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 (51)

Babs is a great actress
These scenes are so well written - credit to the genius of arthur laurents - that any one of them could be taken out of context and make a great scene for an acting student.

The movie is shot beautifully and the score is a classic. (If a little repetitive at times)

The main reason to see this movie is for the great acting of Streisand and Redford. They are incredible.

Barbara has so many great moments in this - probably the "phone scene" is her best but so hard to choose. She is just great in this movie.

Redford is perfect - saying much more when he is silent than any actor does with dialogue.

The ending scene is a classic of american cinema - so sad and perfect. The most classic goodbye scene since CASABLANCA.

The documentary on this DVD is awesome. The interviews with Barbra, Pollack, the Bergmans, Hamlisch are great. The only disapointment is no Redford. The deleted scenes in this documentary are great and worth seeing.

I highly recommend this DVD.

DVD is Well Done - Looks & Sounds Better Than Ever
Finally! THE WAY WE WERE in widescreen! I think it really makes a difference. I've only seen pan and scan versions on video. It is especially noticeable in the opening credits where names/credits appear on one side of the screen and action takes place on the other side. For the first time we get to see Katie at her typewriter and Katie talking to her teacher.

The rest of the dvd is done just as well. The picture and sound are pristine. The menu screens are classy and easy to use. The bonus trailers from FOR PETE'S SAKE and Streisand's later films are fun to see.

The hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Sydney Pollack and Streisand is very revealing. Pollack seems humble and grateful about the film. Streisand is relaxed and beautiful - again, reflective and humble about the experience as Pollack is. There is even a segment with Marvin Hamlisch on piano playing the different versions of THE WAY WE WERE theme. And Alan & Marilyn Bergman are a hilarious couple!

Sydney Pollack's comments on the extra audio channel are interesting as well. I haven't gotten through the whole movie yet, but so far so good!

The dvd is definitely a must-have for Streisand fans. But even fans of this classic romance will find much to like about the dvd as well.

A classic! A tearjerker! Two treats in one!
I've seen this movie many, many times. I can be brought to tears by watching JUST the last scene. This movie is a true visceral experience.

Characters that could have been stereotyped are incredibly complex and true. And that's a big part of the story. We go through life and label people, yet we just don't know what might truly lie beneath.

Katie and Hubble see what lies beneath. How we don't know. Two soul mates who come into each other's lives but cannot stay. I know all of this sounds sentimental but this is a truly sentimental favorite.

Watch this movie!!

"Katie, it was never uncomplicated."
As stated many times before, THE WAY WE WERE is one of only a handful of romantic blockbusters to actually feature an intelligent script and complex characters. Writer Arthur Luarents' based his screenplay (and subsequent novel) on girl he knew in college, who fought for liberal (and sometimes communist) causes. The film was a surprise box office smash when originally released, and became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1973 and an instant classic. Katie Morosky is a character that Barbra Streisand born play, and she delivers on all accounts. Fierce and determined, yet vulnerable and self-conscious, Katie is a tricky character and Streisand inhabits her so deeply that she seems nothing less than completely believable. Justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, she was unfortunately robbed of the award.

Redford, who actually turned down the role twice before director and friend Sydney Pollack talked him into taking the part, displays some of the best reflective acting ever seen on the big screen and definitely deserved a nomination as well (he was, however, nominated for Best Actor that year for his light comedic performance in THE STING). The film's enduring popular success with the mass audience is due to the magnetic chemistry between Streisand and Redford and the gorgeous visuals and strong directorial hand supplied by Pollack, however it is the complexity of the romance with politics and the strong characterizations by both leads that continues to make THE WAY WE WERE the best love story for adults.

About the DVD: The picture quality is beautiful, quite possibly the best the film has ever looked. The sound quality is also vastly improved. Pollack's commentary track is interesting, but the 60-minute documentary is the best extra on the disc. Featuring insightful interviews from Pollack, Streisand, and Laurents (as well as composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman) the documentary is well-produced and entertaining, and it was great to finally see those much-debated deleted scenes.

For such a great film, the dvd should have been much more!
I, like many thousands of others love this movie and could watch it over and over again. What should have been a 25th Aniversary spectacular is a very lack luster. My major complaint is with the 60 minute documentary.
1.Great, we get to see some scenes that were cut that really SHOULD have been put in the film in the first place. How about the rest of the cut scenes? Legend has it that there is much more.
2.Barbara's commentary is good but I really think she could have added a lot more. What about the screen play she supposedly was interested in that was, in essence, a part two of this movie entitled "the way we are"?
3.Redford is absent on the disc because of "scheduling" problems? Or so I have heard....Gee, nobody could have waited even to get 3-4 minutes of commentary from him? Something isnt right.

I also dont think the transfer of this movie came out too well. Not exactly great quality for such an icon. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Steven Seagal can consider himself lucky if he ever makes a better movie than this one, which was appropriately dubbed "Die Hard on a battleship" when released in 1992. Seagal handles the heroic duties with his usual wooden efficiency, but the movie's greatest assets are a punchy script and the scene-stealing performances of Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. The two play leaders of a terrorist group who take over the venerable battleship USS Missouri during its final commissioned voyage. They're crazed psychotics who seize control of the ship's nuclear arsenal, but they don't know that Seagal--as the ship's cook, no less--is a former Navy hero, lurking in the shadows and waiting to spoil their nefarious scheme. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) helms the action with skillful style, and as the cheesecake stripper who proves handy with a hand grenade, Playboy Playmate-turned-actress Erika Eleniak gives Seagal another reason to strut his macho stuff. Under Siege is hormonal hokum for gun-happy viewers, but as action movies go, this one's a definite guilty pleasure. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Under Siege
Casey Ryback is an ex-navey seal. He's now a cook on a battle ship. The captain loves his cooking and treats him kindly. Commander Krill (Busey) on the other half hates Ryback and Ryback hates him. Casey is put in the meat locker by Commander Krill. Its the captain's birthday and they have ordered a surprise group of singers, dancers, caterers and even a stripper. But what they don't know is that commander Krill is bad and knows the pary guys. Infact the party guys are an international group of terrorists lead by Bill Strannix (Jones) and they are ready to take over the ship and blow up the U.S.A. Only Casey Ryback can stop them. An excellent action movie. Great performance by Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey! Definately one to add to your collection. Be sure to see it soon
RATED R FOR STRONG NON-STOP ACTION VIOLENCE, LANGUAGE AND NUDITY!

An amazing edge of your seat thriller
Steven Seagal (Above the Law, Under Siege 2:Dark Territory, On Deadly Ground, Fire Down Below, Out for Justice, Hard to Kill, Executive Decision) stars in this awesome action thriller directed by Andrew Davis (Above the Law, Chain Reaction, Collateral Damage) along with Tommy Lee Jones (Men in Black, Space Cowboys, Batman Forever) and Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon) As all fans know, when you see Seagal on the cover, you will get yourself a definite bloody action movie with a lot of dying and killing as well as martial arts, guns, and knives.

The story is quite simple: Steven Seagal is a cook on a military ship that is transporting missiles. He has several other helpers and friends but there is one person he hates: Gary Busey. They always get into fights for no absolute reason. Anyway, the army men and guards call for concerts and entertainment but they have made one mistake: the music company they picked are not musicians and singers, they are international terrorists led by Jones. Busey finally reveals himself as a terrorists and helps take off some guards. Soon, these terrorists brutally kill all the guards and the captain. Holding over 160 people hostage, the villains demand money and say that if the government makes one attempt to stop them, they will use the missiles on the ship to shoot them down and bomb the U.S.A! But between the midst of all that, we see that Steven Seagal has not been captured......and now it's up to him to save everyone! What, of course, follows is a gigantic barrage of guns, guts, blood, knives, bombs, grenades, martial arts, and a little nudity.

If you are a real action fan, I recommend this. I hope to see the second but I heard it wasn't so good. A good film would be Above the Law, in which Seagal and Davis work for the first time. That film also features Sharon Stone and Pam Grier. I suggest you go rent this to see if you like it but trust me: IT IS BLOODY!

Rated R for strong violence, language, and very very very brief nudity.

Pure Stupidity
This is the worst action movie ever made, with the destroying of good actors like Gary Busey & Tommy Lee Jones who usual great actors in movies but they come off as lame, this rediculous action movie, where Steven Seagal doesn't get injured, it's just bufoon going doing killing that has no plot & even worst acting,it's more like a comdedy than an action movie if you think hard enough about it

Merely average DIE HARD retread
This may be Steven Seagal's best film, but as an action film UNDER SIEGE is very average. It borrows its basic plot structure from the vastly superior DIE HARD, but while DIE HARD had a believably human and vulnerable hero in Bruce Willis' John McClane, UNDER SIEGE simply has the wooden Steven Seagal as the near-invincible Casey Ryback, the cook onboard the USS Missouri who happens to be a former Navy SEAL who has a lot of weapons expertise and the like. While McClane spent most of DIE HARD trying to get in and out of trouble with terrorists, Ryback basically spends a good majority of UNDER SIEGE simply killing them one by one in various "cool" ways. You never feel that Ryback's life is truly threatened by the bad guys---he's just a killing machine, and only head baddie William Stranix (Tommy Lee Jones, in a highly entertaining performance that brings slightly more interest than this movie deserves) truly matches up to him---and thus you never really get involved in the hero or this movie like you do in DIE HARD. You simply watch Ryback cut his path of righteous destruction in a brain-dead, gaga state (and occasionally laugh at some of Seagal's line readings), and while you are occasionally entertained, you might realize how dumb this movie truly is.

Some people, of course, don't mind occasional no-brainer entertainment like this. Believe me, I enjoy the occasional brainless action film, just as long as it has an involving plot, entertaining characters, and good action scenes. UNDER SIEGE only half-delivers---its plot never truly involved me; the main bad guys (Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey) are a lot more entertaining than its hero; and the action scenes, for the most part, are just average (except for that marvelous knife fight at the end). In short, UNDER SIEGE is a pretty stupid movie, and if you're looking for truly great, even intelligent action entertainment, you would do best to look elsewhere. Heck, even this film's sequel, UNDER SIEGE 2, is slightly more entertaining than this! Skip it.

Die Hard on a Battleship
Steven Seagal's best movie and a superior action flick in its own right. Seagal's acting can generously be described as "understated". However, he is very convincing as a one man wrecking ball. The production value is excellent, as no expense was spared on the casting and action scenes. Busey and Jones eat up the screen in deliberately hammy performances and Erica Eleniak is hot. Definitely worth repeated viewing. ... Read more

Amazon.com

B movie maverick Larry Cohen always enjoyed slipping a littlesocial commentary into his genre pictures, and the satirical sci-fi/horrorcomedy The Stuff is no exception. A mix of Invasion of the BodySnatchers and The Blob, The Stuff is an insidiously addictive, low-calorie dessert sensation that soon wins the hearts and minds ofthe nation, but mostly the minds. You see, to borrow a title from another Cohen classic, it's alive.

Michael Moriarty is an industrial spy with questionable ethics and acertain moral flexibility behind his disarming drawl. "No one is as dumb as I appear to be," he informs his newest client, a snack food CEO who wantsthe secret of The Stuff. Needless to say he becomes the film's hero, asmart-talking everyman battling a compromised FDA and a corporate baddiewho sees dollar signs in every Stuff snarfing zombie he converts. Cohen'ssatirical swipes at consumerism, advertising, and the ethics of corporateprofit come fast and furious, if not exactly focused, and help drive thefilm past his--at times--sloppy direction. Moriarty's energetic performanceis hilarious, and his rag-tag crew includes Andrea Marcovicci as anadvertising wunderkind (who improbably falls in love with Moriarty),Saturday Night Live alum Garrett Morris as "Famous Amos" parody"Chocolate Chip Charlie," and Paul Sorvino as a commie-hating,conspiracy-spewing militia leader.

The DVD features commentary by Larry Cohen along with trailers and detailed biographies. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (30)

The Stuff ... there's never enough!
The stuff is an alien substance of sorts, found bubbling out of the ground in small towns across the United States. It looks like ice-cream, tastes great, but ... once it takes hold of you, it becomes addictive and deadly. But what is its secret ingredient?

Enter Michael Moriarty ('Troll', 'Courage Under Fire'), who is hired as an industrial saboteur by representatives of a food company to discover just what makes the stuff so addictive. As the stuff becomes more readily available, the people selling it are no longer content to merchandise through the smaller outlets. They begin to advertise it nationwide.

David 'Mo' Rutherford (Moriarty) tracks the stuff across the country with the help of Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci) and a young boy, Jason (Scott Bloom), witnessing its effects on the population. During their efforts, they are assisted by Col. Malcolm Grommett Spears (Paul Sorvino) and the wacky cookie entrepreneur, Chocolate Chip Charlie (Garrett Morris, 'Saturday Night Live'). As the film progresses, it becomes impossible to know just who to trust, and resisting the stuff becomes increasingly difficult.

Larry Cohen has become a hero to those whose interests are in cult horror/sci-fi films, having turned out classics like 'A Return to Salem's Lot', 'The Ambulance', and 'Q: The Winged Serpent'. This is his fourth collaboration with Moriarty and it is well worth the money. 'The Stuff' contains comedy, action, science fiction, and horror - a combination of 'The Blob' and 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', with Cohen's crazy sense of humor thrown in for good measure.

Also stars Brian Bloom, Danny Aiello, and Patrick O'Neal.

Bonus features on this edition include an informative audio commentary with director, Larry Cohen, TV Spots, original theatrical trailer, and widescreen presentation.

Buy it! You'll be addicted.

Excellent sci-fi and marketing satire!!!
This movie works on many levels. It's a sci-fi movie about Stuff that bubbles up from the ground to become the latest food rage. The problem is the more you eat the more it takes control of you. But at a more critical level it attacks the product marketing by executives and ads that will sell us anything as long as they can make a buck. Even stuff that will destroy you.

The DVD has the added value of comments by the director Larry Cohen which include great stories about making the film. Michael Moriarty is great as the quirky industrial spy hired by the ice cream companies to find out the secret formula for the stuff. Garrett Morris plays Chocolate Chip Charlie an obvious takeoff of Famous Amos.

Simply a great movie.

Silly, Gooey Fun!
Larry Cohen did it again with THE STUFF (1985): he concocted another Horror/Social Comedy offering, this time using the theme of food as the point of entry! A biting satire of advertising and consumerism (the best since George A. Romero's 1978 classic DAWN OF THE DEAD), THE STUFF is entertaining, gross and flat-out fun. Starring Michael Moriarty in another of his patented quirky Tab Hunter-Gone-To-Hell performances, this film is not great, but it is quite likable. After his breakout starring role in the great baseball drama BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY (1973), the Method-trained, blond-haired, blue-eyed, 6'4" Moriarty has carved out a niche starring in "B" movies (usually for Larry Cohen), and he's always fun to watch!

Here he plays a Southern-drawlin' FBI agent named David 'Mo' Rutherford---"'cause no matter how much ah get, ah always want mo'" (great line!)---who is hired by the dairy industry to find out mo' about The Stuff. You see, The Stuff was discovered by an oil-well worker who witnessed a strange meteor crash and found a pool bubbling with thick, white goo, decides to taste it, discovers that it tastes sensational, and is quickly able to market it to the general public as---what else?--The Stuff! An instant hit, outselling ice cream by five-to-one, The Stuff unfortunately has some gruesome side-effects that gradually become known to the few who do not partake of it. Let's just say that it has a similar result as those nasty space-plants in INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978). Mo and a ten-year-old boy named Jason (who is the only one in his family not to have eaten The Stuff) begin to get to the bottom of things, aided by a most unlikely pair: A black cookie entrepeneaur nicknamed Chocolate Chip Charlie (the hilarious "SNL" alum Garrett Morris) and a racist militia leader named Col. Malcolm Grommett Spears (an even-more hilarious Paul Sorvino). Add to the mix veteran actors Danny Aiello and Patrick O'Neal, and you have a recipe that calls for you to just sit back and have fun! THE STUFF may not be for everybody (certainly not for anyone under 13), and it's not to everyone's taste (or lack thereof), but if you like "B" films---especially those by schlock-meister Larry Cohen---then give THE STUFF a try. Don't say I didn't warn you!

RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR LARRY COHEN FANS

Awesome and Funny
The Stuff, what an awesome and funny film this is. Though there are some funny parts to it, this B-film presents itself with some gore to it. All of the actors did a good job in this low budget film. While this isn't your typical big budget film, I highly recommend it to enjoy.

Ummmm....
I wanted to see this movie so very bad when my friend and I saw the preview of it. The preview made us laugh so hard and it looked like a good ol' B movie. Well, I hate to say it but this movie was a dissapointment in my book. Everything you see that is cool in the preview is the only thing worth watching in the movie. This movie had its funny parts but few and far between. If it is at your local video store and you have a free coupon this is a good movie to rent with a bunch of friends. This is a type of movie that is just so bad that your friends will have fun making fun of it. The movie would have been better if I didn't expect it to be an awesome B movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

High on the list of best POW movies, King Rat bears some comparison to that compound over by the River Kwai... but this is an entirely more cynical exercise. In a Japanese prison camp, a brash American corporal (George Segal) runs a variety of money-making operations, much to the amazement of a young British officer (James Fox). Director Bryan Forbes, who adapted James Clavell's novel, follows different POWs through various strands of plot, each episode seemingly designed to highlight the dog-eat-dog nature of men held in close confinement. (In one pointedly black-comic sequence, it becomes man-eat-dog.) This was one of Segal's breakthrough roles, and his modern style fits the movie's anti-heroic, '60s approach. It was Oscar®-nominated for art direction and cinematography, which may sound odd for such a bleakly confined location, but the lucid starkness of the camp justifies the nods. The John Barry score, while apt, is similarly stark. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Extraordinary Film Essential Viewing
King Rat appeared around the same time as "The Train". While both attempt an unsentimentalized view of war and it's heroes, "The Train" (an excellent film) is ultimately an action piece about victory. "King Rat" on the other hand, is about survival.

Over the last twenty-five years I've read the book twice and seen the movie at least five times. I don't care what the differences are anymore - both book and film are exceptional works. Different, but definitely equal. Experiencing either will be a harrowing, heart-breaking, but ultimately rewarding experience.

Set in Changi prison camp (and based on Clavel's real-life experiences there) King Rat is the story of a young British officer (James Fox) who finds himself working for the camp hustler (George Segal). Together they are harassed by camp Provost Martial Tom Courtney determined to catch Segal (Corporal King) breaking regulations.

The adaptation and direction by Bryan Forbes (who had to make allowances for the conservative sensibilities of a sixties audience) is simply amazing: King Rat is about the heat, disease, suffering, and madness. These aren't the stiff-upper-lip-discipline-or-die men of "Bridge On The River Kwai". The soldiers in King Rat are wretched, pathetic, and despairing. There is no sentimentality here, neither in front of, or behind the camera. Forbes' lens is unflinching -- it's the audience who has to look away.

The cast alone makes this film worthwhile: George Segal (for the uninitiated, Segal was once a rising star), Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Patrick O'Neal, Denholm Elliot, James Donald, Tod Armstrong, John Mills, Gerald Sim, and Leonard Rossiter to name a few. They are all at their best. There are no disappointments here. In fact, I think it is the cast that makes me prefer the film to the book. Tom Courtney is much better at realizing his character than Clavel can write him. While Clavel (who lived this harrowing experience) may have known these people, it's the cast who have personalized and personified them. And so, while Forbes may have cut significant material from the book, I think the soul of the work is stronger. This is most apparent in the last line of dialog: in the book it is delivered by Tom Courtney's character, but in the film it is given to James Fox.

But what is most amazing is that, after thirty-five years and the likes of "Patton", "Full Metal Jacket", "Platoon", "The Odd Angry Shot", and "Saving Private Ryan", "King Rat" still holds it's own. IF you are a connoisseur of films (war or otherwise) this is a must see.

He Gave You Hate, Gray!
Survival. This film of POW's in Singapore's Changi prison is about survival. Mostly British POW's, there is one hustler among them, an American Corporal named King. He is the King Rat...the black marketeer, the guy "on the ball", trading with the Malay & Japanese guards, and always working schemes. He is pursued by the POW Provost Marshals , envied and resented by other POW's, even as they employ his services as a go-between for themselves.

A naive young British Officer, Marlowe, meets the King and is drawn into his world, first as a translator (he speaks Malay), and slowly becomes Corporal King's only true friend. He comes to admire King's undaunted will to survive and his ingenuity and courage. In the episode of the watch sale, King gives Marlowe a lesson in how things really work that is an eye-opener to him and us.

Beautifully played by a very young James Fox as Marlowe, and an equally young George Segal as Corporal King, the movie is harrowing and yet often very funny. King's schemes and maneuvers, while illegal as camp rules, keep everyone engaged and some of the episodes are rife with gallows humor (as in the special "stew" feast and the "delicacy" reserved for sale to officers only).

The rest of the cast is fine with John Mills, Patrick O'Neal, James Donalds and Tom Courtney standouts. The direction by Bryan Forbes is excellent, capturing the terrible conditions of the camp and the insipient insanity and despair of the prisoners.

James Clavell was in Changi prison, and he knew a man like Corporal King. The book may have been somewhat different, but the movie captures the essence of Clavell's experience and his admiration for the man's guts and spirit and unwillingness to surrender and be defeated by Changi. A terrific, unsentimental film. 4-1/2 stars.

You are what you eat
Well, Corporal King did not actually eat rats - he sold that particular delicacy to the officers.

Based on the excellent book by James Clavell, this is a great story of life in a Japanese-run prison camp in Singapore.

George Segal plays corporal King, who is the big wheeler-dealer of the camp, buying and selling various items such as watches, ripping off anyone he can, but also handsomely paying off his cronies.

He develops a friendship of sorts with one particular British prisoner, and later helps keep his arm from being amputated.

Upon being liberated (led by none other than "Family Feud" host Richard Dawson), King realizes that he will be going back to being the low rung on the ladder (as a corporal), and shares none of the other prisoner's joy of freedom.

There are quite a few great performances, particularly from George Segal (the man who once french-kissed his dog on the Johnny Carson show).

Of course, as is usually the case, the book is much better, but this is still a darn good movie.

Why is this movie so underrated?
I do not understand why this movie isn't better known and more respected. It is an excellent film, as are several of Bryan Forbes' British films, all of which I recommend. When I first saw this film, I was almost outraged that I'd never heard anything about it, and I see I'm in good company. Why is Stalag 17 considered a classic of American cinema while King Rat (a much better and more complex film, in my opinion) languishes in semi-obscurity? I've never seen any significant criticism on it, which is particularly unusual for a war film (and, in some sense, anti-war film.) At least they've finally put it on DVD, and the transfer here is excellent, even if there aren't really any extras. Interestingly, the company that produced this DVD seems to be pushing George Segal's presence as the selling point of King Rat, and the back of the box doesn't even mention James Fox's character(!) (Perhaps the macho POW film audience would be put off by the relationship between Segal's and Fox's characters? I don't know.) Segal's performance is indeed great, but it isn't the only reason to watch this film, which is excellent in every major respect: technically, dramatically, and thematically. (I'm usually nearly in tears by the end, too-- I don't know whether that's true for everyone, though.) One more thing: I have not read the novel, but you should bear in mind that they ARE separate works of art, even if the film is adapted, and therefore needn't be judged against each other. I think King Rat succeeds marvellously in its own right.

Anyone for an egg???
There have been many great war movies and most people would surely agree that movies such as Patton, Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, All Quiet on the Western Front, and Paths of Glory should be included, but sad to say I have never seen "King Rat" on any greatest list (either war related or just generic great movies). Oh, but it should be! On the face of it, "King Rat" is the story of an American corporal (George Segal) imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp. He may be a corporal in actual rank, but he is the Commander-in-Chief of the entire camp when it comes to surviving. He is the instigator and beneficiary of every scheme immaginable to survive as best he can. He not only has to persevere against the Japanese, but also the other allied prisoners in the camp with him who consider him no better than the Japanese. I will not go into all of the schemes that he concocts for his personal survival and comfort, but there is one in which he is offhandedly (or so it seems) preparing lunch for himself and a fellow prisoner, that has to be seen "and heard" to be believed. I have probably 1,000 movies in my collection and have seen many more than that, which simply means that I have been exposed to hundreds and hundreds of memorable scenes: 2001: bone thrown into the air, Butch Cassidy: jumping off the cliff, Dr. Strangelove: riding the bomb, Doctor Zhivago: collapsing on the tracks with Lara almost in reach, and of course Psycho: the shower, but I defy anyone to watch the egg scene in "King Rat" and not be profoundly moved. It affects me deeply just thinking about it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

From the Terrace is one of Paul Newman's lesser-known films, but it's a worthy showcase for the actor's developing screen persona. Like Butterfield 8, this is a slick, prestigious adaptation of a John O'Hara novel, about loose morals and forbidden love among the wealthy elite. Director Mark Robson lacks the mastery of melodrama that Douglas Sirk would've brought to this material, but he's still on target with O'Hara's tale of a prodigal son (Newman) who rejects his late father's steel mill in favor of big-business conquest, only to find his trophy wife (superbly played by Newman's off-screen wife, Joanne Woodward) straying into the arms of her former fiancé, while he falls in love with a socialite (Ina Balin) with whom he's much more compatible. A well-tuned drama of marital discord and unchecked ambition, From the Terrace was sharply adapted by Ernest Lehman between the triumphs of North by Northwest and West Side Story, and Newman's brooding performance gave him a solid boost to his iconic role in the 1961 classic The Hustler. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Excellent oldie.....
A view FROM THE TERRACE is what Paul Newman's character David Alfred Eaton has of his future wife Mary (JoAnne Woodward). The screen play was based on a best-selling novel of the same name by John O'Hara. Given it was released in the 1950s when sex on the screen was verboten and not much more explicit in novels (ban a book in Boston), one must appreciate the work it took for Newman and Woodward to give these performances.

Like many other teenagers of my generation, I was "in love" with Paul Newman. Newman could make female hearts flutter by simply looking at the camera with his big blue eyes. Many other teens preferred Marlon Brando, his peer and rival for female affection. I believe these two actors were the Leonardo de Caprio and Brad Pitt of their day, although in the long run, Newman (like de Caprio) has had more staying power and gracefully made the transition to mature roles.

In the 1950s, to see a film one had to attend a theater, where the screen was usually covered with a huge velvet curtain. FTT played at the Center theater in my small town, and I saw the film six times after it was released. I was able to get into the theater for a quarter, and as my allowance was $3, this was no small sacrifice. So, you might say this film was one of my all time favorites.

Watching it again almost 50 years later, I wondered how I would react, and of course the passage of time and arrival of many other actors and vast changes in filmmaking have affected the way I view the film and Newman, but I still like him enormously, and this film holds it's own, though the storyline may seem archaic.

This film is about infidelity and divorce and the price of success, a story line that may be lost on generations raised in an age of no-fault divorces and dual earner households. Once upon a time, divorce and infidelity were considered absolutely scandalous, and financially disastrous. In fact, if you divorced, your life was ruined. Many couples stayed together and suffered the ignominy of a cheating spouse. FTT was a ground-breaking film because it tackled these issues head-on.

The DVD version of the film is well done, and the price reasonable (technicolor and cinemascope production). Do your self a favorite, buy this DVD and add it to the shelf where you keep CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and other 50's favorites.

I absolutely adore this movie
I saw this movie for at least the third time today and I told myself: go ahead and get this on DVD because you watch it every time it comes on TV. Well, I just simply must have it near me. I love the "how do you like them apples" part in the movie. What a move! I love every minute of this movie. It is like a short story! I love the dialogue! Watch it people!

My View From The Sofa
Paul Newman has many more famous roles...but for some reason, this is one of my all time favorite movies of his. It comes on the Love Stories, AMC, or TCM cable channels every here and now...or you could just buy it like I did.

He's nice, determined, well-meaning Alfred Eaton, who starts off with lofty, wealthy ideas about what is important in life...the right woman, the right career, the right friends...and showing them all how important he can be when he has them. Ultimately, he learns that what is important is only what feels right to him alone.

I love his story of personal discovery as much as his love affair story with Natalie. Alfred and Natalie have this beautiful scene where they are saying goodbye, they're barely touching, but it's the most painfully romantic thing to see.

Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward have some excellent scenes in this movie also with real good comeback dialogue. He's the hardworking, decent man and she's the desperate-to-impress and just plain desperate society wife. She self-righteously and hurtfully accuses him of adultery with a girl with no guts when she's been sleeping with her ex-fiancee all along. She actually calls her lover and arranges a tryst while her husband is in the room!!!! She has guts!!!! (if little else) Unbeknownst to her, Alfred has exhaustingly if unaffectedly (if you can look unaffected and disgusted at the same time, that is) done his best to makes her invisible in the room, but she probably just becomes invisible without any real effort on his part to make her so by that point. Their voices just have the most impactful tones...especially when they get to play off of each other. I can play their final scene over and over again where she says she won't give him a divorce and he says,"Any further communication between you and me will be through legal channels." He has the most genuine smile on that handsome face in that moment than through the entire movie!!!!!

This movie is actually pretty long, but not a moment is wasted. It all comes together in the end when Alfred finally chooses what he actually wants instead of what he's supposed to want.

Maybe it's because it's so subtle and not at all like a "movie" that it seems to be largely overlooked by everyone except me and 20 other people. Paul Newman is one fine, naturally classy actor, I say.

Unfaithfully Yours
Every few years, I sit back and enjoy "From the Terrace" for what it is. As good old fashioned "potboiler", John O Hara's screen adaptation is not quite as sprawling as say....Edna Ferber's works, but nonetheless is a decent potboiler in its own right. Alfred (Paul Newman), discharged from the Navy after WW II is the ambitious, disaffected son of nouveau riche steel mill owner Samuel Eaton, (Leon Ames). Seeking to make his own unique mark in the world he spurns his father's hopes of joining the business and decides his fortune is to be made elsewhere. Along the way, he meets his future blue-blooded trophy wife Mary St. John (Joanne Woodward) and soon discovers her appetites are far in excess even to his own ambitions. Landing a job at a prestigious Wall Street firm in an oblique way that is a potboiler's trademark, Alfred comes under the watchful eye of old money and traditional expectations by J.D. MacHardie (masterfully portrayed by Felix Aylmer). I very much enjoyed all the scenes in which Aylmer's MacHardie was highlighted and I can almost smell the stodginess of old money, ritual table manners, wood paneled walls, cigars, and brandy that were part of his ultra-conservative environment. Soon enough, while on a trip to scout business opportunities, Alfred meets Natalie (Ina Balin), the unattached daughter of a wealthy coal mine owner. Knowing full well of his marital status, she consents, even encourages his attention and unfaithfulness. Balin manages to pull this off with a naive sweetness without ever seeming cheap or trashy. Infidelity is a major theme in this work and I'm sure its frank discussion must have sparked many a controversy when this film was released very early in 1960. Veteran actress Myrna Loy was given near top billing as Alfred's alcoholic and unfaithful mother, yet her on-screen performance was limited to the first reel of this nearly 2 1/2 hour film. I enjoyed the brief on screen appearance of young Barbara Eden as a flirtatious socialite. Patrick O'Neal was perfectly cast as the smarmy Dr. Jim Roper, the illicit lover of Mary St. John. Over his long acting career, Paul Newman has delivered solid performances again and again. This is one of his lesser known works but serves as a fine example of why he was so popular with the audience as a silver screen heartthrob. Watching this film today and being mindful of his lasting marriage to Joanne Woodward just serves to make this movie all the more compelling to me. I hope you will agree.

A view of the male in society.
Based on John O'Hara's novel, Alfred Eaton wants success in his own right but also seeks happiness for himself. He ventures out to New York leaving behind his cold, unloving father and alcoholic mother. As he is settled, he meets Mary St. John at a party in Southhampton. She is engaged to a psychiatrist Jim Roper. She rebuffs him at first but laters falls in love with him, calling off her engagement to her fiance. The two marry. However, their marriage is on the rocks. As Alfred gains success and social status, Mary feels isolated from his affection and has sexual affairs outside of the marriage. A business venture in rural Pennsylvania force him to confront his past and his future. Having dinner at the Benzinger home, he falls in love with the daughter Natalie. Strikingly beautiful and raven-haired, she is the one who understands him and is affectionate towards him.
Alfred Eaton, is relatively like most men. They want to gain recognition and respect from the social and economical community and at the same time, be happy with themselves. However, success doesn't always bring happiness. Happiness comes from within. Eaton's lack of affection from his father caused him to seek happiness elsewhere but he was forced to make hard decisions that would not only affect his career, but himself. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For the Boys is a lumpy attempt to create an old-fashioned backstage drama, replete with classic showbiz feuds, breakups and make-ups, and the often inexplicable adoration of fictional fans toward characters with dubious star appeal. Released under a cloud of accusations that the story was ripped off from the life of USO stalwart Martha Raye (who had been attempting to get an autobiographical film project set up), For the Boys didn't improve its public relations by being, well, not very good. Bette Midler stars as Dixie Leonard, a singer plucked from obscurity by song-and-dance man Eddie Sparks (James Caan) while on a USO tour during World War II. Their bawdy chemistry before audiences makes them a durable act through many years and wars to come. The problem is that they don't like each other very much, and here's where director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) drops the ball: the film never develops sufficient story grounds or the emotional complexity necessary for a high degree of conflict in what is essentially a two-character drama. It doesn't help that the script requires Dixie and Eddie to be on nonspeaking terms for most of the 50 years they know one another, or that the story culminates in a horribly contrived reunion on television, with both actors buried under enough flesh-aging prosthetics and make-up to make them look like Dick Tracy villains. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (12)

For the fans ...
The people that are going to LOVE this movie are all the die-hard Midler fans that are out there.

Basically, I bought the DVD Norma Rae starring Sally Field, and included with the extra features of that disc was a trailer of For the Boys, and the scene that was featured in the trailer was the one where Bette sings "In My Life" in Vietnam, with snippets of the rest of the movie playing over her singing, and the boys holding up peace signs at the end of the song. Well, perhaps needless to say I CRIED MY EYES OUT just watching the trailer. I found out soon after that she was nominated for an Academy Award for this movie, and I bought it cheap. At first I didn't like it at all, but after watching it a second time found it much better. Probably the worst thing about this goings-on was seeing the heartbreaking trailer before the movie; I was just expecting a better movie. Before this I thought Bette Midler to be annoying and insincere, but ... she is what she is.

If you can find this DVD on sale for cheap somewhere, go for it like I did.

Watchable, But Nothing To Write Home About
Seemingly suggested by a combination of Bob Hope's legendary USO tours and the toxic relationship that sometimes develops between comedy team partners (with the likes of Martin and Lewis a case in point), FOR THE BOYS gives us the story of Dixie Leonard (Midler), a rough and tough singer with a naughty sense of humor, and Eddie Sparks (James Caan), a secretly sexist comic. When the two meet on a World War II USO tour, it's loathing at first sight--but their audiences adore the combination.

Trouble is, you can't imagine why. Both Midler and Caan are expert performers, but they have remarkably little on-screen chemistry, and although they score points individually they never quite seem to be working in tandem. To make matters worse, while the dialogue is often witty, the plot is leaden, and it promptly goes off into a host of predictable directions as it drags its characters from World War II to Vietnam in order to make a series of well-intended but extremely obvious and over-worked comments about changing times and the wastefulness of war.

The supporting cast is strong, but like the leads they seem to be pulling in different directions throughout the film, and when all is said and done this rather lengthy film feels quite a bit longer than it actually is. Midler's songs are the only real highlight, and the thing is indeed watchable... but only just. The DVD package isn't anything to write home about either, consisting of a handful of trailers and television spots. For hardcore Midler fans only.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

For The Desperate.
This was one of those movies that really sounded great with possibilities, but just fell flat. The premise of two show-biz veterans, who have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship, through 50 years of entertaining together in the U.S.O., television, amid changing public tastes, tragedies, ups, downs, wars, etc...should have made for a very entertaining saga. And, with Bette Midler as the musical female lead, how could it miss? Well, it did. Though it gets off to a promising start, and her number "Stuff Like That There" early in the film brings down the house in true Bette style, it went downhill from there. James Caan is opposite her as her sexist partner/nemesis, whose pairing with her, though a big success career wise, is rife with rivalry and contempt for the very success that the fluke of their pairing produces. They chew the scenery often, and certain scenes, such as when Bette's characters son is killed in front of her in VietNam, where she is entertaining, that are so stupidly overwrought that they are rendered emotionless. I actually went to a theater to see this movie, something I don't often do. What I still remember most about that experience is the collective audience reaction, of incredulous hilarity, when the "aged" Midler and Caan's characters meet after many years of non-communication for a begrudged public reunion. This is by far the worst "aging" make-up job that I have ever seen in a big budget motion picture... all the improbability of this movie came to a ridiculous head at the viewing of these supposed very elderly stars, who look more like burn victims, in mid-meltdown, than any elderly person I've ever known. This is a very over-long disappointment, the only value of which will be in a few musical clips that will no doubt be used in the inevitable retrospective of Bette Midler's career. Best forgotten, which it mostly is.

A Movie You Don't See Everyday!
For the Boys is a really good movie. This is one of my mom's favorites and I can always remember her watching it. I can also remember listening to the soundtrack. One time we got bored so my mom deciced we should watch a movie and we watched this one. The movie is about this women named Dixie Leonard and she is a singer. During WWII she goes to Europe to sing for the troops over there, with Eddie Sparks who is very famous. This movie is about there times performing together from WWII to Vietnam.This movie also has some really sad parts and this movie almost made me even cry!!! I highly recomend this movie and if you like the movie and the music I also recomend the soundtrack.

Great Musical
Musicals by the early 90s were extremely rare but this reminds one of the days when musicals were both popular and fun as Bette Midler and James Caan play two USO singers who go all the way from World War II to the Vietnam War entertaining and wowing the army boys. Along the way is the drama that they both experience as they try to court one another while James is still married. For Bette, this should have been another hit as it had a great song off the soundtrack which could have worked as a hit single EVERY ROAD LEADS BACK To YOU as well as a great performance. In fact Bette does a better job here than in BEACHES as she has to carry more of the film on her shoulders. Her sparky, brassy, witty attitude and humor are evidenced here and she and James have impecable chemistry which allows the movie to work. It also is intersting seeing them age from middle age 40-year olds to some 90 year olds receiving awards. A great movie reminding one of the old days of musicals as well as one that tugs at the heartstrings!! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Average at best.
The best part of this movie is "the eighties" era. Take Sean Astin (Toy Soldiers, Lord of the Rings) Kirk Cameron the (THEN) teen hearthrob from "Growing Pains", and add Dudley Moore from "10" and "Arthur" you would think you may have a great movie, but honestly it is mediocre at best. There are moments in which you may laugh?? really depends on your IQ. Then there are so many MORE moments where you feel you have seen it all before, and you probably have. Some scenes from the movie are cute. Other things tend to get a idiotic. I think this movie would be a good rental for an eighties theme night, otherwise I can not recommend it, not when there are so many other movies out there that are more worthy of your time!! I really would stick with "Freaky Friday", and "Big" if you want to see this type of movie. (No extra features, not one). (Picture quality is good to okay, sound is okay but definitely NOT Dolby surround).

Its on DVD!!!
YES!! Thank you Columbia/TriStar for putting this movie on DVD! I love this movie its one of my all time favorites. Classic 80's movie. Dudley Moore "Dr. Jack Hammond"is wonderful and very funny as the father, Kirk Cameron Shines as "Chris Hammond" his teenage son. They switch bodies when friend Sean Astin "Trigger" from"Lord of the Rings" brings it over to the brain-transference serum. Dudley Moore goes wild in his sons body and hits the town with Sean Astin while Kirk Cameron in his dads body goes to the hospital and makes arounds with his dads interns. This movie I highly recommend only for teenagers and older, not for younger kids because of some of the language and adult seens. Please don't confuse this movie with that rip off "Freaky Friday" thats Disney stuff is for kids. This movie is underrated and full of laughes, Theres no special features on the DVD But it has been Remastered in High Definition! The picture quality is Awesome! Crystal Clear! really looks nice alot better than the grainy VHS version. Columbia/TriStar you guys ROCK! Great job on the DVD

Please know that the stars are for sentimentality
The stars I gave this film are for sentimental reasons. If you were a teenaged girl growing up in the late 1980s, this was on the must-see list. When I think that I dragged my parents to catch this on the big screen...it's no wonder I'm an only child! The performances here are predicatable. For those loving the "Lord of the Rings" series, note that Sean Astin plays a goofball friend of Kirk Cameron. Watch this only if you wish to travel back in time & remember simpler days.

Hillarious! Kirk Cameron shines!
This hillarious comedy,about a teenager(Kirk Cameron) who switches bodies with his surgeon father(Dudley Moore),isn't just a hip,80's romp,but it has very touching moments as well! Also features Patty Duke's son,Sean Austin,as well as a great 80's soundtrack.Kirk Cameron really is funny! And Dudley Moore is great! I have loved this film since it was released,and even though some critics had mixed reviews,it made $40 million at the box-office,and still holds up as a great slapstick comedy!

It was OK
This movie got boring from time to time. It is very funny but not that great. Don't buy this movie RENT it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Released to mixed reviews in 1969, Castle Keep now qualifies as a potent allegory for the insanity of the Vietnam War. In that respect it belongs in the same category as better-known anti-war films of the period including Little Big Man and The Wild Bunch, and director Sydney Pollack (who scored his breakthrough hit later that year with They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) deftly straddles a stylistic line between old-school Hollywood and the emerging counterculture epitomized by Easy Rider. He also gets a memorably off-kilter performance from Burt Lancaster (who had been instrumental in launching Pollack's directorial career), the young-looking Tony Bill (who later became a successful producer-director), and especially Peter Falk, who would soon gain TV fame as Columbo. As American soldiers occupying a richly-appointed medieval castle in the Ardennes Forest near the end of World War II, they're a M*A*S*H-like bunch of military misfits (including Bruce Dern as a conscientious objector) engaged in a microcosm of occupational warfare as German troops draw closer. The ending is uncompromisingly bleak, reflecting the futility of Vietnam with long-lasting resonance. From a latter-day perspective, Castle Keep is a bold hybrid of large-scale WWII action and political statement, which may explain why such high-profile filmmakers as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese campaigned for this glorious widescreen DVD after the earlier release of an inferior full-screen version. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

A Masterpiece
Burt Lancaster gives a brilliant, measured performance in this anti-war film that features a top notch director ( Sydney Pollack), first rate cast ( Patrick O'Neal, Peter Falk, Tony Bill, Michael Conrad [ Sgt Esterhaus on Hill St. Blues] & Al Freeman Jr.)based on the book by William Eastlake. At times surreal, bitterly ironic and bitterly funny. It takes place during the Battle of the Bulge, as "8 walking wounded misfits of the American Army" try to hold a castle against the advancing German Army. Once seen, not to be forgotten.

Pity no one wants it on DVD.... It's a masterpiece!
I review this movie, basing myself on a VHS copy I recorded from Cinemax some years ago. The only copy I own and which I cherish jealously.
I can only compare it to such other masterpieces as "When Trumpets Fade" and "On a Midnight Clear", to which it should be rightfully added, if one is a true movie "connaisseur".
Burt Lancaster's hour of excellence without a doubt, although let's never forget his performances in other movies such as "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Swimmer", "The Gypsy Moths", "Go Tell the Spartans" or "From Here to Eternity".
But let's not forget the strong performances delivered by Peter Falk (as a private who prefers to bake fresh bread, rather than fight a dirty war) and Bruce Dern (as a sort of conscience objector of the times).
The landscape, the scenery, are magic to say the least.
Filmed in plain winter in a fairytale-like village and countryside, it contrasts with the harsh reality of World War II.
In fact, most of the film is about peace, not about war.
These soldiers, all want a spot in which to be at peace, and thought they have found it, are then suddenly, brought back to reality through the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes.
Most of the movie, is a consideration on what a folly war is in the face of so simple realities of everyday life, such as indeed, baking bread, early in the morning and smelling its fresh and "clean" scent.
This is why it is so more shocking when the German counteroffensive hits home, waking everybody up, including us, the audience to this beautiful account.
It is so strident and so brutal, that everything that was so beautiful and peaceful turns to living hell.
This movie is meant for thinkers, for people who look for something to make them think.
It is as strong as any true anti-war movie I've ever seen and forces the viewer to reconsider the glorification of war.
Even though the Castle is the centerpiece of this movie, it is highly symbolic for the comfort we all feel when at home.
When it finally gets shelled by the German 88mm guns, it brings home the sadest of images, the destruction of a home, not that of a fortress.
All so often do we forget that in war, who ultimately suffers, are innocent civilians, which should not be supposed to take part in the combats and strivings of armies and yet are continuously touched by the horror and the cruelty of such events.
No war, not even the most just one, justifies or excuses what innocent "bystanders" have to endure, while two contenders, in the name of so-called "principles", are willing to push them through.
It is the curse of our modern age, and despite the fact that civilians were ultimately always "targets" of war, we still haven't learned the lesson, and as such we cannot speak of ourselves as a civilization, but rather as very convenient hypocrits, who think they are civilized.
When it suits us, we all become wild barbarians.
Let's face it. This movie brings it home to us.
It tells us who and what we are.
Whether right or wrong, does not matter.
What matters is that when in the right frame of mind and when the occasion justifies it, we all are guilty of "willing" a war.
This is why "Castle Keep" is not just a novel or a movie, but rather a mirror placed right in front of us, forcing us to think and think hard.
This is also why I miss it greatly on DVD.
When I first watched it theatrically, I was amazed at the beauty of the images and at the poetical values in them, which alas on the VHS format, is getting totally wasted.
If I remember it well, it was not filmed in CinemaScope, nor Large Screen Panavision, but rather in the rather conventional Academy standard of 1.85:1.
Nevertheless, this is a movie that really needs a well-cared transposition to DVD with a fairly sharp picture resolution, to render the beauty of its images fully plastic again.
Don't expect a Digital Dolby 5.1 sound out of this picture.
I remember that even in the movie theatre, it was shown in a Monaural version.
Still, I would suggest to transpose it with a maximum of sound accuracy, since I remember that despite this being a Mono copy, it was highly crisp and every sound and every dialogue was extremely clear!
Pity they don't make them anymore like this, but then again, where would you find actors of a caliber such as Burt Lancaster, Bruce Dern, Peter Falk or even, Patrick O'Neal?
Granted, we have Russell Crowe, but could he stand the comparison with a giant such as Mr. Lancaster?
I sincerely doubt it, although I am a great admirer of Mr. Crowe's line of roles.
Nevertheless, I still vouch for the "old ones".
They were less academic, although impregnated with it, but rather more human on screen.
Today's stars have forgotten what it is to be human on stage, as well as on the silver screen.
Some are perfect actors, but lack the "human factor" component, that actors such as Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger and yes, even John Wayne and Clint Eastwood had brought through the screen to us.
Today, they are unapproachable superheroes. Back then, they were full-blooded and feeling human beings in which we, the audience, could truly recognize ourselves.

I can truly recommend this movie, even in VHS format.
You will probably lose some of the beauty of the scenery, but the story is truly there, clearly defined and masterfully told by a cultor of good writing and good moviemaking.

And if someone out there has some taste left, he or she, should pick it up from the dust, where it probably lies, and make every effort necessary to bring it back to its glorious life.

I am convinced that even younger generations nowadays would love it...

An incredible piece of ...
Yes it's true, Columbia has released this excellent movie in pan & scan! And to make it worse, contrary to what was said by an earlier reviewer, the original aspect ratio was not 1,85:1 but the full Panavision 2,40:1 framing (that's easy to check out, because the opening credits actually are shown in widescreen on the DVD). Well, that's it, folks, what we have here is another useless disc which all movie lovers should stay away from until Columbia finally understands what customers want.

1 star because I don't have any other choice (please Amazon, make it possible to give a 'Zero star' rating!)

Unfortunately...
... Columbia-Tristar had an opportunity (really, an obligation to its movie-going and disc-buying audience) to remedy 30+ years of pan&scan broadcast/tape versions of CASTLE KEEP -- which was originally exhibited in 2.35:1 Panavision, contrary to what another reviewer here remembers -- and have instead elected to preserve a p&s presentation for the DVD release of this excellent and important Vietnam-era film (set during WWII). Whose bright idea was this? A one-star disc -- if I could give it no stars, I would -- for a five-star film? Thanks, Columbia-Tristar, but no thanks. I'll pass.

A lousy Pan & Scan transfer and a waste of money!
"Castle Keep" is an interesting early film by Sydney Pollack that, I'm sorry to say, is absolutely ruined by Columbia's foolish decision to release it pan & scan rather than in the correct aspect ratio. The film's beautiful widescreen cinematography is one of its greatest assets, but on the DVD parts of the film are actually hard to make sense of because half of the image is cut off. (...). With so many other great films out there to see, I recommend that you don't waste your time with this one until Columbia releases a better version. Too bad. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Alice is one of Woody Allen's more grounded whimsies, though viewers with a low tolerance for feyness might miss it. Here goes Mia Farrow again as a nattering Manhattanite with a girlie-girlie voice and a well-to-do husband of 16 years (a stockbroker played by William Hurt) who doesn't always notice whether she's in the room. One day a back pain sends her up a dim staircase in Chinatown to see an acupuncturist (the valedictory role of the beloved Keye Luke). He has quite a bag of tricks--including hypnosis and a versatile assortment of herbal teas--and enough insight to recognize that Alice's troubles lie somewhere other than her sacroiliac. Under Dr. Yang's ministrations, Alice goes on a Wonderland voyage through her own life, fantasizing about having an affair with a dusky stranger (Joe Mantegna), flitting about Manhattan as an invisible spirit, and--most unlikely of all--talking straight with her various relatives, past and present.

Like so many Allen films, Alice wavers between scenes imagined with deftness and precision (like Farrow and Mantegna's astonished mutual seduction) and other scenes and notions that are merely touched upon and then abandoned before they can develop any rhythm and complexity, persuade you they were worth including, and justify the presence of so many nifty performers--Judy Davis, Judith Ivey, Gwen Verdon, Robin Bartlett, Alec Baldwin, Holland Taylor, Cybill Shepherd, Blythe Danner, Julie Kavner, Caroline Aaron--who mostly wink in and out again as cameos. Nevertheless, almost all Woody's looking glasses are worth passing through at least once. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Mia Culpa
In Wonderland? This is the story of a mid-life crisis Mia Farrow, who, as Alice, the wife of a rich designer, played by William Hurt, has given up her own career and spiritual impulses a long time ago.

She now devotes herself to the frenetic passivity of her glamorous but rather humdrum Park Avenue existence - a wonderland of health fads, plastic surgery, extramarital affairs, gossip, with over-expenditure on everything from cuddly toys to personal masseuses and physical fitness trainers.

Alice soon meets the mysterious Dr Yan, and is therby introduced to a yet another wonderland of magic drugs that enable her, by turns, to don the cloak of invisibility, summon up ghosts from the past, make anyone fall in love with her, and generally see through the lies and hypocrisy of her life.

Despite these rich ingredients, the central theme of the movie owes more to the dourness of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" than to the unrestrained fantasy of Lewis Carroll's work. Allen's Alice is in fact Nora, a faithful wife and, with the help of maids, and, with the help of babysitters, a devoted mother. Beneath the surface, however, she feels stifled and deeply unhappy.

Having examined her life with the help of Dr Yan, the catalyst to changing it is Joe, a sleazy, divorced sax player, who enflames her passions, triggers off her catholic guilt feelings, and has her frantically trying to find out what her life meant, means, and will mean. She rushes around seeking answers, discovering her husband with another woman, and finding out, after a short affair, that Joe still loves his ex-wife.

All this is very entertaining, but what follows is a disappointment.

Alice decides to leave her husband, go off to Calcutta, meet Mother Teresa, and basically turn over a whole new leaf, wiping the slate clean, and living the complete antithesis to her former life by devoting herself to the poor and turning her back on all her old comforts.

This is no doubt supposed to be a warm-hearted ending with Alice "finding herself as a woman and an individual" and acting out a few other cosy, well-worn cliches that have crawled off the couches of New York analysts.

But just as her former life was perhaps too shallow, material, and hypocritical, her new life is too profound, spiritual, and sincere. There is a coldness in the emotional amnesia with which she excludes her husband from her new life, and a fleshlessness in the spirituality with which she turns her back on all men...

The character of Joe shows a more welcome attitude to life, an attitude that embraces life with all its contradictions, obligations, nostalgias, and emotion.

If there is any emotional centre to this film, it is not to be found in the main character.

Woody Allen Does "Magic Realism"
This movie was made in the 1989-1990 period. Woody Allen was already an experienced film director and actor. Stas Mia Farrow in the title role of Alice, and Joe Montegna as the lover. Woody Allen does not appear in this film as he is only a director but there is a load of cameos from stars such as Cybil Shepherd and Bernadette Peters in the comedic role of the Muse. Woody Allen's intellectual/philosophical, life affirming comedies have always been effective and successful- Annie Hall, Zellig, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Hannah and Her Sisters, etc. Alice is a modern day and more adult version of "Alice In Wonderland" where it gets its name. Alice is a seemingly happy, married woman living in Manhattan, New York City. The illusion of happiness soon wears off as she discovers her husband, a stockbrocker, played by William Hurt, is cheating on her. Soon enough, she is cheating on him with Joe Montegna's character, a saxophone jazz musician.

The reality of this film, which lies in the complicated adult affairs, including marital infidelity, and the urban scenes of New York City, are contrasted but mingled effectively with the "magic" that is dominant in the film. Alice is consulting a spiritual Oriental doctor who gives her all sorts of herbs and potions, including one which renders her invisable. The scene in which she and Joe Montegna are invisible in the women's clothes store is hilarious. Joe Montegna sneaks into a fitting room to spy on a model dressing. "There's a lot of heavy breathing coming from in here" says the model. Meanwhile Alice overhears her friends talking about her behind her back. Ultimately, Alice must make a choice. She has the cure for her problem. A love potion. But will she select her husband or her lover ? Her decision is unexpected and maybe even a bit off-putting to some viewers who would have preferred she remain in the realm of humans and romantic affairs and materialism. The movie had been going this way until the decision which is to reject worldliness and Mia Farrow is inspired by the humanitarian and noble work of Mother Teresa. I feel that it's at least true to Mia Farrow's real life nature. She is notorious for adopting many foreign children from war-torn and poverty stricken countries. This movie is still very good and I really enjoyed it. The witty script by Woody Allen and his position as director and Mia Farrow's husband is also very effectiive. It's a great film by a master of comedy that makes you think. If only this movie was available on DVD here.

Penguin House
Alice is a compendium of missed opportunities. Woody conjures up all sorts of angles worth exploring then drops them.

The movie is worth seeing for the stunningly crisp cinematography, odd use of color (especially in Farrow and Hurt's bizarre apartment) and unerringly apt musical choices. Woody's deep feeling for jazz is the unbilled star here, and when a lush string orchestra with muted trumpet strikes up a silvery and sensitive chorus of "I Remember You" just before Alice awakes to a visitation from her long-dead lover (Baldwin) you get a palpable sense of the heroine's pent-up longings.

Joe Mantegna is terrific. He uses those sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes of his to superb effect; those eyes tell us more than Woody's sketchy script ever will.

The film's most electrifying sequence brings the great, underutilized actress Gwen Verdon out of the shadows to play Alice's boozy mom. We've seen this boozy mom archetype in Allen films before: Maureen O'Sullivan in Hannah, Elaine Stritch in September. But none of them brought the FIRE that seethes from Verdon. Verdon conveys such waste and degradation that I felt as if I were witness to something horribly private. And there lies the movie's greatest sin: we just get this one scene and no more. What happened? Was the loaded gun triangle of Farrow, Verdon and "the accomplished sister" Blythe Danner to hot for Woody to handle???

I didn't mind the whimsy of Alice. But there was a meatier, darker story here waiting to be told, and Allen backs away from telling it. Still, given how bad, coarse, loud, vulgar and passionless nearly all of Allen's post-Mia films have been, Alice looks more and more like a gift as time goes by.

Dreamlike
Alice starts harmlessly enough as we meet her, a dissatisfied NY housewife married to a wealthy banker. The fun starts when she goes to a Chinese doctor (played by a brilliant actor, whose name I cannot remember) and he gives her various remedies to her problems. This kind of plot could easily fall into caricature and cliche but miraculously doesn't. The cast play their parts subtly and honestly, and support the movie's delicate frame. Mia is enchanting as Alice (and I don't usually feel this way about her). This quiet film is one that stays with me. Each time I see it, I enjoy it more.

A must see
A great rainy day movie. It is a rare gem of a movie.Great story. Enough said,get it watch it and tell your friends. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A grim, disheartening view of the underside of city life, Q & A is a legal drama with a disturbing twist. Not exactly a whodunit--the guilt of policeman Nick Nolte is established early on--the plot follows the closing of the circle around him. Leading the murder investigation is Timothy Hutton's young, idealistic district attorney Al Reilly, who finds himself battling a fraudulent and cynical culture. Racism, corruption, and political machinations are all added to the mix, resulting in a film that is just a little too dense and slow-moving to capture the imagination.

Director Sidney Lumet creates a feeling of enveloping darkness around Hutton, who slowly manages to let the light in and bring the truth to the surface. With an obviously small budget, the film has more of a made-for-television feel than that of a big blockbuster and some of the performances err too much on the side of cliché. The concept of the New York melting pot is fairly effectively dismissed by the film, painting a picture of distrust between communities that often spills into violence, both verbal and physical. Not quite as unremittingly bleak as Harvey Kietel's Bad Lieutenant, Q & A is still a tough, dark piece of cinema. --Phil Udell ... Read more

Reviews (8)

It would be difficult to underrate this film.
Watching this film is a little like being a spectator at a bad acting competition, with spot prizes for wooden expressions to play for. Jenny Lumet wins both, with extra credit for random overacting, but Timothy Hutton puts up a grand fight for second place. The script is wordy way past the point of tedium: it HAS to be based on a bad play. It's like a very literate writer trying desperately to be authentic, but unwilling to discard a single line he's ever heard in a cop movie. Never mind: you can have a fine time playing 'count the hard-boiled cop cliches'. Cheap special effects, along with a listless score and jarring theme song,reinforce the impression that nobody's heart was in it.
Some distinguished people were associated with the making of this film. I hope they've had a good long think about what they've done.

VERY UNDERRATED CLASSIC NYC CRIME FILM MUST SEE!!!
Being a nyc hispanic native i know this film is true in its essence. the performances especially by nolte are fabulous. nolte should have at least been nominated for his portrayal of a nyc corrupt cop. if you have lived in nyc this is a film that you should see for its location scences and gritty story. one reviewer wrote what did the main character (hutton) see in her, i can tell you she was smoking hot in the film. i am surprised i have never seen her in anything else and that is a shame.. there is also a touch of humor especially when the evil nolte meets his maker. however the scene between blumenfeld(character) and hutton towards the end about things being buried is very haunting in deed considering the atmosphere that we all live in this society.

I love this flick!
This is a must-have for anyone seeking a gritty portrait of the shadier slice of life in New York. This movie has it all- corruption in high places, police brutality, institutional racism etc. Nolte turns in a really great performance!

Props to Edwin Torres
While I agree with some reviewers who felt that this film started off strongly then fell off a bit as it progressed, I have to take issue with a couple of reviews that stated (not verbatim) that the racial politics of NYC as depicted in the film do not accurately reflect real life. One reviewer (the Amazon critic, I believe) went so far as to refer to the race dynamics in Q&A as far-fetched.

Wellllll.. as a Latino, raised in the Big Apple but having spent much time up and down the East Coast, I have to respectfully disagree on that one. Granted, Q & A does take liberties with the interpersonal-relationships-as-microcosm-of-the-social-picture thing, but the actors, some of whose performances go waaaay over the top, are more to blame