Product Details

• Actors: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, Ronald Colman
• Directors: George Sidney, John Cromwell, Peter Ustinov, Raoul Walsh, Richard Thorpe
• Writers: Alexandre Dumas père
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: March 6, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000KJU18M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,844 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The great movie tradition of adapting high-toned novels into star-studded vehicles gets an airing in Warner DVD's Literary Classics Collection, a group of six such pictures. It's a grab bag, but some of this stuff is unmissable. The best film in the box might be the 1937 version of The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope's buckle-swashing tale of a commoner (Ronald Colman) impersonating a lookalike king. This David Selznick production is one of those sparkling examples of the Hollywood heyday of the thirties, in which every cylinder is firing at full speed: buoyant script, luscious black-and-white photography (by the great James Wong Howe), exuberant swordplay, wonderful villainy (take a bow, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Raymond Massey), and a lovely damsel (Madeleine Carroll). John Cromwell directed, although others chimed in. As an adventure picture, it's just about flawless. On the flip side of the disc, the 1952 remake sticks closely to the original--and the formula still works, although the zest isn't quite there. Stewart Granger steps into Colman's shoes, with Deborah Kerr and James Mason in support.

The 1948 version of The Three Musketeers is one of the lesser versions of that swashbuckler; Gene Kelly and Lana Turner leads the cast in a Technicolor-iffic but dramatically underwhelming effort. Raoul Walsh's Captain Horatio Hornblower (1950) delivers thoughtful seagoing strategies, as the British captain navigating gunships and political winds. The movie doesn't have the oomph of the usual Walsh action film, perhaps keyed instead to Gregory Peck's serious presence, but it has a gratifyingly intelligent forward motion. Plus, the Hornblower disc comes with "Captain Hareblower," a Warners cartoon with Bugs Bunny battling Yosemite Sam on the high seas.

The shipboard morality play of Melville's Billy Budd is included here, in the classic 1962 adaptation by director Peter Ustinov (who also plays Captain Vere). Terence Stamp, in his film debut, is the innocent sailor Billy, and Robert Ryan etches one of the all-time portrayals of cold-eyed cruelty as the brutal master-at-arms Claggart. A great conversation piece in the era of the repertory house, the film holds up--and a commentary track with Stamp and Steven Soderbergh provides good stuff on the actor's career start.

The 1949 M-G-M production of Madame Bovary might not please Flaubert purists, but it will impress auteurist fans of Vincente Minnelli. The tale of a wayward small-town wife is infused with Minnelli's swooning grasp of camera movement and décor, and a showpiece ballroom sequence out-duels any Max Ophuls film for swirling dance delirium. Jennifer Jones' alien presence might be a problem for modern viewers, yet her strangeness actually fits the character. This might just be the discovery of the set, which is otherwise filled out with a satisfying batch of vintage cartoons and short subjects. --Robert Horton

Product Description

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 03/06/2007

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIX LITERARY FILM CLASSICS COME TO DVD!, December 15, 2006

By 

Forrest C. Hopson "StarWatcher" (Burnsville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd) (DVD)

"The Three Musketeers" (1948) has got to be the best screen adaptation of the beloved Dumas literary classic. I had all but given up hope to have this on dvd! Gene Kelly is brilliant in the lead roll as D'Artagnan, and petite June Allyson (Little Women (1949) his love interest, Constance. Their comic performance in this classic is one not to be missed! The beautiful Lana Turner and the devious Vincent Price give a touch of elegant charm as the villains. Filmed in gorgeous Technicolor, this MGM jewel is one for the collection!

Also included is the Gregory Peck seafaring tale, "Captain Horatio Hornblower," in which Peck gives a fine performance. In 1807, unflappable Capt. Hornblower (Peck) of the British Navy is sent on a secret mission to divert Napoleon's Spanish allies by sponsoring a megalomaniac's Central American revolution. After a hard voyage, unexpected complications force Hornblower to revise his plans...and play reluctant host to the beautiful sister (Virginia Mayo) of the Duke of Wellington. Sea-battles, remarkable adventures, and a star-crossed romantic interlude follow.

A stellar cast give fine performances in another literary classic brought to film in the 1949 "Madame Bovary." French author Gustave Flaubert (James Mason) is on trial for writing the "indecent" novel "Madame Bovary." To prove that he wrote a moral tale, Flaubert narrates the story of beautiful Emma Bovary, (beautiful Jennifer Jones (Duel in the Sun (1946) an adulteress who destroyed the lives of everyone she came in contact with. The film also stars French actor, Louis Jourdan (GiGi (1958) and Van Heflin (Possessed (1947)

Two versions of the literary classic, "The Prisoner of Zenda" are also included. David O. Selznicks's 1937 version is a classic swashbuckler. Maj.Rudolph Rassendyll, (Ronald Colman) which is Rudolf V's identical distant cousin, is asked to risk his life and impersonate the would-be king. While doing so, his relative is kidnapped before his impending coronation. If Rudolf V isn't present at the ceremony, he will forfeit the crown to his younger brother. Complications ensue when Princess Flavia (lovely Madeleine Carroll) the cousin's betrothed, begins to notice a "personality change" in her fiancé.

The 1952 version of "The Prisoner of Zenda" stars Stewart Granger as Maj Rudolph Rassendyll, and Deborah Kerr as the Princess Flavia. The story is beautifully filmed in Technicolor with Granger and Kerr giving fine performances, especially Granger that excelled in swashbuckling tales such as this and my personal favorite, "Scaramouche (1952).

The sixth and final literary classic brought to film is the 1962 version of "Billy Budd." Billy (Terence Stamp) is an innocent, naive seaman in the British Navy in 1797. When the ship's sadistic master-at-arms (evilly played by Robert Ryan) is murdered; Billy is accused and tried. Great performances by Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Terence Stamp, and especially Robert Ryan, who certainly deserved what he got!

Any serious dvd collector of classic Hollywood films will definitely add these gems to their library and be glad that they did!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diamonds are forever!!, March 9, 2007

By 

Michalis Tapakoudis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd) (DVD)

I ordered this package because of Captain Hornblower and The Three Musketeers, two films that have really marked my childhood memories. I haven't had the chance to see the rest of the films so this package was an excellent chance to do so and also get the two other films that I only possess in worn-out VHS copies.
I have already watched Captain Hornblower and it was as if it was brand new. The quality and sound are of high quality, the colours are better and I also loved the fact that I had the english subtitles available (I always wanted to figure out the "Fire as your guns bare" phrase).
The price is not a bargain only if you compare it with other available box-sets but I would pay even more for this one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 6 GREAT FILMS. GREAT PRESENTATION. GREAT VALUE. BRAVO WB, March 11, 2007

By 

Eric "OhioGuy" (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literary Classics Collection (Madame Bovary (1949), Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Three Musketeers (1948), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 and 1952 Versions), Billy Budd) (DVD)

Like so many other Warner Brothers releases, this set will spoil you. A 5 disc set of 6 great films (2 versions of ZENDA on one disc), beautifully remastered, exquisitely packaged, and selling here on Amazon for a bargain price.

This is one to tell your friends about, because there's something for everyone here. I echo all the positive comments left by others, and underscore emphatically how amazing it is to finally have a proper widescreen BILLY BUDD. The other films in the collection haven't been as hard to see or own as BILLY, but BILLY suffered from being made by a small company (Allied Artists).

Warner rectifies that error now with this great new set, which is a no-brainer purchase for any true cinephile.