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Rating:  -
This is a film classic that I tried to find two years ago and was told that it had not been released on DVD yet. I was glad to see that it was released on Aug. 2nd and I ordered it the next day.
Rating:  -
The High and The Mighty may not be the first all-star airline suspense disaster film; that was probably Five Came Back (1939), but it certainly fits neatly between that one and Doomsday Flight as one of the best of the genre before Airport. Wlilliam Wellman's direction is fine, but the cast and Dimitri Tiomkin's score are outstanding. I always remembered this as the one where John Wayne whistles the haunting theme several times during the film (the special features on the DVD include a revelation about that).
The film was unavailable for decades - never released on video (I came across a collector's copy recorded from TV or somewhere for $50 a few years ago, and they wouldn't even guarantee it was complete). So it's about time they released it on DVD, and they did a fine job, too, the video quality looks great and there are plenty of interesting special features.
The plot follows the stories of several passengers and crew aboard a flight from Hawaii to San Francisco when something goes wrong - an engine burns and they calculate they won't make it to land, in any direction. The suspense mounts as the pilot (Robert Stack, best known as Ellott Ness on The Untouchables) plans to ditch in the ocean, but the co-pilot (John Wayne) wants to try to make it by conserving fuel. It turns out the navigator (Wally Brown, who I remember from at least one episode of Perry Mason) made an error and it will be too close to call.
A number of great actors play the passengers, including Claire Trevor (Stage Coach, Key Largo), Larraine Day, Phil Harris (The Jack Benny Radio Program, Goodbye My Lady, The Jungle Book), Robert Newton (Long John Silver in Disney's Treasure Island), John Howard, John Qualen (who appeared in many John Wayne films including The Searchers, The Long Voyage Home, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence), Ann Doran, Paul Fix (also a regular in John Wayne films including Island In The Sky, but better known as Mica in The Rifleman). Other familiar faces in the cast include William Campbell (Trelane on the Star Trek episode The Squire Of Gothos, and other episodes) Douglas Fowley, Regis Toomey, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer (of The Little Rascals - he also appeared in Island In The Sky), William Hopper (Goodbye My Lady, Perry Mason), William Schallert (Flat Top, The Patty Duke Show) and many others.
Rating: -
This is one of the movies I remember from my childhood, sitting in the back seat of the family sedan, at the local drive in. I've been waiting for it to be released on home video for a long time.
The true movie buff will love this 2 disc set, as much for the movie as the extras on the second dvd.
The movie itself will look a little dated to younger viewers. I can't imagine anyone under the age of 40 making any connection to the way things were then. But, if you're a grandparent, you can watch it with the kids, and tell them that, "yes, that really is a view of life then".
The acting is superb! You will finish the film thinking you know the characters intimately. It's a very human movie, and if you can walk away without whistling the theme song, as done by John Wayne, I'll be surprised.
There are many classic movies out there. This is a very good one. I've waited a long time for it to be available. It was worth the wait. Enjoy!
Rating:  -
If ever a Hollywood movie was locked into its period (1954), this is it. "The High and the Mighty" is about passengers and crew aboard a plane in peril from Honolulu to San Francisco. It was produced by its star, John Wayne, who surrounded himself with name actors (among them, Claire Trevor, with whom he acted in John Ford's "Stagecoach," his classic breakthrough). It was based on the best-seller by Ernest Gann and directed by William Wellman right after directing Wayne in Gann's "Island in the Sky." The movie made a lot of money and earned a half-dozen Oscer nods, winning one for its music by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Does it fly today? No. But it is watchable in an oh-no! sort of way. The exposition is clumsy, the dialogue alternates between cliché and corny, the characters are stereotypes and awkwardly introduced, the music is turbulent when Wayne isn't whistling it (yes!), and the special effects aren't anything special. In fact, its great virtue is the appreciation it gives viewers for the advances Hollywood has made in producing potboilers and in technical competence. There's a reason they don't make movies like this anymore. Still, we couldn't have gotten here from there without first having gone there, and the trip back is sometimes campy fun.
Co-pilot Wayne quite literally slaps some sense into pilot Robert Stack, who thanks him for it. Party girl Trevor, taking the red eye in a blue evening gown, flashes a leg garter and flirts with tycoon David Brian; Sidney Blackmer tries to shoot Brian for once flirting with his wife. A troubled physicist comforts aging Jan Sterling, who removes her makeup and orders him to "look at my face" (gasp!) Comedian Phil Harris grins incessantly and fails to calm his hysterical wife. A poor fisherman and a Chinese immigrant are somehow flying first class. Through it all, newlyweds neck and a little boy sleeps soundly. Don't try to fight liking all this. You can't win.
Rating: -
The High and the Mighty is a great Movie, the remake is perfect.
However, there is one problem. The DVD players in Germany are all
region 2 and therefore region 1 does not work and must be played on the computer.
With kind regards
Peter
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starring: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling
directed by: William A. Wellman
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781415708866
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 141570886X
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 02, 2005
Running Time: 148 minutes
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: July 03, 1954
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