Reviews (30)

Star-Studded Recounting of Legendary Nazi Trials
This star-studded film vividly captures the characters on all 3 sides of the spectrum: The accused, the victims, and the international tribunal judging the perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities against fellow human beings. It is shocking to see how many of the people responsible for the gruesome deaths of millions justified their actions.

After hearing witnesses who often were tortured, mamed by sadistic doctors, and had their loved ones murdered, I can not grasp the fact that the majority of those on trial were released after serving minimal prison terms. Some of them are still among us, while millions of victims lie in their graves at the hands of an evil minority!

Stellar performances by an International cast. Most noteworthy are Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland as testifying victims, Maximilian Schell as Prosecutor (Oscar Winner), Marlene Dietrich as wife of a defendant, and an elderly Spencer Tracy, trying to make sense of it all.

Effective use of B&W photography, first rate sets and costumes, along with many other production values, make this a timeless Classic. Although considerd over-long by some, I recommend this film to be shown to high school classes as a reminder that these things happened in a not so distant past.*****

SCHELL, TRACY, GARLAND, LANCASTER, CLIFT & WIDMARK GREAT!
This is a superb film by Stanley Kramer with an unbelievably great cast at the height of their craft. Each of the legendary actors were at the top of their performances in the reinactment of the Judge's Trial at Nuremberg. The world was tired of the Nuremberg trials. This one was a mopping up operation. Against a backdrop of an escalating Cold War with the Soviet Union, the selling out of justice by prominent Nazi judges serving the Third Reich is put on trial. Spencer Tracey plays Judge Dan Haywood, a retired Maine circuit court judge brought out of mothballs to serve as the chief justice. Amazingly, the usual action actor Burt Lancaster plays the top Nazi judge who at first does not recognize the Nuremberg tribunal's authority to judge him. For some mysterious reason, critics over the years failed to acknowledge the tremendous acting job he did in convincingly carrying off what was perhaps this film's most dynamic character change. However, my personal favorite was Maximillian Schell whose quintessential Germanic Hans Rolfe, the defense attorney released the full range of this incredible actor's virtuosity. For this he deservedly won an Academy Award Oscar.

One thousand words are not enough to celebrate this timeless film: Judy Garland (in perhaps her last film role) delivers a heartbreaking middle aging Irene Hoffman, reliving her experiences of Nazi cruelty on the witness stand; once again. However, not very good was the young Canadian actor, William Shatner playing Army Captain Byers, the aide de camp to Judge Haywood (Tracy). [The Starship Enterprise didn't seem to improve Shatner's skills any.] Richard Widmark (the moody, hostile prosecutor) and Montgomery Clift [who begged for the role he was willing to play without pay!] were excellent. Clift plays a slightly retarded German laborer, sterilized by Nazi doctors because of his mental slowness. This is among the very best films made by Kramer in the decade of the 1960s. Amazingly, it was released one year after INHERIT THE WIND, another Tracy-Kramer classic!

MASTERPIECE
What happens when Stanley Kramer teams Tracy, Dietrich, Garland, Schell, Clift, Lancaster and Widmark in a drama based on the trials in pos-war Nuremberg??? It`s vintage Hollywood; still 1 IF not THE BEST about the horrors from World War II ..... The film should be in every school-library across the world

MASTERPIECE
What happens when Stanley Kraner teams Tracy, Dietrich, Garland, Schell, Clift, Lancaster and Widmark in a drama based on the trials in pos-war Nuremberg??? It`s vintage Hollywood; still 1 IF not THE BEST about the horrors from World War II ..... The film should be in every school-library across the world

Wooooooooow
Ok, you`ll get Garland, Dietrich, Clift, Tracy, Widmark & Schell - the production headed by Stanley Kramer.... the result is pure Hollywood vintage combined with horrors from the 2nd World War??? But indeed; it is a masterpiece.... It should be in every school-library all over the world:-) ... Read more

Amazon.com

With this magnificent Criterion DVD release, Luchino Visconti's 1963 historical drama The Leopard will finally earn widespread recognition as one of the most beautiful epics ever produced. In adapting the popular novel by Giuseppe Tomassi di Lampedusa (an Italian equivalent to Gone with the Wind, set during the tumultuous Garibaldi revolution of 1860-62), Visconti was initially reluctant to cast Burt Lancaster as the melancholy Prince of Salina--the aging aristocrat "leopard" of the title--who accepts change as inevitable during the struggle for a unified Italy. But Lancaster (even with his voice dubbed in the fully restored Italian release) delivered one of his finest performances, modeled after Visconti himself, and reacting to political and familial upheavals with the wisdom and whimsy of a man who knows that his way of life--and all he holds dear--must change with the times. You won't find a more intimate epic, and Giusseppe Rotunno's masterful cinematography represents the pinnacle of painterly beauty, matched only by the authentic splendor of the film's impeccable production design. The climactic hourlong ballroom scene--which even the hard-to-please Pauline Kael called "one of the greatest of all passages in movies"--is utterly breathtaking. Anchored by Lancaster's performance and the romantic pairing of Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, The Leopard is sheer perfection, fully restored to its 185-minute glory. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (45)

Visconti's magnificent adaptation of the Lampedusa novel
The Leopard is one of the truly great Italian films, one of the most beautiful widescreen films ever made, and arguably Visconti's masterpiece.

The story takes place in Sicily during the 1860s and depicts the decline of the aristocracy in light of the changing social and political order during Italy's struggle for unification. Visconti's attention to period detail is nothing short of astounding, and his painterly compositions are truly inspired, and never intrude on the narrative.

Burt Lancaster gives his finest, most noble performance as Prince Don Fabrizio of Salina, and Alain Delon is charming as his nephew, Tancredi, whose character represents the transition from the old order to the new. Tancredi's marriage to Angelica (Claudia Cardinale) unites his aristocratic blood with that of the emerging bourgeoisie and thereby closes the gap between the classes. The insightful Don Fabrizio sums up the central point of the story: "If we want everything to remain as it is, it will be necessary for everything to change."

A restored special edition of this truly remarkable film is scheduled for release in 2004 by Criterion Collection as a three disc set including both the Italian and American release. The Leopard will finally get the DVD treatment it truly deserves.

Copy and paste the following link to view the details of the Criterion DVD: http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=235&section=synopsis

Epic filmmaking at its finest
Adapted from a novella by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard paints a vivid picture of the Italian aristocracy falling from grace and the middle class revolting to form a more democratic Italy on an epic canvas. Caught up in this class revolution is an affluent family led by the Prince of Salina, Don Fabrizio Corbera (Burt Lancaster). He recognizes that he is part of an obsolete generation and that his young nephew, Tancredi Falconeri (Alain Delon), and his beautiful fiancée, Angelica Sedara (Claudia Cardinale), represent the new order.

The first DVD features an audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie. He provides the backstory to Visconti's career leading up to The Leopard. Cowie talks at length about the film in relation to its source material. This is a strong, informative track that is an excellent introduction to the cinema of Visconti.

The second DVD starts off with a fantastic, hour-long documentary, entitled "A Dying Breed: The Making of the Leopard," that was created especially for the DVD. There are interviews with most of the surviving cast and crew, including Claudia Cardinale and the film's screenwriters.

This is an excellent look at The Leopard from the origins of the novel to the film's botched U.S. version that truncated Visconti's vision and was re-dubbed with English-speaking actors.

There is also a "Goffredo Lombardo Interview" with the producer of The Leopard.

"The History of Risorgimento" examines the real historical figures and the times they lived in with the professor of Italian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Millicent Marcus. This is a really good primer for anyone who is unfamiliar with this particular period of Italian history.

Finally, there is a "Promotional Materials" section with an extensive stills gallery, a vintage Italian newsreel of the film's premiere and its success at that year's Cannes Film Festival, and three trailers-one Italian and two American.

The third and final DVD features a remastered copy of the truncated U.S. version that was dubbed in English and included Lancaster's actual voice.

Criterion has pulled off quite a coup with this DVD set. This is the first time that The Leopard has ever appeared on DVD. Criterion has painstakingly restored the film to its original glory, with a flawless transfer and included both the Italian and U.S. versions. It is a fitting package for this cinematic masterpiece.

History as told by an Arsitocrat
This is a film about the end of an age -- the age of the aristocrat. It also happens to be a film made by a member of the aristocracy. Luchino Visconti, the director, comes from a long line of Italian aristocrats. Visconti's films are all in one way or another about men who are incompatible with the age in which they live. In The Leopard Lancaster plays a refined Prince who has outlived his time. In his prime the Prince was the very model of health and vitality and he was the uncontested authority to all who lived in his province but now he is starting to show his age and his own decline coincides with the decline of his class and an entire way of life. Being such a refined figure the Prince records his decline in minute detail -- he seems to age right before our very eyes. It is obvious to the filmgoer that Visconti has no real love for democracy nor the way of life that comes with it. Elections are seen as crass popularity contests and the parvenus who seek office are seen as dim and uncultivated and lacking in that fineness of spirit that was the defining trait of the aristocracy. It is the Princes misfortune to live to see all that he values vanishing minute by minute before his very eyes and that is what happens in the famous hour-long ballroom scene. The new class rising to power has no time to cultivate that fineness of spirit and range of interest required to understand men and their needs and so govern them well. Instead the class now rising to power is largely self-serving and small-minded. Though they call themselves democrats they are preoccupied with material gain and status and the kind of civilization they are making is no longer capable of producing a man like the Prince. However Visconti himself is proof that the aristocratic spirit lives on even though the aristocracy does not.

It is more than a bit likely that this portrait of an ideal aristocat is just that, an ideal. I've heard this film described as Proustian. That is true only in so much as the film is obsessed with the passage of time. Proust, unlike Visconti, is interested in a multi-faceted psychological expose of the leisurely class. Proust loves his aristocrats but he shows them for the vain creatures that they are. Proust may have had something of the romantic in him but that was balanced by a keen social awareness (ie Dreyfus affair) that is nowhere to be found in Visconti's single-minded meditation on one man's point of view. Proust can speak of highly subjective states of mind and points of view but each point of view is balanced by other points of view. This pluralism and balance is simply not to be found in the Leopard nor in any of Visconti's other works. The Leopard is Visconti's best film but it is a myopic world view we are getting - we feel trapped in the Princes(and by extension the aristocratic) point of view. This is at times a strength and at times a weakness of the film.

Grandiose epic film with political and social undertones...
Leopard is a grandiose epic film based on the Sicilian aristocrat Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa's novel that he wrote in respect to his grandfather. The director Luchino Visconti, who was born as count, knew what kind of character was needed for the main part as Prince Don Fabrizio Salina as the film displays strong aristocratic conduct and value. Burt Lancaster was chosen to perform as the Prince of Salina, which initially was met with much reluctance. However, the initial resistance to cast Lancaster was swept away as he performed with convincing brilliance, which together with Visconti's direction left cinema history with a masterpiece.

The story circulates Don Fabrizio, a dominant aristocrat with a mere presence that demands respect, as it depicts an emerging new nation and a past where inherited power was slowly slipping away. Don Fabrizio recognizes the ruling class's ignorance for the current political changes as the nation is unified under the new flag. The aristocrats continue their silly games and diversions in their immense mansions that are slowly falling apart as an emerging middle class is seeking wealth and power. This leads Don Fabrizio to form a bond between the nobility and the common by permitting a wedding between Tancredi Falconeri (Alain Delon) and Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), whose father, Don Calogero, is a middle class politician that is raising in the ranks. This leads to a subtly political loaded film as it depicts the scheming middle class's quest for power and wealth as the nobility might only keep their fancy names if they are not following the new changes within the nation.

Leopard is a marvelous film with colossal shots of the Sicilian scenery that evokes a sense of freedom for the people while underlying currents bring notions of ownership. The story deals with ownership in a most delicate manner as it deals with love, marriage, friendships, war, and social events. However, Leopard also reminds the audience about the imminent change of possession as love can change, which is brought to the audience's attention when Don Fabrizio goes to see his lover amidst a bloody revolution. In addition, the tale of Don Fabrizio displays the manner in which one must control or protect ownership. This is brilliantly depicted in the opening scene where the Salina family is having a private mass in their home that is continued under the strong influence of Don Fabrizio as an emerging revolution is underway outside their windows. Under the cooperation between Visconti and Lancaster the audience experiences the transformation of Don Fabrizio from old to new. This transformation is what helps provide for a brilliant cinematic experience as it offers eye candy, profound insights, and a tale that will not be forgotten.

DVD Masterpiece
Unbelievable DVD transfer!
Back in the sixties I saw this film on theaters, and as I remember, the overall visual impression was darkness. To my surprise this DVD brings a new light to the film with bright and wonderfully saturated colours on exteriors, and deep colours with very good detail rendition on interiors. It is as seeing this film for the first time. ... Read more

Reviews (125)

Personal Best -robthenob@hotmail.com
In 1995 I was up in Scotland with five of my best friends whom had literally come from the four corners of the earth for the occasion. We travelled around the beautiful country, camping where we could and generally enjoying our freedom and youth. One particular spot that we stayed at was on the North West coast of Scotland, on a small, remote peninsula next to a white sanded beach with a view towards the Isles of Muck and Rum. After being there for a couple of days, we were told by a passing local that the beach was the very one that Local Hero was filmed on, and the peninsula where we had been camped for the past two days is where the church in the film was situated (it was apparently a set, made around an old house that still exists). At this point I had not seen the movie but knew the soundtrack by Mark Knopfler very well. The holiday I had that year was without a doubt one of the best I've ever had. Two years later on returning to NZ, I watched Local Hero with tears in my eyes, I couldn't believe that my favourite place in all the world was captured on an exceptionally beautiful, quirky, strangely romantic, and intelligent film. Overall I think that the general gist of the film is one of awakening our senses to the simple things in life, just like MacIntyre did on arriving at that small coastal village. We all need, at some point in our lives, to escape the hum-drum of every day life and awaken ourselves to the real life outside of our own. It is a wonderful, gentle film that will always be a part of me. P.S. I have omitted the exact name and location so that it is not overrun with tourists, but if you really want to know, send me an E-mail.

One of my all-time favorites!
I am dating myself woefully, but I remember seeing this film when it came out in theatres. I trekked some distance (via bus) down to some theatre in Hollywood (I'm from another part of L.A.) because it wasn't showing anywhere nearby. I wanted to see it *that* bad. And I certainly wasn't disappointed.

When I finally got a DVD player, one of the first DVDs I got was "Local Hero". It's definitely on my "must-have" list.

The story is simple -- materialistic Peter Reigert is sent to a small Scottish village to try to negotiate a land deal for his rich, eccentric boss (Burt Lancaster, who is outstanding). He arrives in Scotland as a guy who is only obsessed with business deals, his car, and his posessions back in Texas, but soon he learns there are more important things in life. The townsfolk are absolutely wonderful, all in their own unique, eclectic way. Denis Lawson particularly shines as "jack of all trades" who holds several positions in the community, including innkeeper.

The oddness and beauty of this film takes time to unfold, and it is best just to sit back and watch it happen. Everyone seems to have a story, everyone is eccentric in some way. I especially loved Burt Lancaster and his interaction with his "therapist", who takes the job *far* too seriously. Lancaster plays one of the most likeable and unique characters onscreen. Reigert too, is endearing. He so wants to be "normal" that he can't even admit that he might use a shampoo for dry or greasy hair. "Normal. EXTRA normal.", he says, when asked what kind of shampoo he needs. What an uptight guy he seems at first, but he soon mends his ways.

The score by Mark Knopfler is among one of my favorites too. I can play it and it brings back the whole atmosphere and mood of this film. The musical piece played at the end of the movie is heart-wrenching and brings back the sweetness of the end of this fine movie every time I hear it.

Director Bill Forsythe created an absolute gem in this movie. A must-have in *every* film collection. Absolutely first-rate.

difference of opinion
This is one of those movies that you watch and finally when the credits roll you kick yourself for wasting the time and effort to do so.
The bomb dropping jets? The guy on the motorcycle? The briefly hit on relationship between Mac and the other guy's wife? The marine biologist turning into a mermaid? Please, some one explain the relivance.
The ending seemed as though the writer needed a quick way out of a poorly written movie. I'll bet Burt Lancaster turns in his grave (is he dead?-if he isn't he should be after making this dud) every time some one waist their time trying to watch this movie.
The main reason I watched the movie was because of the soundtrack that was written by Marc Knopfler-great music, terrible movie.

Where's Bill Forsythe when we need him?
This movie really did inspire me. I got up the nerve to make a solo trip around Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.

The scenes, characters and sounds of this movie are simply unforgettable. For sure, it's a cold heart that won't come out speakin' with a Scots accent with a touch of Russia.

You can go home again.
A very charming movie that bears up well under repeated viewings. Bill Forsyth has done so many good movies over the years, but I think this remains his best. Certainly, it is the closest to home, as he beautifully plays off the American-Scotland theme and the sense of misplaced identity.

Peter Riegert is great as Mac, a representative of a large Houston oil company who has been chosen to close a deal on a harbor village in the north of Scotland, because of his presumed Scottish ancestry. Turns out Mac is of Hungarian, not Scottish descent, as his parents thought MacIntyre was an American name. Nevertheless, Mac soon finds himself adapting to the rugged North Sea coast, picking seashells from the tidal pools and adopting a rabbit his driver had inadvertantly hit on the road.

Forsyth introduces the viewer to a wonderfully eccentric cast of characters in the small village, led by the amicable Gordon Urquhart, mayor, innkeeper, accountant and jack of all trades. Mac finds himself falling in love with Gordon's wife, but the playful romance is treated more in jest than in an attempt to foil the plot. It is in a grizzled beachcomber that we find the perfect foil to the land deal, which eventually brings the head of the oil commpany, Mr. Knox (played to perfection by Burt Lancaster) to Scotland.

You will fall in love with this movie, as I did, carried along by its charm and beautifully poignant moments. Forsyth doesn't miss a beat in this playful movie. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

dry scalp(hunters)
While not as identified with the western movies as John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, Burt Lancaster made many forays into the western genre - unfortunately, many of these films were subpar movies. 'THE SCALPHUNTERS' certainly falls into this category. Lancaster plays 'Joe Bass' a trapper who spends the entire film trying to regain the furs that have been stolen from him -- first, by Indians (very original) and second, by a group of bandits known as scalphunters. The way they are portrayed makes them better suited for an episode of 'Wagon Train' or 'The Rifleman' than as villainous renegades.

Early on Lancaster ecounters Joseph Lee, a cultured runaway slave played by the late Ossie Davis - who is easily the best thing about this very mediocre film. The two regularly engage in fistacuffs, "insightful" discussions on race, and dialogue which is unfortunately not as witty as the screenwriter thinks. It's too bad. Lancaster and Davis are fine actors and their interplay had potential. The material, on the other hand, lacked potential.

The humor - and I use this term very loosely - is incredibly flat. [Producer's Memo: Hey, let's have Telly Savalas parade around in longjohns. Now that should guarantee a few laughs.] Add the usual dose of whining that a Shelley Winters (how the hell did she win 2 oscars in her career???)character contributes to the film and the last 40 minutes become particularly unwatchable.

Still, fans of westerns might enjoy this film. Burt Lancaster seems to be having plenty of fun. Telly Savalas makes a worthy villain (even if he does run around in his less than menacing longjohns for much of the film - GIGGLE, GIGGLE) and the action scenes are quite well done. But the social commentary is dated and preachy.I know, Sydney Pollack being preachy? Imagine that. Most would do well to check out a true overlooked classic western starring Lancaster -- 'THE PROFESSIONALS.' A rare gem amid much of the rubbish that typified Lancaster's western flicks (sorry folks, but VALDEZ IS COMING, HALLELUJAH TRAIL, LAWMAN and APACHE are dreck!)

... Read more

Reviews (59)

AFI top 100- Winner of 8 Oscars-Including Best Movie 1953!!
"From Here to Eternity" made from Best Seller book of 1951 written by James Jones. Now digitally re-mastered both in video and sound provides us with this classic on DVD with background extras. The cast (Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Cliff, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra)was perfectly chosen and proved by the 13 Oscar nominations and winner of 8 including "Best Picture and Director - Fred Zinneman". Frank Sinatras "Best Supporting Actor" come back role is just the beginning.
In Summary: a few days prior to Pearl Harbor we find ourselves involved with these military characters and women struggling to find better lives in the volatile world of 1941. Knowing war is coming they try desparately to make their lives more meanigfully. The main focus is around the Army life style and how their lives were effected by events they had no real control over. Lancaster played a top sergeant having an affair with his Company Commanders wife (Kerr), Cliff and Sinatra were 2 soldiers in the same company who befriend each other and end up both being killed by circumstances in this troubled time of December 7, 1941.
This Black & White classic film broke all kinds of barriers for subject matter and character/star representation. Reed as a saloon gal. Kerr as a steamy temptress (infamous Beach Love scene with Lancaster).
Sit back and take a ride "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY".

"A man don't go his own way, he's nothing."
Fred Zinnemann's "From Here to Eternity" simply has not aged well. It's place in cinematic history remains secure: Frank Sinatra's Oscar, Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr embracing in the surf, and the Oscar for Best Picture. Yet, what was considered an adult film back in 1953 plays like a run-of-the-mill soap opera in the present day.

As Sergeant Warden (Lancaster) and Karen Holmes (Kerr), the wife of his superior, start to fall in love, Private Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is trying to find a way to avoid participating in his unit's boxing championship. Prewitt finds support from his friend Maggio (Sinatra) who tries to protect him from the pressures around him and finds love with Lorene (Donna Reed), a "working girl" who has temporarily relocated to Hawaii. Into the mix is thrown a sadistic warden played by Ernest Borgnine and the bombing of Pearl Harbor which plunges all involved straight into World War II.

"From Here to Eternity" is filled with one character after another who is desperate. All of them are either desperate for power, desperate for love, desperate for acceptance, or desperate to escape their past. Yet, the plotlines in the film do not produce the same emotional jolt it did five decades ago. Extramarital affairs, bullying authority figures, and fallen women are all topics on trivial daytime television shows today. These mature themes just do not hold your interest anymore when looked at through the veil of time. When this aspect of the film is removed, what is left is just a routine "day-in-the-lives" story.

Yet the film still has many things going for it. All of the performances are fine: Sinatra reminds viewers just how talented an actor he was in years past, the chemistry between Lancaster and Kerr is still electric, and Clift turns in another low-key but effective performance. And even though it's legacy may be slightly diminished, "From Here to Eternity" will always be fondly remembered as the film that more than any other made making out at the beach fashionable.

1950's Hollywood Mess
The Godfather got Sinatra the part of Maggio, but I think the producer was right; Sinatra stinks in that part. Talk about over acting; Sinatra has no subtlety at all. Now Lancaster is terrific, a soldier's soldier and Deborah Kerr slips into the part of a lonely wife of a louse effortlessly. The script of the James Jones book is a mess. The Lancaster-Kerr romance works almost, but the Cliff-Donna Reed love story is hurried and unbelievable. She's a dance hostess my a**. The mores of the 1950's did this interesting story wrong. These people are seething with sexuality, but somehow, Hollywood squeezed the juice out of em.

Great movie, so-so DVD
While the digital transfer is good and I enjoyed the movie for the first time without all the white noise and sound pops, all the special features that it boasts are disappointing.
For people who enjoy classic movies, you really can't do better than this. The movie is able to stand well enough on it's own without really needing these "features" to back it up and I recommend this DVD version only for that reason.
However those who love collectors edition DVD's, especially ones on Oscar flicks may feel slighted. There are two lackluster featurettes. One being a "Making Of" that is more or less a rehash of the production notes found inside of the case. The other focusing on Fred Zinneman, the movie's director, is slighlty more interesting. But both have more footage of the film itself than behind the scenes and both run under ten minutes. What they should have done was combine the two. The Commentary by the son of the director also leaves much to be desired. The only reason why I harp on these is that I know what Columbia is capable of doing better. Take a look at "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai"

However, I'm glad I got this and recommend it despite my gripes. Just be aware of the its shortcomings. It's a great film that speaks for itself and after having the DVD for a few years now, I still find myself taking this off the shelf from time to time.

The Peacetime Classic !
"From Here to Eternity" is a Hollywood classic. It may be the finest film ever about the military in peacetime. The background is Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in the Fall of 1941. That was the old "brown boot" Army! This reviewer is a Vietnam era vet, so I can't address the realism of the setting. Judging by the crisp dialog and snappy khaki uniforms, I'm giving the director the benefit of any doubt. I always thought it fascinating that an Austrian born Director could be at the helm of such classics as "High Noon" and FHTE -in consecutive years no less. What did Mr. Zinnemann know of the Old West or the American Army? The male lead is Burt Lancaster as First Sergeant Warden, a tough but fair NCO that any enlisted man would want for his "top". The second male lead is Private Prewitt, played by Montgomery Clift. Prewitt is a top bugler who isn't allowed to bugle and a top boxer who reuses to box for the company team! How that automatic conflict plays out is the heart of the movie. Another conflict is between Frank Sinatra, a happy go lucky but harmless enlisted man who trouble seems to follow and an evil Ernest Borgnine, the top MP at the Schofield stockade. Their "dispute" plays out too, with Clift a surprise key figure in its' "resolution". This reviewer believes that far too much attention has been lavished on the affair between Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, the wife of the Company Commander. I found it hard to swallow that any serious career man would run around openly with an officer's wife. Lancaster was one step away from a bust down to the lowest private and a trip to the stockade. The real female star here was Donna Reed, a bar "hostess' who would be a prostitute in real life. Her sensitivity toward Clift produces some of the best scenes in FHTE. Someone must have agreed because Donna walked off with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar- and promptly fainted after receiving it. The interplay between Lancaster/Kerr and Clift/Reed caused some huge challenges for the Director in making the bawdy best selling novel "clean" for the silver screen in the still conservative, prudish America of 1953. FHTE also contains some of the sharpest dialog and one liners this reviewer can remember. Two favorites: "Never disturb a man when he's drinking" (Lancaster) and "No one lies about being lonely"(Clift). In addition to Reed, Oscars were awarded for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Film Editing, Cinematography and Supporting Actor, (Sinatra). The last two are important: FHTE revived Frank's career. Many believe that "pressure" was applied to Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures to hire Sinatra. Do we remember the "horses head in the bed" scene from Godfather I? Others claim that his then wife, Ava Gardner, supplied the "influence". Finally FHTE is yet another example of why black and white classics should not be colorized. If there is such a thing as "beautiful black and white", it is this one. .... ... Read more

Amazon.com

A movie's lasting value can often be measured by its influence in theyears anddecades following its original release, and on that basis Run Silent, Run Deepis certainly a classic of sorts. It remains one of the seminal World War II submarinepictures, and its intelligent script and tautly executed action are clearly echoed in suchlater submarine dramas as Das Boot and especially Crimson Tide,which borrows liberally from this 1958 film.

In one of his best and final roles (he appeared in only four films after this), Clark Gable plays a submarine captain without a command, having been saddledwith a desk job after his previous ship was destroyed due to his overzealous pursuitof the enemy in dangerous Japanese waters. He finally gets another boat--this timewith a vigilant first officer (Burt Lancaster), who stands poised to assume command ifGable puts his crew in unnecessary danger. The tension and mutual respect betweenthese two principled men is superbly written and directed (Robert Wise was just twoyears away from his triumph with West Side Story), and the crucial inclusionof a strong supporting cast (including Jack Warden and Don Rickles) enhances themovie's compelling authenticity. Based on a novel by former submarine commanderEdward L. Beach, Run Silent, Run Deep is rousing entertainment with theadded benefit of paying honorable tribute to the men who navigated through the mostfrightening and claustrophobic channels of the Pacific theater. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Stay away from the Bungo Straits!
One of the best submarine movies ever made with superb performances by Gable and Lancaster, who star as commander and executive officer, respectively. Their characters developed well against each other in the movie, which contained plenty of realistic action.

Captain Richardson (Gable), wanting to redeem himself for losing his submarine in the Bungo Straits off Japan the previous year, is successful in getting out from behind the desk and back in command of a sub, whose crew has already accepted Lancaster as their new skipper, with the previous captain being transferred to another station. However, Richardson is given command of the submarine, and the tension mounts as the power struggle continues, amidst constant diving drills and grumbling among the crew, who fear that they will be labeled "the best drill cowards in the Navy."

Richardson is out to prove his theory that he can take out an Akakaze destroyer with a bow shot. This type of destroyer had sunk his sub the previous year, but it is also discovered that Japanese submarines are also lurking in the area and have picked off several unsuspecting American subs.

A classic war movie, and a classic submarine movie. The only one that I would consider better is "The Boat."

Suspenseful and complex
A superior war film, and one of the prototypical submarine movies. Burt Lancaster and Clark Gable lock horns as the ranking officers on a WWII submarine slated for duty in the Pacific theater. Lancaster has been the ship's captain for years and has the respect of the crew, but he is abruptly displaced by Gable's Captain Richardson, a near-washout who is obsessed with breaking a Japanese blockade of a vital sea lane, after having lost his own ship there the year before. The personal tensions and resentments between the two officers are complicated by the grumblings of the crew, and by differences in naval tactics: Gable runs the crew ragged practicing for a dangerous new tactic that he's convinced will defeat the Japanese, and the sailors appeal to Lancaster for relief. A fascinating look at the frayed edges of military discipline, with a taut, well-directed script and good B&W cinematography. The shots of the exterior of the submarine are particularly nice: here's a film that lets us see how boatlike submarines actually are; you feel like you're actually up on deck, looking at every rivet and welding seam. If you go for this kind of movie, this one is hard to beat.

- Don't say we didn't have a Captain! -
Commander Richardson (Clark Gable) survived his last assignment as a Captain on a submarine, which was sunk in the Pacific Ocean. A year later Commander Richardson works at a desk, in Pearl Harbor, but this is not what he is meant to do as he wants to be a Submarine Captain again. He sends in a request to return to Area 7, where he once was sunk, as the area has been deemed too cursed since four other subs have been sunk there throughout the last twelve months. Commander Richardson is assigned to a new submarine, however, it was supposed to be Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe's (Burt Lancaster) assignment as he has been on the sub for two years. Despite Lieutenant Bledsoe's dislike of the navy's decision he continues to work hard for Commander Richardson, who is running diving exercises repeatedly without telling anyone why. This causes apprehension among the men on the sub as they are to enter the most feared waters of the Pacific Ocean. Run Silent, Run Deep is an interesting war film that depicts the daily frictions between Captains and the rest of the men onboard subs during the World War II. Wise creates an authentic atmosphere onboard the submarine, despite some underwater shots that obviously were shot in a swimming pool. In the end, Run Silent, Run Deep offers a suspenseful and intriguing cinematic experience.

The greatest submarine war film
This is the quintessential submarine movie, not to mention one of the great war movies of all time. It by far outclasses the other submarine movies like Torpedo Alley, Torpedo Run, and The Enemy Below (although with Kurt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum the latter is actually pretty good). And although still not in Run Silent, Run Deep's league, the more recent Das Boot is excellent too.

Gable and Lancaster are great as captain and commander and the supporting efforts from Jack Ward and Don Rickles also deserve mention. Don looks like he's only 25 here (although he's probably more like 30) and he still has no hair! (That's okay, Don, we still luv ya.) The movie builds the tension up to an almost unbearable climax as Gable proceeds to train his crew to perform the risky bow shot maneuver to take out the Akekazi destroyer, despite the scepticism of both Lancaster and the crew. The tension is made all the more palpable when their first attempt at destroying the Akekazi fails and the Akekazi drops depth charge after depth charge on Gable's ship. But Gable manages to just barely slip away. Then finally, in a suspenseful climactic scene, Gable successfully torpedoes the deadly sub-hunter with the infamous bow shot.

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Big Steve says go rent it and don't Bogart the popcorn.

Excellent submarine movie
Run Silent, Run Deep is an excellent WWII submarine adventure with an excellent cast. It tells the story of a submarine who has received a new captain in place of one of their own officers. The new captain, Captain PJ Richardson, wants revenge on the Japanese destroyer who sunk his previous sub. The man he took the position away from, First Officer Bledsoe, instantly takes a dislike to him which causes obvious problems. The movie follows the efforts of the two men to counter each other as one seeks revenge and the other tries to save the lives of the crew.

Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster are both excellent as the battling officers aboard the sub. The movie boasts an excellent supporting cast that includes Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Nick Cravat, and Don Rickles, all who do very good jobs with their roles. However, Gable, in a later role, and Lancaster steal many of the scenes they are in together. The DVD is well worth it with a booklet included and also widescreen and full screen options for viewing. This is a great movie for fans of WWII action flicks! It is often obvious how this movie influenced later submarine movies in the genre. Go and check out this movie! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster star in Sorry, Wrong Number, an odd telephonic thriller that starts off with a bang. Stanwyck, playing a shrill invalid, is at home alone and phoning around to find her husband. Thanks to a crossed wire, she overhears a murder plot, but she can barely get anyone to pay attention to her, let alone believe her. The rest of the film is played out in telephone conversations and flashbacks as our increasingly frightened heroine tries to find her husband and unravel the murder. Stanwyck, as always, gives a terrific performance, managing to make her character both unlikeable and compelling at the same time. Lancaster, as her kept husband, is handsome, virile, and trapped all at once. The plot, expanded to a film from a tight, dark little radio play, wanders at times but gathers itself back together for a corker of an ending. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

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

Reviews (41)

One of the Best
An engrossing WELL-WRITTEN story (Hollywood, PLEASE take note), excellent cast, superb acting on the part of all the actors (not just the leads), painstaking staging and Frankenheimer's direction blending all these essential elements into a thoroughly enjoyable movie. What can you say about a rousing action movie that also makes you think? You can say it's rarely found in today's films. The primary quandry here is just what is the value of art in terms of the human lives that must be expended to preserve it? Is it truly a country's heritage or just oils on canvas for which the people who will have to die for it have little or no real appreciation? Is it worth saving because of its beauty or its value? And when does the cost of saving it become too high? The movie works on all levels, but the characters (and the actors portraying them) are exceptional. The stand-outs: Burt Lancaster, the yardmaster/resistance leader who really doesn't want to do this one last (and seemingly unimportant) job so close to the end of the war; Paul Scofield, the intense German colonel who loves (obsesses over) the art and is taking Lancaster's attempts to thwart his plans for it very personally; Wolfgang Preiss, the "good German officer" who does not agree with his superior but does his duty until he can do it no more; Jean Moreau, the pragmatic French hotel proprietress who has had to comfort one too many fellow widows and Michel Simon, the old engineer who fondly remembers dating a girl who posed for Renoir and decides to make this fight his own. No one who loves a good movie should miss this film. It's not just for action/war movie fans.

Underrated war actioner--art for whose sake?
_The Train_ has held up well since its release in 1965. Dismissed as an improbable shoot-em-up then, it tells a much richer story than the special-effects vehicles in the genre nowadays. Burt Lancaster isn't especially gallic as the Frenchman Labiche, but his acting talent and intensity soon steamroller any resistance the viewer may have. Paul Scofield is perfectly cast as a cultured monster, the Nazi colonel who is bent on spiriting the paintings away into Germany. One can easily picture him murdering hostages between sips of cognac.

Shot in black and white, the film is dark and greasy-looking. The screen is filled with churning railroad machinery much of the time, which dwarfs the people around it. The wheezing, snorting engines are also stars in this movie. Even the sky looks dirty in the daylight scenes. Oh yes, there's a sensational train wreck, too. Definitely less mindless than your average Rambo flick, but no less exciting.

The Train
Is a work of art worth a human life?
We are near the end of World War II. It's August 2, 1944, the "1511th day of German occupation" of Paris. German Colonel von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) enters a dark museum and turns a spotlight on a painting. He stares at it with the eyes of a lover beholding his best beloved. He turns another spotlight on another painting. The Hun is humanized, and we sympathize with his quiet passion.
It comes as a bit of a shock when he announces that he is taking the paintings, hundreds of Miros and Picassos and Matisses and others, with him when the Germans evacuate Paris. A resistance group, led by railroad worker Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster), is enlisted to stop them. Labiche initially refuses. It's one thing to blow up a train, dangerous enough - it's another to stop a train without damaging what's inside it. National heritage or not, men will die. There are more important targets than a train filled with art. Things change, though, and eventually Labiche and the remnants of his resistance group find themselves trying the impossible.
I've always been a little leery of Burt Lancaster. Maybe I was traumatized by viewing THE RAINMAKER or ELMER GANTRY at a young and impressionable age. He sometimes seems all horse teeth and braying charm and dis-tinct e-nunc-ee-a-shun. Not so here. In THE TRAIN he's restrained and natural and completely convincing. Scofield is equally strong as his brutal nemesis.
Sometimes the extras on a dvd aren't worth the bother, but I loved the director's commentary by the late John Frankenheimer. It was like taking a course in the art of film making.
Frankenheimer tells us he was trying to give the movie a realistic feel, which I understood before listening to the commentary track but didn't really understand how he went about it. One trick he used was to open the f-stop on the camera and keep everything in focus, something that would have been impossible if THE TRAIN wasn't shot in black and white. Everything is kept in focus and he keeps the background action busy and interesting.
Frankenheimer is an unabashed fan of Burt Lancaster, with whom he made five movies. Not only does Lancaster do all his own stunts in this one, including a dangerous backwards fall off of a moving train, he even fills in as a stunt double for another actor. The original stuntman made a fall off a roof look like an "olympic jump," and 'realism' was the keyword in this one. Lancaster did take a nice tumble off the tiles, but you've got to wonder about the wisdom of it all. Lancaster was injured during the filming of THE TRAIN; on his first day off in weeks he played a round of golf and twisted his knee when he stepped into a hole. His right knee swelled up 'like a basketball.' Frankenheimer shot Labiche in the leg halfway through the movie to explain the limp.
The only phony movie aspect to this movie is the dubbed voices of some of the French actors. You can't hide dubbing very well, and Frankenheimer doesn't have much to say about it. I wouldn't knock a star or even a half-star off because of it. This is a tremendously entertaining film.

Great movie.
There are an amazing amount of action films these days. Each one of them attempts to beat the last one's visual effects. And in this competition, hollywood has lost track of what makes a truly great action film... Skill. Most of the action films these days are entirely uncreative, and many of them are very, very boring. Who really want's to see a dozen tiles fall to the ground and break in slow motion, as films such as "the Matrix" use this technique constantly. But this film is different. It carries raw emotional power, and it's star, at age 50, did all of his own stunts, and even drove the locamotives that his character drives. This movie is awesome, and I highly recommend you buy this DvD. And by the way, this music track is a lot of fun to listen to when you're sick.

Perfect film on less- than- great DVD
The audio on the MGM DVD was lacking the full spectrum of audio, in my opinion. If you don't care so much about audio, it would be a 5 star DVD, but for those feeling that audio is an important factor, a star must be deducted. Bass and treble just weren't tweaked in DVD production which made the audio seem really flat, and I know that MGM could have produced a better job. It seems that a good number of the MGM DVDs lack the care and attention of producing consistently superior products.

The DVD gives the viewer options to listen to music only and has an option for director's comments during the film. I was at first dismayed because at the beginning of the movie, director John Frankenheimer just wouldn't open up. But he started sharing some interesting things as the movie progressed. There is also an 8- page booklet that gives some interesting production notes and history.

The video quality from, I think, an original film print is pristine. Frankenheimer's locations and times of filming were very effective in evoking a very dismal feeling as the European conflict was drawing to a conclusion. I love Frankenheimer's use of deep focus -- which is using wide angle lenses to have both near and far- away characters and scenes in focus -- to give a vision that many other filmmakers fail to incorporate effectively.

I'm glad that there was explanation in the film about why people were more concerned with paintings than people in a story that was loosely based on an actual event. Many westerners like Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster) would not care about the value of crates of artwork in a time of war, but schooling by caretaker Miss Villard (Suzanne Flon) expressed the passion and pride that the French feel for such paintings. This helped explain why some would scarifice their lives to save the crates. (Ms. Flon, born in 1918 is apparently still alive and acting, too.)

It's quite a story of saving "priceless" paintings at the expense of one's life. It seems like a WWII action film (which has its share of blowing stuff up), but its story actually weighs the value of art against the value of life. Labiche from the very beginning of his introduction battles Col. von Waldheim (Paul Scolfield), who wants him to deliver the art to Germany AND The Resistance, who want the art protected from the Nazis. Labiche is actually alone in his own beliefs as an American, being tugged by both sides while ultimately struggling with making sense of the conflict over the art.

The movie is well- developed from Lancaster asking Frankenheimer to direct "The Train" after original director Arthur Penn abandoned the project a week after production. I only say that because everything that was directed by Frankenheimer was terrific. The choice of the players, scenery, editing, camera placement and post production yielded a perfect war film that wasn't simply about war. It was about the value of life and what people value in their lives.

Watch for the one scene of a runaway train's derailment -- one of a dozen cameras mounted to film the scene -- came within inches of being wiped out by the locomotive's wheels and the scene has become a classic in filmmaking history. ... Read more

Description

Notorious raider of the eighteenth century sea lanes, Captain Vallo, a.k.a. The Crimson Pirate, and his band of buccaneers overtake a Spanish galleon filled with guns and ammunition. When he decides to sell the stolen arsenal to rebel leader El Libre on the island of Cobra, the representative of Spain, Baron Gruda, offers Vallo 50,000 florins if he will deliver El Libre instead. Vallo is soon caught between the Spanish, the rebellion, and even the mutiny of his own men. But having allen in love with El Libre's daughter Consuelo, Vallo gains back his crew's trust and leads the island of Cobra to freedom. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Pirate comedy at it best!
Fans of Bloom and Deep's Pirates of the Caribbean, should check out pirate camp is done by the old pro Burt Lancaster. This is one riotously funny movie with Burt Lancaster and partner Nick Cravat (they were real partners in a circus act, childhood pals, before breaking into film!) and they get to strut them stuff in this really great film. Lancaster and Cravat play Pirates, in the true tradition, and while tweaking the local authorities nose and robing them blind, they come across Consuelo (Eva Bartok). She is the daughter of a local rebel who they are going to hang and she wants Lancaster to help free him. Tossing
James Hayter's absentminded Professor Prudence and Christopher Lee (an actual sword-fighter!! - watch Saruman in his younger days!!) you get all the perfect mix for slapstick humour at its best.

A long neglected classic and is fun for the whole family.

Burt Lancaster at his acrobatic best.
Burt Lancaster and Nick Cravat teamed up many times in their long careers, but never, I think, as well as in the Crimson Pirate. Both are fine athletes and acrobats and turn the movie into a circus romp of stunts and high jinx. Don't worry much about the plot. From beginning to end Burt, the Crimson Pirate, and his sidekick Ojo, Nick, engage in nonstop action and adventure as they swing from yardarms, dash around town, swim underwater for what seems like hours, and fight continuously all the kings soldiers and all the kings men who fall down like dominoes as Burt and Nick punch and kick them down or overboard. They are kung fu supermen slightly before their time. All in good fun.

The Crimson Pirate is Saturday Afternoon at the Movies at its best. With a bright clear picture and good sound coming from the DVD transfer, all you need is popcorn and a cold drink for an entertaining afternoon with the kids.

WOW!!
I like movies about Pirates and I had taped this movie a couple of years ago when it was shown commercial free on a TV station called PLEX but for some reason I never got around to watching it until last night and I must say that I was very impressed! The Crimson Pirate is now one of my favorite movies about Pirates and the action, fight scenes were amazing and I also loved the love story between Captain Vallo (AKA, The Crimson pirate) and Consuelo. Burt Lancaster and Nick Cravat who were both circus acrobats before getting into the movies were fantastic and the fact that they did all their own stunts was just amazing! I highly recommend this movie and I'm thinking of buying the DVD!

Still a Great Romp!
Watching Burt Lancaster movies in my youth made me a lover of cinema. I can watch "The Crimson Pirate" and "The Flame and the Arrow" over and over. It was interesting to see how many bits and pieces of "The Crimson Pirate" were incorporated in "Pirates of the Caribbean." This is not to take anything away from Bruckheimer and company as their final product was quite enjoyable. The fact that Lancaster and Cravat did their own stunts along with great costumes, scenery and music, this film does stand the test of time.

The term "when it was a game" often applies to baseball in the 1950's, namely the real deal. No steroids, real grass, no special effects. The same can be said of "The Crimson Pirate."

Classic
Simply stated: This is a classic adventure spoof. Wonderful timing both humorously and acrobatically, ... Read more

Reviews (23)

" Im On My Way"
An Oscar winning turn for Burt Lancaster and and Shirley Jones. Richard Brooks ,a terrific writer/director brings to the screen the saga of a bible salesman and all his tall tales.

Its a period piece ..but if you look closer whats old is new. Human nature..being what it is has cycles...and Religion has its own time and eternal ways.

You couldnt get a better cast that includes; Dean Jagger, Arthur Kennedy, and even the lighter Hugh Marlowe.( Edward Andrews)

Elmer Gantry,s success in the revival business is jeopardized when a prostitute comes back into his life( how many times has that occured before in literature?)

Richard Brooks superb screenplay..and Andre Previn,s riveting score add to the auroa of this fine film..with Lancaster ..playing ....himself.

SERMONS OF THE ZEALOUS PREACHER WERE NEVER MORE MEMORABLE!
Even if you find yourself falling asleep during a sermon, you won't be able to here. Brother Gantry won't allow it. Brother Gantry is the zealous, fiery new preacher who is here to warn the world that we're all sinners... and we'll go straight to hell if we don't repent! Repent and join the big baseball team headed by "Jesus Christ, himself!". As Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster is at the epitome of his charm and dynamic personality as the smooth-talking, fire-and-brimstone preaching character who brings an evangelical woman's (Jean Simmons) religious organization to prominence through his zestful sermons. It will work out just fine... as long as the people don't know that Brother Gantry is a lusty sinner himself, his best friend a blonde prostitute (Shirley Jones, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role) and his flexible morals and ideals are hidden. Lancaster won a Best Actor Oscar for the role, and deservedly so, for he is Elmer Gantry: his sparkling blue eyes, and mile-wide smile set the standard of a persuasive salesman, selling religion to those manipulated by his exacting pull. Richard Brooks' incredible screenplay and crisp direction make "Elmer Gantry" the great Burt Lancaster film of all time.

love is the evening and the morning star!
Elmer Gantry, (Burt Lancaster), is a travelling evangelist with one eye on the Lord and one eye on the ladies! Elmer put's his amazing gift of the gab to use by preaching in tent meetings. Along the way he meets Sister Falconer, (Jean Simmons), who takes him under her wing, there working relationship soon turns personal.

Elmer Gantry is one of the greatest, (in my opinion), movies ever made. Burt Lancaster won his only oscar for his dynamic manic performance as the charlatan with a heart of gold. His preaching style is bombastic, his personal life morally bankrupt. It's really eerie how he resembles a number of "Evangelists", that I have come across in person or on the television. Elmer Gantry truly represents a lot of the tele-evangelists that have come and gone over the last 50 years or so as does Sister Falconer.

Watching Burt Lancaster in full flight as he belts out his sermons and slides across the platform is a true joy to behold. It's a really great actor in his prime, and wonderfully entertaining.

All in all it's a great romp with fantastic dialogue, wonderful performances and it's controversial theme packs a punch even today when Tele-evangelist, whilst know less popular, are still racking in the big bucks and filling stadiums with willing followers. To the Christian, let this film be a lesson for all of us, there are wolves in sheeps clothing around.

Thanks for reading and enjoy and maybe be educated by this wonderful film.

Two sides to a coin
In response to the reviewer who said this film was anti christian and to pass on this trash. I would like to say that this film represents a view of some peoples distasteful view of religion , but sure not all people feel this way. Un fortunately in this world, their are people who use religion to exploit and manipulte people- This is just a fact of life- Then there are people who see the true beauty in religion and and utililze it to help people obtain a higher good - Unlike this reviewer, I would suggest you do not pass on this trash! It is an outstanding film which really makes you think !

Move It On Over Kathryn Kuhlman, Kenny Hagin & Benny Hinn!
Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry & Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon Falconer. Elmer is a slick salesman who falls head over heals (HA, pun intended) for the self ordained healing prophetess preacher woman who certainly must have been modeled on Amy Semple-MacPherson's Four Square Gospel Church in exsistence today.

THE best Upton Sinclair novel in my humble opinion, with a top notch screenplay that follows the novel fairly well, given what you could actually film in 1960. The book itself is much more dicey & really delves into the character of Elmer and his weaknesses for booze, unfaithfulness of all kinds, and sex and is a great study into the mind of a master manipulator.

This film has a timeless quality given the New WORD FAITH MOVEMENT goin on. Call it "Name It & Claim It" Message or The "Health & Wealth" Gospel but Elmer & Sister Sharon could go up against the 1950/60's Kathryn Kuhlman, 1970/80's Kenneth Hagin or Kenneth Copeland, or our new millenium savior, Benny Hinn, ANY OL' DAY! A TRUE GEM of a film, not to be missed!

In MY TOP 25 FILMS of ALL TIME. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Makes me want to stand up and salute
"Seven Days In May" has an impressive cast list, great direction, and great story.

For the MTV generation, this would probably be very boring as it relies on insightful realistic dialog and some powerful non-jerking camera-work to tell a great story.

Burt Lancaster is Kirk Douglas' superior officer in the same military outfit, and Douglas suspects Lancaster is up to something secret and no good. The relationship and animosity between them is powerful and convincing as the story unfolds and the secret slowly comes out. Frederick March plays a convincing president, who, at first cautiously suspicious, grows more determined as the movie reaches its climax. The three or four supporting roles are handled superbly as well.

I guess it would fit into the category of "political thriller", and goes well with the other 3 major cold-war era movies - "Dr. Strangelove" (satire), "Fail Safe" (drama), and "The Manchurian Candidate" (drama, also directed by John Frankenheimer).

The DVD includes an entertaining commentary by the director, John Frankenheimer.

All around a well-done movie. I have over 200 DVD's and this goes in my top 20 for sure.

Crisp and Compelling Drama
For whatever reasons, I am intrigued by films and television programs which offer recreations of Presidential activities which are presumably authentic. The West Wing, for example, as well as The American President and this film. Produced by Kirk Douglas and directed by John Frankenheimer, Seven Days in May is based on a hypothetical and perhaps plausible idea: During the Cold War, a cabal of senior-level officers in the United States military services led by General Robert Mattoon Scott (Lancaster) secretly plan a coup by which to remove President Jordan Lyman (March) who is perceived to be "soft" on Communism, indeed naive as he stubbornly pursues policies which (the officers fear) would render their beloved nation impotent to foreign domination. Kept highly secret for obvious reasons, the coup preparations have been underway for quite some time as the film begins. Douglas plays Colonel Martin ("Jiggs") Casey, a Marine officer who reports directly to General Scott. Casey views Scott (as do countless others) as a great American patriot. As portrayed by Lancaster, he is indeed impressive. At times intimidating. Scott's brilliant mind is wholly free of any second thoughts, either about himself or about the course on which he proceeds. Of course, he and his coup associates are committing treason.

Inadvertently, Casey learns about the coup and at first refuses to believe it. Loyal to Scott and methodical by nature, he begins to gather the salient facts like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (no pun intended), dreading the image which begins to emerge. At this point, it would be a disservice to those who have not as yet seen the film to reveal any more about the narrative. Suffice to say that Frankenheimer brilliantly increases the tension as President Jordan and his associates (who include a reluctant Colonel Casey) scramble to prevent the coup. The acting is consistently outstanding. The events preceding the inevitable climax are credible (including some unexpected luck which does not seem to me farfetched), and the film concludes with style and grace. It is worth noting that Rod Serling wrote the screenplay, based on a best-selling novel co-authored by Fletcher Knebel and Charles Waldo Bailey II. Also, that Ava Gardner skillfully plays a small but essential role as Eleanor Holbrook. This is not a thriller, much less a chiller. Rather, the film offers an especially interesting story, well-told. It has lost little (if any) of its dramatic impact during the almost 40 years since its initial release. Thoughtful and thought-provoking entertainment is always appreciated, whenever and wherever we may find it.

Mayday
Funny how both conservatives and liberals can cook up their own paranoid fantasies from the same sets of facts. This Kennedy-era melodrama hearkens back to both the October 1962 missile crisis and the Nuclear Test Ban treaty of JFK's administration. When some people on the Right claimed the country was being handed over to the Soviets, two liberal Washington reporters cranked out the novel "Seven Days in May" about a military coup to topple the government. The movie is a faithful re-creation of the book and it's plain ridiculous. Burt Lancaster plays an updated Air Force version of Douglas MacArthur whose nefarious scheme is foiled by a smug band of patriots led by Kirk Douglas. Frederic March's President is so un-appealing you wish somebody would overthrow him, and poor Ava Gardner, 15 years on from being the most beautiful girl in Hollywood, looks like death warmed over. Rod Serling's script is riddled with a pomposity he usually edited out of his "Twilight Zone" work.

A cold war general with god-like pretensions.
That is General James Matoon Scott, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played by Burt Lancaster. He is dismissive & looks down on everyone including the president whom he despises for his perceived weakness. The President (Fredrick March) has decided to unilaterally disarm our nuclear weapons. General Scott will attempt to seize power. This concerns Col. "Jiggs" Casey, (Kirk Douglas) Scott's chief of staff & best friend. Douglas's character is the key. He informs the president of the plot, as it becomes known to him & contacts Scott's old mistress (Ava Gardner). Edmund O'Brien won an Oscar as the president's best friend, a drunken southern senator. Rounding out the fine cast is Martin Balsam as a presidential advisor. The suspense builds as they attempt to stop the coup. No special effects here, very little action of any kind.
Frankenheimer has a more subtle touch in this movie, the follow-up to the Manchrian Canidate. This one is not quite as good but still an engossing flick.

GREAT POLITICAL THRILLER
One year after "The Manchurian Candidate", John Frankenheimer was back at it with "Seven Days in May", screenwritten by "Twi-Light Zone" creator Rod Serling. Serling's "Zone's" were a masterpiece of semi-liberal social conscience. Frankenheimer seized on another 1950s novel based on the real events of 1934, in which Republican industrialists recruited Marine hero Smedley Butler to orchestrate a coup d'etat against FDR. The novel and Frankenheimer's film fictionalize the event. It was, again, one of the best movies ever made, but completely liberal. Frankly, I have to ask why in 1963 the decision was made to examine a political conspiracy from 1934 when the worst political crime in U.S. history, the stealing of the 1960 election by Kennedy over Nixon, had occurred just three years prior. The answer to that question, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
After JFK's assassination, "The Manchurian Candidate" was pulled because it hit too close to home, but in June, 1968 RFK was staying at Frankenheimer's Malibu home the night of the California Primary. He was tired and wanted to stay there. The enthusiasm of his victory that night convinced him to make the long drive on a twisting, turning Pacific Coast Highway, up the Santa Monica Freeway to downtown Los Angeles, where Sirhan Sirhan was waiting for him with a gun at the Ambassador Hotel.
Kirk Douglas is the Butler character In "Seven Days In May", an upright Marine whose politics are explained early by a fellow officer who says to him, "I though you'd be an ACLU lawyer by now, protecting the great unwashed." Douglas describes this officer as the kind who would be better suited for an army that goosesteps. Good dialogue, though. Burt Lancaster is the right wing Air Force General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is modeled after Curtis LeMay, although the Lancaster swagger and charisma make him far more appealing. Frederick March is President Jordan Lyman, an ardent liberal who has just signed a peace treaty with the Soviets that presumably dismantles much of our nuclear arsenal. Lancaster does not trust the Soviet will honor their end of the bargain. Therefore he is convinced they will strike and America will be lost. A U.S. Senator is in on Lancaster's plot to take over the Presidency. They make him from California just to make sure he is affiliated with Dick Nixon. Nice touch. The public is solidly against the President, fueled by a right wing radio host in a prescient script device. In the end, the "protector of the great unwashed," Douglas, foils the plot and March's speech to the D.C. press corps is met by a standing ovation. Oh, those evil militarists and Republicans.

(...) ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Swim Into the Twilight Zone...
It really is amazing how unknown this movie still is. If you are unfamiliar with it, you are in for a real experience. It is based on a classic short story by John Cheever, and it works like an extended, lost episode of the old "Twilight Zone" television series. A middle-aged suburban man (Burt Lancaster) decides to swim across his wealthy Connecticut county, through all the swimming pools of his neighbors back to his own home. As he makes his journey you gradually become aware that he is not all that he seems. Dark secrets keep getting revealed and it soon becomes apparent that we are witnessing a telescoping of the man's entire adult life into a few afternoon hours of an early autumn day. The film becomes a powerful allegory about disillusionment and tragedy, without being the least heavy-handed about it. Like Cheever's other great short story "The Enormous Radio", "The Swimmer" can be interpreted as a religious parable about the self-deception of fallen humanity. The comeuppance Lancaster receives is almost too intense to watch. This is a genuinely shattering movie that will stay with you.

The minority opinion, based on incomplete data
After scanning the editorial and customer reviews here, I prepare to duck from the rotten tomatoes about to be thrown at me.

I've seen this film twice or, rather, tried to watch it twice. At age 20-25, I tried watching it, and found it to be a tedious exhibition of meaningless repetition. I fell asleep before I could get to the allegedly startling ending that gives it all meaning.

A few months back, after hearing about the film-redeeming ending, I tried again. Thirty minutes in, I was dozing off again. This is the only movie that ever did this to me. I decided to give it some chance, and skipped to the ending, to see what all the fuss is about. The ending seemed to be a non-sequitir, and shed no meaning, for me, on the beginning of the movie.

Of course, this means that I've never watched the entire film. But, I am a Burt Lancaster fan, and a very patient movie-viewer. For a film to twice fail to capture my interest, that's bad enough, for me, to write a review such as this. I give it three stars only because I know it is well-made and widely admired, but it will not grab everyone's interest.

Unforgettable after...25 years
I first watched this film..in another language when I was a kid. How best to illustrate the impact it had on me? After 25 years I still remembered the story of it. Of a man swimming home and of the last scene where he coming home to find an empty, isolated house.

Flash back to the present. I found this movie by accident in the library. Wondering if it's the same one stuck in my mind for so long so I checked it out. The impact of watching it this time was still there (just a bit less since I already know the ending).

All in all it's really worth seeing. It left an unforgettably emotional impact on me..as a 10-year-old child. That's how best I could put it to say how good the movie is.

challenging aesthetics
an unforgettable film.
it defies all explanation and remains a hidden classic art film.
comparisons to the twilight zone seem to do it little justice, not that i am knocking the twilight zone at all.
but perry's film is far more complex and multi latered than that.
and lancaster;
the older he got the more risks he took and this is a brauva performance.
we see his world slowly decaying. we know whats coming, yet you will probabaly still walk away mumbling incoherently to yourself for a few hours afterwords.
but,if you're looking for a fast paced film, look elsewhere. this film challenges you and from what ive seen of some of the reivews it was a bit too challenging for some (right-o new jersey?), but if you are prepared to reconsider your views on what film is and isnt, then be prepared to be walloped.

Frank Perry's masterpiece
This film is unique in all the american filmography. You may exhibit several examples about the question of the loneliness , like Sunset boulevard, Midnight cowboy, the naked kiss or even Butterfield 8. These films are worthy. But no film before and even thirty six years (with the exceptions of Paris Texas and American beauty) had approached the question in just so brutally dramatic, showing the naked soul of a mature man in a suden decadence.
Perry had the Midas touch when the story goes through all the swimming pool of Kentucky.
An intimate portrayal,a collage that describes like a few, the roughness, the cruelty the indifference of the human condition around a man who lost his center, his eaning for living, and surviving just by feeding his memories.
His ancient friends, his old love affairs , show us with no mercy the unboreble loneliness of this man who was once and now he's just a post card human, a colection piece , a lost specimen
from an old tale.
Lancaster gives us an unforgettable performing. I{m absolutely sure that the character of Lancaster in Atlantic city, was so easy to Burt, due he applied the emotive memory, apart his notable skills.
The swimmer is a cult movie. It's a acid view about a society who doesn't accept the failure, which runs from a lonely man who doesn't have to say excepts his memories.
Do you remember the sequence when he tries to get into the swimming pool in which he must to clean his feet before to get in? . The metaphor is so absorbing and fascinating that you can not forget easily. And the ending is very close to a horror film.
Please, don't forget this ending and try to tie with the end of 21 grams.
Momma dearest was made several years after. But in my particular opinion. Frank Perry will be remembered by this unvaluable gem of the best artistic expression american cinema. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

A knockout script, stellar acting, and dazzling photography
This film, barely distributed upon release (it's a thinly veiled barb directed at the Walter Winchells of the world), features what is arguably the finest screenplay ever written. Ernest Lehman started the task, but Clifford Odetts (the later years, more bitter Odetts) wa