2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Is A Very Depressing Bleak Movie!!!, June 6, 2005
This review is from: Arch of Triumph [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This movie stars Anthony Hopkins as Doctor Ravic and is set in Pre World War Two France.Dr. Ravic is a surgeon who smokes way too much and drinks endless glasses of Calvados. Due to a traumatic experience he has become an Emotional Cripple who seeks anonymity and solace from a bottle. He then meets up with Lesley-Anne Down who is contemplating suicide.Dr. Ravic is so messed up in the Emotional Department that he can only tell her he loves her after she is dead!!! Gee. Like most women I am sure she would have rather have heard those words while she is still alive!!! I think Doctor Ravic should enrol in a 12 Step Programe for alcoholics.I give this movie 5 stars because Frank Finlay steals the show playing Boris who is Ravic's best friend and drinking buddy.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Triumph!, June 12, 2008
This review is from: Arch of Triumph [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In Paris, before the Nazis penetrate into the city, an Austrian refugee doctor falls in love with a mysterious woman. The 2nd World War isn't the best environment for romanticism ... Written by Kornel Osvart {kornelo@alphanet.hu}
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Watch it to see Anthony Hopkin's performance, February 1, 2003
This review is from: Arch of Triumph [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I found this film unique in that it really gave the sense that it was 1939...I mean it was almost as if the film had been made within twenty years of that time since the settings seemed so authentic. I really felt as if this film was much older than it was...almost as if it were the first Arch of Triumph done in the 40's.
Slow moving film...without the depth of character development usually found in Hopkin's performances, but still you see the potential there. I found his performance good--but stifled by a lack of room for him to express his brilliance and show the fine actor he is.
Having said that, his character does convey a tortuous array of emotions due to horrible experiences resulting in a need for justice, and a reluctance to open again to love...Hopkins conveys this psychological aspect well through his performance superbly...although the film did not provide him the opportunity to get as in depth as he often does in the majority of films I have viewed with him.
I would not recommend this film as highly as I would his other films, but again, it was most interesting to see an early performance...and the same voice, eyes, smile and ability to communicate without words that he is known for.
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