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Technically ambitious but artistically underwhelming, this 1961 epic by Anthony Mann (Man of the West) stars Charlton Heston as an 11th-century hero who drives the Moors from Spain. The film has been described as "glum," and that is indeed apt for a story that focuses so much on its central character's losses in the face of his simultaneous, mythic approbation. Then again, Mann has always been interested in the hidden weaknesses in prevailing myths, so that's not unusual. What is unusual in El Cid is the degree to which technology takes over his filmmaking, as it does here with so many grandiose and bravura moments with a roving camera that don't add up to anything beyond spectacle. As an achievement of Hollywood's technical advancements in the postwar years, and also as part of the filmographies of Mann and Heston, the film is well worth a look. But it is not the artistic equal of other epics of its day, such as Lawrence of Arabia. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (60)

'The Perfect Knight' a PERFECT Film!
'El Cid' is the IDEAL film for any fan of great tales of Knighthood, the Age of Chivalry, and great tales of adventure! Directed by Anthony Mann with reverence to the best elements of the genre, shot on location in Spain, the mammoth production stars perfectly-cast Charlton Heston as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, a warrior held in such respect by both friend and foe, that he is nicknamed 'El Cid' (The Man). Sophia Loren is luminous as his ladylove, Jimena (one might quibble that she NEVER ages through the film, but Loren is so radiant in the role, who cares?) The battle scenes are epically staged, the color photography is rich and tapestry-like, the sets and costumes capture the feel of medieval Spain, Miklós Rózsa's score is sweeping, wildly romantic, and, in its organ finale, triumphant; EVERY element in this film WORKS, and is a labor of love!

The screenplay, by Philip Yordan, Fredric M. Frank, and Ben Barzman, uses Vivar as the definition of Chivalry; noble, with lofty ideals, he opens the film by defending the Crucifix in a small Spanish town, defeating a band of Moors, then showing them mercy, which earns their respect, and gains the blessing of the Church (the symbolism of 'El Cid' and the Cross is clearly juxtaposed; he is truly sent as an answer to Spain's prayers!)

He and the beautiful Lady Jimena, daughter of the King's Champion, are to be wed, but when Vivar is forced to face him in a duel, killing him, as the elder attempts to defeat him by treachery, Jimena is sworn to avenge her father's death!

Inheriting by default the title of Champion, Vivar is immediately thrust into a spectacular combat against a rebelling city's Champion, fought with an array of medieval weaponry; this scene is the first of many highpoints of the film, and is incredible! The hard-fought victory 'vindicates' Vivar's new title, and Christendom and Spain has its true Champion against the Moor!

The film has all the classic elements; heroism and betrayal, pure love and jealous hatred, divine purpose and petty manipulations. Above all of this towers 'El Cid', whose lofty ideals are never compromised, whose only dream is to serve a united Spain. Nothing, not even death itself, will prevent him from fulfilling his destiny!

If you have only one film about Knighthood or Chivalry in your collection, this should be it! No other movie even comes close to 'El Cid'...it is truly a triumph!

A superbly crafted and highly under rated masterpiece
I saw El Cid soon after its release in 1962 when I was just 12. I was then in an armed forces training school at Dehradun, India, and the entire college had to march five miles to the theater to see it as an inspiring and motivational film for future military leaders. We had never heard of the Cid or any other Spanish hero till then. But, when we left the hall, after seeing this 3-hour magnum opus, we were never to forget him. Since then I must have seen this film on video and in theaters scores of times. On every occasion I was moved afresh by the heroism and sacrifice of 'the man who rode away into legend'- El Cid. I do not think, except for Ben Hur, Sound of Music and Titanic, any other English film has made such a lasting impact. Yet, surprisingly and sadly, El Cid has never figured in the all time greats of Hollywood. Both Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren have given splendid and unforgettable performances, probably their best ever. Their characters and role have been superbly etched by a screenplay, which has done justice to a long but very well knit story. Both the indoor settings and outdoor locales, in which the film was magnificently shot, are so beautiful and natural, that one is literally transported into Spain in the Middle Ages. The lance duel on the plains of Calahara is superbly picturized in the timeless tradition of Hollywood immortal scenes. By the time the movie reaches its unforgettable climax you feel a hollowness creeping into your heart, for you realize that the magic of one of the greatest cinematic epics is about to end and you have no choice but to return to the dreary everyday world! I eagerly look forward to replace my ageing video cassette with the newly released DVD, which I am sure will give me viewing pleasure for as many years ahead as the tape and film versions had given me in the past.

Preservation of a magnificent, splendidly cinematic event
My sentiments are pretty much identical with the ones of the gentleman Sri, from India. I am very disapointed that this magnificantly depicted story has not found favor with the DVD formating industry. After all stories such as 'Tale of two cities', 'Count of Monte Christo', 'Man in the iron Mask','Scarlet Pimpernel', the list goes on..;has been formated in DVD format. I can only wonder if the reason for not having 'El Cid' on disc was a matter of preference or economics at time of decision? I understand that not everyone may enjoy this 'Genre'but personally I believe it's one of the best re-telling of a magnificent, by-gone era and is certainly worthy of DVD formating-if for nothing else but to retain History. I truly wish that this masterpiece of cinamatic splendor would be re-formated and re-mastered digitally. It is such a great story and so masterfully depicted that it most certainly worthy of telling to future generations-and what better way to preserve this on DVD format, since it keeps a lot better than Tape?

DVD available on amazon.fr
This film deserves a Criterion DVD complete with a restored print. It certainly is a timely film and I find its vision of mutual tolerance and charity between Christians and Muslims particularly welcome at the present moment (especially with all those frothering neocons yapping about a clash of civilizations). It will be interesting to see Ridley Scott's forthcoming Crusades film, which looks to be an avatar of El Cid.
There is curently a DVD available from amazon.co.uk, but do not buy it. It is full screen, not widescreen. There is a DVD available from Amazon.fr, however, which does have widescreen. I saw the film when I was eight (for my birthday) in 1962 and saw it on television (wth a pan and scan edit) which butchered the 70 mm Technirama print. The fullscreen (tv) format gives one only less than two thirds of the actual frame. It's a wonder to see the French DVD version on my 23 inch flat computer screen. the only problems with htis DVD are that the print is not a great one--there are scratches every now nad then, and hte sound track is momentarily off for a few seconds. More troublesome is that the French subtitles were burned into the print, so they can't be removed when you watch the DVD in English (there is also a French dubbed version). And the various menu features don't work except for film and language tracks. Still, I'm glad I got it and recommend it until a DVD here becomes available.

Rodrigo's Christians against Ben Yussef's Moors
This grand, epic film tells many stories but the main thread is about the selfless, noble sacrifice of the gallant El Cid, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who was able to effect an alliance of Christians and Moors to defend Spain against Ben Yussuf and the very real threat of a Moorish invasion from North Africa. El Cid faces many trials and tribulations in his quest for peace and freedom in war-torn Spain, where palace intrigue and plots, treachery and assassinations threaten the country's stability. Charlton Heston's Rodrigo is a man of courage and bravery who is also just and sees the senselessness of killing Emirs and spares the lives of five captives after a battle in order to spare the citizens from Emirs seeking revenge for the killing of their soldiers. Thus begins Rodrigo's long, lonely and often thankless struggle to free Spain from the fear of Ben Yussuf. Rodrigo's battle to defend his father's honor against the slurs made by Chimene's father is only the first of many trials he faces until many years later when the final battle and victory against the Moors is at hand and will bring peace and unity to Spain. Sophia Loren is quite lovely as Chimene who finally embraces Rodrigo as her husband and realizes that it is he who represents Spain's only hope for peace and freedom. The battle scenes are well done, with much of the action shown in close-quarters combat and the beauty of Spain's castles and countryside is captured in beautiful widescreen Technicolor. The superb production has a wonderful music score by Miklós Rózsa that is evocative of the beauty and sorrow of this quixotic land on the Iberian Peninsula...a land of contradictions with its own unique character and mystique. ... Read more

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Demonstrations of classic military tactical procedures and excellent footage of vintage aircraft (like the rare B-36), combine here to give viewers a cold war primer on the Air Force's defense capabilities, circa 1955. Former World War II pilot James Stewart is called out of retirement to assist in the strengthening of the Strategic Air Command, the new bomber forces that are America's first line of defense against the Russian nuclear threat. Wife June Allyson sits at home and frets over her husband's devotion to duty, while Harry Morgan lends a hand on the aircraft. Through Stewart, director Anthony Mann takes us on an ersatz tour of the elite Air Force operations that safeguarded America at the time. Unless you're interested in the aircraft of the day or stateside propaganda techniques during the cold war, Strategic Air Command tends to be a bit of a yawner. --Mark Savary ... Read more

Reviews (27)

The Way We Were
Almost fifty years after this movie's release date (1955), I am still haunted by the magnificent aerial photography. This movie must be seen for that reason alone! As a time-capsule, the movie also deals with a period when the Air Force was moving to jet bombers and gearing up to fight the cold war.

It is now history. We "won" the cold war, most actors in this film are no longer with us and the largest aircraft ever in active service with the Air Force---the B-36, exists only on film.

Forget the story line, forget the Air Force propaganda pitch from the fifties and just relax and enjoy a spectacular scenic view of what others did to help "protect and defend" during a earlier era.

Today, those who continue to protect us by flying stealth technology bombers stand on the shoulders of those who flew the B-36's and B-47's depicted in this movie.

We are all indebted...enjoy the movie!

Historically Accurate; watch it for the aircraft
For many of us, the cold war now seems impossibly far away. However, for those of us whose fathers were in the military during the peak of the war, the concern was always that we could be attacked at any time by the Soviet Union.

Our first line of defense, before our missiles became more accurate, was huge bombers. When these huge aircraft flew, their power and size seemed awe-inspiring. Looking back at this movie, the B-36 now seems ungainly and incredibly complex. The B-47 seems less ungainly, but technology has clearly superceded both these aircraft.

This movie comes across as a recruiting film for the Air Force, and to a certain extent a patriotic film justifying our strategic air forces. The plot is relatively simple, and trying to spice it up with a sub-story regarding Jimmy Stewart's career as a baseball player and his relationship with his wife becomes a distraction. The focus of this movie is flying big bombers.

What gloriously complex aircraft these were. The scenes showing the takeoff of the B-36 were incredible. For airplane enthusiasts, the portion of the film focusing on the reading of the checklist is unusual (because for most people it would seem boring) and unique. Watching how the plane is powered up is nearly worth the exercise of watching the film.

Later we get to watch as the B-47 is transitioned into the active military. We watch as the B-47 is flown in poor weather conditions, and watch the fatigue and boredom set in as the crews flew incredibly lengthy missions.

Some of the most interesting and now somewhat anachronistic parts of the movies are those portions dealing with the functioning of Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. These bases were very highly protected, and exercises were continuously run to assure that saboteurs or an enemy invading force would be repelled by base security forces. During their period of duty, crews were either in the air or standing by on alert, ready to jump in their plane and be airborne in less than 15 minutes. I remember well an exercise called a "total recall" where every member of the base is called to duty to be prepared for a possible enemy attack.

While the parts of the movie dealing with Jimmy Stewart the baseball player and husband are relative distractions, they do point out the sacrifice that many people made to be in the military at that time. Military aircraft were huge and complex, and tended to break down a lot. The missions were incredibly long, and the flight systems relatively crude, requiring fatiguing concentration. For all the hardship of flying, the pay was low, and often the working conditions including the noise and cold (military aircraft are generally not well-insulated - note how the flight crew is dressed; it was cold up there) were uncomfortable to say the least.

This movie is a rarity that is close to being a historical artifact. While some of the operational details are simplified, in general the scenes depicted are relatively accurate. Further, the scenes with the aircraft are rare and detailed. Forget the plot of this movie; it's about the airplanes, Jimmy Stewart's love of flying and a time that was not so far away.

James Stewart Preserves Our Freedoms with Conviction
This is a very good film from director Anthony Mann starring James Stewart and June Allyson. The film focuses on the operations of post-war America's modern Airforce and the lives of the men and women who lived it. It is beautifully photographed by William Daniels and Tom Tutwiler. We slept much sounder at night knowing the Strategic Air Command was above us protecting our freedoms around the clock. James Stewart's performance is one of honor and conviction.

If you like propliners of any kind, you must have this!
This is a great, classic movie. Forget June Allyson and Jimmy Stewart -- the real star of this is the rare and awesome ten-engined B-36 bomber featured in the first hour of the movie. From the ground-shaking flyover (with real sound!) to an (admittedly dubbed) takeoff, cruise, and landing, it's fantastic footage not found anywhere else. Seeing the giant rare B-36(which flies no more, unfortunately) gives me goose bumps, especially with the lush, dramatic musical background. Just seeing the ground crew during startup as they are absolutely dwarfed by the huge three-bladed propeller is amazing. What an incredible machine. Even the early jet bombers featured in the last half of the movie are interesting to see. If you are of the "old school" when it comes to video entertainment or are a classic airplane lover, join me in grabbing this video and hoping that it also makes it to DVD sometime!

SPECTACULAR! GREATEST AIR THRILLER!
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND is the greatest air thriller of alltime! A PICTURE WITH A FORCE SECOND TO NONE!!!! A powerful, stirring music score by VICTOR YOUNG accompaines this classic! The story of air superiority in the western world, and the prepardness of the Strategic Air Command, gives new meaning to the majestic skies above! Starring with my favorite plane of alltime, the grand Convair B-36 Peacemakers, and the graceful Boeing B-47 Stratojets that take to the skies in an effort to keep peace in the world! This was the only motion picture ever filmed with grand B-36s!!!! Especially exciting was the low executed flyover of a B-36, at Al Lang Field, Tampa, Florida at the opening scenes of STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND! Then came the spectacular majestic aerial scenery of the B-36 (#5734), as it flew from Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, Texas (the home of the B-36s) to Alaska and back. The aerial scenes took my breath away! The music played for this sequence was SKY SYMPHONY, which really opened your eyes, not only to this powerful Convair B-36 Peacemaker in flight, but the role that Strategic Air Command played in global security 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! The story was inspired by the Ted Williams recall to the marines!
JAMES STEWART plays former Col. Roert Dutch Holland, a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who at the height of his career (signing a $70,000 a year contract), is suddenly recalled back to active duty with the U.S. Air Force and assigned to the Strategic Air Command for 21 months of active duty. His job is to help SAC to be combat ready, in peacetime activity, before war comes again! His wife JUNE ALLYSON (Sally Holland) doesn't fare much as a air force wife, but she yet to find out that she also pregnant. Under the command of FRANK LOVEJOY (General Ennis H. Hawkes), Dutch tries to get the feel of SAC, meeting a former B-29 crew member HARRY MORGAN (Sgt. Bible), a former friend for WWII BRUCE BENNETT (General Rusty Castle) and other officers JAMES MILLIGAN Gen. Espy), and BARRY SULLIVAN (as copilot Rocky Sanford). He even teams up with an disguntled navigator ALEX NICOL (Ike Nolan), as part of a B-36 pickup training crew. Fate deals a bad hand when the B-36 they're flying to Greenland for cold weather tests, crashlands on the frozen tundra completely breaking apart. (The B-36 had a very damaging engine fire!) The special-effects of the B-36 crashlanding were memorable, much like the crashlandings of the spaceship JUPITER 2 in the TV series LOST IN SPACE! The crashlanding results in Dutch experiencing a serious shoulder injury, which unfortunately he neglects through the rest of the film! An injury that will be his undoing! Rescued along with Ike, Dutch not only has to face his commanding general Hawkes, but also returns home to Carswell AFB, to see that his wife Sally has given birth to a baby girl. He now recieves a new assignment to fly B-47 Stratojets at Mc Dill AFB, Tampa, Florida. The sequence of the B-47 using RATO is aweinspiring!
When the call comes to fly an oversea flight to Japan, Dutch recieves word that a player named Brewster, broke his leg, and an opening is needed to be filled. Dutch reluctant of being part of SAC at the start, now believes that being there is more important than finishing his baseball career, and immediately signs up with the USAF and the Strategic Air Command permanently! When he breaks the news to Sally she becomes very tearful and upset, and races over to catch Dutch before he takes with 45 other B-47s. She angrily berates Gen. Hawkes, while Gen Castle is there. She soon regrets her behavior! Dutch continues to fly, but has to land his B-47 at Kadena AFB, in Okinawa, due to inclement weather. Ther is a breataking sequence of the midair refueling of the B-47 from Boeing KC-97 tanker!!!! While attempting to land at Kadena AFB, his neglected shoulder injury acts up paralizing his right side, and forcing an emergency landing in pouring rain. This was the 2nd special effects of STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND, and it too was great to watch! Dutch is fnally discharged at Offutt AFB (the headquarters of SAC), in Omaha, Nebraska by Gen Hawkes, and enters the waiting arms of his wife Sally who has come to see him. They makes their apoplgies, and embrace as a flight of B-47s fly overhead, thus ending the film. Two other music selections are noted: the majestic THE AIR FORCE TAKES COMMAND, played durung the opening credits; and the tender memorable love song THE WORLD IS MINE played with great feeling during the bedroom sequence as Dutch leaves Sally to fly to Greenland! All the music I love and especially love to hear THE WORLD IS MINE. STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND takes off to a new realm of high flying adventure and drama. There will never be a film like it ever! It's one will treasure always! A piece of americana and heritage to cherish forever!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

One of the best epic westerns
Ford is perfect for this role, and the story is told very well. Fantastic cinematography, including wagons and horses racing to claim land and Ford's strong moral stand at a party with big-time politicians trying to change his views. Timeless and powerful. I loved the ending and Anne Baxter's performance. A great plot with suspense and unpredictable consequences. Very handsome movie, with strong cast.

Magnificent film, one of the best westerns, very artistic
Ford is perfect in this role. The cinematography, including the wagons racing to claim their land, was outstanding. Anne Baxter gives a great performance as the woman Ford leaves for another woman. Great suspense and drama, bold sweeping action, and a wonderful plot perfectly cast and filmed. An essential part of any western collection. I haven't seen the original Cimarron yet, but I cannot imagine telling the story any better. The ending is great too, powerful and patriotic. This is a timeless classic of epic proportions and beautiful storytelling.

Cimarron
I'm glad this is back in print - it's been a while since I've seen it, but it is a classic Glenn Ford role - the deep, rightous, but haunted cowboy. This is definately not a chick movie - the thought processes and emotions that Ford's character explores are no more understood by actual women than they are by his character's wife. My favorite scene is his return from the Spanish American War, and I also thought the ending was well done.

Character of Courage
Clancy (Glenn Ford) portrays the atypical hero of an era gone but not forgotten. His penchant for fun adventure and excitement, always accompanied by goodness and virtue, soon find him at odds with his beautiful new wife. Even though their newspaper business flourishes with potential and periodic problems Clancy's internal restlessness drives him on to War and remote engagements while his dutiful wife attends to the newly founded entity set in the heart of Oklahoma immediately after land rush. Nostalgic movie goers who rarely see the raw character of courage so eloquently presented in films today will relish this return to the adventure of a "humble and reluctant hero." Prepare to shed a tear or two and enjoy a hearty laugh. But Cimmaron will not quickly retire from your memory once you've watched it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Anthony Mann-Jimmy Stewart Westerns in the 1950s infused the genre with a psychological intensity and psychopathic edge. The brutal The Naked Spur, their third collaboration, is generally considered their best work together and one of the finest Westerns ever made. Stewart is a hard, angry bounty hunter tracking outlaw Robert Ryan in this lean five-character drama set in the deceptively beautiful mountain wilderness of the Midwest. Stewart finds himself saddled with two unwanted partners, sourdough prospector Millard Mitchell (his sidekick in the earlier Mann Western Winchester '73) and dishonorably discharged cavalry officer Ralph Meeker. Ryan's tomboyish sidekick Janet Leigh becomes increasingly torn between duty to her desperate guardian and her growing attraction to Stewart. The rugged landscape of jutting peaks, narrow passes, and torrential rivers is as gorgeous as it is dangerous: a well-protected plateau becomes a sniper's perch, an old mine turns from protective cave to dangerous cave-in. Stewart delivers the most ruthless performance of his career as a man haunted by betrayal, unwilling to trust and unable to love. Ryan's jovial banter and charm masks a cold-blooded savagery (he once remarked that it's his favorite performance). The tension stretches to the breaking point in this taut battle of wits, which culminates in a standoff next to the white water of a raging river, where Mann brilliantly uses the jagged landscape as a deadly battleground--nature itself becomes an enemy. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (8)

One of the greatest westerns of all time should be on DVD.
I remember a few years ago watching on tv this movie for the first time. It is an outstanding western. One of the best westerns I have ever seen. Jimmy Stewart and Janet Liegh are great. I'm a sucker for romantic duos-Stewart and Liegh work very well together. I want very much to see this movie again. It is a movie that can be watched more than once. The movie is a keeper for a DVD collection. Unfortunately, the movie is not available on DVD. I'm waiting anxiously for the movie studio to release Naked Spur on DVD. In the meantime, I can purchase it on VHS. I can't wait to see it again!

Too bad this movie....
,,,is "generally considered their best work together (Anthony Mann-Jimmy Stewart) and one of the finest Westerns ever made". That has to be THE reason why, although out of stock in VHS, it's the only one not yet released on DVD. The studios are really too busy getting all the crap released first....What a shame (I don't think they know the meaning of this word)....

WHY ISN'T THIS ON DVD?
... this is one of the best westerns ever made. The performances are top-notch. I disagree with the reviewer who thought Robert Ryan's performance was forced. By making him by turns ingratiating, manipulative, devious and violent, Ryan has created an accurate portrayal of a sociopathic personality. James Stewart was an amazing actor, and this film is one of his best.

It's also a beautiful film to look at, filmed in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, "America's Alps". With all the [stuff] that's out on DVD, it would sure be great to see this released in that format.

A truly great Western
Jimmy Stewart's career was doing great in 1950, and hardly needed a boost, but nonetheless, he agreed to appear in Anthony Mann's Western WINCHESTER '73, and the always superb Stewart's career took a new and more complex path. In the 1950s, Stewart would make eight movies with Mann, and five of them--WINCHESTER '73 (1950), BEND OF THE RIVER (1952), THE NAKED SPUR (1953), THE FAR COUNTRY (1954), and THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)--would be Westerns. These five Westerns fully rival the series of Westerns that John Wayne made with John Ford. They presented the public with a new Jimmy Stewart, one consistently beset with tragedy, often driven to the edge of what human beings can bear. And sometimes, as in THE NAKED SPUR, Stewart would portray a man so driven by the difficulties that life has thrust upon him, that his greatest struggle isn't with his human enemy so much as it is with his highly tenuous grip upon sanity.

Apart from the Native American extras, this film has only five characters: Jimmy Stewart as the bounty hunter seeking a man to collect a reward that will allow him to repurchase the ranch he has lost; Janet Leigh as a young girl who has been taken up by an outlaw; Robert Ryan as the outlaw Stewart is after; Ralph Meeker as a dishonorably discharged cavalry officer; and Millard Mitchell as the old timer whose real dream is finding a mother lode. It is a great cast, and the actors all work together in marvelous fashion. Stewart and Leigh had marvelous careers, but both Ryan and Meeker were great actors who never seemed to manage to have the kinds of careers you would have expected them to have. Meeker would turn in magnificent performances in Stanley Kubrick's PATHS OF GLORY (easily one of Kubrick's greatest films) and Robert Aldrich's KISS ME DEADLY, as Mike Hammer, but all in all, he never seemed to get the kinds of roles his talent would seem to require. Nonetheless, he is superb in this film.

There is actually a sixth member of the cast: the San Juan Mountains in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. No director of Westerns was better at integrating the rugged outdoors with his films than Anthony Mann. We all associate, of course, Monument Valley with the Westerns of John Ford, but in Ford's films the incredible landscapes functioned more like decoration. They were backdrops for the stories being told. But in Anthony Mann's films, the land itself was an integral part of the action. That is especially true of THE NAKED SPUR. Both at the beginning and the end of the movie, the hunters seek their prey in a locale higher than they are at. But throughout, the land is palpably a part of the film.

This film also excels at combining psychological complexity with great action sequences. It is a very dynamic movie. Virtually every camera shot catches characters who already in motion. Almost never do we see a cut with a static character who then begins to move. Instead, every cut finds someone already in the act of doing something. Yet, much of the appeal of the film lies in the psychological and emotional tensions between the different characters.

In other words, anyone who loves Jimmy Stewart, great Westerns, or just flat out great cinema, needs to see this film.

One of the finest westerns.
Anthony Mann was known for his great psychological westerns--thanks to him, and the two writers who turned in the script, this film is especially riveting. The film tightens the screw upon five characters until the pressure becomes unbearable, and part of what makes the film excellent lies in the way it is concerned with how people interact in close quarters; the way they bond through examining what they owe each other and how they respond to each other's close proximity. If the characters--apart from Stewart's--remain two dimensional, the manner in which they interact is very much drawn from the way real people would. Janet Leigh cannot redeem her character's more hysterical moments but otherwise shows sensitivity in her part--you can detect her thoughts move. Meeker is okay, and Robert Ryan is problematic--he was a highly intelligent actor and here decides to play the outlaw part jovially. Sadly he winds up sounding forced--when less jovial he is very good--unlike the actor playing the Prospector, who is fatally wooden. It is Stewart who gives the movie greatness. Unlike John Wayne, who gave the impression of superhuman girth and will, Stewart looks and acts like an upstanding citizen--until he is pushed to his limits, and out arises an intensity that is frightening. Throughout the film he reels his dangerous feelings in and is taut and seething(even his body language is forcibly restrained)--Stewart is always best when straining himself, both physically and mentally. By the end, when he fights for his own humanity, he shocks us by arriving at the point where he can strain himself no further and what results is a wonder to watch. John Wayne could never get away with what Stewart manages here. (He'd have been scared off) Please watch this film and form your own conclusions too. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Offbeat Stewart/Mann
James Stewart and director Anthony Mann used to alternate their Western pictures with contemporary stories during the 1950's and this is one of their efforts. It's certainly one of the most unusual plots ever to make it to the American screen: about the development of offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after WW2. Stewart had his usual family of regulars around him, the best being Dan Duryea. Stewart gives a compelling portrayal of a man possessed by an industrial vision. Even his gorgeous romantic interest Joanne Dru is a minor distraction from his main love, his oil rig. Written by John Michael Hayes, who went on to write two of Stewart's classics with Hitchcock: "Rear Window" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much."

An often overlooked picture.
I can't believe I'm the first to write about this one. James Stewart plays a similar role to what Bruce Willis plays in Armageddon. He and his man come to a small town to drill for oil off the coast where most of the townfolk are fishing. Conflicts arise as whether it's safe or not. I give only four stars, because parts of the movie are cliched. In my opinion, it's one of the better Stewart pictures of that time period. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Enjoyable, but hardly historically correct
"Heroes of Telemark" is an enjoyable sixties Hollywood war movie. But view it for entertainment (and Kirk Douglas), not as a history lesson. For that - and indeed for a filmatically better movie! - try instead "La bataille de l'eau lourde" (Jean Dreville / Titus Vibe-Müller, 1947). It's more accurate, more dramatic, has better photography - and even have some of the original saboteurs playing themselves.

Spartacus takes on the Nazis in Norway
Based on a true story. Norwegian resistance fighters sabotage the Nazi German effort to produce heavy water for German atomic research during World War Two. Breathtaking snowy Norwegian locations serve as a beautiful backdrop for the plot. Kirk Douglas superbly plays the role of a Norwegian physics professor who, though originally content to wait out the war, is soon pulled heart and soul into the struggle. Though somewhat toned down from the book of the same name (The Germans were much nastier in the printed version), the spirit of the conflict is accurately portrayed without the superhuman fiction that is found in other war movies of the 1960's. As a bit of trivia, Kirk Douglas accepted a starring role in this movie as a favor to Director Anthony Mann. Anthony Mann was the original director for SPARTACUS before he was replaced by Stanley Kubrick.

Awsome
This is a really good movie. Kirk palys the role as a NOrwegian really well.

I liked it.

More or Less How it Happened.
The movie follows the account of when how and why the heavy water shipment was sunk into the fjord, at least for the most part. The reality was even more grim, since few were saved off the ferry sinking. But, for Hollywood, the story is pretty well told, and the scenery is great.

Heroes of Telemark
Although a certain amount of the movie is gratuitously taken up by Kirk Douglas' love life, the story is not only a true one but the filming was done at some of the exact same locations--to include the heavy water factory. Several books and articles have been written on the actual events which were the stuff of legend. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Western auteur Anthony Mann and aging Western icon Gary Cooper team up in this stark tale of a trio of train passengers stranded in the middle of the desert after a railway holdup. Taking responsibility for his helpless compatriots (Julie London as a sad-eyed prostitute and Arthur O'Connell as a garrulous but cowardly banker), craggy-faced Link Jones (Cooper) takes them into a veritable viper's nest in a desperate gamble. It turns out the respected town elder is a former member of the outlaw gang that robbed them, and he's welcomed back by patriarchal gang leader Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb) like the prodigal son. The other bandits are not so forgiving but humor the old man while plotting to unmask Cooper as a devious traitor in a battle of wits and wills. Mann returns to his favorite themes of family and betrayal with a dramatic twist and wrenches up the jagged conflict with the most spare imagery of his career: the trio hiking down an endless horizon of empty track, a lone ramshackle shack on the arid plains, the desolate ghost town where Tobin's planned bank heist turns out to be a pathetic fantasy. Mann's taut direction creates a tension that hangs in the air like the sword of Damocles over the stranded travelers and explodes in cruel, raw violence. Reginald Rose (12 Angry Men) wrote the literate if sometimes overly symbolic script, and John Dehner, Jack Lord, and Royal Dano costar as Tobin's angry gang members. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Better than you might expect

This is not a typical "B" Western. Jimmy Stewart plays a man with a dark side, and a dark past for a change. He had about given up Westerns because he found himself playing parts that were too similar too often. This one was different.

Playing opposite Julie London, who played a saloon singer whose complaint was that everyone made passes at her, she fell into a situation (along with Stewart) where she was subjected to real brutality--tastefully handled. Lee J. Cobb played the heavy, and did his usual great job. Stewart was thrown back in with his old gang, from whom he had escaped once, and again was expected to rob banks and kill.

The story was good, and the acting was superb, as might be expected from such a cast. A dark, forboding film, which will hold your attention.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

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

Brutality
Gary Cooper stars in this intense Western as a former outlaw, now reformed, who finds himself trapped by circumstances with his former gang. Cooper is on a train that is held up by the gang, and left behind, he, Julie London, and Arthur O'Connell meet up with the gang and witness firsthand their brutality and violence. The gang is headed by Cooper's uncle, Lee J. Cobb, who is pleased to see Cooper return. He's planning a big bank heist, the heist to end all heists, and wants Cooper to be a part of it like old times. Of course, Cooper must find a way out.

The tension in the film never lets up, as the threat of violence hangs in every scene. Cooper is fine in one of his last performances, portraying a man who has tried hard to overcome his past, finding himself in a situation where he must literally fight for his survival. London also does well as the saloon singer finally experiencing love, giving a quietly moving performance. Cobb is explosive as usual, helping to give the film some of its tension and edge.

Man Of The West is well photographed in colour, with empty spaces looming everywhere in the backdrop of the struggle. Director Anthony Mann keeps everything simple, if not elemental, not shying away from portraying the brutality of the characters and the situation. Other than an obviously "stagey" fight between Cooper and one of the gang (lots of easy to spot fake punches), there is a dark realism throughout the movie.

Man Of The West may not be a very well known Western, but it deserves to be seen.

Message for MGM: Why Pan & Scan?
I recently saw a gorgeous widescreen print of this film on TCM. This grim, brooding tale of disillusionment in the old west, like Sam Fuller's "Forty Guns" one year before it, shattered many of the conventions of the Western and helped reinvent that genre, a decade before "The Wild Bunch" or Leone's "Man With No Name Trilogy". Yes, Anthony Mann's films are violent (his direction always exhibits a brutal directness), but the body count is much lower than in any John Ford movie I've seen. It's just that Mann understood that dead bodies are heavy, they have weight, and must obey certain laws of gravity. I don't think it was the killing that alarmed most people, but the effects of that killing, as both heard in the loud thud of bodies hitting the ground and as seen in the way men must writhe around and mix with the earth as they die. Though MAN OF THE WEST was filmed in glorious CinemaScope, the only version available on vhs is an abysmal pan&scan, which is particularly unacceptable in a picture that aims to express the distance between men, and the barrenness of the landscape, by dislocating much of the action to the extreme edges of the frame. This works only if the action is shown in wide angle, but MGM, unfortunately, has shamefully compromised Mann's vision. If TCM has access to a print of the film that preserves the proper CinemaScope ratio, why can't MGM release it on DVD in anamorphic widescreen? I highly recommend MAN OF THE WEST, but don't bother with this pan&scan vhs version.

A Classic Film
Man Of The West is a classic. Gary Cooper dominates a sterling cast with his powerful portrayal of Link Jones, a former killer who has long since suppressed the demons within. However, when he meets up with his Uncle and former partner, Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb, brilliant) he is forced to confront the fact that there is still a killer inside him. There is a brutal fight between Cooper and Jack Lord which is one of the meanest, most vicious fights I've ever seen in film. The only flaw, as others have pointed out, is that this video version is not letterbox. Avoid it and wait for TCM to show it in its original widescreen format. Better yet, why doesn't MGM/UA simply release a letterbox version? Cooper made this back-to-back with another classic, The Hanging Tree. But Warner Home Video has seen fit to remove it from distribution here in the U.S. It's available in Europe and Canada, but not here. Idiots!

This is a Magnificent Film
This is truly a magnificent film. Acting -- especially Gary Cooper's Link Jones, a man who is drawn back into his earlier life as a killer -- and direction and script and cinemaphotography, they are all flawless. The only flaw is in this video, from MGM/UA. I've written them, trying to get them to release this in letterbox and DVD, all to no avail. Do not buy this pan-and-scan version, since director Anthony Mann took full advantage of the wide screen to tell his story. In the pan-and-scan version, Cooper is missing from much of the action. This is because it is a typically tight-lipped Cooper performance, thus he is lopped out of the frame -- even though he is central to every single scene in the entire film! This is a magnificent film which is deserving of a better fate than MGM/UA video distribution. TCM shows it in letterbox, catch it there. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Great moving film
"Serenade," is an excellent, and not shown much. Mario Lanza's
story is more sad in this one with more obstackles, such as trying to forget a woman he loved. Sara Montiel is excellent in it and beautiful as his wife. It is romantic but has moment of sadness as well. It's one the the best films to chowcase Mario's acting abilities.

music great of course but the plot is boring
there will never be another mario lanza he was it. but this movie could have been done better the music is great of course his epic performance of nusum dorma from turandot is fantastic and is probably up there with franco corelli and jusi bejorling the other arias he performs are great as well. but as allways with any lanza picture the screenplay falls flat and is down right boring at times. not to metion it can get pretty korny also. so serenade is given 2 stars for its horrible script if you wanna see lanza at his best its here so get a tape and edit the soap opera script and keep the music cause thats all your ganna want to see

Winner
Supurb acting and a great musical score make "Serenade" an easy favorite of Lanza and Opera fans alike. Another movie that will merit repeat watchs not only for the story line but especially for the musical score. What a great talent!
Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Lanza shows real acting potential
I was mightily impressed with Lanza's vocal performance in this movie, and agreeably surprised by his (often) fine acting. He's no Olivier, and as Derek McGovern says in his review, he needed to reined in by the director at times, but in his best moments he is totally believable, and often moving.

But what grabbed me was his singing. If you can overlook the awful singing during the opening credits, almost everything from La Danza on is fantastic. What an assortment of vocal goodies! The Otello scenes took my breath away. I was simply astonished at the end of the monolog, and I don't believe this aria will ever be sung better. The same goes for Amor Ti Vieta (beautifully filmed), Torna A Surriento and the Lamento Di Federico. Just about the only aria he doesn't quite pull off (surprisingly) is Nessun Dorma. In this one, he's pushing too much for my liking, and I, too, would have liked a retake. After all, Lanza had the perfect voice for this aria.

The co-stars in the movie are great, especially Sarita Montiel and Vincent Price. I read somewhere that Vincent Price was enormously impressed by Lanza's singing, and that's quite a compliment from someone who had heard all the opera greats.

Serenade is a true melodrama, and a greatly underrated film.

Lanza 's Magnificent Comeback
After a four-year absence from the silver screen, Mario Lanza gave his finest dramatic performance as a singer haunted by a woman from his past. He strides among the sunny Mexican landscape in all of his photogenic olive-skinned glory, ill one minute, working in the fields and back singing the next.
His renderings of Schubert's "Ave Maria", "Nessun Dorma", and "O Paradiso", and the title song are heavenly.
Inevitably, with 1950s censorship codes firmly in place, James Cain's steamy novel had to be toned down. To this end, the equally photogenic Sara Montiel becomes a bullfighter's daughter rather than a prostitute, and an appropriately respctable and submissive wife to Lanza. She is helpful in furthering her husband's career interests and helping him put the past behind him.
But the past catches up with him, and Joan Fontaine's cold aristocratic anti-heroine, who derides in building people up and then destroying them, traps the young couple in her clutches once more with near-tragic results. Fontaine's role is comparable to that of Glenn Close's in "Dangerous Liasons", but less graphic. Vincent Price is his usual elegantly sinister movie personna as one of Lanza's benefactors.
Those of us born after Lanza's untimely death can only wonder what his acting skills might be like now if they were free of the stilted, superficial, and rather corny constraints of the'50s. But this is as good as he gets, and his singing, although more somber than ever, is free of such constraints and as majestic as ever. As was observed in 1956, he was "still in possession of that God-given High C", which literally and figuratively, is the triumphant note on which this film ends. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Winchester '73 is the first in a remarkable string of five classic westerns that James Stewart made with Anthony Mann in the 1950s (followed by Bend of the River, The Man from Laramie, The Naked Spur, and The Far Country). It is also distinguished for having helped revive the Western at the box office, and for being the first film in which the star forsook a huge up-front salary in favor of a share of the profits--a strategy that made Stewart rich and forever changed the way that Hollywood does business. The movie itself is pretty darned impressive, too. Stewart traces a stolen Winchester rifle through several owners until he finds the man he's looking for. The final spectacular shootout in craggy, mountainous terrain is justly famous. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (16)

`My mistake. I shot THROUGH it...'
This movie can do no wrong in my book.

Two greats, Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart, team up to deliver this two-fister about an obsessed man tracking a killer from his own past while his friend Millard Mitchell does his best to keep him from going over the edge. Shelly Winters does a nice turn as the poor gal. Stephen McNally is oily as the main bad guy, and Dan Duryea comes off like Johnny Udo (from the original Kiss Of Death) in chaps.

The story really heats up when Stewart wins a shooting contest in which Wyatt Earp officiates (watch for the postage stamp across the nickel - some heroic marskmanship here) and gets his prized Winchester rifle stolen for his trouble. The Winchester does a hot potato act between badmen and Indians (Rock Hudson shows up as a war chief, in a scene where Tony Curtis dons the blue wool as a cavalry buck), and finally winds up in a climactic, hair raising shootout in a jumble of rocks above the desert. You can FEEL the bullets whizzing by.

Especially love the scene where Lin encounters Waco Johnnie Dean (read: Johnny Udo)in a bar and displays a decided lack of patience for the young bad man's showboating... There aren't many places to find good old Jimmy Stewart coming off harder (but do try `Flight Of The Phoenix'...wow!).

PS - This DVD is a good buy - the print they used tends to be a little less than pristine here and there, but it has got a commentary track with Jimmy Stewart on it! How did they do this? It seems Jimmy might have been watching the Laserdisc. His anecdotes about the old studio system and incites into acting are great. Especially like the stories about his hat (used in various westerns for twenty years) and horse, Pie (same as above).

"Huh...this laser thing is very interesting..." Jimmy Stewart.

Great suprise. Great DVD.

Saved by the cast. Otherwise, only a fair movie

Format: Black & White
Studio: Universal Studios
Video Release Date: May 6, 1992

Cast:

James Stewart ... Lin McAdam
Shelley Winters ... Lola Manners
Dan Duryea ... Waco Johnnie Dean
Stephen McNally ... Dutch Henry Brown
Millard Mitchell ... High-Spade Frankie Wilson
Charles Drake ... Steve Miller
John McIntire ... Joe Lamont
Will Geer ... Wyatt Earp
Jay C. Flippen ... Sgt. Wilkes
Rock Hudson ... Young Bull
John Alexander ... Jack Riker
Steve Brodie ... Wesley
James Millican ... Wheeler
Abner Biberman ... Latigo Means
Tony Curtis ... Doan
James Best ... Crator
Jack Curtis ... Bit part
Steve Darrell ... Bat Masterson
Robert Anderson ... Basset
John Doucette ... Roan Daley
Mel Archer ... Bartender
Jimmy Hawkins ... Boy at store window (first speech in film)
Timmy Hawkins ... Boy at Rifle Shoot
Carol Henry ... Dudeen
Gary Jackson ... Gary Jameson
Norman Kent ... Buffalo hunter
Ethan Laidlaw ... Station master
Ted Mapes ... Bartender
Gregg Martell ... Mossman (cavalryman)
Bill McKenzie ... Boy at rifle shoot
Jennings Miles ... Stagecoach driver
Norman Ollestad ... Stable boy
Larry Olsen ... Boy at rifle shoot
Bud Osborne ... Man
Ray Bennett ... Charles Bender
Chuck Roberson ... Long Tom
Forrest Taylor ... Voice of target clerk
Tony Taylor ... Boy
Ray Teal ... Marshall Noonan
John War Eagle ... Indian interpreter
Guy Wilkerson ... Virgil Earp
Duke York ... Man #1
Chief Yowlachie ... Indian at rifle shoot
Frank Chase ... Cavalryman
Edmund Cobb ... Target watcher
Frank Conlan ... Contest clerk in saloon
Virginia Mullen ... Mrs. Jameson
Bonnie Kay Eddy ... Bonnie Jameson

Not really a "history" of the famous old Winchester model 1873. It is more a story based on the rifles of that model referred to as "one of 1000". There were such rifles, highly sought after, and were used as a promotion stunt for prizes for the best shot in a particular area.

Stewart (Linn McAdam) was competing with, as it turns out, his brother, Stepfhen McNally (Dutch Henry Brown), an outlaw who had killed their father. Dan Duryea plays a "heavy" quite well, and Shelley Winters provides the love interest. Millard Mitchell is the faithfal companion, and Will Geer makes a believable Wyatt Earp, although in that stage of his real life he was a considerably younger man.

This is a pretty good Western, with all the elements: Indian battles, horse chases, shoot-outs with innocent women and children involved, purely evil bad guys, unbelievably good shooting by men (Stewart and McNally) who then turn around and, when it counts can't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside.

But, I liked the film. Probably because I like the cast. Duryea was always a great "bad guy", Stewart fit his part perfectly, and Winters did hers very well, as might be expected. When you get a good story, well acted by real professionals, the result, given good direction, is a good movie. Who needs color?

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

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

Anthony Mann creates a classic
The story goes that in 1950 Jimmy Stewart was looking around for something a little different for himself, something where he could play a character less folksy and warm. He sure did find it in this film, as well as all the other magnificent westerns he did with gritty, noir director, Anthony Mann (T-Men, Raw Deal, Railroaded, etc). This is the first of their collaborations.

When the film was first shown to test audiences, there were titters in the crowd when Jimmy Stewart's name appeared in the credits. "Mr. Smith" in a western? Shooting people? Please. By the end of the film, the tittering was all done and Stewart had established himself as a viable western hero (although in truth the magic of these Mann/Stewart westerns is that the characters Stewart plays are hardly "heroic." They are usually driven, neurotic men, nearly shifty-eyed, with a mean streak a mile wide - bitter men, and always very, very angry and eager to kill.

The basic set-up of this film is beautifully simple: Jimmy Stewart has a prize rifle stolen from him, a Winchester Model 1973 (which at the time the film takes place was state-of-the-art in the world of firearms), and he spends the rest of the movie hunting the man that stole it.

The story unfolds, however, as the movie rolls quickly along to something much more complex, culminating in one of the finest shootouts in movie history. The two principal actors of the film, James Stewart and Stewart McNally, spent a great deal of time practicing with their rifles (in Stewart's case Mann often found him walking around the set with bleeding knuckles, the results of his hours of self-training working the classic lever-action Winchester). Their hard work paid of in a tremendous realism.

Anthony Mann brought in cinematographer, William Daniels, for Winchester '73, a veteran who most notably had worked a great deal with Garbo in the 30's. Daniels brought his tremendous sense of lighting to the table to create one of the most beautiful looking Westerns of all time. Daniels' light, combined with Mann's unmatched visual sense, made things look nearly 3-demensional in their reality. When viewing this film, watch for the staggering long shots, or the scenes near dusk or at night. Pure texture and light - at once glamorous yet real.

This film also has my favorite depiction of aging Western legend, Wyatt Earp, the Law in Dodge, played with easy authority by Will Greer. Greer always offers his suggestions to town folks with a warm smile, as when he asks Stewart to give up his gun in an early scene. There is always a bit of steel in the old gunfighter's eyes, though, and folks always do just as he suggests. Quickly.

All in all a great treat and a must-have for any fan of the Western (or for that matter, any lover of movies). A true classic all the way. --Mykal Banta

Cain and Abel
Along with a handful of other titles, this film is right at the summit of the great American Westerns ever made. It came entirely out of the blue as well. It was James Stewart's first serious Western (omitting "Destry Rides Again") and displayed a side of his character his Air Force buddies may have known about but precious few other people did. When Stewart threatens to break Dan Duryea's neck in a bar fight movie audiences must have been seriously taken aback. Doubly shocking is the fact that Stewart is out to gun down his outlaw brother for the murder of their father. Nor was Anthony Mann, the director, known for his Westerns, but this masterpiece simply could not be improved. The show is littered with great performances, especially John McIntire as the gun dealer, and Stewart sidekick Millard Mitchell, who made a huge impact in Hollywood during a very short career. Mitchell also appeared in "Twelve O'Clock High", "The Gunfighter", and "Singin' in the Rain" before dying of lung cancer in 1953.

A bull's-eye for James Stewart
One of James Stewart's best films is this western classic, a revenge-and-pursuit adventure that involves a highly-prized Winchester '73 that changes hands several times before the dust settles and Lin McAdam reclaims his rifle. The film is about a family feud between brothers as much as the hunt for a stolen rifle, and has interesting vignettes such as the great Dodge City rifle shoot for the coveted Winchester, a rigged game of polka in which a man is swindled by a dishonest gun runner, one man's shameful act of cowardice in front of his fiancé, a determined and heroic stand by an outnumbered cavalry troop against Indians and a great mountaintop rifle duel that ends the movie. The black and white photography is crisp and clean and Technicolor would have been hard-pressed to produce better results. The supporting cast is great, especially Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen, and Will Geer. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Superb Epic of Ancient Rome and its decline
"The Fall Of The Roman Empire" is one of the very best of the 1960's lavish epics detailing various historical periods. Filled with eye popping historically accurate costumes, spellbinding sets (The Roman Forum was the largest set built up till that time) heavy doses of corruption and intrigue and believable performances combined with intelligent writing, this film has it all and indeed is a winner all the way.

The film makes a real attempt not to stray too far from historical fact and focuses on the beginnings of the fall of Rome after 150 years of dominating the known world. The story opens with the last troubled period of the reign of Marcus Aurelius the benevolent philosopher Emperor who spent most of his reign reluctantly fighting on the frontiers of the empire against invading barbarians, through to the succession of his son the corrupt and insane Emperor Commodus. Woven into the fictional dialogue and personal situations is a great deal of historical detail which is authentic and illustrates the research and care that went into the preparation of this production.

Movie making during the early 1960's was a time rich in many historical epics and what distinguishes "The Fall Of The Roman Empire" is its wonderful performances set against this sprawling historical canvas of the decay of the mighty power of Rome. First and foremost the late Alec Guinness shines in a superb performance as Marcus Aurelius. Being a student of Roman History I was amazed at how closely he actually is made to look like the emperor and his performance is one of the towering achievements of the film. He is at times a strong leader, a trifle world weary and concerned about his place in history. It is one of Guinness's finest performances. The main focus of the story is the love affair between Lucilla (Sophia Loren, never more beautiful than here) and the upright Livius (Stephen Boyd) and their continued conflict with the new Emperor Commodus (Christopher Plummer). While Lucilla is the heroine of the piece here in actual history she was a seasoned intriger who was executed by her brother Commodus two years into his reign for plotting his death. This historical inaccuracy aside all three are excellent in their roles, in particular Plummer who really steals the scenes he is in as the corrupt, power mad Emperor and is far and way the best performer so far to play Commodus (the more recent "Gladiator" included). He is everything one has come to expect from a Roman ruler, mad, vicious, lavish in appearances and manner. It really is an attention grabbing performance and paved the way for his very different but equally famous role of the following year in "The Sound Of Music". Seasoned performers like James Mason, Anthony Quayle and Omar Sharif (pre "Dr. Zhivago") round out the excellent cast.

"Roman Empire" benefits from some of the very best visuals lavished on a film at this time. First and foremost the recreation of the Roman Forum would have to go down as one of the truly great sets in motion picture history. Long before computers did all the work this set was actually built to life size and is amazingly accurate in its layout and design. The battle scenes that take place on the empire's frontier near modern day Vienna are exciting and well staged and are some of the best of their kind ever undertaken. The film benefits from all the extensive location shooting that took place including the battle scenes supposedly taking place in Persia that were actually shot in Spain. Ably directed by Anthony Mann who had a similiar epic in the classic "El Cid" he keeps the action moving along at a good pace and allows the romantic subplot to weave into the story at appropiate times. Combined with Dimitri Tiomkin's sublime musical score it is a beautiful production to sit through and even its long running time (Almost 3hours) doesn't detract from it.

For lovers of Hollywood epic productions and students of Roman history "The Fall Of The Roman Empire" is an excellent piece of entertainment from back in the grand old days of film making when no expense was considered too much to achieve a truly great effect on screen. Certainly this film is one of the best of its kind and I highly recommend it as an exciting and colourful insight into the grandeur that was Rome.

Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
Fans of the blockbuster hit GLADIATOR will find this film somewhat familiar as it deals with the same factual characters and events. Sophia Loren and Stephen Boyd provide attractive window-dressing as the starcrossed lovers, but the real stars are Alec Guiness, James Mason and especially Christopher Plummer whose portrayal of the evil emperor Commodous rivals the Oscar caliber work of Joaquin Phoenix in the more recent epic. Lush 70mm photography on massive sets should make this an exceptional title to add to your classics library on DVD.

The Biggest Film Set in Film History-Ever (until recently).
Re Aleaton3's comments on this film not being historically accurate and the size of the sets used. The Roman Forum set built for this film at Las Matas in Spain (just outside Madrid) was THE BIGGEST OUTDOORS or EXTERIOR FILM SET (as opposed to an INDOORS or INTERIOR FILM SET) in FILM HISTORY up until 2003 when TROY apparently claimed the title (TROY having been filmed in 2003). Refer to every edition of the Guinness Book of Records from 1965 up to 2003 to verify this. It was unique in that it was 3 dimensional (i.e. the buildings WERE 4 SIDED and HAD ROOFS-THERE WERE NO FRONTAL FACADES WITH JUST SOME SCAFFOLDING AT THE BACK AS IN NORMAL SETS. I DON'T THINK THE BUILDINGS HAD ANY INTERIORS. THE SET WAS ALSO VERY ACCURATE ARCHITECTURALLY) and THIS SET WAS DEMOLISHED SOON AFTER FILMING. I know this for sure because I visited this exact location in 1977 and was advised of this (apparently producer SAMUEL BRONSTON didn't want the magnificence of his set being used for any lesser, cheaper productions although the few remaing parts of the set that had not already been demolished were used soon after in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"-see the absolute last title card at the end of that particular film). Incidentally this exact same site ONE YEAR EARLIER had been the location for THE CITY OF PEKING in the same producer's "55 DAYS AT PEKING". That particular set was also demolished soon after filming. As for the historical inaccuracies it is true that emporor MARCUS AURELIUS never OFFICIALLY nominated anyone other than his son COMMODUS as his heir and that COMMODUS DID NOT DIE IN A DUEL TO THE DEATH BUT WAS STRANGLED BY A WRESTLER AFTER BEING DRUGGED. Also THE AUCTIONING-OFF of THE ROMAN EMPIRE at the end of this film DID NOT TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY AFTER COMMODUS DIED BUT SEVERAL MONTHS LATER! However the scriptwriters used the "'INVENT AND DESTROY" method of storytelling so beloved to Hollywood. In this theory history cannot absolutely say that there was no character such as LIVIUS (STEPHEN BOYD) or MAXIMUS (RUSSELL CROWE), that emperor MARCUS AURELIUS (ALEC GUINNESS or RICHARD HARRIS) did not secretly annoint him as his heir or that he was not intimately involved with LUCILLA (SOPHIA LOREN or CONNIE NIELSEN)) the daughter of MARCUS AURELIUS (unbeknownst to the scholars and historians of that time). Having INVENTED A PLAUSIBLE THEORY IT MUST BE DESTROYED BY THE FILM''S END SO THAT HISTORY REMAINS REALTIVELY UNDISTURBED. So LIVIUS (this film) or MAXIMUS (GLADIATOR) never actually disturbs history by becoming caesar. Unfortunately either LIVIUS or MAXIMUS killing COMMODUS (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER or JOAQUIN PHOENIX) in a duel to the death in the Roman Forum or the Colisseum DOES CONTRADICT HISTORY DIRECTLY and EXCEEDS THE LIMITS of the "INVENT AND DESTROY" THEORY. But THIS SEQUENCE IN EACH FILM DOES MAKE GREAT CINEMA and LOOKS VERY SPECTACULAR which is what these types of films are all about.. So for the sake of ENTERTAINING AND OVERWHELMING A MASS AUDIENCE (rather than an audience of historians only ) with VERY SPECTACULAR, ENTERTAINING and HIGHLY DRAMATIC STORIES I think the OCCASIONAL LAPSE in ABSOLUTE HISTORICAL ACCURACY and the OCCASIONAL INTERWEAVING of FICTIONAL CHARACTERS INTO HISTORY is ACCEPTABLE. Most people would not have any idea about ancient roman history had they not seen this film, GLADIATOR or indeed BEN HUR (history contains no refernce whatsoever to anyone called JUDAH BEN HUR either). An exactly historically accurate movie would probably be very boring and interesting only to history professors. The important thing here is that the spriit and atmosphere of the historical period is captured and conveyed to the audience and that the story itself is interesting enough to a mass audience in the first place so as to justify the enormous expenses involved (these productions being so costly). And on these criteria both The FALL of the ROMAN EMPIRE and GLADIATOR (and indeed BEN HUR) more than succeed. If the same extremely high quality of these productions (story-wise) can be maintained then more productions of this sort will be made (given the excellence of MOST computer-generated special effects nowadays the technical excellence of these previous productions should be equalled if not surpassed).

History vs Hollywood
The screenwriter of "Gladiator" claims not to have seen "The Fall of the Roman Empire" before writing the Ridley Scott film. That's odd since both films are bookended exactly the same way. Both open with Emperor Marcus Aurelius deciding that his son Commodus should not be emperor (a decision that leads to his murder). Both end with the fight between Commodus and the army commander within the shields of the Pretorian Guards. As a matter of fact, neither of these events are historically accurate.

Marcus Aurelius (according the Edward Gibbon and other historians) dealt the Empire a long-term blow when he broke with tradition by choosing his only surviving son, Commodus, to be his successor, rather than following the tradition of chosing the best man for the job and officially adopting him. To the consternation of his legions, Aurelius never chose a military commander over his own son. When you decide to abandon actual history at the very beginning of your story, the rest falls apart.

Secondly, Commodus was murdered by his concubine (who drugged his wine) and a wrestler (who strangled him) in his palace. In fact, it took a few days for everyone in Rome to come to finally believe that he was actually dead. HE WAS NOT KILLED in a single-handed combat with the commander of the army (either Stephen Boyd or Russell Crowe).

Third, there is no historical evidence that a group of barbarians were burned alive in the Roman forum, as this 1964 film depects. The screenwriter seems to have simply lost his grip on any sort of reality and went totally "Hollywood."

Samuel Bronson (the producer) spared no expence to actually build an exact replica of the Roman Forum (rather than do it digitally as in "Gladiator"), so the scenes shot on this set are truly spectacular. The set (built in Spain) was said to have stood intact for some years, even after Samuel Bronson Productions went bacnkrupt (over this very film). I have no idea if it's still standing.

Christopher Plummer is too old to play the actual Commodus, who was only a teenager when he ascended the throne. However, the script actually does justice to the spirit of the historical character of Commodus, and Plummer brings the man to vibrant life. Both Stephen Boyd (as the army commander) and Loren (as Commodus' sister) seem wooden and fail to establish any on- screen chemestry to their love-stared characters, although Loren's legendary beauty is well worth the price of admission.

Alec Guiness, James Mason, Anthony Quayle and Mel Ferrer all do an excellent job with their roles, although Omar Sharif has little to do since his scripted character is only one-dimensional.

Because of its over-all production values, and an appropriate and moving musical score, this becomes a satisfying, eye-popping, "they don't make them like this anymore" epic. It must be seen in the Widescreen format to do it justice.

Widescreen fans please note...
...you can obtain a fairly high quality widescreen DVD edition of this film from Amazon France's marketplace sellers. You can choose to watch in English, the only drawback being that the accompanying French subtitles can't be erased. However, when you see the price, even with postage, you won't want to complain! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

James Stewart, at his warmest and most avuncular, plays the bandleader who rocketed to fame during the swing era. The Glenn Miller Story may be a whitewashed version of Miller's life, but it certainly is a pleasant example of the feel-good Hollywood biopic, with the usual conventions: early struggles, loyal wife (June Allyson at her chirpiest), personal sacrifice--Miller joins the Army when war breaks out, although he doesn't have to--and ultimate tragedy. All the Glenn Miller classics filling the soundtrack make the film pretty easy to take, too: "Moonlight Serenade," "A String of Pearls," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." Miller plays the great "In the Mood" with his military band during a World War II air-raid warning. Pure corn, but it works. Director Anthony Mann, better known for his superb series of hard-bitten fifties westerns with Stewart, keeps the story moving gently and gracefully. A hot jazz interlude features Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (28)

The man who invented big band!
"The Glenn Miller Story" can be enjoyed even by someone who's not a fan of big band or jazz music. It's for everyone especially music lovers of all tastes. Jimmy Stewart is cast superbly here and at times you're thinking you're watching the actual Glenn Miller himself and not the actor. The music of Glenn Miller is brought to life so magically with its captivating soundtrack filled with his most memorable tunes and melodies like "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" and the one everyone knows: "Moonlight Serenade." The colors on this film are vivid and make you wish you'd want to be there. It was indeed tragic to lose such a great musician all too soon. You still hear his music in movies, nightclubs, theaters and more. All in all, it is a neat movie to look at and to hear remembering the trombonist who became the leader of the band: Glenn Miller.

5 stars for the music.....as for the story.....well.......
This film is a typical Hollywood b.s. story. A lot of incidents were made up for the film, for example, the Chummy McGregor-Glenn Miller friendship going back to the Ben Pollock Orchestra days, which was years before they even met! And it's too bad Miller didn't come up with his "sound" so easily!!! About the parts of the movie that are true-to-life is the relationship between Glenn and Helen, as performed by two of my favorite actors, James Stewart and June Allyson.

However, the music in this film (orchestrated by Universal Pictures staff composer, Henry Mancini) more than makes up for the deficiencies in the story. The orchestra assembled does a excellent job re-creating Miller's hits (far better than some of the ghost bands later organized by the Miller Estate).

You'll enjoy the music, especially in stereo, just don't take the story seriously.

Also, the VHS version has a couple of scenes clipped to make the movie time out to 120 minutes. Hopefully, these scenes will be restored when the movie is released on DVD (in March, 2003, as a double feature with The Benny Goodman Story, another Hollywood b.s. bio-pic).

Here's a interesting factoid: Harry (Henry) Morgan ("Chummy MacGregor") actually appeared in a film with the real Glenn Miller, "Orchestra Wives". Unfortunately, they did not appear in any scenes together.

That Sound
This was the highest grossing American film of 1954; had he wanted to, James Stewart could probably have ended up owning Universal Studios, so vastly indebted were they to him at this stage for the string of hits he'd produced for them. Director Anthony Mann too. It's a pretty easygoing look at the not-so easygoing bandleader Glenn Miller from his earliest days as a sideman trombonist and arranger to his becoming the top pop musician in the United States. Very interesting and enlightening about the way Miller searched for his own distinctive sound to set him apart from the hundreds of other jazz bands of the day. It also pretty much set the tone for the mysterioso treatment that has ever since surrounded Miller's disappearance in the European theater during WW2 in 1944. The theories are that his plane crashed in England and has yet to be found, or that returning bombers from an unsuccessful mission accidentally dumped their loads on his plane over the Channel. Neither gets any exploration here; Miller just ascends into band heaven. Pretty good performances all around, especially the wonderful and always reliable George Tobias as the theater owner/agent.

Evocative and Amazing
It happens every time. When you watch a film with James Stewart in it certain things happen.

The film begins, we see Mr. Stewart appear in character, he is the same, tall ,lanky and charismatic. As the film proceeds on..slowly but surely, Mr Stewart becomes " That" character he is playing. Soon the viewer is hooked by the total talent of Jim Stewart , he invites us in to each character he is playing.

He is Glenn Miller for us here in this film. If we didnt see Glenn Miller while he was around this is a good chance to see a close example.It does not matter how accurate the film is really.
Those who carp about accuracy should pick up a biography. Those who love the mystique will watch and enjoy the timeless Glenn Miller through James Stewart.

I cant see Krupa or Satchmo in any biography , and for sure I cant hear them. In this film I can..with superb effect. A snapshot in time of our musical history.

Finally, I was not around during during the Miller era however,

after viewing this film .. " I was there"

C Pope

Another mistreatment of a classic
Let's clarify a couple of things.

First, this movie IS INDEED anamorphic, despite the claim of another writer that the package was wrong in claiming such.

Secondly, to expect any biographical picture out of Hollywood to NOT play loosely with the facts is expecting a bit much. After all, from "The Babe Ruth Story" to "JFK", Hollywood has always subscribed to the theory of "fictional biographies".

Frankly, I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. First, ANY movie with Jimmy Stewart has something going for it. Throw in some FANTASTIC music, and a great...albeit way to short...cameo by Louis Armstrong, and this movie is a real piece of cinematic history.

Unfortunately, Universal Pictures seems to have a different opinion, as they have given this picture a very bare-bones AND shabby release.

The picture, while widescreen AND anamorphic, has a VHS quality to it. Some portions had an "out of focus" appearance. But most distracting was a frequent pulsating color...going from bright to dull to bright...ad infinitum. In some instances, this REALLY distracted from the enjoyment of...and the concentration on...the movie.

Having seen other pictures from this era with wonderfully clear transfers, I can but only believe that this was merely the result of laziness, cheapness, or carelessness on the part of Universal.

As this is not considered a classic in most film circles, I doubt this movie will ever see a second release. So sad, as it could be so enjoyable with a good picture. As it is, I hate to say it, but I'd recommend against a purchase. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Besides being a terrific movie in its own right--and the second entry in a remarkable eight-film series teaming director Anthony Mann and star James Stewart--Bend of the River is also fascinating as a variation on one of the greatest Westerns. With or without anyone else's knowledge, screenwriter Borden Chase reworked scenes, character configurations, and much of the structure of Red River, the screenplay of which he had cowritten (from his own novel) for director Howard Hawks six years earlier. Seeing what Hawks and Mann did with some of the same scenes--a spooky night skirmish with Indians, for instance--makes for a compelling lesson in the transformative power of directorial style.

Instead of Texas and the Chisholm Trail, Bend of the River is set in the Oregon river country, with a wagon train substituting for an epic cattle drive. Wagonmaster Stewart, a man with a secret past he's determined to redeem, rescues another, not-so-ex-renegade (Arthur Kennedy) from a lynching. Stewart finds Kennedy a powerful ally in a fight but ultimately has to face him as a mortal enemy--and to revert to his old savage ways in order to save his adopted community. Along the trail, they are variously companioned and/or menaced by the likes of slick gambler Rock Hudson (compare the Cherry Valance part in Red River) and hard cases Harry (then Henry) Morgan, Royal Dano, and Jack Lambert. There's knockout scenery, as usual with Mann, and fight-to-the-death action as bracing as a plunge into an icy river. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (15)

NOT "modified to fit your screen." DVD is OAR
The movie is a solid 50s western--decent entertainment but not high art like, say, High Noon. It's true star is Mt. Hood, Oregon, shown sparkling in every other shot.

Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the DVD, this film was NOT "modified to fit your screen." It was shot in 1952, when most films were "full frame," and well before widescreen became standard. In fact the Technicolor process used here never made the transition to widescreen, and that's why the full-frame presentation is correct. (The same is true for Shane, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and the Wizard of Oz.) You'd think the studios would not insert the bogus disclaimer, since it's a dumb mistake that can cost them sales, but this error is actu