Editorial Review

An examination of the relationship between political power and personal conscience, Joseph Mankiewicz's traditional Read more

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Reviews (26)

NOT ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT!!!
Along with "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "King Lear," "Julius Caesar" remains one of my favorite tragedies of William Shakespeare. (With "Coriolanus" not so far behind.) This play of Shakespeare's and (this move for that matter) was what got me into Shakespeare in the first place, and later an English Major in college. Like I said, this is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and this movie in no way whatsoever falls short of the book. It was truly a blessing to get James Mason (Brutus), John Gielgud (Cassius) and Marlon Brando (Mark Antony) together. This movie (with virtually no special effects) shows that it takes good directing, good actors, and a good script to make things work. Some of you probably know that this was the first play of Shakespeare's to be performed at the Globe Theatre. Moving on to the material at hand, this play repesents moral ambiguity in a political setting. We meet Cassius and Brutus. Cassius is not happy with the fact that the ambitious Julius Caesar is to be crowned, and the flawed, but still virtuous Brutus reluctantly agrees to take part in the conspiracy to assasinate Caesar. Like in the play, we meet Mark Antony (Brando) and he seems insignificant. But he will later prove very significant. We only meet Calpurnia (Caesar's wife) and Portia (Brutus's wife) briefly. But they do make the most of their one scene. For that matter, even the Soothsayer who only has a minor part does well. (Perhaps good acting often means making the best of even a small part.) As most of you know, around the halfway point Julius Caesar meets his fate, and Louis Calhern portrays the famous line: "Et Tu Brute? Then fall Caesar" well. Marlon Brando is nothing short of phenomenal when he appears to make peace with the conspirators and then reveals his real feelings in the famous" "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" passage. The naive (but still likable) Brutus delivers his convincing funeral passage well. Unfortunately for him, Mark Antony's counterspeech is nothing short of hypnotic. (One of the best things about this play is that rather than good guys and bad guys, we have 3 major characters with 2 opposing views, and we can be lead into sympathy and understanding with either of them.) Despite the limited resources of the time, Louis Calhern's ghost of Caesar is frightening and effective. This leads to the final confrontation between Brutus and Cassius versus Octavius and Mark Antony. (For the record, at this point in time, Brutus and Cassius DID hold the advantage.) The battle where Antony crushes Cassius is so well done in that (1) it shows Antony's stategy, (2) it is well done without excess blood or special effects, and (3) it DOES NOT glorify war. It DOES in fact show war as the ugly and repulsive thing it is. Despite Cassius's faults (possibly through the good acting of John Gielgud), we are moved into sympathy for him when he meets his fate. (For the record, Mike Ansara, the servant of Cassius who is with him to the end would play a sympathetic Klingon Captain in "Star Trek's" 'Day of the Dove' and would be the voice of Mr. Freeze in the animated Batman series.) And James Mason continues his phenomenal performance of Brutus right up to the end. As in the play, the crowning touch is the respectful eulogy Mark Antony gives to Brutus, and Marlon Brando more than delivers. While I fear that some movies like a recent and really garrish "Hamlet" would have had Shakespeare crying in his grave, this production of "Julius Caesar" would do William Shakespeare proud.

Sic Semper Tyrannus
James Mason, John Gielgud and Edmond O'Brien carry the day here in this largely marvelous film adaptation of Julius Caesar; to my mind, Shakespeare's greatest play.All three put their vast stage experience to work, and in particular Gieulgud's reading of Casca's complaints about Caesar's ascension is hypnotically powerful.All three are far more eloquent than Marlon Brando, who looks a little uncomfortable as Marc Antony and doesn't quite capture the two-sidedness of the fighting voluptuary who sees no reason he shouldn't step into Caesar's shoes.Louis Calhern is miscast as JC but gave rise to one of Hollywood's great anecdotes.Calhern volunteered to lie-in as Caesar's corpse during Antony's funeral oration and said after one take, "Can we do that again?I wasn't very good."Hollywood's byzantine union rules for stage extras hampered the filming of the battle scenes so thoroughly that this was the last time such a scene was ever shot in California.

I call him "The Beard" (see below)
Next time I review Midsummer Night's Dream remind me to instead rant a bit about people who call it Midsummer's Night Dream and completely ignore any other intelligent comment on that great play. Bard, shmard, who gives a rat's patoot? That whiny review wouldn't cut in in "scholarly circles" whatever the hell those are in this age. We're lucky anyone refers to him at all, even as "Billy."
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

The most successful public-television miniseries in American history, the 11-hour Read more

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Reviews (153)

excellent introduction, but only as a starting point
This is a superb film, combining the emotion evoked from images and selected narratives (wonderfully read by great actors) as well as some analysis by prominent scholars or writers. So far as it goes, Burns has exploited the attributes of the film medium to what I believe is the maximum extent: you leave this experience with a good idea of what went on and how it changed the country. It is moving, horrible, and beautiful all at once.
Shelby Foote and Ken Burns Resurrect the Dead
I have seen the critical remarks regarding this film.True, not all material could be included...unless filmakers wanted to exceed the 11 hours that this documentary already comprises.This is a stirring masterwork which features master historians with the powers of captivating story -- Shelby Foote, Ed Bearss, and others.Giving renewed life and voice to those who have passed on, the drama of this timescape is carefully unfolded.It is filled with struggle, humanity, and grace.If I could afford the collector's box set, I'd own it...but it's a tad expensive.If you can afford it, buy it -- it will be a set that you often revisit.If you can *really* afford it, buy me a copy.:)

british version i believe is longer
the british version which is a PAL region 2 dvd is 690 minutes long according to uk amazon website with 3 DVDs in a boxset,and according to USA amazon the US version is only 660 minutes long. also i believe at time of writing this review the british version is also cheper if obtained via amazon.co.uk at about i think $64 to $68 though this will change as intrest dollar to pound rates change over time. please rember if buying uk dvd version that your dvd player MUST BE a multi region dvd player to play UK region 2 PAL dvds! hope this helps some one ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. TV Shows    4. War Documentaries   

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Reviews (22)

History or Hollywood?STALIN delivers an excellent balance
I agree with Leaming.Any time Hollywood depicts history, there are going to be issues of inaccuracy, artistic license, etc.In the case of the film STALIN, this is mostly due to the need to compress about thirty years into less than three hours.The portrayals of the primary characters are sometimes simplistic and inaccurate, but Bukharin and Kirov's characters (for example) are portrayed so as to accentuate the perception of Stalin as a monster (which is accurate).In other words, the truth is adapted somewhat to generate a dramatic foil.Films are never a substitute for reading the real history, but I find that they often whet an appetite when one did not previously exist.The mini-series PETER THE GREAT with Maximilian Schell in the title role is another great example of a film that generated popular interest in Tsarist Russia.SHOGUN, ROUGH RIDERS, LAST SAMURAI, GLADIATOR, GODS AND GENERALS, SHARPE'S RIFLES -- all are examples of films that prompted people to actually read history.So, take the films for what they are -- all in all, everyone who loves history should encourage this terrific trend in film-making!

nevermind the "purist" reviews - this is an excellent film
This film is historically excellent.What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes.Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific.The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important stuff is there:the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges, WWII, etc.The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union.Sure, many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and what made him tick - not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters.If you don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then you simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. Good Characterization of Stalin, Bad History
In the past, apologists for Stalin (including many of his victims) said that Stalin was good, but he was surrounded by bad people.This film turns this on its head saying that Stalin was bad, but he was surrounded by good people.Both of these are wrong--the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution and the leaders of the USSR in the period following the revolution were all up to their necks in blood. Robert Duvall gives an excellent portrayal of Stalin, emphasizing that he, unlike his ranting partner in mass murder Hitler, was soft-spoken and basically uncharismatic.Duvall correctly does not use a "Russian" accented English because Stalin spoke Russian with a heavy Georgian accent.Having said this, the historical aspects of the film are very poor.First of all, Maximilian Schell's portrayal of Lenin is way off base.The Old Bolsheviks like Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin, Ordzhonikidze and Kirov are shown to be basically well-meaning people who got trapped in Stalin's web.This is untrue, they were all involved in mass terror, justifying it in the name of a "higher good".In Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago", he points out what a pathetic man Bukharin really was and how he so freely shed tears for the injustice committed to his person, and yet he had no pity on the millions of others who suffered.At the end of the film, Khruschev says that Stalin's crimes ("the millions" he liquidated) had to be accounted for, whereas,in reality,he himself took an active role in the Great Terror.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

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Reviews (11)

Older VHSvs new DVD
Buyer beware! The newer DVD set of this FABULOUS series is not up to the quality of this VHS edition.The DVDs are made by the History channel, and the sound quality is awful. This older VHS version, produced by New Line features (although on tape) has a much finer sound quality and even the video isn't that bad, compared to the lousey transfer of the DVDs. Hopelessly Old Fashioned
Once considered one of the greatest TV documentaries ever made, no one under the age of fifty is going to be able to sit through this overblown, hoaky collection of war footage.The narration is so overdramatic it's almost laughable, like the propaganda films made during the war to increase morale.Roger's score is great music, but it's just too prominant and often completely inappropriate (like the cheerfull flute music as Hitler marches into Paris). "Victory at Sea" -- A Victory to See
Probably the most extraordinary documentary of World War II ever produced for television, the original 26 episodes of "Victory at Sea" have been collated into six VHS tapes.To own the original 26 volumes on individual tapes is a collector's treasure indeed.Virtually impossible to find in that format and, if you can find it, good luck on the price!Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. TV Shows    4. War Documentaries   

Editorial Review

All the confusion, pain, despair, and even hope of the men and women who served in Vietnam is captured in Read more

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Reviews (55)

Powerful - a CAN'T MISS or MUST SEE movie for educational & historical purposes/values
Being a 5 years old boy living in Saigon (a peaceful but lively city even in war time) in 1972, I hardly noticed that the country was at war. If not for the facts that my father was an ARVN officer, news war footages on TV everyday, and once in a while seeing tanks & soldiers roaming & patrolling the countrysides, I wouldn't have thought or reminded of how much destructions the VN war brought to Vietnamese/US civilians, soldiers and their families.
It touched me deep within my soul.
In 11th grade, my history teacher showed this to us in class.It is one of the most unforgettable documentaries I've seen in my life.If you are not touched by this movie, you must have no heart and soul.A dark chapter in this country's history.Have we as a nation learned any lessons or will we continue to fight one unnecessary war after the next?This tearjerker of a film can be seen for free on google video.

Unforgettable Depiction of Vietnam
In the mid-nineties, when I was a high school student, my A.P. English teacher showed us clips from this movie as part of a weeks-long unit entitled war.Simply hearing the emotionally-laden words and viewing the clips of these young soldiers moved many of my classmates, not excluding myself, to tears.Almost a decade later, with the feelings and images still in my mind, I came online to order the dvd.The second viewing was as equally moving as the first.The ending is especially potent.An excellent addition to anyone's personal collection of media related to war/Vietnam/war literature. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

The Survivors of the Shoah (Hebrew for Holocaust) Foundation grew out of Steven Spielberg's research for his film Read more

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Reviews (5)

A Teacher's Dream
This sad but powerful video is a must-have for any English or History teacher dealing with the Holocaust.I *do* agree with many Holocaust survivors who urge teachers to NOT begin their units with such a film, but to use it as a tool that complements a balanced discussion of this horrific time period.I begin my unit with a study of poems from the book, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," recommended by another teacher, and then proceed to this video.Finally, we read the book, "Night," by Elie Wiesel.I feel all the first-hand accounts really hit home the reality of the time, as well as the need to be wary of recurrences in such hatred today.

IF THIS TOPIC INTERESTS YOU....
This was an excellent movie...If you are interested in this topic, you should check out the critically acclaimed books of Dorit B. Whiteman(she is a Holocaust survivor herself as well as a pysychologist): "The Uprooted", a classic which insightfully examines how some Jews (including many Kindertransport members) managed to miraculously escape Nazi occupied countries and describes the emotional aftermaths of their ordeals, and the more recent "Escape Via Siberia", which tells the dramatic story of a Polish boy who surived exile in Siberia and joined the only Russian Kindertransport.

A Teacher's Point of View
I am a 6th grade teacher and I teach the Holocaust to my students.This video is one resource tool that I use.It is quite powerful and the students get so much out of it.Through accounts of survivors, drawings, paintings, and vivid footage, we are taken through step by step the horrorof the Holocaust and how it happened, from pre-occupation all the way until they day the war was over. The stories are fascinating, the visual images horrifying. This video is intense, but not on the "sickly" level of "Night and Fog." However, if you are interested in this subject, I strongly suggest getting your hands on this movie. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Often hailed as one of the greatest documentaries of all time, Read more

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Reviews (23)

The proper way to make a documentary....
This is the way a great documentary is supposed to be made. This film came at a time when documentaries were few and far between, it remains riveting for every minute of its 251 minute length. It succeeds by telling a coherent story as well as an enthralling one. Most documentaries these days throw everything at you (in a hasty, sloppy manner), and load up their films with endless "talking head" shots.Then when they're criticised for it, they come up with the usual adage "it's up to the viewer to decide.". While the ultimate judge is the viewer, this is not a reason for a "cut and paste" approach to the film. This approach removes the narrative flow from many recent documentaries. This film tells its story so well and brilliantly, like a grand novel, and illuminates you on the Vichy government, and how it was really like to live and how complicated it is to live under an occupation.There are some historians here and there, but the film deals mainly with those who lived and fought the Nazis, those with the most at stake.That's one of the reasons the film is so riveting.It comes across as human, something many documetaries miss entirely.It's a great film.Its length means nothing, because you're never bored.A must...
Stellar History.
Never in my life have I seen a film dedicated to the subject of Vichy France. I had long read about it but knew very little about the official pronouncements of the collaborationist government. I assumed that The Sorrow and the Pity was strictly a documentary about the French resistance, but was pleasantly surprised by its depth. It describes the Vichy of Petain and Laval quite thoroughly. You may recognize some of Ophuls' interviewees from The World at War (such as Edward Spears), but the stand out individual here was the fellow who volunteered for the SS. I assume he served in the Charlemagne outfit. Frankly, I was surprised he was alive and actually showing his face. His point that the slaughter of 1,600 French sailors by the English was a motivating force for him to join the Germans was something I would have never considered. It seems inconceivable back then for the French to have even hesitated siding with anybody other than England--given the competition--but it is clear that Anglophobia was rampant after "the rout" of May 1940. The most sensational thing about this film is the footage of the collaborationists. It seems as if modern history has made great attempts to cover up just how much the citizenry backed Petain (at first) and looked sympathetically to the Nazis. The speeches, the newsreels, and the photos are incredibly valuable and terribly interesting- especially if you're a history buff. I'd rank this one right up there with Hotel Terminus.

Insightful and penetrating
Let me say immediately that this movie requires some upfront investment: patience, attention, and sympathy. It's not easy to sit for four hours and view "news" that's sixty years old. But once you get past the initial impediments, what you get is a clear window into events that are themselves clear windows into human motivations and their consequences. Ophuls examines one city, and examines how collaborators and resistance fighters played lethal chess. He interviews and probes. What emerges after the four hours is a weird sensation that you were actually present at the interviews--you WERE the camera--and that's the highest praise anyone can give to a documentary.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - French    2. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    3. Movie   

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Reviews (17)

NOT UP TO THE STANDARD OF DOWNFALL BUT PRODUCED 30 YEARS EARLIER

The Most RIDICULOUS Portrayal of Hiter Ever
Having watched the four "bunker" movies (Inside the Third Reich, The Bunker, Downfall and Hitler: The Last Ten Days) I can say beyond a doubt that this is not only the briefest, but the worst of the lot. If Hitler with a British accent doesn't turn you off the lame performances from the rest of the cast will. The script is 90% fiction with Hitler saying one moronic thing after another that he never actually uttered or doing things that never really happened, such as Eva committing suicide after she and Adolf have an argument. Pure fiction. About 10% of this film is old archival footage which serves only to slow down the story and waste valuable time when it is already in very short supply and needed to explain a quite complicated story. Without having read any of the books about the last days of Hitler ("The Bunker" being the best) the average viewer will learn very little about the final days of Hitler from this film and will probably just end up being quite confused. Among many things it was almost impossible to pick out who the characters were among the many actors running about in two hours of general confusion. If you really want to understand what the final days of Hitler were like and need to do so in a film I'd check out "Downfall" or "The Bunker". "Downfall" is probably the best but requires patience as it is only available in German language. For those of you with less patience go with "The Bunker". "Inside the Third Reich" is also a great film although it covers the complete life of Albert Speer, not just the bunker and Hitler. Whatever you do, do NOT pay some preposterous price for this garbage movie.

The Death Rattle of an Empire
'Hitler: The Last Ten Days' is the oldest of the three best known films of Hitler's final days, spent in an underground bunker as the Soviet army deals the final death blow to the Third Reich in late April and early May of 1945.The three films beg comparrison as many contain almost the exact same scenes since in one way or another they all take advantage of the same eyewitness accounts.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

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Reviews (21)

Russia's two wars.
This very fine PBS broadcast details Stalin's War against the Russian People and the German War against the Soviet Union.It seeks to detail these two wars and how it combined cost the Soviet Union 45 million people.Why does it matter?Because in today's world, the Germans are scorned for what they did to the world, but very little is said about what Stalin did to the peoples of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.That is why it matters and why this film series shows Stalin and his henchman for what they really were.This film is not for the weak of heart, as it shows some very disturbing scenes and talks about some very revolting subjects.I watched in amazement as people gloated over a person being hanged.
The Best!
I learned so much from this series! You will want to keep it forever so you can watch it periodically. There is so much info here you will have to watch it more than once to catch it all. The creators of this series really tell it like it was.

EXCELLENT!Defintely Worth the Money!
As a teacher of history I can say with a high degree of certainty that this is THE BEST historical documentary I have come across.Here in North America we tend to have the opinion that we saved Europe on D-day; in fact, 80% of the Nazi casualties were inflicted on them by the Red Army.This tape goes some ways in addressing the historical imbalance that we see.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. TV Shows    4. War Documentaries   

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Reviews (3)

" 'War Dogs' is an Unforgettable Learning Excperience"
I am a seventh grade English teacher and every year my classes study a Veterans Day unit.This video teaches an aspect of the humanity of the American soldier that nothing else I can present teaches. This video is compellingly compassionate towards treatment of animals in general, and specifically towards each of the featured dogs and their handlers in Viet Nam.Many of my students weep during the viewing of the video and no matter how many times I show it, I am always moved to tears.This video is so well loved it "disappeared" this year and I am frantic to replace it. I simply cannot teach the Veterans Day unit again without the slant this video provides, demonstrating graphically the emotional toll the dog handlers paid and the homage they continue to pay, these many years later, to the dogs who accompanied them in the jungles of Viet Nam.This video is tremendously AWESOME.

War Dogs
After watching this program on the Discovery Channel I have to own a copy of this vidoe.Very moving video,I have watched many war documentaries but have never seen one that honored the War Dogs.I had no idea what animportant roll Dogs played in saving many lives during the Vietnam War. Excellent, emotional piece of work.

War dogs will make you hug your dog and cry for all lost.
After watching War Dogs, I snuggled with my 3 dogs and cried for hours for the brave K9's and their handlers.This was a very informative video, but it also captured the essence of why a handler and dog bond so well. Excellent work! ... Read more

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Reviews (9)

Desert Version of Where Eagles Dare
Yet another motion picture vehicle for Richard Burton to play commando and destroy the Nazi war effort in North Africa.Burton's character is very similar to the part he played in WHERE EAGLES DARE, and later reprised in THE WILD GEESE.Burton goes behind enemy lines to destroy Italian coastal artillery on the Libyan coast.The mission goes awry. Burton is forced to come up with an alternative plan that includes the destruction of the Afrika Korps fuel reserves using an ad hoc group of POWs. For the love of all that is good do not see !
My friend gave this DVD to me, Raid On Rommel with Sir Ricard Burton
An explosive film Read more

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Reviews (25)

Fun production, but the picture was too blurry to watch.
I bought this version to augment our homeschool study of Julius Caesar because it had so many actors whom I recognized.But right from the opening credits, I could not read the blurry titles or names, and I eventually gave up because my eyes got tired from squinting in an unconscious effort to try to bring this hopelessly poor-quality film into focus.I wondered if it was a pirated copy.On the other hand, what I saw of it was just what I wanted: vintage actors trying their hand at a kind of acting I have rarely seen most of them do.I was expecting a fine performance from John Geilgud, and was not disappointed.Diana Rigg was reasonable as Portia. Robert Vaughan's excellent Casca was a very pleasant surprise, quite a change of pace since the last time I saw him he was the Man from U.N.C.L.E. As for Jason Robards, he and Shakespeare should just avoid each other;Robard's performance was wooden and his lines delivered in a flat voice. Still, what I saw of it was good, nostalgic fun, and I truly regret having to return the DVD; but in the end, I could not watch it because of the poor quality of the filming.

Terribly Miscast
This is a very lifeless production of Julius Caesar. Jason Robards is monotone and Charleton Heston rants and raves without ever parting his teeth.It is Planet of the Apes in Roman togas.
Lead Performance Rotten as Hell
But the rest of the movie is good.It doesn't have the severity of the Brando version by Mankiewicz, with tough old Louis Calhern as Caesar and Satanic Edmond O'Brien as Casca.That was in a stark, nearly noir black and white--even the red hair of Mankiewicz' leading ladies Deborah Kerr and Greer Garson was muted to a silvery gray that served them ill.In this sixties rendition, the colorful hills of Rome call back fond memories of Zeffirelli's stagings of ROMEO and TAMING OF THE SHREW.Unfortunately the DVD gives us an inadequate and misleading account of most of the colorful setups, which on screen were a beauty photographed by Ken Higgins, the man who brought us Swinging England with his location work on GEORGY GIRL and DARLING.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Action Heroes    3. Horror & Suspense    4. Thrillers   

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Editorial Review

An examination of the relationship between political power and personal conscience, Joseph Mankiewicz's traditional Read more

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Reviews (26)

NOT ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT!!!
Along with "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "King Lear," "Julius Caesar" remains one of my favorite tragedies of William Shakespeare. (With "Coriolanus" not so far behind.) This play of Shakespeare's and (this move for that matter) was what got me into Shakespeare in the first place, and later an English Major in college. Like I said, this is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and this movie in no way whatsoever falls short of the book. It was truly a blessing to get James Mason (Brutus), John Gielgud (Cassius) and Marlon Brando (Mark Antony) together. This movie (with virtually no special effects) shows that it takes good directing, good actors, and a good script to make things work. Some of you probably know that this was the first play of Shakespeare's to be performed at the Globe Theatre. Moving on to the material at hand, this play repesents moral ambiguity in a political setting. We meet Cassius and Brutus. Cassius is not happy with the fact that the ambitious Julius Caesar is to be crowned, and the flawed, but still virtuous Brutus reluctantly agrees to take part in the conspiracy to assasinate Caesar. Like in the play, we meet Mark Antony (Brando) and he seems insignificant. But he will later prove very significant. We only meet Calpurnia (Caesar's wife) and Portia (Brutus's wife) briefly. But they do make the most of their one scene. For that matter, even the Soothsayer who only has a minor part does well. (Perhaps good acting often means making the best of even a small part.) As most of you know, around the halfway point Julius Caesar meets his fate, and Louis Calhern portrays the famous line: "Et Tu Brute? Then fall Caesar" well. Marlon Brando is nothing short of phenomenal when he appears to make peace with the conspirators and then reveals his real feelings in the famous" "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war" passage. The naive (but still likable) Brutus delivers his convincing funeral passage well. Unfortunately for him, Mark Antony's counterspeech is nothing short of hypnotic. (One of the best things about this play is that rather than good guys and bad guys, we have 3 major characters with 2 opposing views, and we can be lead into sympathy and understanding with either of them.) Despite the limited resources of the time, Louis Calhern's ghost of Caesar is frightening and effective. This leads to the final confrontation between Brutus and Cassius versus Octavius and Mark Antony. (For the record, at this point in time, Brutus and Cassius DID hold the advantage.) The battle where Antony crushes Cassius is so well done in that (1) it shows Antony's stategy, (2) it is well done without excess blood or special effects, and (3) it DOES NOT glorify war. It DOES in fact show war as the ugly and repulsive thing it is. Despite Cassius's faults (possibly through the good acting of John Gielgud), we are moved into sympathy for him when he meets his fate. (For the record, Mike Ansara, the servant of Cassius who is with him to the end would play a sympathetic Klingon Captain in "Star Trek's" 'Day of the Dove' and would be the voice of Mr. Freeze in the animated Batman series.) And James Mason continues his phenomenal performance of Brutus right up to the end. As in the play, the crowning touch is the respectful eulogy Mark Antony gives to Brutus, and Marlon Brando more than delivers. While I fear that some movies like a recent and really garrish "Hamlet" would have had Shakespeare crying in his grave, this production of "Julius Caesar" would do William Shakespeare proud.

Sic Semper Tyrannus
James Mason, John Gielgud and Edmond O'Brien carry the day here in this largely marvelous film adaptation of Julius Caesar; to my mind, Shakespeare's greatest play.All three put their vast stage experience to work, and in particular Gieulgud's reading of Casca's complaints about Caesar's ascension is hypnotically powerful.All three are far more eloquent than Marlon Brando, who looks a little uncomfortable as Marc Antony and doesn't quite capture the two-sidedness of the fighting voluptuary who sees no reason he shouldn't step into Caesar's shoes.Louis Calhern is miscast as JC but gave rise to one of Hollywood's great anecdotes.Calhern volunteered to lie-in as Caesar's corpse during Antony's funeral oration and said after one take, "Can we do that again?I wasn't very good."Hollywood's byzantine union rules for stage extras hampered the filming of the battle scenes so thoroughly that this was the last time such a scene was ever shot in California.

I call him "The Beard" (see below)
Next time I review Midsummer Night's Dream remind me to instead rant a bit about people who call it Midsummer's Night Dream and completely ignore any other intelligent comment on that great play. Bard, shmard, who gives a rat's patoot? That whiny review wouldn't cut in in "scholarly circles" whatever the hell those are in this age. We're lucky anyone refers to him at all, even as "Billy."
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

If anything defined the 20th century as the age of anxiety, it's the cold war with its ultimate no-win nuclear endgame. While conflicts in Korea and Vietnam dragged on, providing the traditional images of modern warfare, some of the conflict's most dangerous battles were invisible--tactical, intellectual, and fought primarily in the minds and war rooms of U.S. and Soviet leaders: Kennedy, Krushchev, Castro, Kissinger, Gorbachev, and Reagan. This 8-volume, 24-episode series, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, is a comprehensive history that examines the key events of the arc of the Soviet Union, from its birth to its fall, and provides a thorough analysis of what was going on behind closed doors. Informed by the stories of 500 eyewitnesses--from citizens and soldiers to historians and statesmen--and strengthened by painstaking reconstruction of archival historical film footage, CNN's Read more

Features

• Box set
• Black & White
• Closed-captioned
• Color
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Reviews (15)

Wonderful set!....Get it now because you will never see it properly released
This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best documentary I have ever seen on the Cold War, but it will never be released on DVD, at least not for the forseeable future, much to the chagrin of many.