Customer Reviews

Adventures of Tartu

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Frequently, when buying either rare Public Domain films or those that simply haven't had (and likely won't) DVD release, one takes one's chances, and often--though not always!--you "gets what you pays for." This DVD is a case in point.

Let's begin at the beginning: It isn't there! Opening titles, yes, but after that AT LEAST THE FIRST FIVE (5!) MINUTES OF THE FILM ARE MISSING! I have a tape from TNT Overnight several years ago which is how I know.

The sound is simply atrocious as if recorded underwater, and I've seen late 1940s TV kinescopes that look better than the print (what there is of it) used for this DVD.

TCM does have a print which I missed when they first showed it. Hopefully, they'll repeat it at some point. Donat made so few films that this exciting WWII drama is very worth having for his virtuoso performance, ably accompanied by the underappreciated Valerie Hobson and undervalued Glynis Johns.

Amazon, take note of "Synergy Archive Series!" If this is an example of their fare, you guys shouldn't bother with it.

As for any other prospective customers: Don't go NEAR it!

I cannot speak to the picture or sound quality of the DVD, because I saw this movie on Hulu.

During World-War-2; Tartu is a British agent who goes on a mission to German-occupied, Czechoslovakia, to blow-up a German chemical factory. Tartu convinces the Germans he is an SS-officer of the Germany's Romanian allies; but at the same time convinces the Czech resistance too; in spite of his telling the Czech-underground he is a British-agent. So, the Czechs are gunning for him, and some German officers are suspicious.

This is good film, because it is realistic. Good acting; good sets; no skimping on the budget; no cutting corners; good story.

Look for a young, Glynis Johns, who played the mother in "Mary Poppins" who is in this film.

I like the movie, and Robert Donat does a great job as usual, but the audio is not that good. At least it is the full version of the movie, as there are others out there that are cut. If you like Donat, I would still get it despite the sound quality.

This is an extremely worthwhile video for viewing for multiple reasons. The performances are top flight. The history portrayed, the costuming, and the sets give one some idea of the real events of the time. The movie was made in England in World War II and gave the audience both comedy relief and a sense of the real seriousness of the Nazi presence. Robert Donat had the right mix of talent and looks and it is a pity his health prevented him from making more movies before his untimely death. Glynis Johns went on to have a fine career after the war. I recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it before and as a valuble addition to any collector's library.

Donat is so brilliant as Jan Tartu, you keep forgetting he's not. Watching this movie in the 21st century, one doesn't understand that Donat's performance played off the stereotype of a primping Romanian officer-- something out of a late 19th century operetta--that audiences would recognize and enjoy when watching this in the Forties. It was a bravura turn, very much part of Donat's extensive repertoire.

What fascinates almost 70 years later, is how well his performance is supported and integrated into this stellar cast. This movie would only be slightly credible were the cast less than first rate: a British explosive expert dropped into Czechoslovakia during WW II where he is to pose as a flunky Romanian chemist, link up with the underground, get a job at a secret weapons plant and destroy it. Could that happen? Yet we are locked in, every step of the way, during reversals, tense identity scans, romance snatched on the fly and a horrendous climax.

It is one of the films I remembered from my first screening, on TV in the 50s, and still await a digital remastering. It's a terrific movie and deserves a better summation than the other review on this page.

Robert Donat/One Of A Kind/Indeed He Was/You Did Not Need Closed

Caption When He Spoke/You Could Understand Every word He Said/

This Was Not One Of Englands A Production/I Would Say It Like Our B Movies Over In The U.S.A.// However Any Movie That Robert Donat Is In/UPGrADES it// The Movie The Adventures Of Tartu Was

Pretty Good And As I Said Just To Watch Him Makes It Truly A1

It Also Goes Under The Title Sabotage Agent And Is Only On VHS/

They Have Not Released This On A Single DVD/However If You Look

Up On Amazon WAR CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK 12DVDS/

ADVENTURES OF TARTU Starring ROBERT DONAT is Listed