Product Details

• Actors: Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Edward Herrmann, John Randolph, Geraldine Chaplin
• Directors: Charles Sturridge
• Writers: Roy Clarke
• Producers: Martyn Auty, Richard Broke, Steve Lanning
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: May 25, 1994
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303073212
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,601 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A superb quintet of older actors give the simple story of A Foreign Field a rich and resonant texture. Amos (Alec Guiness, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Star Wars) and Cyril (Leo McKern, Rumpole of the Bailey) are two British World War II veterans who return to the beaches of Normandy, where they'd come ashore almost 50 years earlier. They run into an American veteran named Waldo (John Randolph, Prizzi's Honor) and a woman named Lisa (Lauren Bacall, The Big Sleep, Dogville) whose brother died on D-Day. Waldo and Cyril have both come seeking the same woman who comforted them when they were wounded--but when they find her (Jeanne Moreau, Jules and Jim, La Femme Nikita), she's not what they remember. Nothing dramatic happens in A Foreign Film--the characters bicker, become friends, and go to graveyards--but in the hands of this group of great talents, small emotional moments seem full and rewarding. This is a sweet and gentle movie that carefully avoids any saccharine sentiment. Also featuring Geraldine Chaplin (Nashville, Talk to Her) and Edward Herrmann (The Cat's Meow, The Paper Chase). --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Movie Perfection, November 11, 2002

By 

Stephen Jordan (New London, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foreign Field [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It is truly a shame that this movie is largely unknown, because it is one of the finer movies I have ever watched. The acting is amazing, and the characters play off of each other brilliantly. I have told others about the movie, and have to warn them that if they are looking for lots of explosions, blood, and guts, that this is not the movie for them. Unfortunately, we have come to expect and even crave that in a war movie. What makes A Foreign Field so great is the fact that the noise and bloodshed are long over, and the movie focuses instead on the memories and core emotions that veterans and their loved ones feel when reflecting on a different time. It is a great movie to watch on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day every year.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great way to say goodbye to Obi-Wan & Rumpole, January 24, 2004

By 

Nagronsky "Nagronsky" (Skagit Valley, Wa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Foreign Field [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I knew nothing about "A Foreign Field" until I saw a bio of Sir Alec Guinness. Growing up lucky enough to be exposed to Sir Alec's Ealing comedies, I felt I should try to score this. Not to mention the fact that the movie co-starred the late, great Leo McKern. I found a used copy via Amazon, & though the ex-rental tape doesn't track well, I'm not disappointed in the least. Sir Alec & McKern portray old comrades returning to Normandy. McKern is right out front, as an irascible, less than charming Rumpolesque figure. Sir Alec's character, Amos, is "retarded", but though we suspect war wounds, we don't get any info along this line until late in the film. The rest of the ensemble cast works amazingly well, even Geraldine Chaplin, who has grated on me in everything since Dr. Zhivago. FDR, excuse me, Edward Herrman, is very good, as are Lauren Bacall, Jeanne Moreau, and John Randolph. The moving look at the return of old soldiers to "a foreign field" behind Sword or Juno beach is reminiscent of ex-private James Ryan visiting Capt James Miller's gravesite in "Saving Private Ryan". I don't know, but I think Sir Alec Guinness was very ill when this was filmed. He says very few words, but his subdued, almost delicate Amos says volumes without verbalizing. This is one that must be brought out on DVD, and just to keep things unanimous, I give "A Foreign Field" 5 stars.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely marvelous film - must buy, October 24, 2005

By 

cc-in-san diego (San Diego, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Foreign Field (DVD)

Was fortunate enough to have taped this when it was shown on PBS' Masterpiece theatre and have anxiously awaited for it to be released on dvd.
truly one of the best to watch over and over again...there are a few light-hearted moments but get your hankies or kleenex out.
the entire cast is simply superb.