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DVD Lord Jim
Three years after Lawrence of Arabia, the largely impressive Lord Jim (1965) finds Peter O'Toole again essaying a self-doubting but remarkable, white Englishman who leads a foreign people against their oppressor. Based on the Joseph Conrad novel, Lord Jim is the story of a British maritime officer, Jim (O'Toole), who takes a brief post on a tramp steamer and flees in terror during a storm at sea. Dogged by a reputation for cowardice, Jim attempts to reinvent himself in his own eyes, commanding an attack against a feudal warlord (Eli Wallach) in a distant, Southeast Asian village and basking in god-like glory afterward. A sinister plot by a gentleman pirate (James Mason) sets the stage for Jim's confrontation with his true destiny. Simplified and adapted by writer-director Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood), Lord Jim sometimes feels rushed and obvious, but O'Toole's golden performance and legendary cinematographer Freddie Young's 70mm footage are outstanding. --Tom Keogh
"Lord Jim" is handicapped by the fact that people will always compare it to David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia," which had the same leading man and a similar theme. Despite its Conradian source, "Lord Jim" doesn't have a hero as complex or a setting as compelling as Lean's masterpiece. But it is spectacular entertainment, and a serious inquiry into the roots of human actions.
Despite some B-Movie flourishes (Eli Wallach and Jim's "love interest" are particularly risable), the vulnerability and humanity of its hero captivate the viewer. And the Indonesian setting, while culturally very inaccurate, does evoke the mystery and exotica of 19th century travelogues. At its conclusion, the script tends to talk to death certain conclusions that the viewer could have reached on his/her own, but O'Toole is gifted enough to make it affecting. And anyway, the action sequences, and musky South China Sea atmosphere, are breathtaking.
For those who complain that it is overlong, I suggest you view it as a trilogy, as it is divided quite neatly into three sections, each with its own conflict, cast, and rising momentum. The first is the best, but all have their own brand of power and fascination. I've seen this film many, many times, and even the clumsy or silly parts give me enormous pleasure. I think you'll feel the same way.
In conclusion, I don't share the general bitterness that Amazon endorses a reviewer like Leonard Maltin. He has simply seen more movies than anyone else (it's his whole "life," after all), hence is more likely to have seen whatever film Amazon needs reviewed. It's obviously a decision based on convenience, not ability.
ANOTHER DVD RELEASE, PLEASE!
LORD JIM is a great film. It really surprised me how a great movie could be adapted from a bad novel! The movie is AWESOME! A great film for the collection. This film screams DVD Release! Please do so. PULEASE!!Grade: A
A Uniquely Thoughtful Adventure Epic
If you favor the David Lean approach to grand scale epic film-making, you mustn't miss a wide screen viewing of this gem. It is too thoughtful, intelligent, even philosophic to move at a pace which would suit devotees of todays thrill-a-minute offerings, yet it offers so many rewards which are seldom found these days. Amidst lushly photographed, exotic settings and loaded with fabulous performances by some of the screen's all-time finest actors, "Lord Jim" dares to mix action adventure with a penetrating examination of moral issues like courage and honor and integrity. The visual production is wondrous and makes a quality widescreen edition intensely desireable and long overdue.
This Mike Todd production was a star-studded, multi-million dollar extravaganza when first released in 1956. It remains enjoyable family fare, but time has somewhat dulled its shine. Still, it compares favorably to the overly long, TV mini-series starring Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle.
Elegant David Niven plays the neurotically punctual Phileas Fogg, a British gent who is spurned on by a wager to prove he can travel around the world in 80 days. He is accompanied by his valet, played with persnickety humor by Cantinflas.
Nominated for several Academy Awards, this was written by John Farrow (Mia's dad) and S.J. Perelman, based on Jules Verne's 1873 classic. The fun part is the razzle-dazzle. Todd knew what he was doing with all those exotic locales and over 40 cameo appearances,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): David Niven DVD Release Date: Released the 18 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Ranking No. 21 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films, this 1940 classic is a bit dated in its noble sentimentality, but it remains a luminous example of Hollywood classicism from the peerless director of mythic Americana, John Ford. Adapted by Nunnally Johnson from John Steinbeck's classic novel, the film tells a simple story about Oklahoma farmers leaving the depression-era dustbowl for the promised land of California, but it's the story's emotional resonance and theme of human perseverance that makes the movie so richly and timelessly rewarding. It's all about the humble Joad family's cross-country trek to escape the economic devastation of their ruined farmland, beginning when Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns from a four-year prison term to discover... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Ford DVD Release Date: Released the 06 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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With this magnificent Criterion DVD release, Luchino Visconti's 1963 historical drama The Leopard will finally earn widespread recognition as one of the most beautiful epics ever produced. In adapting the popular novel by Giuseppe Tomassi di Lampedusa (an Italian equivalent to Gone with the Wind, set during the tumultuous Garibaldi revolution of 1860-62), Visconti was initially reluctant to cast Burt Lancaster as the melancholy Prince of Salina--the aging aristocrat "leopard" of the title--who accepts change as inevitable during the struggle for a unified Italy. But Lancaster (even with his voice dubbed in the fully restored Italian release) delivered one of his finest performances, modeled after Visconti himself, and reacting to political and familial upheavals with the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Burt Lancaster DVD Release Date: Released the 08 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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John le Carre's classic spy yarn gets a suitably brisk, unromanticized telling in this quintessential Cold War movie. A British agent (Richard Burton) sets up an elaborate cover story for being lured into defecting to the Communists, but he hardly needs to manufacture his disgust and cynicism over spying. The grim business of point-counterpoint espionage has rarely been depicted with less glamour; Burton's great climactic speech on the subject is the definitive take on sinking to the level of the enemy. Claire Bloom is an offbeat love interest, and a bearded Oskar Werner is an East German investigator on Burton's case (the pecking order in the Communist spy hierarchy is a source of black humor). Director Martin Ritt extends his unvarnished approach to the movie's stripped-down look, which... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Burton - Oskar Werner Director(s): Martin Ritt DVD Release Date: Released the 13 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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If you think Zorba the Greek is a simple-minded homage to a man with a zest for life, then you haven't seen the movie. Basil (Alan Bates), a reticent British writer, comes to the Mediterranean island of Crete to revive a mine his father owned. On the way, he meets a Greek roustabout named Zorba (Anthony Quinn) and hires him to help, little suspecting that Zorba's exuberance will lead him to some dark and troubling places--frankly, if the last 30 minutes of Zorba the Greek are what it means to embrace life, some viewers will want to shut the door in life's face. But there's no denying the movie's ambitious scope and implacable force, even as it paints an alien and disturbing portrait of life in a Greek village. On top of that, gorgeous cinematography and one of the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Anthony Quinn - Alan Bates Director(s): Michael Cacoyannis DVD Release Date: Released the 03 August 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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