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With two releases of the best war movies from many years ago in box sets this month, it’s only fair that the second box set is just as good as the first. And with the sort of movies that are in the other box set, it would be hard to equal. And in the second set, they have compiled the only three movies from the era that can match up with the overall quality of the first.
This set contains The Guns of Navarone, From Here to Eternity and The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Disc one – The Guns of Navarone
Director:
J. Lee Thompson
Cast:
Gregory Peck……….Capt. Keith Mallory
David Niven……….Cpl. Miller
Anthony Quinn……….Col. Andrea Stavros
Stanley Baker……….Pvt. ‘Butcher’ Brown
Anthony Quayle……….Maj. Roy Franklin
James Darren……….Pvt. Spyros Pappadimos
The Guns of Navarone: The year is 1943. The battle of Stalingrad has turned the war against the Germans who are attempting to bully neutral Turkey into joining the Axis. They have trapped 2,000 British soldiers on Kiros, an island in the Aegean, with only one sea route for evacuation. Convenient enough, two German anti-ship batteries are embedded in a massive cliff-side bunker on the island of Navarone to protect the route. Immune to air attack (and too much for Allied battleships to suppress) the British mount a plan to take the batteries down so they can rescue the prisoners of war.
Commando officer Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), a commando officer and expert mountaineer who has been on occupied Crete for nearly two years, is tapped to lead a team of British commandos in a daring mission: navigate a 400-foot cliff that the Germans do not control. Greek resistance is to meet the team inland and guide them around German patrols. Problems arise when the commanding officer of the British team suffers grave injury in the climb. Mallory must take control of the mission despite clashes with Cpl. Miller (David Niven). There also is a traitor in the midst, as Miller’s equipment was tampered with on the first night there.
It’s an intriguing movie that couples as both an action-oriented war film as well as a drama. There is the underlying drama in which the traitor in the midst must be flushed out while dealing with the underlying manner.
The Guns of Navarone would garner seven Oscar nomination with one win for Best Effects (Special Effects).
The Extras:
Retrospective Documentary: “Memories of Navarone is a featurette reminiscing about the film. Narrated by Peck, it’s a rather short look at the movie that ends just when it starts to feel like it should be longer.
A message from Carl Foreman is a quick aside from the producer welcoming the viewer.
Audio commentary from the director
Original theatrical trailers for The Guns of Navarone and Behold a Pale Horse
Score : 9 / 10
Disc two – From Here to Eternity
Director:
Fred Zinnemann
Cast:
Burt Lancaster……….1st Sgt. Milton Warden
Montgomery Clift……….Pvt. Robert E. Lee ‘Prew’ Prewitt
Deborah Kerr……….Karen Holmes
Donna Reed……….Alma Burke (Lorene)
Frank Sinatra……….Pvt. Angelo Maggio
Philip Ober……….Capt. Dana ‘Dynamite’ Holmes
Mickey Shaughnessy……….Cpl. Leva
Harry Bellaver……….Pvt. Mazzioli
Ernest Borgnine……….SSgt. James R. ‘Fatso’ Judson
Jack Warden……….Cpl. Buckley
John Dennis……….Sgt. Ike Galovitch
Merle Travis……….Sal Anderson
Tim Ryan……….SSgt. Pete Karelsen
Arthur Keegan……….Treadwell
It is 1941 and Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) has requested a transfer in the Army. Unfortunately for him he has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. He has a new captain in Dana Holmes (Philip Ober), and on base they have heard of his boxing prowess. Prewiit does not want to continue his pugilistic exploits, much to the chagrin of Captain Holmes. In retaliation, Holmes has the company make his life a living hell.
All the while Sargeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) starts seeing the captain’s wife, who has consistently cheated on her husband as a recreation from a troubled marriage. Maggio (Frank Sinatra) has several altercations with the sadistic Sergeant ‘Fatso’ Judson (Ernest Borgnine) while Prew begins falling in love with a hostess at the local night club named Lorene (Donna Reed). With all of this going on, Pearl Harbor looms in the background.
From Here To Eternity is a magnificent epic of a film with many notable scenes, but the one that is still replayed is Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in an embrace with the tide rushing in on them. It would go on to garner 13 Oscar nominations and eight wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Sinatra) and Best Supporting Actress (Reed).
The Extras
“Making of” featurette is a look back at the film and how it was created. It mainly focuses on the casting decisions and the reasoning behind each one. It runs around two minutes.
Theatrical trailers: Theatrical trailers for The Guns of Navarone, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and From Here to Eternity
Filmographies of the cast and crew
Audio commentary from the Tim Zinnemann (son of the director) and Al Sargent
Score : 10 / 10
Disc three – The Bridge on the River Kwai
Director:
David Lean
Cast:
William Holden……….Shears
Jack Hawkins……….Maj. Warden
Alec Guinness……….Colonel Nicholson
Sessue Hayakawa……….Col. Saito
James Donald……….Maj. Clipton
Geoffrey Horne……….Lt. Joyce
André Morell……….Col. Green
Peter Williams……….Capt. Reeves
John Boxer……….Maj. Hughes
Percy Herbert……….Pvt. Grogan
Harold Goodwin……….Pvt. Baker, Sick List Volunteer
Ann Sears……….Nurse at Ceylon hospital
Heihachiro Okawa……….Capt. Kanematsu
Keiichiro Katsumoto……….Lt. Miura
M.R.B. Chakrabandhu……….Yai
British WW2 prisoners of war are given the task of building a railway bridge in a harsh Asian jungle by their Japanese captors. In a task that is meant to break their spirits, the prisoners unite to build the bridge and end up taking over the project. In the field of war movies, The Bridge on the River Kwai is another name that can’t be overlooked.
Led by Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), a stereotypical British officer, the British soldiers take over the project from their captors and build the bridge with amazing proficiency. While Guinness has become better know for being Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars franchise, it’s quite impressive to see him at the peak of his craft as Nicholson. He radiates off screen with the sort of fury and charisma demanded from the role, as Nicholson and the prisoners earn the respect of the Japanese.
Unbeknownst to them, Allied forces are aligning against their foes with the bridge in mind. The allies want to destroy the bridge and intend to do so when it has been completed, culminating in a grand finale that deserves to be watched. Nearly 50 years after its release in theatres, it still holds up as awe-inspiring.
While the finale is one of the best ever filmed for the genre, it’s the bulk of the film is what makes it memorable. Guinness is gripping and fantastic in his role, but his supporting cast keeps up. This is a case of a group of actors combining to create a group of men that are indentifiable and well-developed.
With eight Academy Award nominations to go with seven total wins, The Bridge on the River Kwai won for Best Actor (Guinness), Best Picture, Best Music and Best Film Editing amongst others.
The Extras
Original theatrical trailers for The Bridge on the River Kwai, Fail-Safe, Lawrence of Arabia and The Guns of Navarone.
“Talent profiles” about the director and cast
Overall Score : 10 / 10
Disc four – Weapons at War: The Fighting Leathernecks of WWII
A bonus disc included with the set. Revolving around the role of the Marine Corps in World War II, Weapons at War is a 46 minute History Channel documentary about the role of the USMC in World War II. Featuring historians and former Marines, it is an in-depth look at some of the men who fought in WWII.
It’s a very interesting perspective from historians who studied it and from men who lived it. Hearing some of the soldiers talk about fighting the Japanese is just jaw-dropping; it’s a fascinating look at this era in war and the men who fought it.
The Extras: None.
Score : 9.5 / 10
The Video
Cleaned up from prior releases as well as from the grainy footage of the original theatrical releases, the movies looks great. While they still look like they were short 50 years ago in terms of dress and the times, they don’t have tell-tale signs like a grainy video and/or muted colors and hues. It’s been cleaned up and looks great.
The Audio
With a re-mastered digital surround sound, all three movies sound spectacular. While this is more of a compilation than a true box set, as it’s all three movies from prior releases rolled into one, the audio has been re-done. And it sounds spectacular, especially for a series of movies that need good audio.
The Extras
Scrapbook: There is a scrapbook included that contains some biographical and historical information about all three movies. It also contains pictures and photographs as well, featuring pictures of the original movie posters.
Score : 8 / 10
