Reviews (51)

A bit overlong, but worth the time. . .
It takes an expert hand to mix historical fiction, solid action, maudlin melodrama and stock romantic entanglements and emerge with a coherent story, much less an effective and entertaining film, but Otto Preminger manages the trick with In Harm's Way. John Wayne's acting is John Wayne's acting (just replace the cavalry smock with WWII working khaki), but the true stars of the film are Kirk Douglas, Burgess Meredith and Patricia Neal, all of whom do a wonderful job of augmenting and supporting the Duke without getting in his way. The combat scenes are few and far between and, by today's standards, rather tame. However, this seeming weakness proves a hidden strength in what becomes an excellent character study of divergent people thrown together in the chaotic early days of the Second World War. This film does a very good job of showing the difficulties commanders faced in dealing with equipment shortages, personnel problems and the myriad headaches of a combat commander trying to fight a war on a shoestring. In some respects the plot is a bit predictable but nonetheless holds one's attention. Like most Wayne pictures, this ends up being a flag-waving tribute to the heroism of the American fighting man and woman. What makes this one a bit different is the degree of character development. It doesn't take long before you actually start caring about the people and the combat becomes a secondary issue. As with most of the Duke's movies, there is a good dollop of tongue-in-cheek humor to lighten the mood. The final result is a very effective, surprisingly realistic look at the people side of warfare.

War in the Pacific

Director Otto Preminger made a good war movie, here. John Wayne plays the part of a captain who initially loses his ship, but comes back eventually as a commodore (1 star admiral). Kirk Douglas is his Exec, Cdr. Ettinger (eventually a captain), who has a bottled up violence in his character (well played). Patricia O'Neal plays a navy nurse (Lt.), Dana Andrews plays an egotisitcal admiral, and Henry Fonda plays CincPac.

The picture is well cast. Even a young Carroll O'Conner has a part, and Burgess Meredith plays an intelligence officer very well. Brandon De Wilde (a new name to me) plays Wayne's son, a spoiled college brat brought up by his mother, also well-played.

I was impressed by the details in the movie, including the plane's designations (except for a reference to an AT6 "Texan," which they should have called by its navy designation, an SNJ, instead of the air corps desgnation), and the Japanese ship designations. The battleship Yamato, for example, was identified as having 18-inch guns, as indeed it did have--larger than the 16-inch rifles on America's battle-wagons.

All together, it was a well-told story which held pretty much to reality, except for the fictional islands' names and the presence of so many females that close to the action.

I enjoyed it, as I do most old Wayne movies. And Otto Preminger knew how to put them together.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret.)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Great cast!!! Excellent Movie!!
This movie is far from being a typical jingoistic, flag-waving propoganda piece. It deals with several substantive issues (i.e. love, loss, rape, death, etc.) that are dveloping in people's lives at the same time as the war. Interestingly, I felt like a voyeur as I was watching the movie due to an intimate/personal filming perspective and excellent acting.

Overall this movie for mature audiences that can accept steady character development with action being secondary.

Big thumbs up!!

Not As Good As MIDWAY
IN HARM'S WAY is a film about World War II naval action in the Pacific beginning with the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. The movie contains a lot of battle scenes but it soon gets monotonous - especially when one realizes that model ships are used as props.

John Wayne is the star and the supporting cast is strong. Patricia Neal and Kirk Douglas are standouts. In spite of the superior acting and the efforts of Otto Preminger as director, the film never quite achieves the same level of interest as MIDWAY which is definitely a better motion picture.

IN HARM'S WAY received an Oscar nomination in 1965 for Best B & W Cinematography.

Flatly and indifferently made WWII epic
After the triumph that was THE CARDINAL (available on a highly recommended WB disc) Otto Preminger made a big war film based on a bestseller novel. While many find this film wonderful, I find it to be talky, groundbased, and exceedingly unmemorable film. Nearly everything in the film is at a level of artifice that, coupled with the black and white photography and really inexcusable SFX, makes the film look cheap and indifferent. The plotting is cliched when not unbelievable. For example, Jill Haworth kills herself when she fears Kirk Douglas' rape has left her pregnant. WHY did she not consult her fiancee (also John Wayne's estranged son) or press criminal charges? And why did Douglas not seek a divorce from his nymphomanianc wife (Barbara Bouchet)? It doesn't help that the whole picture takes on a buddy-buddy atmosphere totally inappropriate for 167 minute epic. Rumors, by the way, are around that state the film was once even longer and had an intermission (curious fans of the film should pop in their DVD and go to about th 85 minute mark). If the flick was once longer, I will make every attempt never to see the longer version. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

The "almost" Atomic War anti-fable...
The bleak black and white ...sometimes grainy, occasionally jump/jolt cut film...combined with understated dialogue, few special effects and no dramatized combat sequences produce a movie with a ONCE-UPON-A-NIGHTMARE quality. Henry Fonda is excellent as THE PRESIDENT who must convince the never-shown Soviet Premier not to unleash a retaliatory strike against The United States when a squadron of American Vindicator Bombers (decommisioned B-58 Hustlers) threatens Russia because of a computer/Black Box glitch. Walter Matthau is fascinatingly repellant as THE PROFESSOR...a Herman Kahn/Dr.Strangelove clone... who glories in his role as high-priest/adept of Nuclear Deterrence strategies. A young Larry Hagman is memorable as Buck, the President's Russian language translator. Dan O'Herlihy is convincingly tragic as an Air Force commander who must make "the sacrifice of Abraham" to save the world from WW III. There is not a single "mushroom cloud" shown. Combat actions are reduced to electronic displays on the War Room/SAC Big Board. Many opportunities for "thrills" are foresaken by Director Lumet. Instead, he relentlessly paces his "almost" Atomic War anti-fable until a telephone monitored by the US Ambassador to Moscow howls:..this tocsin signals the death of millions and the beginning of Armageddon. There is no such thing as FAIL-SAFE. The film is 40 years old. But like fable, the "sermon" speaks to today, tomorrow and...probably?...para siempre.

Brilliant, chilling "what-if" Cold War film.
When machines break down and accidentally unleash the nuclear genie out of the bottle, it's up to the President(brilliantly played by Henry Fonda) and his top military and government officials to prevent all-out war. Tensions heighten when military men like Colonel Cascio(Fritz Weaver) crack under the strain; a civilian "hawk" (Walter Matthau) argues for total committment while a military pacifist General(Dan O'Herlihy) adamantly insists that unleashing the H-Bomb would spell the end of the world. When it becomes clear the B-58 Vindicator Bombers mistakenly sent against Moscow will reach their target, the President must make the gravest sacrifice to prevent Armageddon. Lumet's directing and the all-star cast bring to life a nightmare situation that almost happened a number of times in real life. Well worth your viewing!

Fantastic!!
I've seen this movie at least 10 times, always on late night TV, and it still gets me every time. Right up until the last minute your'e hoping that all will turn out well, but of course it doesn't. It's curtains for 1964 New York, with it's World's Fair, Ed Sullivan, the Peppermint Lounge and My Fair Lady. Previously Moscow of course meets a simular horrible fate. But what a fantastic movie, full of drama and suspense. I'll never forget the reaction when the first plane is shot down, and the man who reminds them "That wer'e not at a football match" There are so many powerful scenes throughout the movie, too many to list here. It deserved a lot better recognition that what it got at the time. See it!

LIBERALISM IN HOLLYWOOD AND A TERRIBLE ENDING
In 1965, a serious nuclear movie called "Fail Safe" was released. Henry Fonda is the President. A computer glitch launches The Bomb for the U.S.S.R. Fonda cannot recall it, and apologizes to the Soviet premier. His wife is visiting New York City, and in one of the worst political decisions in Hollywood history, Fonda tells the Soviets that in order to prove to them it was an accident, he will drop a 30-megaton nuclear bomb on the Big Apple! He carries through with his decision, despite his wife's presence there. The Soviets are portrayed as suffering their fate with dignified resolve.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM

Incredibly serious and thought-provoking
The main theme of this film is that, with all of the tensions and pressures of the Cold War, and the rapid advancements in weapon development, things could go very wrong, very fast, and become unstoppable. When a drill becomes a false alarm that gets misread by some as a true Soviet nuclear attack against the U.S., American bombs destroy Moscow in "retaliation" and "counter-strike". The President and the Soviet leader try to find a way to prevent full-scale nuclear war, despite decades of mutual distrust. A radical solution is eventually found.

I was born in 1960 and, while that was after the McCarthy era, I grew up with the idea that Soviet Russia might attack at any time. This drama accurately depicts the fear, tension, and suspcion that permeated that time. It is harsh but well-done. ... Read more

Reviews (78)

An Excellent Film.
Oliver Stone's "Nixon" is probably the greatest political film of recent years alongside his masterpiece, "JFK." Some people have attacked Stone for supposedly "re-writing" history, these are people who either don't care about knowing the dark truths history has to offer or don't understand how dramatic composition works. This is a brilliant, powerful and important work. Stone does not justify what Richard Nixon did, he instead, presents a portrait of a flawed man haunted by memories and events. There is a Shakespearean feel to the screenplay. The film is a look at how politics really works, how it's a jungle in that field where issues are forgotten and the object is to win. "Nixon" is a study of power, and how power really works in our system of government. Stone is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, his film here is filled with powerful moments, intense, rich cinematography by Robert Richardson and an editing style that adds texture, realism and energy to the movie. As for re-writing history, the pundits who attack this movie are living in Disneyland and even John Dean claimed that there wasn't anything "unfair" in the dramatic license found in the script. Besides, who the hell goes to the movies to get the facts? For that watch a documentary (and those use a large degree of dramatic license too) or read a book! "Nixon," in it's depiction of how politics and the world works is completely accurate. If you don't believe it, do your own research and especially read Anthony Summers' "Official And Confidential: The Secret Life Of J.Edgar Hoover." Oliver Stone is one of the true film directors who dares to show the truth, who takes a mirror and forces us to look at ourselves. He understands how society and how we who live in society really do operate. Those who attack his work are the ones afraid to realize the realities of this world, they got no balls. He's a dramatic historian, a genius who's work is vital to the history of American cinema.

Not For the Kiddies --- (Fact or Fiction???)
Although the title of this review may falsely imply that this is a one-stop gorefest of a film, anyone who would just look at the title of the film would realize that the movie takes on more of a biographical undertone. And who better to provide us with a 3-hour+ epic with limited historical credibility than Oliver Stone?

I must say immediately that I am a huge Oliver Stone fan, mainly impressed with the range of direction appearing in his films and his tendency to take filmmaking to an extreme. Along with JFK, which unlike this film is not a biographical account of a past president, Nixon takes the viewer on a ride which causes him to ponder, "is this true? Did it really happen this way?" Although thorough in character development and powerful in delivery, this is not meant to be a documentary so to speak. If anything, it is sort of a subjective adaptation of events that took place; a dramatization.

The reason I say this film is not for children, is the level of its plot. Basically, you would have to had taken several college-level American history courses to even grasp some of the names and events mentioned by the actors in the first 20 minutes of the film to understand it.

Nixon, for whatever else it may represent, is a tale of a president who felt he was never beloved by the people, and who always feared the long-looming shadow of his predecessor JFK. It describes the trials and tribulations of a man disjointed with the public, yet still pure at heart.

The main focus of the film is on the notoriety of the Watergate Scandal, with the rest of the movie setting up the motive and the circumstances under which it took place. Nixon (played brilliantly by Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins) spends most of the movie sheltered by his cabinet and chiefs of staff in discussing various conspiracy issues that occurred in the 60s and 70s.

Where this film truly blossoms, and where it earned a rare 5-star rating from me, was in its dynamics. Sure, 191min is a long movie (with the director's cut tallying an even greater 212min), but the film is brilliantly filled with "Oliver Stone-esque" flashbacks to old newsreel footage and supposed earlier points in the character's lives.

To mention the fate of all the characters would be futile in that there are so many key roles. Look for appearances by James Woods, Joan Allen, J.T. Walsh, Dan Hedaya, David Hyde Pierce... among others.

The only place this DVD lacks is in the lack of instillment of extra features, a maladie which was remedied in the Oliver Stone boxset. I cannot wait for Stone's next attempt at a president, with the title being Clinton.

A PLEASANT SURPRISE
He infers that the beast is embodied in the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn controls the U.S. A sequence showing Nixon visiting CIA Director Richard Helms (Sam Waterston) was mostly cut out of the original film, but the video shows it in its entirety at the end of the movie. Helms and his agency are virtually said to be the devil. Flowers in Helms' office are shown to bloom and wilt in supernatural ways, presumably depending on Helms' evil whim. Waterston's eyes are shown to be coal black. He is Satan!
Nixon asks himself the rhetorical question, "Whose helping us?" while staring into a fireplace flame under a portrait of Kennedy. The theme is first brought forth in Nixon's college years, when his older brother dies, and apparently this frees up money through an unexplained source (an insurance policy?) that allows Nixon to go to law school. In light of two Kennedy assassinations, the answer to Nixon's question seems to be the same one that Mick Jagger gives in "Sympathy for the Devil".
"After all, it was you and me," Jagger sings, and Stone would have you believe it was the devil in silent concert with Nixon and his brand of...something. Jingoism, patriotism, xenophobia, bloodthirstiness? Nixon is seen on a couple of occasions shadowed by a devil-like winged creature (the beast), and his conversation with a female college student at the Lincoln Memorial ends with her identification of the beast as the controlling force in American politics. Presumably the girl is able to see this clearly because her heart is pure.
Stone invents secret cabals that never happened between Nixon and John Birch Texas businessmen, racist to the core, who along with a smirking Cuban are there to tell us that because Nixon was in Texas on November 22, 1963 he was somehow plotting JFK's murder.
The conspiracy link between "JFK" and "Nixon" exists in this reference, and the CIA "tracks" like the one Agent X talks about in "JFK", apparently tie Guatemala, Iran and the Bay of Pigs to subsequent events. The Bay of Pigs tie-in, led by E. Howard Hunt and his Cubans, Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, et al, is real enough, but the assassination is one Stone insists is part of the same "track." Something on the list of "horribles," which Nixon discusses with H.R. Haldeman (James Woods), who then talks about "bodies," references to something I still have never figured out after watching the film 15 times. The Kennedy's bodies? Vietnam dead bodies?
Stone gives Watergate its due, but lets the actual events speak for themselves without embellishing it with more hate towards Nixon than that era produced of its own accord. He actually does a solid job of demonstrating the semi-legitimate reasons for creating the Plumbers in the first place, which was to plug leaks in light of Daniel Ellsberg's treacherous "Pentagon Papers" revelation, in concert with the bunker mentality caused by anti-war protesters threatening, in their mind at the time, a civil war like the one that forced Lincoln to declare martial law.
Stone also makes it clear that Nixon and his people were convinced that Kennedy stole the 1960 election, and he does not try to deny it (without advocating it, either). Murray Chotiner represents the realpolitik Republicans who, Stone wants us to know, pulled the same fraudulent tricks, when he says, "They stole it fair and square."
Nixon is depicted as foul-mouthed and quite the drinker. His salty language apparently was learned well into adulthood, and he did occasionally imbibe after years as a teetotaler, but his associates insist it was by no means a regular thing. Woods' Haldeman is no friend of the Hebrews, and Paul Sorvino, doing a big league Henry Kissinger, finds himself constantly at war with the inside Nixon team, put down for his Jewishness. Powers Boothe is a cold-blooded Alexander Haig, representing the reality of Watergate's final conclusion.
It never would have happened under J. Edgar Hoover, Nixon says, and Haig agrees that Hoover, who died just before Watergate, was a "realist" who would have kept it locked up. Nixon discusses suicide with Haig, who eases him out of that but never really tells him not to. When Nixon asks for any final suggestion, Haig says something the real man probably never said:
"You have the Army. Lincoln used it."
Sure.
Nixon breaks down, incredulous that for all his accomplishments, he can be brought down by such a nothing event. Stone allows Hopkins to infuse this scene with Shakespearean irony. Stone gives Nixon his due in many ways. He demonstrates that he was utterly faithful to his wife, Pat, turning down a right wing lovely served up by the Birchers, while telling the girl that he entered politics to help people. His hardscrabble youth is nicely portrayed, with Mary Steenburgen playing his long-suffering Quaker mother. Young Nixon is utterly faithful to her and the honest, religious ethic of the family. But in a later scene, Steenburgen looks questioningly at his Presidential aspirations, saying he is destined to lead, but only if God is on his side. It is a telling statement playing to his theme that dark forces are the wind at Nixon's sails. He enters politics as an idealist, and becomes something else because he discovers he has the talent for it. He is industrious, in contrast to the Kennedys, and will earn everything he has simply by out-working everybody.
An entirely loving portrait of Dick Nixon would have no credibility. Stone does a great job with the movie, which is as balanced as it could be with a side of liberal righteousness.(...)

A Hallmark Film
Oliver Stone said that he thought this film and his film, "JFK", are his "Godfather Part One and Two". I am in complete agreement with him. Together they are a one-two punch combination. This is a hallmark film.

From the Lemon Farm To The White House...
This review refers to the DVD edition of "Nixon"

This film opens with a notation, that it is a dramtic interpertation of the events based on public records, that some scenes may be condensed or hypothesized. With that said, you will find this film to be an enlighting, educational and entertaining look at this turbulent time in American History. Whatever you thought or think about Nixon, whether you admired him or hated him, you'll get a good look at the man who had such a great impact on the country and the world.

Oliver Stone keeps us fascinated with the story from start to finish. It includes Nixon's life as a young boy growing up in a Quaker family and the tragic loss of two brothers, that seems to have quite an influence on his life, his football years at Whittier College,trying to rise out from under the shadow of the beloved John Kennedy, his role in the Viet Nam War, the Presidency and of course the infamous Watergate break-in scandel, leading to his resignation from the Whitehouse. It's not just the events that keep us captivated in this well made film, but Stone delves into the depths of Nixon's soul and the people around him. His relationship with his mother, his wife, and the figures that he worked most closely with, are all very much part of this enthralling story.

The cast is simply amazing as they key players in the events. They all seem to become the very characters they are portraying. Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins(who does a fabulous job as J. Edgar Hoover), E.G. Marshall, J.T. Walsh and James Woods are a few of the very talented actors involved. I want to make special mention of Paul Sorvino who took on the look and persona of Henry Kissinger so well, that it took me several minutes to realize it was Sorvino!

This is a film that may well be appreciated by the History buff and the Film buff alike. It's a great way to learn about or relive this eventful era in American History.

The DVD I have is not the special edition.There is closed captioning in English for those needing it but there are no other special features. It is a good way to go for those just looking for a quality film with a quality transfer.The DVD presents a beautiful widescreen picture with excellent surround sound in DD5.1. And although Amazon is out of stock on this edition, there are some really good deals from the outside sellers. If you don't mind spending a little more and would like to hear the commentary and interviews,you may want to consider the "Special Edition"

Whichever edition you decide on, this is one film that is well worth having in your collection.
Enjoy...Laurie ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Non-stop espionage & adventure to please WWII buffs........
At long last, one of my favourite "fictional" World War II films is finally out on DVD and the transfer is excellent all round.

The 1970's was a period where war movies were filled with mercenaries, commando's and full steam ahead action....and "The Eagle has Landed" is no exception, but a better told tale than many others !

John Sturges shows once again why he is one sharpest action / suspense film directors around with this exciting filming of the very popular Jack Higgins novel. What makes this film so enjoyable, and able to withstand repeated viewings is the talented cast at the centre of this twisting tale of spies and espionage. Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine) is the disgraced leader of a group of crack German paratroopers that have been exiled to operate an MTB boat in the English Channel. Opportuntity comes their way in the form of Colonel Radl (Robert Duvall), with an incredible plot to secretly parachute into England and kidnap Winston Churchill from a country retreat. Donald Pleasance turns in a chilling performance as SS leader, Heinrich Himmler...Donald Sutherland in fine form as the IRA ally, Liam Devlin...Larry Hagman is the pompous and foolhardy Colonel Pitts and Treat Willians (in his first movie role) as the wiser and more wary American Ranger, Captain Clark. Jenny Agutter contributes the love interest as Molly Prior, and Jean Marsh puts in a cold blooded display as the Nazi sympathasier, Joanna Grey.

"The Eagle has Landed" has some great twists and turns and never lets the viewer relax as the story holds a keen balance between action, suspense, romance and tragedy. Highly recommended for those who like intrigue and adventure in their WWII movies !!

A highly entertaining and different WWII film that stands out from the rest.

Great Film, Non-Anamorphic and Grainy Transfer
This movie is a first rate action film. It's high adventure and great story telling all the way. My only disappointment is that Amazon says it is "Anamorphic Widescreen" and it is NOT. The picture is grainy and not clean. Sound quality is good, however. It would be a five star DVD otherwise.

My worst DVD in a collection of 200 DVD's
This is the worst DVD ever produced- the visual quality is beyond poor- its blurry grainy awful to watch and the sound sucks also.
To top all of that off the movie is terrible, really really bad, and the acting stinks. This was probably pulled from the theatres the week it was released- I bought this as part of the 2-pack with Hamburger Hill, but this movie sucks and I gave it away the next day.

Above average adaptation of Jack Higgins's book
This version of the Jack Higgins book isn't bad. Fine performances by a varied cast: including, a steely-eyed Michael Caine; a cocky Donald Sutherland; a mysterious Robert Duvall, and the alway eerie Donald Pleasance, as well as a "nasty" turn by Jean Marsh, as a sympathetic villager. Judy Geeson and Jenny Agutter provide a little beauty amongst the "beasts", i.e., the Germans. The "American style" salutes seem out of place, by those playing Germans, e.g., Caine, as opposed to the "heil" salutes. [My tape was marred a little by some "garbled" sound at the end, I'll have to see if there is a DVD version.] I would say that it wasn't bad. There's also an interesting turn by Larry Hagman, of all people, as a "gung ho" American who's attempt to "see action" before he goes home to a "desk job" only gets him killed.

Classic Adventure Film
In spite of an all start cast giving excellent performances, this fanciful, classic WW2 adventure pales in comparison with the book upon which it is based. Having read the novel first, I admit I was sorely disappointed by the film version. However, if you've only seen (and enjoyed) the movie, you will be in for a treat when you read the book! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

More like 3.5 stars; a fine, funky 70's curio
Alternately ahead of its time and an unmistakable product of its era, the 1976 paramedic comedy-drama "Mother, Jugs and Speed" has finally made its way to DVD.

This uneven but underappreciated little B-movie drew obvious influence from the blood-and-pranks mixture of Robert Altman's "MASH," but you can also see its darkly comic influence on contemporary fare such as "Six Feet Under" and "Bringing out the Dead," and it poked fun at zip-ups gone wrong 20 years before "There's Something About Mary."

Bill Cosby and Harvey Keitel play Southern California ambulance drivers forced to contend with all manner of accidents and injuries, both amusing and tragic. The all-over-the-map cast also includes Raquel Welch, Allen Garfield, Dick Butkus, Bruce Davison, L.Q. Jones, Larry Hagman (as a creepy lech whose antics haven't aged well) and even Allan Warnick, the kid from the records room in "Chinatown."

With its gritty, widescreen look and those awesome blue lens flares so common to the period, "Mother" is a fine, funky 70's curio. Welch and Keitel (who had just been replaced by Martin Sheen in "Apocalypse Now") are stiff but the rest of the pre-Carter administration cast seems to be having fun, particularly Cosby, as the glib, laconic Mother. It's a bit strange to see the sitcom star playing an anti-hero, but his cool, sneaky performance breezily anchors the movie.

Good drive-in fare
Pretty much what you would expect, given the plot--two competing ambulance services chase around the city for patients and profits; the wacky stuff, like occupied gurneys rolling free down city streets and scaring nuns at crosswalks alternates with the mercifully brief meditative stuff--shortly after giving his "There's more to life than this" speech to fellow EMT Bill Cosby, Bruce Davison gets blown away by a junkie who wants drugs from their rig. Raquel Welch moves her way up from harassed office secretary (everyone at the station calls her "Jugs", nice, huh?) to EMT, but loses her first patient--bummer! Harvey Keitel is Raquel's love interest (rare that the man gets subordinated in that way), and Cosby underplays nicely as the most professional of the group. Allen Garfield does his usual sleazebag routine as the put-upon head of the operation. Funny in spots--evocative of the time period. Really stretches the "PG" rating--the board must've been in a giving mood--lots of rough language, drug and alcohol use, and yes, Larry Hagman's character at least TRIES to have sex with an OD patient in the back of his vehicle. Raquel, though, "comes through" under a sheet (a lot happens in the back of those vans!) Can't give an "expert" review--I'm a librarian!

A 70's Classic finally on DVD!!!!!
After all these years the Peter Yates classic staring Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, Harvey Keitel finally arrives on DVD. Take Cosby's humor, Raquel's sex appeal, Keitel's smouldering late 70's cool and one sweet ride of an ambulance, and you've got Mother, Jugs and Speed. Peter Yates' classic take on the ambulance industry in metropolitan Los Angeles gives us a little bit of everything in a quick, well paced film. Cosby's charm shines in one of his best roles i think as the cynical, no nonsense ambulance driver Mother Tucker. Just by looking at Mother's custom Rig, and patch covered jacket you get the impression that Cosby's character was not always an ambulance driver, but perhaps was once something quite differnt. Follow the F+B ambulance company and their staff of irregulars (Including Larry Hagman of Dallas Fame, and football player Dick Butkus) as they do their best to save the lives of their patients and hammer away at one another with a barrage of jokes, and one liners. They don't make comedys like this anymore where the car was just as big of a star as the trio named in the title. While normally found in the comedy section, the film does have an equal number of "dark" moments that let the viewer know that Yates wasn't just doing this for laffs and help to balance out the humor. The DVD transfer is crystal clear, and the slamming 70's soundtrack will be nostalgic for some, and new, and inventive to others. Another reviewer mentioned hearing Peter Frampton's "Show me The Way" playing in an early scene, and I always think of this film when i hear that song. Treat yourself to a 70's classic, and enjoy the ride, and pray that if you ever need the guys in white that he shows up wearing yellow sneakers with red socks, and goes by the name of Mother Tucker.

How do I love Jugs, let me count the ways
I could spend countless words proclaiming the greatness of this film as one of the great urban street comedies of the 70's but just watch the film and it will speak for itself.
I do want to mention that the director of this cinematic gem also directed a little number called "Krull" which is to high fantasy what "Mother, Jugs, and Speed" is to the world of high-brow comedy.
Plus it gave us Lysette Anthony.

A very enjoyable movie about EMT work!
I think this movie is one of Bill Cosby's funniest and best. He plays an fun loving Emergency Medical Tech (EMT) worker who works by his own rules. He drinks his beer, jams his Brother Johnsons tape loudly and scares nuns. The movie does have some very funny moments (like the runaway gurney with the lady strapped to it). Rachael Welch, Harvey Keitel, and Larry Hagman all play fine supporting roles in this movie. Hagman is espically hilirious as an hot to trot driver. I agree with another reviewer who said that this movie shows EMT work in its earliest beginnings. Basically, they were running from call to call dealing with all kinds of different patients and situations. I also like this movie because it was filmed on location in Venice, Culver City, and Los Angeles California. This movie is one gems from the early 1970's. I recommend it highly to anyone. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Classic acting, classic directing
When I was younger, the appeal of SOB was seeing Mary Poppins bare her chest. Well, it's still great.
But when I got older, and really watched this film again, it was the incredible timing and acting chops of the entire cast that blew me away. The skewering of the Hollywood system this movie delivers is first-rate. It's fascinating seeing a film so greatly crucify the underside of Hollywood, when these days its so common knowledge the incorporation and bureacracy the film industry is. We have the internet and a million entertainment magazines now, its common knowledge how cut-throat it is. But in 1981 things were different and when SOB came out, it disappeared quickly it seems. It was probably too "inside" for general audiences to appreciate. Plus I'm sure the forces that be made sure to not trumpet a film which made fun of the people who brought it to screen.

If you appreciated the 'adult' humor of Blake Edwards other films such as '10', and 'Skin Deep', you must see 'SOB.' You have veteran actors tackling matters and situations that really apply to being an adult in the adult world. Mid-life crisis', integrity over indecency, getting older, standing up for principles as society seems to worsen around you...these themes run rampant in Edward's films. Its as though Edwards was the last 'Rat Pack''-ideaology director making movies about loveable drunks and womanizers who's hearts were in the right place, though we watch them comically learn life's lessons through trial and error choices. Good people dealing with the anxiety of getting older and realizing truths about themselves and the world, good and bad. But Edward's always presented it with a 'Boy's Club' mentality that, at least for me, made one hope to have such colorful characters as friends as I matured and got older.

To any prospective watcher of the film reading these reviews, I'd suggest one thing per your first viewing. Pay attention to the repoire between Felix (the suicidal director) and his cohorts Erving (the doctor), Cully (director friend), and Ben (Felix's wife/Julie Andrew's publicist). These guys are pros and the timing of the scenes they share is stellar , old-school, drinking pal ensemble acting. Especially as they 1-by-1 come by the beachhouse to see Felix and fall into their routine of spending time together (drinking and one-liners). These characters were partying Hollywood-style in the 50s and 60s and are now alumni of that classic generation, elders in the world of late 70s early 80s starlets and studios. They've seen it all and nothing shocks them. And boy do they still keep up.

Just lots of little moments, subtle nuances of comraderie that make this film a gem.

I've spent the last few years anxiously awaiting SOB on DVD, searching and contacting studios,websites, anyone who may have known something but to no avail. Suddenly one day it was just another title on a DVD site's "Upcoming Releases." I was ecstatic. I hope it looks and sounds as good as I imagine.

Wish Edward's would have done a commentary track for this, like supposedly he's done for 'Skin Deep'. Then again, maybe since most of the male leads of the film are deceased, it may have been tough for him to watch and reminisce.

Have you come to see her bare herself?
Well, Julie Andrews DOES bare herself in this movie--which is why some may first want to see it--but this film by her real life husband Blake Edwards (who also brought us The Pink Panther) does have some other very good qualities. The trouble is that the film-and the DVD itself--also have some potentially bad points.

On the bright side, we are treated to excellent performances by some very talented people including Julie Andrews, Richard Mulligan, William Holden, Loretta Swit, Larry Hagman--and more! These actors really worked! The story is comparatively simple: in Hollywood, director Felix Farmer makes a terrific flop of a movie and despite his many previous successes in true Hollywood style the studio, his wife (Julie Andrews) and everyone else are abandoning him. Yes, as another reviewer points out, some people in Hollywood try to shield them from reporters and publicity backlash--but they really don't succeed. Felix tries four times to kill himself until he realizes if they re-shoot the film as some type of pornography flick it will make millions and be the biggest money making film of all time. Everyone is afraid at first of taking the gamble; but they see Felix's idea may just well be right and then they all jump on the bandwagon in a brazen and crude greedy rush. When the film makes it even Felix thinks gleefully of the money it will make as he dies a premature death! The film therefore really lashes out at Hollywood greed and backstabbing. A good reminder to us all of how NOT to behave in life! The characters rush around so deeply concerned about money and JUST money that the film illustrates very sharply how shallow, greedy and cruel Hollywood "people" can be.

Then there are the potentially bad points. I say they are potentially bad because not everyone will think they are bad! The film does go downhill a bit because of Edwards' heavy reliance on slapstick to make the film funny. There are, as another reviewer points out, very few exciting extras on this DVD. I agree that it would have been great to have Julie Andrews discussing the scene where she bares her chest as well as her thoughts about the movie in general. An interview with Blake Edwards himself would also have been a really interesting extra.

All in all, this is a movie noteworthy for its attack on Hollywood politics, greed, corruption, game playing manipulation and shallowness. The actors worked their tushies off, too! I was impressed with their fine effort. The humor is fairly good, about a B+ in quality--although if you like slapstick (which is perfectly fine, of course!) then the humor grade goes higher. Nevertheless, the sound quality could definitely be better and there are few extras, however, so I give this DVD four stars.

Almost saved by Julie Andrews's secret talents
And I don't mean her bared chest. S. O. B. was Blake Edwards's attempt to get his own back after the failure of his film DALING LILI over a decade previously: in this film, a director (Richard Mulligan) has a complete nervous breakdown after his film starrign his famously wholesome movie star wife (Julie Andrews) fails at the box office: he tries to recoup his losses by reshooting the film as a softporn fantasia with his wife baring her breasts.

This film was considered wildly funny satire at the time of its release but has aged less well than you might expect. The Lew Wasserman-style Hollywood Edwards mocks was already on its way out when this movie was made in 1981: it reflects the Hollywood of the 1970s much more than the blockbuster-driven Hollywood that was already taking its place. Most of the actors (particularly Robert Preston, Robert Vaughan, and Loretta Swit as a shrieking harpy of a gossip columnist) seem to be having the time of their lives. Julie Andrews isn't very good in her scene throwing an Oscar at Mulligan, and she may wear the most hideous clothes ever in this film, but she redeems not only her performance but almost the entire movie when Preston has to make her high to ensure she can do her breatbearing scene: she's really, really funny whooping it up.

Smutty soft porn
I know that Julie Andrews was trying to make a statement as to how versatile she is and after Victor Victoria she showed the world how versatile she was, but did she have to make this film in between?
This showed a side to her that people who liked her didn't know about, the "i'm going to be modern and trendy and stay the box office draw, even if i have to bare my breast," attitude. She sings brilliantly in it but her acting is over the top, especially in the confrontation with Felix, when a bloke who's in bed is sick through a whole in the roof on Felixs head. The whole film is boring and over the top sexiness and Richard Mulligan, good actor that he is, does go over the top and starts acting like Jim Carrey on happy tablets.
Generally, i'd say rent it or see it on T.V and if you are a Julie Andrews fan then buy it but other that don't bother.

Viking Funerals and Hollywood
Blake Edwards's filmography is quite impressive. This is the man who brought us the Pink Panther films, The Great Race, Victor/Victoria, and 10. Edwards was the king of the 1970s, creating films that blended adult themes with memorably comedic moments. The filmmaker carried this approach into the early 1980s with S.O.B., a black comedy about the backbiting, cynical world that is Hollywood. This 1981 film fields some heavy hitters in its cast: William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Robert Vaughn, Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, Larry Hagman, Loretta Swit, Robert Webber, Stuart Margolin, Shelley Winters, and Robert Loggia all play parts, both big and small, in this movie. Look for a young Rosanna Arquette as one of the hitchhikers Culley (William Holden) picks up on the highway.

S.O.B. is a movie within a movie. Felix Farmer, played with brilliant alacrity by the late Richard Mulligan, never lost money on a picture until "Nightwind" came out starring his wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews). Now Felix is on the outs with his studio head David Blackman (Robert Vaughn), his wife is divorcing him, and he just tried to kill himself. Since this is Hollywood, a whole host of publicists, agents, and advisors try to shield Felix and Sally from the critical backlash. As Felix stumbles around his beach house in a dazed stupor, his friends Tim Culley, Dr. Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston), and publicist Ben Coogan (Robert Webber) all arrive on the scene to lend a hand. Nothing seems to bring Felix out of his funk until he arrives at the realization that the only way to save his career is to reshoot his stinker by having wife Sally, who is a G-rated film queen, bare her all. When it looks like Felix might be on to something, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to make a buck or take some credit for the success.

I had hopes that this film was as funny as it was when I first saw it in the mid 1980s. It isn't, but there are still some great performances along the way. Mulligan is electricity as Farmer, adding even more gusto to his character here then he did as Bert Campbell in "Soap." Holden always does a good job as the weary soul that must witness the slow decay of those around him. Preston is great too as Finegarten, whipping out one-liners with great aplomb. The problem I had with the film is that it is almost too sad to watch it. Here are all these great actors giving one last gasp before passing into the great beyond. S.O.B. was Holden's last film, made before he hit his head and bled to death during a drunken binge. Preston died a few years later from lung cancer, and Mulligan died in 2000 from colon cancer. It is difficult, nay impossible, to forget this as you watch the film. The habits of the characters do not make it easier, either. Holden actually plays a drunk in the film, so knowing that he was one in real life makes it a tad painful to see it here played for laughs.

Another problem more noticeable with repeated viewings years later is the schizophrenia of the film. Edwards starts out with a bang, introducing the characters and establishing their quirky traits. After Felix buys the rights to "Nightwind," however, the movie morphs into a farce with slapstick elements. The latter half of the film still delivers laughs (Felix's last words concern bringing in another ten million at the box office, hardly what a normal person would think during their last seconds of life), but it doesn't mesh as well with the scathing first half. Add to this a mediocre DVD transfer, with some haziness and sunburns on people who shouldn't have them, and this adds up to a good, not great, film.

I would have liked to see more extras on this film. While Holden, Preston, and Mulligan are dead and therefore unavailable for comment, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards are still alive and could have contributed many insights on a commentary track. Hearing Andrews discuss her topless scene would have been worth the price of the movie in and of itself. As it stands, there is a filmography of Blake Edwards plus the trailer for the film and that is about it in the way of treats. Taken as a whole, S.O.B. falls strictly into the "rent, not buy" category. ... Read more

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Based on the novel by Anonymous (a.k.a. political reporter Joe Klein) and released when the Monica Lewinsky scandal was in full swing, Primary Colors may have been a case of too much, too soon for many moviegoers, who preferred the real-life Clinton crisis over the movie's thinly disguised "Clintonesque" comedy. The general public felt that the film was exploiting the president's indiscretions, and as a result one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 1998 was a box-office disappointment. But when considered apart from the Clinton scandals and judged on its own considerable merits, this superb comedy-drama provides an illuminating, insightful, and frequently hilarious look at the harsh realities of presidential politics. John Travolta stars as Jack Stanton, a presidential hopeful whose campaign is challenged by dual dilemmas: how to squelch a scandal involving the candidate's alleged sex with an underage girl, and how to handle information that could potentially ruin Stanton's opponent (superbly played by Larry Hagman). Stanton's wife (Emma Thompson) stands by her man despite awareness of his infidelities, but his loyal campaign planners (played by Billy Bob Thornton, Maura Tierney, and promising newcomer Adrian Lester) experience a crisis of conscience. So does one of the Stantons' oldest friends (Kathy Bates, in an Oscar-nominated role), whose sense of betrayal and lost idealism proves too much to bear. Masterfully adapted by director Mike Nichols and his former-comedy-partner-turned-screenwriter, Elaine May, Primary Colors plays like a sophisticated comedy with loads of memorable scenes and dialogue, but it sneaks up on you with devastating dramatic impact. Anchored by Travolta's superb performance (which is reminiscent of Clinton without being a cheap impersonation), the movie presents a story of great moral complexity and leaves viewers to contemplate their own reactions to the volatile and ethically complicated game of modern politics. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (62)

Be Not Deceived- This is a GREAT Film
Forget Bush and Gore! The more interesting race for the presidency took place in "Primary Colors," an all-around outstanding movie which sank into obscurity, unfortunately, thanks to the Lewinsky scandal. Yes, it's loosely based on the Clintons, but if you put that aside and just focus on the movie in its own right, it's not as hard of a pill to swallow.

To start, seasoned vets Nichols and May provide sharp direction and writing, respectively. Even though this movie is about politics (which, as all of us now know, can get pretty gruesome), they make it interesting and intriguing by going behind the scenes, showing the feelings and emotions of the people involved in a presidential campaign, feelings and emotions that don't come through in press conferences and interviews.

The vision of Nichols and May is turned into fine art by a superb cast. Travolta is surprisingly charismatic, and Emma Thompson deserves much more praise than she has received as his patient but driven wife. Billy Bob Thornton gives a hilarious supporting performance, and Larry Hagman also does a great job as Travolta's opponent who's unwillingly thrust into the spotlight (Rob Reiner also has a humerous cameo as the host of ... call-in radio show in Florida).

But the two stars that outshine the rest are Adrian Lester and Kathy Bates. Lester is absolute dynamite as the campaign manager who yearns for "the real thing," a candidate who actually practices what he preaches. His performance is dramatic and heartfelt. As great as his performance is, Bates is the unsung hero of the movie, and without question, deserved to win Best Supporting Actress (she was robbed by Judi Dench and her 5-minutes-of-fame in "Shakespeare in Love"). She is outrageously funny at times and humble and vulnerable at others, but always comes through with an endearing sincerity.

So, if you want to see an all-around great movie or, more specifically, if you've become disillusioned by the political process and the (so-called) leaders it has produced, there has never been a better time to watch "Primary Colors."

BITTERSWEET ENTERTAINMENT
The machinations of a presidential campaign in "Primary Colors" is presented through the eyes of Henry Burton (British actor Adrian Lester). Henry is a privileged young African American feldgling politician whose grandfather was a civil rights legend. While trying to find out who the candidate is, Henry is virtually kidnapped by the presidential campaign of an obscure Southern governor, Jack Stanton (played flawlessly by John Travolta). Stanton's politically savy, smart lawyer wife Susan (amazingly played by Emma Thompson) is often the brains of the campaign. The parody on Bill and Hillary Clinton is obvious.

Of course, the idealistic Henry and aging Stanton loyalist, Libby Holden (Kathy Bates who possibly hands in the film's best supporting performance) keep hoping that Jack and Susan are as good as they seem. Inevitably, the Stantons compromise everything to win the campaign and power, leaving without much integrity as the campaign progresses.

The movie is very funny and works as a Clinton parody without being offensive. Indeed, the magical collaboration between director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May produces a very clever and entertaining political melodrama. After three viewings, I'm not tired of this movie. At the end, I gained even more respect for the talents of Travolta, Thompson, Bates, Billy Bob Thornton et al.

This is a must see film.

the story of Bill
basically the story of the evilness of Bill Clinton America's worst president/murderer/rapist/womanizer/drug user/drug dealer/basically you name something that's a crime and he did it

a very good representation of the Clinton's evilness

Is It Real or Just Fiction?
I watched this film recently while reading Bill Clinton's book, "My Life," and after watching another DVD, "The War Room," and I have to say it's hard to tell if this "story" is fiction or a factual summary of Clinton's original run for the Presidency.

Regardless of the story behind the story this movie stands on its own as an excellent political film. John Travolta is fantastic (amazingly close to the real Clinton!) as Stanton the Southern candidate running for office. He leaves behind all hints of his normal sexiness and turns himself into a slick, conniving out of shape politican beant on winning his campaign. He pulls off this role with amazing ability as an actor, tearing up when necessary and showing anger without any brutality, he held it all in his eyes.

Kathy Bates plays a crazy campaign manager who tries to keep Stanton out of the dog house one too many times. She is brilliant in this role as a tough lesiban who succumbs to the reality of politics. She rants, she raves and she delivers great ethical speeches as her character attempts to right all of Stanton's wrongs (which are amazingly similar to Clinton's!).

I believe this film will open up a new level of awareness as to what actually occurs during a presidential campaign. An interesting film with a slow growing message and quite appropriate for political followers. I just wish Stanton/Clinton would finally show his TRUE colors!

"Wow" is the only phrase that comes to mind
When I first stumbled across a very very late night airing of Primary Colors on television, I was hesitant to sit back and enjoy the show. Political films just don't float my boat, since I find the actual politics somewhat uninteresting. However, within about forty-five seconds, I was hooked on this compelling comedy-drama. The story is superb, even though it isn't anything we haven't heard or joked about before. The acting is beyond superb, with every character given a voice and a story, so that you feel that nothing that is said or done is out of place. Although the comedic moments are great, what is really surprising is how, by the end of the film, you are deeply affected by the outcome of each character's story. And although the film is about politics, it is completely non-partisan and leaves the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions.

I feel that I cannot say enough good about Primary Colors. It is a surprisingly wonderful film that I would recommend to everyone. ... Read more

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For anyone who's wallowed in the inanities of 1970s disaster movies, The Big Bus is not only witty but downright endearing. Instead of an endangered airliner or a capsized cruise ship, this dippily deadpan parody features a block-long, atomic-powered, luxury super-Greyhound setting off on its first transcontinental run with a garish cross section of humankind programmed for redemption, retribution, or just sublime ridiculousness as they roll toward Doom--or Denver, whichever comes first. Writers Fred Freeman and Lawrence J. Cohen, who penned the daffy historical spoof Start the Revolution Without Me (1970), twist the sententious ironies of disaster-movie dialogue into pretzels (priceless scene: Richard B. Shull, as a "terminal traveler" with six months to live, and Bob Dishy, a discredited veterinarian who fitted a rabbit for an IUD, debating who knows more about bitterness). James Frawley's direction is drolly cliché-savvy, but his touch proved too delicate for 1976 audiences; it remained for Airplane! to grab the disaster-spoof brass ring four years later. Still, it's not too late to climb aboard. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A Spoof that Should Have Worked
Like the "Airplane!" films that succeeded it, "The Big Bus" is hilarious parody of the oh-so-popular disaster flicks of the 1970's. It is really like a disaster film as seen through the eyes of Tex Avery, the master animator who threw everything into his 'toons, including the kitchen sink at the expense of some poor soul.

"Bus" features a superb cast of movie and television performers who mimic every big name actor featured in bigger budgeted extravaganzas like "The Poseidon Adventure," "The Towering Inferno," and "Earthquake."

In the words of Spike Lee, one must "get on this bus" for a fun-filled ride.

Before Airplane, before Police Squad, before Naked Gun....
...there was the Big Bus!!! An all star cast and joke-a-minute hilarity that's also a time capsule of 70's starts and icons (who can forget Vic "Mel's Diner" Tayback in the bar fight scene!). The romance subplot somewhat falters but if you're a fan of the aforementioned films as well as Kentucky Fried Movie and Groove Tube, this is well worth the rather high price.

Really, Really BIG!
Hop on the BIG BUS! You're in for a rare treat. Joseph Balogna and Stockard Channing star in the best movie parody since "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein"! The big bus is a nuclear-powered monster of a thing, complete with bowling alley, swimming pool, and piano bar. It can change tires automatically, while still moving! It can wash itself! It can go 90mph around curves, with only minor internal chaos! The passenger list is a screwball dream-come-true! Ruth Gordon is the dirty old lady, quick on the draw with her perfectly rude remarks! Rene Auberjonois is the conflicted / doubting priest, who has a nasty streak as long as the bus! Lynn Redgrave is the celebrity on board, seducing any man she encounters. She's also got a secret score to settle! Sally Kellerman and Richard Mulligan are the battling couple, set to finalize their divorce, but unable to keep their hands off each other! Of course, let's not forget the washed-up veterinarian, the terminal guy with six months to live (which Lynn Redgrave helps him to overcome), and the narcoleptic co-driver who passes out at the wheel every few minutes! Did I mention Larry Hagman as the doctor who spends most of the movie in a parking lot, because his patient (Harold Gould) "can't be moved"? Or Ned Beatty and Howard Hesseman as technicians who must work together, but just don't get along? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there's a bomb on board! Drop whatever you're doing and buy this right now...

The Single Greatest Film Ever Made
Someday I'll build a bus like that and never look back. I'll dine in my bicentennial dining room, I'd raise the flags of all nations, I'd take a dip in the swimming pool, I'd save Stockard Channing from drowning in soda. Why, you can do anything on this bus. I would, however, NOT eat a busload of passengers. Maybe one foot. If it was in a stew.

Airplane Thiefs!!!
Airplane stole so many gags from this movie it isn't even funny. (No pun intended.) I love them both. What no one has mentioned is that the movie is gorgeous to watch...beautifully designed and shot. Airplane, tho perhaps a more consistently funny movie, seems to have tried to copy the production but come off as looking cheaper. They did learn the lesson tho that you never stop the jokes coming. The Big Bus loses one star for letting up here and there to attempt moments of drama that don't quite work. Stockard Channing working in the kitchen as the bus tilts to and fro on the road gets seven stars. ... Read more

Description

The Blob returns--more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Larry Hagman (who also directed), Burgess Meredith, Dick Van Patten, Robert Walker and Shelly Berman, add to the fun. A geologist (Godfrey Cambridge) unwittingly brings home an unusual frozen piece of debris from the North Pole. But when it accidentally thaws, the hungrier-than-ever blood-red Blob comes to life again, consuming nearly everyone in its path and terrorizing the town. No one is safe as it crawls into a bowling alley and oozes its way across an ice rink, becoming grotesquely bloated with the blood of its victims. Can this bizarre creature ever be stopped?! ... Read more

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A true rediscovery of the most valuable kind, The Hired Hand has been superbly restored after 30 years of obscurity--which followed a pitifully half-hearted release in 1971. The Western storyline is simplicity itself:after many years, a wanderer (Peter Fonda) returns to his farm and wife (Verna Bloom), with his saddlemate (the incomparable Warren Oates) in tow; violence intrudes. But the subtle sexual politics in Alan Sharp's script, the guitar sound of Bruce Langhorne's music, and the rapturous landscapes in Vilmos Zgismond's cinematography create a fresh take on the old form. This was Fonda's directing debut (two years after Easy Rider), and while it has an unmistakably seventies vibe to it, the film also feels like an "eastern" Western, its minimalist style approaching zen. Give yourself over to its deliberate mood, and by the time the final shot rolls into view you'll know you've seen something special. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Extraordinary Western with '60s Sensibility
The Hired Hand directed by and starring Peter Fonda is a minor masterpiece. This '60s-influenced Western features uncanny poignant performances by Fonda as well as Verna Bloom (still in her Medium Cool period) and Warren Oates. Vilmos Zsigmond's camerawork beautifully captures the dreamlike atmosphere, utilizing scene-on-scene double imagery.

Fonda and Oates set out for California, but Fonda decides to return to his wife (Bloom) and daughter. A painting of many moods, emotions, and atmospheres, and a touching ending.

Definitely superior to "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", and ranks with "Once Upon a Time in the West" as one of the all time great Westerns.

Lend this movie a hand
Hired Hand is foremost a visual masterpiece. Director of cinematography was Vilmos Zgimond, and it's a richly textured, roughhewn, wholewheat grain portrait of the American West. The uses of dissolves here are more beautifully impressionistic and evocative than in any other film I can remember. There are moments when the movie takes on the aspects of painting with images bleeding from watercolor brushstrokes. The opening scene has the camera panning a shimmering river for sun's gold rays. In other moments the landscapes and characters fade into one another as if to contemplate on the relationship of physical space and time. The movie raises a question about the meaning of home and freedom. The central character, after 7 yrs of drifting, decides to return home to his wife and child. But, the home in the movie is a psychological as well as a physical realm. When Peter Fonda goes to save his partner in another town, it's also an act of going home, where he belongs, in doing what he must do. There are other themes as well, developed thru intelligent writing and authentic performances, especially by the female lead. Best of all, themes never degnerate into social statements. Most brilliant of all is perhaps the movie's use of cinematic time. It's well-known how Peckinpah suspended action to accentuate psychological time as opposed to objective time. This film is more radical for slowing not movement--the effect of which is obvious--but stillness itself. It feels as though our perceptions are seeping thru the cracks within time itself. Also, brilliant is the use of sound, as though we're eavesdropping into the whispers of nature, murmurs of the heart. The spare, haunting musical score also accentuates the many hidden ambiguities in the film. Its casting is also noteworthy. Except for Peter Fonda it's devoid of anyone that could have been called a star; even Fonda himself was more a cult movie hero. Warren Oates delivers one of his finest, most thoughtful performaces. And, the woman, plainfaced yet pointedly distinctive is the sort of female lead you simply don't see anymore. Today we have pretty woman or broad types(fat chick, ugly girl, airhead bimbo, etc), but rarely anyone with this kind of unembellished truth to her being. Even the villians are more menacing and repugnant for their ordinary, real qualities. Because they are not villian archetypes we don't feel they could be defeated by the old formula. Finally, it's a film that defies the auteur theory. Peter Fonda, I'm sure, deserves alot of credit, but the film is really a triumph of writing, acting, and perhaps foremost, of cinematography all working together in harmonious chemistry. The uses of colors, techniques such as dissolves, slow motion, still photography are comparable to those in the great McCabe and Mrs Miller, another very differnt kind of Western. It would be wrong to dismiss this film as a post-hippie Easy Riderish western. It's much more; in fact, it defies all categories.

The inevitable connection
Peter Fonda here proves himself an immensely skilled director. Working with one of the best cinematographers in the business, Vilmos Szigmond, he's crafted a Western that eschews flashy gunfights and grandiose plot points, and instead focuses on a simple story that's all the more telling, just because of its simplicity.

And because of the visual artistry on display. Fonda and Szigmond make a great team; the director knows the feeling he wants to convey and the cinematographer knows exactly how to convey it. Fonda goes for the visual montage/collage a number of times in the course of the film and while this may sound dated or gimmicky, the reason it works so well is because he has a keen understanding of how the visual connects to the emotional as closely as possible. The fade ins and outs that overlap one scene to the next make the film resonate with subtle power as the director meant it to. A woman's face superimposed on a vast stretch of land; a silhouetted man against a huge open twilight sky...

The most memorable Westerns should easily connect the characters to the land they reside on, giving the viewer a strong sense of that inevitable connection. The Hired Hand does this so gracefully and naturally it's a wonder few if any other Westerns come close to it. Only Barbarosa has a feeling approaching The Hired Hand, but the latter is unique.

And a good story, Western or not, must involve the reader, the viewer, the participant, in a conflict the main character deals with. It's here, but not in any overly dramatic way. Violence arises suddenly, as is almost always the case, and is dealt with just as suddenly.

Fonda (Harry Collins) and Warren Oates (Arch Harris) have been riding buddies for a long time and while Oates wants to head west to the Pacific Ocean, Fonda realizes he needs to return to his home he abandoned long before, to once again see his wife and child. In spite of his initial desire to go west, Arch decides to accompany Harry. When they arrive, Hannah (Verna Bloom) agrees that Harry can stay on as a hired hand, compensating for his abandoning her previously. That's the story.

Fonda is the right choice to play Harry, the titular character, and even better is Warren Oates as his sidekick. Oates made a career of playing characters who were good at what they did, but nevertheless somewhat mystified or partially beaten down by circumstances, following the path they felt was the only one they could follow because of what life had dealt them. That's true here as well, and Oates is the standout here, stealing the film, characterwise, from both Fonda and Bloom.

But the real star of the show is the quiet visual artistry combined with the pared to the bone dialogue and (intentionally) minimal acting that provides an emotional resonance powerful enough to remember for a long time after shutting off the DVD player.

Highly recommended.

Wisdom
Mark Twain had an old saw about how, when Twain was 17, his father was so stupid. But then, after Twain turned 21, he was amazed at how much the old man had learned in 4 short years! And so it is with The Hired Hand. Few of us were ready in 1971 to see Captain America with anything under him that didn't have two wheels. And now - a mere three plus decades later - how well this film has aged! A spare but compelling storyline supplemented with lush photography and some fine performances make this a DVD-shelf 'keeper' that will hold up well through multiple viewings. And the Peter Fonda commentary adds new elements to the pleasures of this film. I missed a recent screening of the film in Port Townsend with both Fonda and Bloom in attendance and I'm still kicking myself!

Re-cut version a disappointment
Although it is billed as a "restoration", make no mistake about it, this is a re-cut film that is substantially different from the original release. In my opinion, the re-editing was not an improvement. Early scene deletions involving young Dan's fatal trip back to the saloon for another bottle of rotgut have an unfortunate narrative impact, as does the subsequent deletion of Harry and Arch's discovery that the newly deceased Dan's horse is missing. Later substantial deletions in the original storyline involving the death of Ed Plummer, and the subsequent legal investigation by the local sheriff (Larry Hagman)left me drop-jawed and very disappointed.

I suppose that one could argue that since it is Peter Fonda's film, he has a perfect right to recast it as he wishes. To my mind, in his obvious effort to "tighten" the film, he discarded solid gold narrative elements that made the orginial film much better than this "restored" version.

All this being said, the acting, cinematography, music, set design, etc. of The Hired Hand remain outstanding, if not unique. The disappointing editing choices in this new version should not diminish the overall impact of the truly amazing film I first saw over thirty years ago...but they do. ... Read more

Description

From the best-selling Jack Higgins novel comes this suspenseful thriller about a German officer who takes over a small town as part of a plot to assassinate Winston Churchill. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Non-stop espionage & adventure to please WWII buffs........
At long last, one of my favourite "fictional" World War II films is finally out on DVD and the transfer is excellent all round.

The 1970's was a period where war movies were filled with mercenaries, commando's and full steam ahead action....and "The Eagle has Landed" is no exception, but a better told tale than many others !

John Sturges shows once again why he is one sharpest action / suspense film directors around with this exciting filming of the very popular Jack Higgins novel. What makes this film so enjoyable, and able to withstand repeated viewings is the talented cast at the centre of this twisting tale of spies and espionage. Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine) is the disgraced leader of a group of crack German paratroopers that have been exiled to operate an MTB boat in the English Channel. Opportuntity comes their way in the form of Colonel Radl (Robert Duvall), with an incredible plot to secretly parachute into England and kidnap Winston Churchill from a country retreat. Donald Pleasance turns in a chilling performance as SS leader, Heinrich Himmler...Donald Sutherland in fine form as the IRA ally, Liam Devlin...Larry Hagman is the pompous and foolhardy Colonel Pitts and Treat Willians (in his first movie role) as the wiser and more wary American Ranger, Captain Clark. Jenny Agutter contributes the love interest as Molly Prior, and Jean Marsh puts in a cold blooded display as the Nazi sympathasier, Joanna Grey.

"The Eagle has Landed" has some great twists and turns and never lets the viewer relax as the story holds a keen balance between action, suspense, romance and tragedy. Highly recommended for those who like intrigue and adventure in their WWII movies !!

A highly entertaining and different WWII film that stands out from the rest.

Great Film, Non-Anamorphic and Grainy Transfer
This movie is a first rate action film. It's high adventure and great story telling all the way. My only disappointment is that Amazon says it is "Anamorphic Widescreen" and it is NOT. The picture is grainy and not clean. Sound quality is good, however. It would be a five star DVD otherwise.

My worst DVD in a collection of 200 DVD's
This is the worst DVD ever produced- the visual quality is beyond poor- its blurry grainy awful to watch and the sound sucks also.
To top all of that off the movie is terrible, really really bad, and the acting stinks. This was probably pulled from the theatres the week it was released- I bought this as part of the 2-pack with Hamburger Hill, but this movie sucks and I gave it away the next day.

Above average adaptation of Jack Higgins's book
This version of the Jack Higgins book isn't bad. Fine performances by a varied cast: including, a steely-eyed Michael Caine; a cocky Donald Sutherland; a mysterious Robert Duvall, and the alway eerie Donald Pleasance, as well as a "nasty" turn by Jean Marsh, as a sympathetic villager. Judy Geeson and Jenny Agutter provide a little beauty amongst the "beasts", i.e., the Germans. The "American style" salutes seem out of place, by those playing Germans, e.g., Caine, as opposed to the "heil" salutes. [My tape was marred a little by some "garbled" sound at the end, I'll have to see if there is a DVD version.] I would say that it wasn't bad. There's also an interesting turn by Larry Hagman, of all people, as a "gung ho" American who's attempt to "see action" before he goes home to a "desk job" only gets him killed.

Classic Adventure Film
In spite of an all start cast giving excellent performances, this fanciful, classic WW2 adventure pales in comparison with the book upon which it is based. Having read the novel first, I admit I was sorely disappointed by the film version. However, if you've only seen (and enjoyed) the movie, you will be in for a treat when you read the book! ... Read more

Reviews (78)

An Excellent Film.
Oliver Stone's "Nixon" is probably the greatest political film of recent years alongside his masterpiece, "JFK." Some people have attacked Stone for supposedly "re-writing" history, these are people who either don't care about knowing the dark truths history has to offer or don't understand how dramatic composition works. This is a brilliant, powerful and important work. Stone does not justify what Richard Nixon did, he instead, presents a portrait of a flawed man haunted by memories and events. There is a Shakespearean feel to the screenplay. The film is a look at how politics really works, how it's a jungle in that field where issues are forgotten and the object is to win. "Nixon" is a study of power, and how power really works in our system of government. Stone is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, his film here is filled with powerful moments, intense, rich cinematography by Robert Richardson and an editing style that adds texture, realism and energy to the movie. As for re-writing history, the pundits who attack this movie are living in Disneyland and even John Dean claimed that there wasn't anything "unfair" in the dramatic license found in the script. Besides, who the hell goes to the movies to get the facts? For that watch a documentary (and those use a large degree of dramatic license too) or read a book! "Nixon," in it's depiction of how politics and the world works is completely accurate. If you don't believe it, do your own research and especially read Anthony Summers' "Official And Confidential: The Secret Life Of J.Edgar Hoover." Oliver Stone is one of the true film directors who dares to show the truth, who takes a mirror and forces us to look at ourselves. He understands how society and how we who live in society really do operate. Those who attack his work are the ones afraid to realize the realities of this world, they got no balls. He's a dramatic historian, a genius who's work is vital to the history of American cinema.

Not For the Kiddies --- (Fact or Fiction???)
Although the title of this review may falsely imply that this is a one-stop gorefest of a film, anyone who would just look at the title of the film would realize that the movie takes on more of a biographical undertone. And who better to provide us with a 3-hour+ epic with limited historical credibility than Oliver Stone?

I must say immediately that I am a huge Oliver Stone fan, mainly impressed with the range of direction appearing in his films and his tendency to take filmmaking to an extreme. Along with JFK, which unlike this film is not a biographical account of a past president, Nixon takes the viewer on a ride which causes him to ponder, "is this true? Did it really happen this way?" Although thorough in character development and powerful in delivery, this is not meant to be a documentary so to speak. If anything, it is sort of a subjective adaptation of events that took place; a dramatization.

The reason I say this film is not for children, is the level of its plot. Basically, you would have to had taken several college-level American history courses to even grasp some of the names and events mentioned by the actors in the first 20 minutes of the film to understand it.

Nixon, for whatever else it may represent, is a tale of a president who felt he was never beloved by the people, and who always feared the long-looming shadow of his predecessor JFK. It describes the trials and tribulations of a man disjointed with the public, yet still pure at heart.

The main focus of the film is on the notoriety of the Watergate Scandal, with the rest of the movie setting up the motive and the circumstances under which it took place. Nixon (played brilliantly by Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins) spends most of the movie sheltered by his cabinet and chiefs of staff in discussing various conspiracy issues that occurred in the 60s and 70s.

Where this film truly blossoms, and where it earned a rare 5-star rating from me, was in its dynamics. Sure, 191min is a long movie (with the director's cut tallying an even greater 212min), but the film is brilliantly filled with "Oliver Stone-esque" flashbacks to old newsreel footage and supposed earlier points in the character's lives.

To mention the fate of all the characters would be futile in that there are so many key roles. Look for appearances by James Woods, Joan Allen, J.T. Walsh, Dan Hedaya, David Hyde Pierce... among others.

The only place this DVD lacks is in the lack of instillment of extra features, a maladie which was remedied in the Oliver Stone boxset. I cannot wait for Stone's next attempt at a president, with the title being Clinton.

A PLEASANT SURPRISE
He infers that the beast is embodied in the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn controls the U.S. A sequence showing Nixon visiting CIA Director Richard Helms (Sam Waterston) was mostly cut out of the original film, but the video shows it in its entirety at the end of the movie. Helms and his agency are virtually said to be the devil. Flowers in Helms' office are shown to bloom and wilt in supernatural ways, presumably depending on Helms' evil whim. Waterston's eyes are shown to be coal black. He is Satan!
Nixon asks himself the rhetorical question, "Whose helping us?" while staring into a fireplace flame under a portrait of Kennedy. The theme is first brought forth in Nixon's college years, when his older brother dies, and apparently this frees up money through an unexplained source (an insurance policy?) that allows Nixon to go to law school. In light of two Kennedy assassinations, the answer to Nixon's question seems to be the same one that Mick Jagger gives in "Sympathy for the Devil".
"After all, it was you and me," Jagger sings, and Stone would have you believe it was the devil in silent concert with Nixon and his brand of...something. Jingoism, patriotism, xenophobia, bloodthirstiness? Nixon is seen on a couple of occasions shadowed by a devil-like winged creature (the beast), and his conversation with a female college student at the Lincoln Memorial ends with her identification of the beast as the controlling force in American politics. Presumably the girl is able to see this clearly because her heart is pure.
Stone invents secret cabals that never happened between Nixon and John Birch Texas businessmen, racist to the core, who along with a smirking Cuban are there to tell us that because Nixon was in Texas on November 22, 1963 he was somehow plotting JFK's murder.
The conspiracy link between "JFK" and "Nixon" exists in this reference, and the CIA "tracks" like the one Agent X talks about in "JFK", apparently tie Guatemala, Iran and the Bay of Pigs to subsequent events. The Bay of Pigs tie-in, led by E. Howard Hunt and his Cubans, Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, et al, is real enough, but the assassination is one Stone insists is part of the same "track." Something on the list of "horribles," which Nixon discusses with H.R. Haldeman (James Woods), who then talks about "bodies," references to something I still have never figured out after watching the film 15 times. The Kennedy's bodies? Vietnam dead bodies?
Stone gives Watergate its due, but lets the actual events speak for themselves without embellishing it with more hate towards Nixon than that era produced of its own accord. He actually does a solid job of demonstrating the semi-legitimate reasons for creating the Plumbers in the first place, which was to plug leaks in light of Daniel Ellsberg's treacherous "Pentagon Papers" revelation, in concert with the bunker mentality caused by anti-war protesters threatening, in their mind at the time, a civil war like the one that forced Lincoln to declare martial law.
Stone also makes it clear that Nixon and his people were convinced that Kennedy stole the 1960 election, and he does not try to deny it (without advocating it, either). Murray Chotiner repres