Ava Gardner

Average customer rating:

Frightening
A classic of it's kind
MUST SEE
THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING FOR ALL MILITARY OFFICERS
Classic- Government Conspiracy

Seven Days in May
Starring: Burt Lancaster , Kirk Douglas , Fredric March , Ava Gardner , and Edmond O'Brien
Director: John Frankenheimer
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Fail-safe (Special Edition) [Region 99]
The Bedford Incident [Region 99]
The Missiles of October
The Train
On the Beach

ASIN: B00004RF83
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com

John Frankenheimer's follow-up to The Manchurian Candidate is as intimate and subdued as its predecessor is flamboyant and energetic. Burt Lancaster is calm and calculating as the steely-eyed military hawk General Scott, who opposes the president's (Fredric March) plan to end the cold war with a bold nuclear disarmament plan. Lancaster's longtime friend and frequent costar Kirk Douglas is his smiling, joking right-hand man, Colonel "Jiggs" Casey, whose easygoing manner is jolted by evidence of a possible plot to overthrow the American government. Scripted by Rod Serling from the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey, the film plays much like a classic live TV drama (the medium that spawned both Frankenheimer and Serling), with the drama arising from conversations and confrontations and the action largely limited to scenes within the Pentagon and the White House. An ominous undercurrent of danger seeps through the realistic (and often real) settings of the film, conveyed chiefly through the intensity of the excellent ensemble performances. Notable among the supporting cast are Ava Gardner as a lonely Washington socialite who was once the general's mistress, Edmond O'Brien as an amiable alcoholic senator, Martin Balsam as the president's shrewd but skeptical secretary, and underrated character actor George Macready as the wily presidential advisor. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Frightening.......2007-06-02

This film is remarkable and far better than the updated version from a few years back. It demonstrates the dangers of politicizing the military and their desire to formulate foreign policy.

Though I first viewed it many years ago, it is still fresh and "edge-of-the-seat" exciting.

A classic of it's kind.......2007-05-13

A superb example of a great political thriller. Director Frankenheimer had just completed "the Manchurian Candidate", and with a great script from Rod Serling, a stellar cast helmed by Dougals and Lancaster, made a brilliant what-if of American history. As we are learning today, our cherised freedoms do, as the movie says "rest on the point of the Washington Mounument, ready to fall to the pavement below". A superb film, and one that shows where we were a a people not to long ago, and where, if we are not careful, we could wind up again.

MUST SEE.......2007-04-22

Beautiful cinematography a la Missiles of October and Threads...great suspense/political thriller....you won't be disappointed. You won't soon forget it.

THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING FOR ALL MILITARY OFFICERS.......2007-03-20

This is an excellent film that is just as current now as it was when it came out during the early 1960's. This is a graphic example of manipulation, old boys clubs, tainted politics and even loose canons in positions of military leadership. It even lends one to take a closer look at political leaders who have military experience in their backgrounds because this often leads to gunboat diplomacy and the big stick stigma. The cloak and dagger cliches are also found throughout the movie.

There is an outstanding cast with Kirk Douglas as an investigative boatrocker with not one ounce of quit in his bones. Burt Lancaster is also very convincing as the general who wants to be a modern Caesar. Ava Gardner is also charming as the female who travels in all the circles of power. These characters are very evident in any society. It strengthens the argument to seperate military and civilian leadership from each other because the passions will always run deep.

The film should be required viewing for all military officers.

Classic- Government Conspiracy .......2007-01-10

I found this to be a great movie. I had never heard of it before ordering. It is about government conspiracy before conspiracy theories became popular.

Average customer rating:

A Cold War Classic
On the Beach, the original.
Still Relevant
A great premise that drowns in monotonous levels of mediocrity
On the Rocks

On the Beach
Starring: Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire , Anthony Perkins , and Donna Anderson
Director: Stanley Kramer
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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Fail-safe (Special Edition) [Region 99]
On the Beach
Seven Days in May
Testament
The Day After

ASIN: B00004SGB5
Release Date: 2000-02-29

Amazon.com essential video

Stanley Kramer's 1959 antiwar movie looks like everything Kramer did: subtle as a car wreck but undeniably affecting. Gregory Peck plays a submarine commander looking for survivors in Australia after a nuclear holocaust. Ava Gardner is among them and, somewhat improbably under the circumstances, becomes his love interest. Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins are among the characters awaiting death from the gradual spread of radiation from the north. One might scoff at Kramer's implicit finger-wagging about nuclear politics in this mad, mad, mad, mad world, but it is hard to stop watching this compelling drama all the same. --Tom Keogh

Description

The war is over. Nobody won. Only the inhabitants of Australia and the men of the US submarine Sawfish have escaped the nuclear destruction and radiation. Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition,another (Ava Gardner) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close... From acclaimed director Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones, Inheritthe Wind) and screenwriter John Paxton comes this spectacular movie landmarka film masterpiece with a message that will resonate as long as the world has the power to self-destruct at its own fingertips.

Customer Reviews:

A Cold War Classic.......2007-05-20

On the Beach is truly an excellent Cold War Classic - I think this is
a movie everyone should see at least once. Fine acting by the best of
actors for its time. Get a copy for yourself and get a viewing audience
to watch it too.

On the Beach, the original........2007-05-12

This is one of the best cold war, end of the world, somebody dropped the bomb movies ever. Very thought provoking, especially if you live thru that era.

Still Relevant.......2007-04-16

This movie was science fiction. Absolutely.

But, seeing this movie again reminded me that the ideas in this movie are something we should still be thinking about.

A great premise that drowns in monotonous levels of mediocrity.......2007-02-15

When I read the synopsis of this 1959 film starring Gregory Peck, I had to get it. I had never heard of the film before, or the book that it is based on. The whole premise of a film coming up with an "alternative" history in a post apocalyptic setting back then intrigued me. Considering the scare of nuclear war and the consequences of radioactive fallout, I can see how this film at the time of its release, was perhaps more fearfully felt than enjoyed as a fictional tale. Considering it had one of my favorite actors from that era cast as the main star, I figured I couldn't go wrong. I was almost expecting a sort of Twilight Zone kind of setting, with the producers able to take this "what if" scenario and have a full reign on endless theories and imaginative portrayals.

The premise of the film is centered on an earth in which the typical "nuke shootout" has occurred in the year 1964. Gregory Peck stars as Dwight Towers, commander of a U.S. Submarine that has escaped the nuclear holocaust and eventually finds its way to what seems like a safe and inhabited area in Australia. Towers and his crew work with the people there in trying to establish communication with the outside world, although at this point it seems futile; The fallout will soon be upon this last resort on Earth. Towers sets out again to search for other areas and particularly has his eyes set on heading to San Francisco, where there are some strange transmissions being relayed that may be signs of life after all.

The plot and premise of this film are great, but I felt that overall it dragged on way too much. The first forty-five minutes seemed to take forever, and it wasn't until they were on the mission in the San Francisco bay that I really felt any "peril" for anyone in the movie. Much of this comes from the fact that none of the characters in the first hour seem to act like anything is wrong. They talk about the bombs and the outcome, and the possibility of death knocking at their door like they are visiting about some football game from a day before. The sailors portrayed, with the exception of a few, mostly just sit around looking like slackers. The "setup" of the film just never was strong enough for me to feel that it was an "End of World" type scenario.

A shining light in this film is Fred Astaire. Fred plays Julian Osbourne, a nuclear scientist who despite feeling the guilt of having a hand in one of mankind's deadliest inventions, gets to live out a dream of racing in a grand event. His speech on the sub about the irony of war, peace, and how the most noble of thoughts can lead to the deadliest of actions was spot on. It was a rather timeless and truthful look at things that doesn't sound dated at all. Ava Gardner plays Moira, a possible love interest for Towers, but even her and Anthony Perkins roles in this film seemed to slow, and by the time any emotion or feelings are shown, it just doesn't come across as realistic.

Not terrible, and some hail it a great classic. As I said, the plot and its outlying ideas are there, and some of the scenes of a dead San Francisco add to the charm of this film's portrayal of mankind's "final days", but with so much of the dialogue void of strength and emotion and a finality that takes what seems like an eternity to reach, it just isn't as good as it could have been. Overall it is not the story, but the disjointed way it is told that is an issue. I've seen Gregory Peck in a multitude of films and I must say that his character in this one didn't do HIM justice.

On the Rocks .......2007-02-02

Nothing is worse than Hollywood when it preaches. You half expect Al Gore to make a cameo appearance, wailing hysterically about "climate change". But I guess in 1959, he was sitting on his mom's lap, singing "Look for the Union Label." It's a shame to see so much talent go up in politically correct smoke.

Average customer rating:

beautiful music with mixed results from a (relatively) strong cast.....
Restored and digitally remastered classic musical
An excellent escape, however...
5 stars
THE COMPLETE SHOW BOAT ON DVD

Show Boat
Starring: Kathryn Grayson , Ava Gardner , Howard Keel , Joe E. Brown , and Marge Champion
Director: George Sidney (II)
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Oklahoma! (50th Anniversary Edition)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Carousel (50th Anniversary Edition)
Kiss Me Kate
Annie Get Your Gun

ASIN: B00004RF9K
Release Date: 2000-08-08

Amazon.com

The show that first defined the Broadway musical has never come to the screen intact, despite three tries. But take this splashy 1951 MGM extravaganza on its own terms, and it boggles the eyes. Not to mention the ears: The Kern-Hammerstein score includes some staples of the American songbook, such as "Make Believe," "After the Ball," and "Can't Help Lovin' That Man." Perhaps a riverboat gambler is almost too-easy casting for Howard Keel, and Kathryn Grayson is overly twittery, which may be why the film's middle sags when they take center stage. But any time the uncannily beautiful Ava Gardner smolders, a lush tragic undertone takes over (even if the most interesting parts of her story seem to take place offscreen). The physical production is extraordinary: the busy riverside setting, the outrageous color design, and best of all an "Old Man River" (sung by William Warfield) staged in the mists of morning. -- Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

beautiful music with mixed results from a (relatively) strong cast............2007-05-19

SHOW BOAT has some of the most beautiful music I have heard, written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. Some of the most memorable songs from their score include "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine," "Old Man River," and "Bill." The music is greatly important in the musical, because it helps tell the story so well. The problem is I could never warm up the story, nor the melodrama.

Gaylord Ravenalle (Howard Keel) is a compulsive gambler who has a chance encounter with beautiful Magnolia "Noley" (Kathryn Grayson), the daughter of the purveyors of a show boat, docked in the water, bringing singing, dancing and joy to all who get on board. This includes many African-American workers, toiling under the hot sun, searching for some respite to their relentlessly difficult lives, in the post-slavery South. What's more, Julie (Ava Gardner), a beautiful stage performer, married to her singing partner, is one of the starring attractions there....Okay, no more summary. I don't want to ruin the plot for you.

I will say this. The story takes a look at racism, emotionally unavailable parenting and plenty of desperation. Sometimes these themes only make a story more compelling. For me, a little went a long way. I believe that racism is a very important subject that needs to be addressed more, but I almost sensed that it was painted more as an over-the-top farce than a legitimately unfortunate epidemic of society. The cast in this production does the best it can, with the material it is given. However, I found Kathryn Grayson's high soprano shrill and excessive, Howard Keel's macho preening and Joe E. Brown's drunken shenanigans to be ridiculous. Nevertheless, this is worth a viewing, for historical and cultural reasons (if not for the beautiful score, alone).

Restored and digitally remastered classic musical.......2007-03-09

Wonderful restoration and the music is wonderful; a classic musical--a must have in a video library! I loved it!

An excellent escape, however..........2007-02-11

While I fully expect the majority of those contemplating buying this movie to have in all probability already seen it, if you're nonetheless reading these reviews, you're obviously doing so for a purpose. My purpose for submitting this review has nothing to do with the movie which is arguably one of the finest examples of the classic musical genre, but rather with the quality of the delivered physical product. I received the DVD in nothing more than a plastic frame covered in cardboard...suitable for trashing. My next purchase was a 10 pack of DVD cases for about $4.00 and change. After surgically cutting and resizing the cardboard cover from the original product and inserting it into a real DVD case, I had something I could add to the DVD cabinet. If you want a DVD you can add to your library, plan on buying additional cases and have a sharp razor blade.

5 stars.......2007-01-11

It's with great pleasure I see this film. It is a great story with great singers.In 1953 I had the pleasure to be on one of those riverboats when I visited New Orleans so it's easy to recall the feeling.

THE COMPLETE SHOW BOAT ON DVD.......2006-09-27

Someone needs to petition Warner Bros to release a DVD version of MGM's COMPLETE SHOW BOAT Laser Disc set, with the 1929, 1936 and 1951 versions, and the SHOW BOAT segment from TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY. If it ever happens, I hope they will be able to include all the LD audio bonuses from the 1951 recording sessions and still photo galleries of the three films as contained in the Laser Disc set. If George Feltenstein is lurking about reading these posts, it would be really nice to get some of the Criterion content from their release, if they're willing. Could we also please have as much of the 1929 Ziegfeld Prologue as possible? And while I don't usually recommend this type of thing, the alternate stereo mix of the last LD issue of the 1951 film (with the Ava Gardner vocal tracks in place) would be a dream come true!
In fact, after BEN-HUR and GWTW, an entire fourth disc of bonuses would not be out of the question.

Average customer rating:

50s melodramatic cheese
Gable Rules as Ford Looks On
mogambo dvd
Sweet
Jungle Heat

Mogambo
Starring: Clark Gable , Ava Gardner , Grace Kelly , Donald Sinden , and Philip Stainton
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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The Barefoot Contessa
King Solomon's Mines
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Night of the Iguana
Elephant Walk

ASIN: B000F7CMQ8
Release Date: 2006-06-20

Amazon.com

This remake of the 1932 Red Dust is famous for using the very same romantic leading man--21 years after the fact. But when that leading man is Clark Gable, what's a little gray hair in the temples? Gable was certainly still the great strutting rooster of American movies in 1953, when Mogambo made him a safari guide juggling two much younger women. First up is good-time girl Ava Gardner, who's game for a little harmless romp with Gable after she gets stood up by a playboy in the African jungle. But when Grace Kelly--the proper wife of a visiting anthropologist (Donald Sinden)--arrives on the scene, a new affair begins. The location shooting is much in the vein of King Solomon's Mines, although the story is much more intimate. This feels like a bit of a holiday for Hollywood's top director, John Ford, and not one of his most committed pictures. Still, Ford's unparalleled eye for backlit exteriors and for the way people move around in rooms is on display, even when the script wobbles. People always joke about Gable being too old for this movie, but that doesn't take into account his durable movie-star appeal--he certainly looks every inch the Hemingwayesque hunter, and it's not that big a stretch to imagine Gardner or Kelly in the clinches with him. Indeed, he and Grace Kelly had an offscreen affair during shooting, graying temples or not. --Robert Horton

Description

"Hey! A kangaroo," Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly says when she sees a baby rhinoceros being lifted from an African pit. A Broadway showgirl stranded in the African jungle, Eloise is better suited for the urban jungle. Yet one look at safari guide Victor Marswell and she knows exactly where she wants to be. Times change but the fun remains when Clark Gable portrays man's-man Victor in a sassy, vibrant remake of Gable's 1932 Red Dust. Ava Gardner plays tough-hided, vulnerable-hearted Eloise. And Grace Kelly is the prim anthropologist's wife who catches Victor's roving eye. Both women earned Oscar? nominations,* with Kelly also winning a Supporting Actress Golden Globe. Directed by John Ford and filled with his lung-swelling zest for the great outdoors, Mogambo is classic entertainment for anyone's great indoors.

Customer Reviews:

50s melodramatic cheese.......2007-05-25

Having rented this movie only for Ava Gardner and not for the plot, I knew it was going to be cheesy from the beginning. It's a non-musical produced by MGM, what can one expect? This is one of those old kinds of movies where the character development takes a backseat to the *breathtaking* scenery and atmosphere. Actually the scenery isn't so breathtaking (maybe in 1953 this would have blown your socks off, but come on, those of us in 2007 are much more world weary now). As usual, Ava and Grace flounce around the jungle in well decked out outfits and perfectly applied lipstick. This kind of reminded me a bit of 1954's "Elephant Walk" with Elizabeth Taylor: both movies are over the top melodramatic with special effects that are extremely lame by today's standards. The focus on scenery, costumes, shooting on location, and special effects causes the character development to suffer. Honestly, "Mogambo" gets a bit boring at times with all of its scenery shots. I think "Elephant Walk" had more of an interesting story, and that's not saying much. I'm puzzled as to why Ava and Grace were nominated Oscars for this movie. I love these two actresses, but "Mogambo" is a throw away filler movie Ava made (sadly like much of her career) and for Grace is was just something she needed to allow her new film career to take flight. Oh and Clark Gable in this? He seems tired, bored, and worn out. Not to mention he's way too old! The studio's decision to recast him in the same beefcake role 21 years later (which would never have happened for a woman) just highlights the strong double standards that existed in old Hollywood for men and women.

Gable Rules as Ford Looks On.......2007-03-23

Great to have MOGAMBO on DVD. It looks good. Not your usual John Ford film from my view. Clark Gable is the man and really he seems to have more effect on the look of this film. Good loves story flows tailored for Gable no doubt. Good one in all.

mogambo dvd.......2007-01-12

GREAT MOVIE EXCELLENT CONDITION AND AS ALWAYS SHIPPED QUICKLY AND IN GOOD SHAPE.

Sweet.......2007-01-03

A very sweet movie with a lot of old attitudes. I wish Ava's character was stronger and tougher and Clark Gable is maybe getting a bit to old to be so irresistible. Worth it anyway.

Jungle Heat.......2006-11-10

What a wonderful "great white hunter" movie!! Of course the sultry Ava Gardner plays the perfect bad girl to Gables manly man with Grace Kelly rounding out the innocent. The movie may be old but the them is timeless.

Average customer rating:

Kids stay away from this picture
Not Great Hemingway, but a Memorable Misfire!
ernest hemingway
The party has just begun.
This dvd IS widescreen

The Sun Also Rises
Starring: Tyrone Power , Ava Gardner , Mel Ferrer , Errol Flynn , and Eddie Albert
Director: Henry King
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)
The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Charge of the Light Brigade / Gentleman Jim / The Adventures of Don Juan / The Dawn Patrol / Dive Bomber)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Jesse James
The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions)

ASIN: B000LC4ZDA
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Customer Reviews:

Kids stay away from this picture.......2007-04-23

THE SUN ALSO RISES is a handsomely produced, but ultimately pointless film. It serves as yet another example of how Hemingway's work rarely translates onto the silver screen. Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner (beginning to look bloated from excessive drinking), Errol Flynn (the poster child of bloatedness from excessive drinking), and Eddie Albert (bloated, but not from alcohol) play a bunch of literate types who lounge about various western European locales drinking (not much of a stretch for Gardner and Flynn here) and moping and whining. Each male character increases his drinking, moping, and whining when left by Gardner for another male rival. This more or less describes what drags on over the course of 2+ hours. The real stars here are the European scenery and Cinemascope, which captures and conveys the grandeur and glory of the film's setting. Other than that, the only other value of the movie is the vivid illustration it provides of why Robert Evans' acting career was so short lived. His open-mouthed, blank stares while waiting for the bull charges almost inadvertently redeem this bland flick. To some extent, watching THE SUN ALSO RISES might be a case of life imitating art, since it will likely inspire its audience to drink, mope, and whine after enduring its pointlessness.

Not Great Hemingway, but a Memorable Misfire!.......2007-03-30

"The Sun Also Rises" was 20th Century Fox's big-budget 'prestige' film
for 1957, based on Ernest Hemingway's first novel, shot on location in Paris and Mexico (substituting for Spain), and starring the studio's long-reigning superstar, Tyrone Power, surrounded by legendary actors (Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn, Mel Ferrer, and Eddie Albert). With all the talent assembled in front of and behind the camera, producer Darryl F. Zanuck felt confident that the film would be an enduring classic for both his own independent company, and his studio.

It wasn't, unfortunately...

The film's problem was a fundamental one; the 'Lost Generation'
Hemingway wrote of were disillusioned young Americans, who, shattered
by the horror and brutality of the 'Great War', lost their innocence, and became a 'live fast, die young' crowd of expatriates, settling in Paris. These were men and women still in their twenties and thirties...yet the film's stars were all ten to twenty years older! The most glaring case can be seen in the film's star, Tyrone Power. As newspaperman Jake Barnes, a vet whose war injuries render him impotent, unable to satisfy the woman he loves (Ava Gardner), and, therefore, the 'perfect' observer of her romantic entanglements with other men, Power seems more a victim of a midlife crisis than a young man devastated about losing his manhood. In his next-to-last film, Power, at 44, was aging badly, his hair thinning and his slender, 'movie idol' good looks surrendering to a middle-aged paunch. Only when he smiles do the years seem to lift, a bit, and the "too handsome to be true" younger man appears. Adding to his physical deterioration was an undiagnosed heart condition, which would kill him, in less than two years.

His co-star, Ava Gardner, at 35, was going through a decline, as well, but, like her character, Lady Brett Ashley, her vices were the cause of her self-destruction. Both Brett and Ava were hedonistic women too fond of booze, bullfighters, and nightlife, and Ava's once-classic features were beginning to develop bags and wrinkles that makeup and lighting couldn't hide.

Coming off best are Errol Flynn and Eddie Albert. Flynn, at 48, long past his 'glamorous' prime (he and Power had been Hollywood's best-looking 'swashbucklers' of the early 40s), had become a very credible character actor, usually portraying variations of himself. His 'Mike Campbell', an alcoholic, impoverished but clinging to his pride, was, sadly, a dead-on assessment of Errol Flynn, as well. Like Power, he would be dead in two years, a victim of his own excesses. On the other hand, Eddie Albert, at 49, had long been health-conscious, and his performance as a drunk was simply good acting; paired with Flynn, they 'steal' the film, particularly during the famous Pamplona bull run, when the duo flee for their lives (while guzzling wine), and Flynn attempts to use a bad check as a cape to 'fight' a bull!

The drama seems overdrawn, the romance lacks 'fire', Robert Evans as a young bullfighter is dreadful, and the resolution is a hollow one. Even with the gorgeous scenery, Hugo Friedhofer's soaring film score, and Henry King's skill as a director, the film fails to generate more than a curiosity value, at the sight of so many actors, past their prime, trying to seem youthful and dynamic.

The DVD offers many 'added features', including 'behind the scenes' photos of Power, Flynn, and Gardner, and director Henry King's audio reminiscences of the production, possibly more entertaining than the feature, itself.

All-in-all, an ambitious misfire!

ernest hemingway.......2007-03-26

This has to be included as one of Papa's great stories. In this Fox CinemaScope version it looks fantastic. Although not much of a plot it is great to see it restored so well by Fox. Bring on the CinemaScope classics please, please, please.............The Sun Also Rises looks great and sounds great in surround sound. Sit down with a glass of wine and share the Hemingway experience.

The party has just begun........2007-03-10

The 1926 "Sun Also Rises" was Ernest Hemingway's first full-length novel. In the 1957 movie-version, Hollywood stars portray Hemingway's "Lost Generation". Tyrone Power heads the cast as American news journalist Jake Barnes, who, after a World War I injury that has left him impotent, re-locates to Paris. Barnes links up with other lost souls, including the nymphomaniacal Lady Ashley(Ava Gardner) and the irresponsible drunkard Mike Campbell(Errol Flynn). Barnes and his friends move to Spain, and participate in the annual Pamplona running-of-the-bulls. The fun is just beginning. The cast includes Mel Ferrer, Eddie Albert, and Henry Daniell. The film's best performance is delivered by Errol Flynn. It has been said that, in his role of the hedonistic, hard-drinking Mike Campbell, that he was merely playing himself. True or not, Hollywood took note; a film career was re-vitalized. His moving performance here is classic. Sadly, decay from alcohol dimmed his future. He died two years later(Tyrone Power himself died two years later shooting "Solomon and Sheba" of a hear attack). Filmed on location in Pamplona, Paris, Biarritz, and Mexico, "THe Sun Also Rises" was budgeted at $5 million. This brand new DVD transfer is the second DVD release, as it was also produced in August 2006, in a bare-bones edition. Cinema Club's new DVD features many extras: Commentary by Frank Thompson, a conversation with director Henry King, a documentary on the production, the restoration, and Hemingway. There is also a trailer and a stills gallery. Colors are bright. Blacks are pitch. This is outstanding, as the DVD is a low bitrate, single-layered disc. Audio is adequate but without much range. "The Sun Also Rises" is the classic tale of American ex-patriates caught up in dancing, parties, and drinking-til-dawn. What fun. What sadness. As the picture ends, one character sums it all up: "It's all like a wonderful nightmare. I believe in anything. Including nightmares.."

This dvd IS widescreen.......2007-01-27

Check out the specs--despite the part where it says 'full-screen', it indicates that it's actually 2.35:1 aspect ratio (enhanced for 16:9 screens, I'm sure). Fox has done a good job releasing all their CinemaScope films properly. Nothing to worry about here! Good movie, too!

Average customer rating:

TRULY a classic-for-all-time
an intelligent yet heart-felt drama
the movie that MADE puerto vallarta hot
Night of the Iguana "Timeless"
We've All Passed Through This Kind of Night

The Night of the Iguana
Starring: Richard Burton , Ava Gardner , Deborah Kerr , Sue Lyon , and Skip Ward
Director: John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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