Product Details

• Actors: Tom Tryon, John Huston, Burgess Meredith, John Saxon
• Directors: Otto Preminger
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 25, 2003
• Run Time: 179 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007K01W
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,880 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Cardinal" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At once sprawling and intimate, Otto Preminger's coolly observed story of the education of a Catholic cardinal (Tom Tryon) spans 25 years of 20th-century social history, hops from Rome to Boston to Vienna, and confronts abortion, celibacy, and racism along the way. If those issues seem tame today, Preminger turns them into vivid drama in his hero's crisis and triumph of faith. Tryon is rather stolid and stiff, but the supporting cast helps liven scenes: Romy Schneider as a tempting Fräulein, Ossie Davis as an American priest who requests the Vatican take a stand against racism, John Huston's Oscar®-nominated performance as an irascible archbishop. It's a religious epic unlike any other of its time: thoughtful and serious, with a magnificent yet austere sense of composition and a graceful elegance. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

CARDINAL:SPECIAL EDITION - DVD Movie

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A complex, entertaining film that leaves you thinking, January 1, 2004

By 

Stephen J. Teller (Pittsburg, KS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cardinal (DVD)

To be sure, Otto Preminger was inconsistent (compare this with "EXODUS") but he was always interesting. THE CARDINAL is no exception. Covering 20 or so years in the life of Father Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon), the film deals with issues like abortion, racism, religious conversion, degradation, and more. Fermoyle makes some wrong choices(allowing his sister to die; abruptly quitting his leave of absence), and yet you can't hate the guy; he did what he thought was right at the time, though he may regret it. The acting is excellent through and through, and the lack of really big names removes the possible artifice of a star performance. Tryon, Carol Lynley (Fermoyle's doomed sister), John Huston (the intimidating Cardinal Glennon), and Raf Vallone (Fermoyle's friend Bishop Alfeo Quarenghi) stand out, but there are no weak links. Preminger directs with a sure hand, aided by the striking visuals and Jerome Moross's beautiful music. The DVD is the roadshow 70mm 179 minute version with intermission. The bonus DVD contains an interesting documentary, a nondescript 1963 featurette, and a trailer.

Jamie Teller

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Classic, November 2, 2004

By 

S. Doyle (Dublin 6, Ireland Ireland) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cardinal (DVD)

This DVD is a brilliant transfer from the original negative and the film itself deserves its place in any top 100 but being a total religious epic it wouldn,t be considered by some,shame though,because its a fantastic drama,full of emotion and along side "Exodus" is Otto Premingers finest work. The novel was considered impossible to film at the time,but despite some alterations the film still grips. Leave your religious views aside for 3 hours and enjoy a masterpiece

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PRAISE WARNER FOR ANOTHER GORGEOUS TRANSFER!, March 6, 2004

By 

Nix Pix (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cardinal (DVD)

An intercontinental journey spanning nearly 25 years, "The Cardinal" is a masterfully told saga. Otto Preminger directs with his usual adroit perception of the human condition as he tempts the faith of a Catholic cardinal (Tom Tryon) from Rome to Boston and Vienna. Along the way the film tackles such grandiose social issues as abortion, racism, celibacy and Fascism. Co-star John Huston was Oscar-nominated for his role as the fiery archbishop. Catholic priest, Steven Fermoyle (Tryon) returns to his home from taking his vows to discover that his sister, Mona (Carol Lynley) is in love with a Jewish man who is unwilling to give up his faith and that his brother, Frank (Bill Hayes) has abandoned the priesthood. Mona?s obsession to marry leads her to a life of wanton debauchery that results in her death. In the meantime, Cardinal Glennon (John Huston) is determined to drive all of Steven?s false pride from his soul. To this end he sends the young novice to work in a forgotten, frozen parish presided over by the Rev. Ned Halley (Burgess Meredith). When Halley dies, Steven is recalled to Rome where he meets a black southern priest, Father Gillis (Ossie Davis) who has come to ask for aid in fighting racism in his parish. The Vatican denies Gillis? request but Steven does indeed quietly take a leave to administer aid to Gillis? parish. He is attacked and brutally beaten by a sect of good ol? boys and nearly dies. The plot, from this point forward is rather rushed, unworthy of Preminger?s usually sterling attention to pace. One gets the sense that Preminger would have liked another two or three hours to unfold the remainder of his tale which includes having Stephen return to Rome, then travel to Austria to regain is moral center. There he falls in love with Anna Marie VonHartmann (Romy Schneider) who does not know he is a priest. But Steven returns to his love of God, leaving Anna to marry a resistance operator during WWII in Nazi Germany who, unfortunately is discovered and jumps out a third story window to his death. From there Steven barely escapes Nazi persecution to once again return home to his family. Warner delivers another wonderful transfer. Though the colors have dated somewhat, this 1963 classic sparkles in a nicely balanced transfer. Over all, colors are vibrant. Blacks are deep. Contrast and shadow levels are fully realized. There appears to be little in the way of age related artifacts. Digital anomalies are equally absent. The audio is 5.1 and captures the essence of early stereo recording.
Extras include the masterful feature length documentary on Otto Preminger, a featurette of the same vintage as the film and a theatrical trailer. "The Cardinal" is an unusual religious epic; legitimate and introspective, bold and magnificent. It is a film of great emotional power and quiet, graceful elegance.