to have nightmares about the experience where his unit was captured in Korea and then brainwashed by Russian & Chinese personnel. Laurence Harvey plays the programmed killer, who is promoted as a war hero (and the other unit members programmed to praise him even though his real personality was unpleasant). Sinatra's character begins to work with military intelligence to uncover the Harvey character's memories and uncover the full plot, which involves the mother of the programmed assassin, played by Lansbury as the wife of a U.S. Senator seeking the Presidential nomination on the heels of his McCarthy-esque tirades against communists in the government. This clever plot unfolds with a smooth pace, and Janet Leigh provides a stylish role as Sinatra's romantic interest as he pursues the main mystery. The DVD has some extra commentary on the film, with Sinatra & the director providing their insights, although there could have been more bonus material and improved picture quality for the DVD transfer.

I wanted to love this movie
I wanted so badly to love this movie, and on some level, I do. My first viewing (on DVD since I didn't get to see it when it originally came out) wasn't the best experience. I got lost. Oh, I understood the basic plot and thought it was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen, but I missed some things. On a second and third viewing, I STILL didn't get some of the connections. As I said, I got the main idea and thought this brilliant, but some of the writing failed to connect the dots. Even if you don't like every line/connection/piece of the plot, you have to like the acting. The ending will (sorry for the pun), blow you away. Can't wait for the remake.

The original classic
The Manchurian Candidate is a John Frankenheimer directed film set in the middle of the cold war. A group of US soldiers is captured and then brainwashed by the North Koreans and returned to the US lines. Members of the patrol begin to have strange dreams which are in reality the repressed memories of their brainwashing technique.

The crux of the story is the manipulation of one of the soldiers [Shaw] by his mother who's marriage to a McCarthy like senator hides the fact she is really a communist plant. The patrol's commander, played by Frank Sinatra in a fine performance, slowly pieces togther what occurred behind North Korean lines.

Manchurian Candidate predates the Kennedy assasination and the assasination itself was a key reason that the film was later taken out of circulation until the 1980's. A masterpiece of paranoia and political intrigue, The Manchurian Candidate set the tone for a slew of like minded conspiracy films none an finely made or anywhere near as chilling. Both Sinatra and Angela Landsbury in the role of Shaw's mother, put in very fine performances.

Highly recommended.

Political satire and thriller rolled into one
"The Manchurian Candidate" was a product of its era that has managed to transcend the era that produced it. This political satire and thriller captures the sense of paranoia that existed in America during the 50's and early 60's. Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, Angela Lansbury and James Gregory all give top notch performances in John Frankenheimer's classic film of Richard Condon's novel.

A platoon of soliders are betrayed by their military guide and captured by the North Koreans during the Korean War. Their subjected to mind control techniques to make one of them the perfect assassin. When they return home, the platoon's captain (Sinatra)begins having nightmares where his Sgt. Shaw (Harvey)kills two of his men in cold blood. In these dreams they are surrounded by the enemy in a lecture hall being conditioned for the mind control experiments. It's clear that the Sgt. has been conditioned to become a "sleeper" agent--impossible to detect because he doesn't know that he's now an agent for a foreign power. Additionally, Shaw's mother (Lansbury)uses the concerns over communists in the US government to launch her husband's (Gregory)bit to be put on the ticket for the vice-presidency.

This new edition comes with two featurettes. The first features director William Freidkin ("The French Connection", "The Exorcist", "To Live and Die in L.A.")in an appreciation of Frankenheimer's career. Freidkin discusses how "The Manchurian Candidate" broke with the conventions of political thrillers of the time. The second features 15 minute interview with Angela Lansbury about working on the film.

The animated menus is also new and the features from the first disc including Frakenheimer's marvelous commentary track are kept in tact. Do you need to upgrade to this new edition? Only if you didn't purchase the previous one. The previous edition had both the widescreen and full screen versions of the film and all the features here except the two previously mentioned featurettes. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

The penultimate crime caper film
Back in the days when Stanley Kubrick was still a relative unknown, he made this gem of a film which has since earned a reputation for being one of the best crime caper films ever made. The film is tightly structured and well-paced with an eye on increasing the tension until the very end. A wonderful movie, and those who have seen "Reservoir Dogs" will immediately recognize the influence "The Killing" had on the latter film. The plot-line is simple - a band of crooks, each with his own motivation, conceive of a plan to rob a racetrack. The plan works fine...until something goes wrong. Kubrick filmed this classic with a minimal budget, but his genius is evidently on-screen in how he arranges the furniture and lighting and actors to get the most out of his limited funds and to augment the clastrophobic sense of suspense. Truly a great film.

I purchased the DVD of this film, and it looks quite good. The picture quality is pristine (unlike in the DVD version of Kubrick's later films, alas). I had no problems with the sound, either, though it is monophonic. There aren't any real extras on this DVD except for a trailer, but the presentation is somewhat cool and adds to the tension of the film. So, I will recommend this DVD of "The Killing" to fans of Kubrick and good crime films.

Kubrick Does Noir
An ex-con engineers a race track heist in "The Killing," a taut and suspenseful film noir from director Stanley Kubrick. Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) is fresh out of Alcatraz after five years, and immediately goes to work on a job he figures to be worth upwards of two million dollars. He puts together a gang who are not real criminals, just "Some guys with problems and a little larceny in them." Marvin (Jay C. Flippen) is good for some front money Johnny needs; George (Elisha Cook Jr.) is a cashier at the track, and Mike (Joe Sawyer) is a bartender there; Randy (Ted de Corsia) is a cop with loan shark payment problems. Clay's got it all figured out, a precision plan that can't go wrong as long as everyone does his part and keeps quiet about it, before and after. But George has a wife, Sherry (Marie Windsor), who wants nice things, and he can't resist the temptation to let her know it's all going to get better real soon. Trouble is, Sherry has a boyfriend, Val (Vince Edwards), who has more than a little larceny in him, as well. As it is with all "perfect" plans, there are, after all, imperfections. The presentation of this film is not one of them, however; Kubrick keeps the tension high throughout, working with a tight narrative and an out of sequence chronology through which he dispenses bits of information, building the suspense, until it all fits together in the end like pieces of a giant puzzle (Much the same as Tarantino would do with "Pulp Fiction" many years later). The stoic delivery, coupled with the stark black and white photography of the film, creates an almost surreal, fatalistic ambience that works so well with this material; especially at the end, for it underscores the climax and heightens the drama of the final moment, all of which makes for a truly unforgettable scene. The supporting cast includes Coleen Gray (Fay), Kola Awariani (Maurice), Joe Turkel (Tiny), and Timothy Carey, who makes his detached and indifferent hit man, Nikki Arane, one of the most memorable characters in the film. It must be noted, however, that Elisha Cook Jr. gives what may have been his best performance ever, here. His scene, after it all goes bad for him and he stumbles into his apartment, bullet holes in his face and wide-eyed with acceptance, to confront Sherry, is so cool and underplayed that it becomes one of the lasting impressions of the movie. Kubrick wrote the screenplay (with some help from Jim Thompson with the dialogue), adapted from the novel "Clean Break" by Lionel White. "The Killing" is one of Kubrick's earliest and best films; and it's not just for Kubrick fans or for those who love the "noir" genre. This is an excellent piece of work that will definitely be appreciated by anyone who likes good movies.

Tightly plotted, hamstrung by dialogue.
The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)

For many years, I have been fond of saying that the only Kubrick film I could stomach was Lolita. While The Killing isn't up to those standards (and certainly doesn't rate a spot in IMDB's Top 250, where it sits as I write this), it's certainly a film with rewatchability potential.

Johnny Clay (The Godfather's Sterling Hayden) has just gotten out after a five-year stint in prison, and needs cash. He concocts a scheme to knock over a racetrack to the tune of $2 million, give or take a few rubles. Putting together a core team of five guys, and with two on the periphery, they plan and execute the crime. That, of course, is when things start getting interesting.

This is good, solid film noir, for the most part. Where it fails to make the cut are in the narration (and Kubrick's bouncing back and forth in time like a pinball, which necessitates it) and the dialogue, written by cult favorite Jim Thompson (The Grifters, The Killer Inside Me, etc). The dialogue has about as much meat to it as one finds in a typical Spillane novel; it's fun, but "timeless" is not a word I'd use to describe it by a longshot. That being the case, it's hard for the actors involved to really get their heads around most parts; they do the best they can with what they have, and in some cases, that's enough to make the characters come alive. Elisha Cook, Jr., is especially good, despite having some of the most ineffectual dialogue ever written for a straight mystery film.

The strongest part of the film, on the other hand, is the ending, a shaggy-dog-story style beauty that would later appear in a different form in Ocean's Eleven (the original, good version, not that overblown Soderbergh piece of trash). It is inevitable, and beautiful.

Worth watching, but don't expect greatness. ***

Kubrick's First Masterpiece
This is the third feature film directed by Kubrick and the one which probably established his eminence, subsequently enhanced by Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), and Full Metal Jacket (1987). The title refers to the one last lucrative theft which Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) carefully plans so that he can retire from his life of crime and live happily ever after with Fay (Colleen Gray). Although Kubrick carefully tracks the preparations by Clay and his associates, he seems more interested in what (for lack of a better term) can be viewed as a self-fulfilling negative prophecy. That is to say, there seems to be little (if any) chance that the robbery of a race track will turn out well. In fact, it doesn't. Clay is a world-weary, semi-paranoid leader of losers. Henpecked by wife Sherry (Marie Windsor), George Peatty (Elisha Cook, Jr.) is a reluctant accomplice, obviously motivated to satisfy his financially insatiable spouse. He as well as Nikki (Tim Carey) and Tiny (Joe Turkel) are Keystone Bandits. The quality of acting throughout the cast is first-rate. Kubrick obtains from Hayden in this film and in Dr. Strangelove his two strongest performances. The final scene on the airport tarmac is unforgettable, a fitting and (for me) an inevitable conclusion. If pressed to use one word to describe this film, I would suggest "tidy." Also "compelling." Those who share my high regard for this film are urged to check out The Public Enemy (1931), You Only Live Once (1937), High Sierra (1941), and They Live by Night (1949).

...and then there was one - Early Kubrick Classic
This Classic Kubrick Crime Drama is one of the top Hollywood Film Noire entries. The usual "toughs" planning the big heist, the one to retire on. Since Classic Hollywood never allowed the bad guys to win, everyone can predict that all will not be well once the end credits roll.

All of the elements are here: Little guys who never got an even break, a Delilah-like wife of a simpleton, who won't settle for small-time life, a happily married older guy with a wife in need of expensive medical care, a guy just released from prison, who doesn't ever want to go back, and the rest of the usual suspects. Several scenes are quite moving; several times character's are shown saying their goodbyes to loved ones, as though they don't expect to ever see them again, when they are only supposed to "go to work". Watch for another scene in the final third of the film involving a horse-shoe. It makes a powerful statement of conventions in 1950s America.

Very few films have a truly memorable "last line". This is one of them! Of course, I won't give it away, as it requires an elaborate set-up, but you'll agree that it's one of the best last lines ever! As for "The Killing" as a nostalgic Crime Drama and exemplary film noire, I confidently give it 5 stars!***** ... Read more

Amazon.com

This gritty, grim Korean war drama presents the grueling ordeal of a platoon charged with taking a hill of no military value during the final days of the war. While diplomats and generals argue over peace negotiations (in an appropriately wordless montage under the opening credits), tough but compassionate Lt. Joe Clemons (Gregory Peck) leads a unit of 135 men up a well-guarded hill while miscommunication--and at times no communication--cuts them off from reinforcements and regimental command. Shot against a bleak, battle-scarred mountain of white dust honeycombed with black trenches, director Lewis Milestone presents the devastating battle as a meaningless sacrifice of hundreds of lives spent in a political game of chicken. Peck leads a terrific cast of young talents and character actors, many of them just starting their respective careers: Rip Torn, Harry Guardino, Martin Landau, Norman Fell, George Peppard, Gavin MacLeod, Bert Remsen, Harry Dean Stanton, plus veteran stalwarts Woody Strode, James Edwards, Robert Blake, and Bob Steele. Milestone had previously directed the pacifist WWI classic All Quiet on the Western Front and the compassionate WWII platoon drama A Walk in the Sun. Pork Chop Hill adds one more antiwar classic to his résumé, the angry power of his drama overcoming the hollow patriotic voice-over (reportedly added by Peck) that concludes the drama. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Frustration in the Final Days of the Korean War
Gregory Peck is solid as the frustrated commander of troops that are being ordered to take a hill controlled by the enemy during the closing days of the Korean War. Peck and his men know that a truce is being negotiated and that in the end, the battle may be for nothing. Miscommunication during the battle adds to their obstacles, as does political manouvering. There is also the propaganda broadcast by the Chinese at the Americans, a facet of this film I found especially memorable as I imagined it's effect on the soldiers. There are a lot of recognizable faces in the cast, long before they were stars, but that does not distract from the action. I found the movie to be slow in parts and the story required a better pacing and dramatic structure, but it's very accurate in portraying the honest emotions of the men caught between duty and their hearts. This is not a "pretty" war movie, with beautiful photography and attractive locations. It gives you a feeling of the hell that war must be, especially with a battle such as Pork Chop Hill.

Gregory Peck orders a bayonet charge
In the spring of 1953, a company of the U.S. Army was ordered to assault an otherwise unprepossessing lump of Korean real estate called Pork Chop Hill. It's only value to either side was as a chess piece in the peace talks at Panmunjon, which were stalled on the question of where to pencil-in the cease-fire line. The Americans had occupied it; the Red Chinese had overwhelmed it; and now Gregory Peck (as Lt. Joe Clemons) is ordered to take his 135-man company and re-take it. PORK CHOP HILL is ostensibly based on the actual battle, and a qualifier at the beginning even states that most of the names haven't been changed.

As the battle unfolded, I began to mentally compare the production with recent, outstanding, "last stand" epics, specifically WE WERE SOLDIERS and BLACK HAWK DOWN - both also based on true events. PORK CHOP HILL comes up short, but not by much. The obvious difference is that PCH - released in 1959 - is filmed in black and white. This mutes the gore, which, in any case, is positively negligible compared to the grisly and graphic realism of today's simulated combat footage. However, the resulting tension felt by the viewer as Joe's unit is surrounded and faced with impending annihilation is only a click less than that felt during the height of the WWS and BHD on-screen fighting. At one point, Clemons orders a bayonet charge, which, as he says, may be the last one ever carried out by the U.S. Army. Well, the last perhaps until Mel Gibson's character, Lt. Col. Harold Moore, orders his Air Cav troopers to do the same to get out of a tight spot in WE WERE SOLDIERS.

PORK CHOP HILL is anti-war to the extent that it condemns the rear echelon desk jockeys tempted to sacrifice American boys on the altar of political expediency, or just from pure incompetence. It also isn't afraid to show the demoralization within Joe's command, and that not every grunt was itching to go over the top and charge the enemy trenches. In a film made well before the Vietnam debacle, such candidness must have been some sort of cinematic milestone for U.S. audiences used to the gung-ho dramas based on the nation's relatively recent World War II victories.

My sole motivation in watching this film was to see Peck. I can't think of any actor today whose on-screen presence exudes such dignified strength and integrity. I'm so convinced of this fact that I've gone ahead and ordered a biography of the man. We are missing the likes of him (and icons Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Cary Grant).

Peck Preps for Navarone
I am a huge Peck fan. Here Gregory Peck matures into his battlefield role. Pork Chop Hill has plenty of conventional action, but lacks context and depth, symptomatic of the fact that the film was made just a very few years after the Korean War. For those who lived through the period circa late 50's, Pork Chop provides a very in-your-face, black and white look at the lives of soldiers in battle. Immediately we are plunged into the battlefield with very little in the way of location establish, preamble, character development, or historical context. They didn't use the word Communist even once. We just go there and fight an uphill battle against the Red Chinese, period.

The movie has a very narrow focus, narrow in time and narrow in location, that of the taking of the hill, and the very, very short scene at the negotiating table just scratched the surface of what could have been milked out of that confrontation. An occasional cutaway to the commanding officers (would have liked to have seen more of Barry Atwater, Mr. Cool Cranium) provides only brief relief from the main task of taking and holding the hill. The Leonard Rosenmann music score is used sparingly and in a utilitarian fashion.

I enjoyed the supporting cast, including Norman Fell, Martin Landau, George Peppard, and Harry Guardino. Other than that there were no surprises or unexpected plot twists. Blood and guts were kept to a relative minimum -- no use of squibs. For it's time, I'm sure it was a groundbreaking film, they even use the word DAMN a couple of times. This is straightforward storytelling that tells the story of incredibly brave men, but rather low in shock or artistic value by today's standards. They soft-pedaled the "what are we fighting for" message -- they could have hit a lot harder with that one, but seeing as this was an Army-approved production, the conclusions and emotions one draws from this film seem rather watered down.

Great War Film
Pork Chop Hill is a woefully undervalued war film, superior to some of its more heralded genre partners. The reason is that Pork Chop Hill presents a somewhat complex string of events, stretching from the battlefield to the negotiating table. It pulls this combination off flawlessly, and also delivers a poignant message concerning wars, and the men who fight them.

Pork Chop Hill is the story of a company of American GI's in the Korean War, commanded by Lt. Clemens, portrayed magnificently by a stoic and brave Gregory Peck. They are ordered to advance on a heavily defended Chinese hill, a geographical point of little consequence. Told the hill is lightly defended, Peck advances with confidence, but it quickly becomes clear that this is far from the mop up operation promised by his superiors. He takes heavy casualties, and is drawn into a fierce battle against overwhelming Chinese forces. Meanwhile, his communication to the rear is cut, and Peck is forced to make some tough decisions on his own. Shockingly, the commanders fail to understand the facts on the ground, and continue to make woefully ill informed decisions, in order to save face. Their inaction causes numerous deaths, and Peck is stuck in a battle he cannot win. The film also shows the high command, who care little about a minor battle and the men involved.

Peck is absolutely wonderful as the solid battlefield commander who will do anything for his men. When his troops falter, he is there to steel them. One of the most effective scenes in the film is when Peck is confronted by a soldier who has deserted his position and questions the worth of the ground they are on. Peck tells him the age-old battle axiom, that the lands worth is measured by the amount of blood spilled, and that you fight for your friends, nothing else. A unique point in Pork Chip Hill is the emphasis on the Chinese propaganda system, which must have been devastating, as it effects the viewer, and must have been even worse on the actual soldiers involved. It is just a great battlefield film in so many ways, a must see for fans of cinema and especially for Gregory Peck admirers.

Unforgettable!
This is a movie for people with brains....tough, gritty, makes one feel they are in the trenches with the soldiers...Peck underplays his role which makes the whole cast stand out as individuals...battle-scarred backgrounds and very human interaction....has scenes that stick in your head..one of the best! ... 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

Reviews (10)

one of the best films of all time
There is no doubt, this is one of the best films ever made. It is based on a true story, based during the Korean War. You better have plenty of Kleenex available--it's a tear-jerker. Don't miss this one.

Finding God Amidst The War
Rock Hudson stars as a minister who feels he has lost his calling and returns to the Air Force (he had fought in WWII) to train Korean soldiers during the Korean War. He and his men become involved with a group of Korean orphans and a young Korean/Indian woman that cares for them. While the war rages on, Hudson begins to find his way back to God, while also trying to protect the orphans. I initially believed that this was a war-action film, only to be surprised that, although there are several good fighting sequences, this was a more personal story of finding faith. Surprisingly, it meshes together well with the action. Hudson is earnest in his portrayal of the real life colonel, and he is well supported by Dan Duryea as one of his men/sidekick. There are some great lines about faith, and some of them made me think, especially the belief that God allows things to happen for reasons that may not be clear to us now, however bad they may seem at the time. In light of what has gone on in the world lately, this is a comforting thought. Battle Hymn is a well crafted, inspiring movie that never seems to preach, yet it certainly makes its points.

A HYMN TO HIM AND HER - MORE LOVE THAN WAR!
"Battle Hymn" is the story of a minister (Rock Hudson) who returns to train Korean soldiers to fight after he feels he has lost his calling. Of course he finds redemption and his true faith when he becomes involved with a group of Korean orphans and a young Korean/Indian woman that cares for them. Despite several brilliantly staged action sequences this film is not so much a war saga as it is a tale of introspection and finding courage in religion to carry on. The reason is simple; the film's director is Douglas Sirk - known for his soppy, sloppy and gushy melodramas that ooz treacle over substance, like "Imitation of Life" and "Written on the Wind". The blend of both adventure and drama is seamless. "Battle Hymn" is an intelligently-crafted and inspiring without being stoic or preachy.
THE TRANSFER: Overall the picture quality is nicely rendered but the ravages of time have not been kind in a few spots. Age related artifacts are present throughout - sometimes glaringly so. Black levels are often weak and fine detail is lost in the darkest scenes. Digital anomalies are not an issue for a generally smooth visual presentation. The audio is nicely presented - if somewhat dated.
EXTRAS: None.
BOTTOM LINE: "Battle Hymn" is finely wrought melodrama tinged with the prerequisite of combat that all war films have in common. The DVD is admirably realized but is not reference quality. Still, it's definitely worth a look.

this is the film to watch over the next few weeks.
A tribute to the essential benevolence of the US Army, and a justification of necessary warfare, 'Battle Hymn' was made with the full co-operation of the army (which allows for some spectacular airfights and picturesque bombings). It is introduced by an endearingly stolid miltary mandarin, General Earle Partridge of the US Fifth Air Force, posing against the eloquent priapic might of a grounded bomber. This is a propaganda film that shows the army as decent saviours of the world, protectors of the innocent; it displays the urgent need for heavy armaments and the engagement in warfare with totalitarian threats to that innocence.

The film is directed by Douglas Sirk, who has been for the last three decades the test case for the possibility within the monolithic global Hollywood industry of inserting a critical voice, of working within the system but producing films that go against the grain. Sirk's major legacy is a series of Universal melodramas from the 1950s, in which he took a despised, 'female', corny, conservative genre, and created the most devastating critiques of 50s America we have, with its mindless and mind-destroying conformism, its patriarchal repressions, its racism.

the films, being 'women's pictures', naturally focus on the domestic, on the interior lives of socially imprisoned characters. 'Battle Hymn', on the other hand, is a war film, male-dominated and set in the wide-open desert spaces of Korea. Nevertheless, Sirk finds a way to 'domesticate' this macho genre, with his feminised, camp soldiers; with his preponderance of cramped, interior shots.

there is a conscious opposition in this film that goes to the heart of the American 'problem' that would explode so traumatically in Vietnam. In the 1950s, when this film was made, America was led by a grounded military man, fetishised the family, and encouraged socially adhesive religious values. And yet Dean Hess, a vicar, a man of god, a family man, cannot live in this America. America is no longer fit for American men, primed by the Second World War, to live in. His marriage is sterile - only when he leaves does his wife become pregnant, and does he find the possibility of family in the shape of the teacher and Chu.

In an America so brightly optimistic and confident as Eisenhower's, any trauma cannot be spoken publicly. Any 'illness' must be taken outside and dealt with there. Hence the profusion of US military activity in the 20th century, a doomed attempt to atone for guilt and failure, which only results in the mass murder of foreigners.

'Battle Hymn' is quite a provocative film, with a hero and his sidekick called Herrmann and Hess, with two graphic bombings by the army of an orphanage and of fleeing refugees. The film is called 'Battle Hymn', and is an attempt to unite the conflicting US ideals of religion and militarism - Hess flails around wildly for the assurance that his murderous actions are not his fault, but part of God's will, sanctioning further brutalities. He is often ironically compared to Christ, when he is actually a mixture of the antiChrist and Midas, killing everything he touches. The only way he can save lives is to 'sacrifice' others.

'Battle Hymn' does not equate war with religion (a deus ex machina is epically ironic), but exposes the pathology of the army: the predominantly dull mise-en-scene matching the grey uniforms. American military imperialism is mirrored in the attempts to Americanise the Korean children, teaching them to eat 'candy', swallow Christianity and sing English. Any native rituals don't exist as examples of an alternative or older culture, but as theatrical expressions of Hess' moral progress.

the film also points to Sirk's great 'race' masterpiece of three years later, 'Imitation of life': in real America, segregation would have prevented Hess and Maples befriending one another. Here, they are made equal in the army, united by baby-killing and its justification by God.

Inspiring but Not Always factual
Once again, Hollywood has taken a true story, changed or omitted facts and passed it off as the real thing. Despite that, this is an inspiring and poignant movie and as another reviewer here said, this is the type of movie they don't make any more.

The stoic Rock Hudson plays Colonel Dean E. Hess, a real life WW II fighter pilot who comes to Korea to train the first ROKAF pilots in American aircraft and tactics. However, there are some glaring inconsistencies in this movie and what happened in real life to Dean Hess.

For one thing, Hess already had a degree in theology and was in graduate school when he became an aviation cadet in the Air Corps during WW II. He received his ordination and elected to return to the Air Force and make it his career postwar. It was not as the result of Korea itself or any deep spiritual problem. From what I read, when he bombed the orphanage or hospital in Germany during WW II, he did not have the problems portrayed in the movie.

The Anna Kashfi character, En Soon Whang was an older women in her 50s and not a beautiful, half-Korean - half Indian teacher. She was Korean and had lost two sons in WW II and in Korea. She had already helped start and maintain an orphanage. Then Major Hess helped out, along with many other Americans and the kiddy lift did happen. But not like in the movie.

This movie is inspiring because it does show the power of faith as well as Hess's value to a fellow pilot and long-term friend who he helps at the hour of his death. That was perhaps one of the most powerful parts of the movie, because his friend, a typical fighter pilot, has no foundation on which to stand. As he says to Hess, "I realize I was afraid to live and now, I don't know how to die." The minister in Hess the pilot finds his real calling, and pastors to his dying friend. He makes the transition from this life to the next easier for his friend and the other pilot is able to die peacefully. It is at that point that Dean Hess finds himself, by stepping outside himself.

I saw this movie for the first time more than 25 years ago on television and was very taken with it. It was at a time before I renewed my own faith. Dean Hess's pastoral counseling to his dying friend had a big impact on me because I had an inordinate fear of death and dying. His words had the effect of helping me conquer that fear and later, led me back to my own relationship with God. Perhaps that is the real (but hidden value) of this movie.

There is also another dimension to this movie that should be mentioned. The aerial sequences are extremely well done. Viewers who are fans of the North American P-51 Mustang will benefit from several scenes of combat flying that show the plane in its best light. In this part of the movie, Hudson manages to convey the competence of Hess as a leader and pilot. He is an excellent manager and teacher and his success training the ROKAF pilots is evident in later scenes.

Finally, one of the things the movie doesn't point out is that Colonel Dean E. Hess remained in the Air Force after the Korean War and not as a chaplain. He retired from active duty in 1971 as a full colonel and he spent the better part of his career as a fighter pilot. He was a man of God to be sure, but he was also a pilot and that is where he made his largest contributions to the service.

Paul Connors ... Read more

Amazon.com

This riveting, gut-punching boxing picture plays out in something close to "real time." We are locked in with an over-the-hill pug (Robert Ryan) as he arrives at an arena for a match against a younger opponent. What he doesn't know yet is that his crooked manager has agreed to throw the fight for some gangsters--so Ryan has more than one battle on his hands as each bruising round goes by. At a lean, mean 72 minutes, The Set-Up manages to load the essential film noir themes into one potent package, excitingly delivered with no breathing room. Director Robert Wise would go on to make such mega-productions as The Sound of Music, which only makes you appreciate his economy here. And the movie's a fine showcase for tall, craggy Robert Ryan, one of the great under-sung actors in American movies, who was a boxer himself before becoming an actor. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Perhaps American cinema's most underrated film
Simply put this is a masterpiece. Presumably the belated praise "The Set-Up" is owed will come its way with this new DVD release. Director Robert Wise has some very good films to his credit but this is tour de force. The camera work and editing are unparalleled. The film's myriad minor characters are magically revealed by short (but never choppy) camera shots.
"The Set-Up" is the story of an aging boxer hoping that one last fight can turn around his career and thus his life. Shady gamblers and corrupt fight handlers have other ideas. The setting is the fictional Paradise City, a grimy, cynical fast-paced and totally unsentimental city. Much of the action takes place in the boxing arena featuring some of the best fight sequences ever shot. But a scene in a bar is memorable as are shots following the boxer's unhappy girlfriend.
The movie is shot in real time, only 72 minutes, but what a 72 minutes it is. Never has so much of a story been told in so short a time.
Adding to the value of this DVD is the accompanying commentary provided by Wise and Martin Scorsese. Scorsese is not only one of the great directors of all time but is also wonderful in the burgeoning field of DVD film commentary. He has forgotten more about film than most of us will ever know. His speaking style is not just insightful but engaging. Just listen to him explain "The Set-Up"s stylized realism.
But watch "The Set-Up" first without the commentary, then enjoy and appreciate it even more with it.
A great film lover's film.

Next stop, "Paradise City"!
This is one of the best boxing films of all time & has some truly intense fight scenes that would impress any Raging Bull fan! It is also a terrific film noir with two of the genre's underappreciated icons: Robert Ryan & Audrey Totter. Robert Wise's skillful direction, especially of the lengthy fight scene is flawless. Robert Ryan stars as an over-the-hill boxer who's been on a losing streak & who desperately wants to win a match so that he & his wife (Audrey Totter) will have more money. But it's much more than that. He also wants to regain his pride & self-respect. His manager has made a deal with the opposing fighter's team that Ryan will take a dive in the 3rd round. There's just one problem: Ryan doesn't know about the "set-up". What happens next is one of the most realistic boxing scenes in the history of cinema! You see the bloodthirsty & crazed fans screaming as Ryan tries to survive against a much younger fighter who's overly confident because of the "fix". As the fight progresses Ryan's opponent realizes that Ryan has no plans of taking a dive & things get ugly. The camerawork during the fight is incredible: I felt like I was in the ring & found myself flinching as Ryan took some hard punches. Don't worry, I won't spoil the ending! The dvd has a superb picture quality & an interesting commentary by director Robert Wise & Martin Scorsese. Although the film is only 72 minutes I think it's truly a great masterpiece, & I also recommend these: Body & Soul, Champion, & Raging Bull.

SUPERB FILM NOIR FROM ROBERT WISE IS A GREAT DVD!
Long before television's "24", Robert Wise gave us this 1949 film-noir classic, set in "real-time" against a boxing milieu.

An exceptional performance from Robert Ryan, with great support from a seasoned troupe of film favorites, THE SET-UP will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

The DVD looks marvelous, the best I have ever seen of this film. It captures the essence of the RKO-noir look, and is genuinely film-like. Don't be swayed by these neophytes who negate a video transfer because it has "age-related artifacts". What hooey! Not every film has to undergo a million dollar digitization to look as good as it did when it was new, and THE SET-UP has surely never looked better!

An added treat are insightful commentary thoughts from the film's director Mr. Wise, and another legendary director who seems to like the movie. Some guy named Marty Scorsese. :)

Grab it!

GET SET-UP FOR A CLASSIC FILM NOIR
Robert Wise's "The Set-Up" is a taut and exciting 71 minute masterpiece that pulls no punches when it comes to exposing the seedy underworld racket of professional boxing. All the essentials are present for one of the undisputed champions of film noir. A travesty that in recent years this film has not gotten the press or accolades that it so rightfully deserves. The sadly forgotten Robert Ryan stars as Stoker, a once optimistic, once handsome pugilist who falls prey to two unscrupulous fight promoters who make a deal with an underworld kingpin to throw the fight. The wrinkle: nobody tells Ryan that he's got to lose, hence he's driven to win. Ryan, still lean and muscled, was himself a boxer before he became an actor and the intensity in his performance is certainly delving on prior experience in the ring. The film unfolds in 'real time' meaning that the action takes place in approximately the same amount of time it would take for the real event to take place. This tough, gritty little masterpiece offers a superb performance by Robert Ryan as the doublecrossed fighter. The stellar supporting cast includes Audrey Totter, George Tobias and Alan Baxter; names that unfortunately mean little to anyone outside of the die-hard film buff. All give compelling performances, genuinely fraught with a sense of immediacy, excitement but ultimate disillusionment. Rarely do boxing movies derive such riveting, gut-punching exhilaration from any action taking place beyond ringside.

Unfortunately, "The Set-Up" is the poorest looking transfer of the bunch in Warner's box set. It's not awful but it is below average. The gray scale is balanced with but blacks are neither as deep or as solid as they should be. Neither are whites very clean. There's a considerable amount of film grain and a lot of age related artifacts for a visual presentation that is below par for DVD and in desperate need of some digital wizardry. The audio is mono but nicely balanced. The more intent listener will notice slight pops and some hiss but nothing that will distract. Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese tag team on the audio commentary which is very compelling. This disc is recommended for film only, not quality of transfer.

A Perfect "Set-Up"
Two unscrupulous fight promoters make a deal with an underworld kingpin: their aging client, who's had a run of bad luck in the ring, will throw an upcoming match with the gangster's young protege. There's just one problem ... they don't bother to tell the veteran boxer about the fix, because they plan to keep his share of the pay-off. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose, both in and out of the ring. It's a taut, suspenseful plot and to add to the excitement, the movie takes place in real time: 71 minutes in these characters' lives, unfolding in 71 minutes of screen time.

This tough, gritty little masterpiece offers a superb performance by Robert Ryan as the doublecrossed fighter. Lean, muscled, with a world-weary look on his once-handsome face, Ryan's physical perfection in the role is matched by the economy of his acting style. He's surrounded by an excellent supporting cast; every role, including the various spectators in the arena, is beautifully played. Tightly directed by Robert Wise, "The Set-Up" is a gem, and a perfect example of the film noir genre. ... Read more

Amazon.com

You will never find a more chillingly suspenseful, perversely funny, or viciously satirical political thriller than The Manchurian Candidate, based on the novel by Richard Condon (author of Winter Kills). The film, withheld from distribution by star Frank Sinatra for almost a quarter century after President Kennedy's assassination, has lost none of its potency over time. Former infantryman Bennet Marco (Sinatra) is haunted by nightmares about his platoon having been captured and brainwashed in Korea. The indecipherable dreams seem to center on Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), a decorated war hero but a cold fish of a man whose own mother (Angela Lansbury, in one of the all-time great dragon-lady roles) describes him as looking like his head is "always about to come to a point." Mrs. Bates has nothing on Lansbury's character, the manipulative queen behind her second husband, Senator John Iselin (James Gregory), a notoriously McCarthyesque demagogue. Digital video disc extras include interviews with Sinatra, producer George Axelrod, and director John Frankenheimer, and audio commentary by Frankenheimer. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (119)

Candidate for the Best Political Satire of its Time
Have you ever seen Frank Sinatra kicking a Korean man and shouting: What was Raymond doing with his hands? No? Well, here is your chance. Quite seriously though, this is one of the better movies out there. It turns out Raymond was brainwashed into becoming an unconscionable killing machine, and his hand movements were imitating a game of solitaire--the trigger for thoughtless actions, including the taking of human life.

The movie is a dark political satire that exposes politics as a game in which the lust for power is the dominant motive. Angela Lansbury is here in one of her best roles as a traitorous witch behind a bluffing, blustering, Joseph McCarthy-ite Senator. This is also one of Sinatra's better roles, as he displays quite a range of acting: from depressed aloofness to irrepressible violence. The movie has real characters, even though there was a danger it would end up with stick figures and straw men. But no, everything is done superbly, including the McCarthy-ite thug of the Senate and the liberal senator with a milk cartons. Even the Russian operative from the Pavlov Institute in Moscow is a real character.... "always with a touch of humor."

Excellent Classic Thriller
The Manchurian Candidate, starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury, is a well-acted film based on the novel about a mind-controlled assassin created to facilitate a political coup. Sinatra is the former army colleague of the man programmed for the deed, and he begins to have nightmares about the experience where his unit was captured in Korea and then brainwashed by Russian & Chinese personnel. Laurence Harvey plays the programmed killer, who is promoted as a war hero (and the other unit members programmed to praise him even though his real personality was unpleasant). Sinatra's character begins to work with military intelligence to uncover the Harvey character's memories and uncover the full plot, which involves the mother of the programmed assassin, played by Lansbury as the wife of a U.S. Senator seeking the Presidential nomination on the heels of his McCarthy-esque tirades against communists in the government. This clever plot unfolds with a smooth pace, and Janet Leigh provides a stylish role as Sinatra's romantic interest as he pursues the main mystery. The DVD has some extra commentary on the film, with Sinatra & the director providing their insights, although there could have been more bonus material and improved picture quality for the DVD transfer.

I wanted to love this movie
I wanted so badly to love this movie, and on some level, I do. My first viewing (on DVD since I didn't get to see it when it originally came out) wasn't the best experience. I got lost. Oh, I understood the basic plot and thought it was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen, but I missed some things. On a second and third viewing, I STILL didn't get some of the connections. As I said, I got the main idea and thought this brilliant, but some of the writing failed to connect the dots. Even if you don't like every line/connection/piece of the plot, you have to like the acting. The ending will (sorry for the pun), blow you away. Can't wait for the remake.

The original classic
The Manchurian Candidate is a John Frankenheimer directed film set in the middle of the cold war. A group of US soldiers is captured and then brainwashed by the North Koreans and returned to the US lines. Members of the patrol begin to have strange dreams which are in reality the repressed memories of their brainwashing technique.

The crux of the story is the manipulation of one of the soldiers [Shaw] by his mother who's marriage to a McCarthy like senator hides the fact she is really a communist plant. The patrol's commander, played by Frank Sinatra in a fine performance, slowly pieces togther what occurred behind North Korean lines.

Manchurian Candidate predates the Kennedy assasination and the assasination itself was a key reason that the film was later taken out of circulation until the 1980's. A masterpiece of paranoia and political intrigue, The Manchurian Candidate set the tone for a slew of like minded conspiracy films none an finely made or anywhere near as chilling. Both Sinatra and Angela Landsbury in the role of Shaw's mother, put in very fine performances.

Highly recommended.

Political satire and thriller rolled into one
"The Manchurian Candidate" was a product of its era that has managed to transcend the era that produced it. This political satire and thriller captures the sense of paranoia that existed in America during the 50's and early 60's. Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, Angela Lansbury and James Gregory all give top notch performances in John Frankenheimer's classic film of Richard Condon's novel.

A platoon of soliders are betrayed by their military guide and captured by the North Koreans during the Korean War. Their subjected to mind control techniques to make one of them the perfect assassin. When they return home, the platoon's captain (Sinatra)begins having nightmares where his Sgt. Shaw (Harvey)kills two of his men in cold blood. In these dreams they are surrounded by the enemy in a lecture hall being conditioned for the mind control experiments. It's clear that the Sgt. has been conditioned to become a "sleeper" agent--impossible to detect because he doesn't know that he's now an agent for a foreign power. Additionally, Shaw's mother (Lansbury)uses the concerns over communists in the US government to launch her husband's (Gregory)bit to be put on the ticket for the vice-presidency.

This new edition comes with two featurettes. The first features director William Freidkin ("The French Connection", "The Exorcist", "To Live and Die in L.A.")in an appreciation of Frankenheimer's career. Freidkin discusses how "The Manchurian Candidate" broke with the conventions of political thrillers of the time. The second features 15 minute interview with Angela Lansbury about working on the film.

The animated menus is also new and the features from the first disc including Frakenheimer's marvelous commentary track are kept in tact. Do you need to upgrade to this new edition? Only if you didn't purchase the previous one. The previous edition had both the widescreen and full screen versions of the film and all the features here except the two previously mentioned featurettes. ... Read more

Description

3 Great Movies on 1 DVD.Star Power, Exciting Genre with Extras on each DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Men in War - Cult War Classic and Psycho-Drama
"Men in War" may just be the best pschological study of combat ever made and should be considered a cult classic (and probably is) even if it is a cult of one. Anyone who claims this is a "Standard war film set in Korea" might also claim "The God Father" was a standard gangster movie or "The Wizard of OZ" was a standard children's flick. "Men in War" is a concise, classic study of combat that just happens to be set in the Korean War. Anthony Mann's direction impacts every aspect of humanity subjected to sustained combat. Amid the horror we see from the all-but-doomed patrol kindness, depravity, valor, self-interest, despair, hope, and, finally, relief without joy. In short we see how desperation exponentializes human emotion. The unusual camera angles give it a Film Noir "look" that highlights the conflicts and tragedies played out by the forlorn platoon. Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray are the perfect dueling co-protagonists who show that our toughest fights are not always with the ones defined as the enemy. The movie is all very real, all real personal, and all very difficult to watch sometimes because of the graphic truths, not the least of which is the insight into the final thoughts of several doomed souls. There is no going back with this film. Once you watch it you are hooked. It would be best for some esteemed critics to actually watch it once before reviewing it.

Best War film of the '50s?
Anthony Mann's "Men in War," along with Sam Fuller's "Steel Helmet," is the most realistic, tough-as-nails war film made in the '50s.

This is ANTYTHING BUT your standard Hollywood treatment. "Men in War," along with Mann's famous Westerns is a demonstration model of the 'vulgar subtlety' with which Mann subverts Hollywood convention to craft a masterpiece.

And what can you say about Robert Ryan? Easily one of the greatest actors of all time, and one of the coolest. Ryan OWNS this film like he owned Ophuls' Noir film "Caught," (even outshining James Mason in that one) and Aldo Ray steps up to Ryan's challenge with a truly phenomenal performance. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A Stark, Unflinching War Drama
"Men in War" makes one wish Anthony Mann had directed more war films. This is an excellent, character-driven story. It is a prime example of the mature, unflinching kind of war film that began to appear after the Korean conflict. Undeservedly neglected, this picture ranks with Lewis Milestone's "Pork Chop Hill" and Robert Aldrich's "Attack". And it is the progenitor of "Platoon" and "The Thin Red Line". with their complex characters and situations.

Every actor seems to give his best, with exceptional moments from Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray and Robert Keith, as a shell-shocked Colonel. And it is always good to see the admirable Pine, Morrow, Persoff and Edwards. The film has a stark, yet pleasing black & white look which is appropriate for the bare bones conflicts the story sets forth. Moreover, "Men in War" features a very fine score by Elmer Bernstein, utilizing an authentic Korean folk song.

Men in War
This has to be one of the most underrated war flicks of all time. Next to Pork Chop Hill with Gregory Peck, this is the best Korean War film I've seen. Robert Ryan was the perfect cast as the war weary Lieutenant trying to lead his platoon back to battalion HQ. Those who rate this movie average must be fans of Rat Patrol. This movie is a must see.

Men in War
Excellent,all the cast perform their parts well, great action sequences and some amazingly tense scenes.The film begins with the troops hiding in a large hollow ,surrounded by tall grass. Wrecked vehicles lie strewn across the area and only the sound of the wind can be heard.Probably the most climactic scenes I will ever see. This is one of my all time favourites. ... Read more