Customer Reviews

Mortal Storm [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This gripping story begins on the the eve of Hitler being named as chancellor in 1933, in a small town at the foot of the German Alps...and how it affects a non Aryan family, and their courageous friend, a veterinarian, played by James Stewart in a wonderful, warm and winning performance...Maria Ouspenskaya is also memorable in the role of his mother.

It's surprising that this film isn't more well known. It has a fascinating cast, and the story keeps one's interest in every scene. The cinematography is excellent, especially towards the end, in a chase scene on skis.

Sad and tender, intense and so well acted, it's a tale that honors freedom of thought and individuality...and shouldn't be missed.

Frank Borzage's 1940 masterpiece "The Mortal Storm" was one of the very first "Anti-Nazi" films Hollywood has produced during WW2.

Despite the fact that "The Mortal Storm" may seem a little bit dated, if not obscure nowadays (always keep in mind this movie features Jimmy Stewart playing a German small town boy!) it nevertheless tells its story with great careness and even greater characterizations, establishing its director, Frank Borzage, as one of the most underrated filmmakers of all time!

Like so many other Hollywood pros from the golden age, like say Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh or Howard Hawks, Borzage was one of the key directors who deeply felt for the characters in their movies and who were able to tell a story "straight forward", in a very own and unique kind of way.

Borzage was also a master of the "mise en scene": You only have to watch the camera movements in the "taverne" scenes, and/or the "diner" scenes in the professor's house. Especially the last big scene (my favorite in the whole movie!), when Margaret Sullivan's brother realises how evil the seed has already grown, he turns his face aside, walks behind (!) the camera, the camera takes his place and moves slowly through the professor's house, rests from time to time at various objects and interiors, while voice overs from the main characters are reminding us of the story's most significant events that took place earlier in these rooms and these locations (like the diner scene mentioned above, in which Stack asked for the hand of the professor's daughter, and were they first heard of the news that Hitler took over) and of happier days long gone now (the statue that was handed out to the professor as a birthday present through two of his students). These moments are cinema in its purest form. Really mesmerizing! And when Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan were heading for the Austrian border, spirits of the legendary final scenes from Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion" come to mind! This says a lot about Frank Borzage's attitude and that was the league he actually played in.

A chilling and surprisingly effective political drama detailing Germany's transition from a center of European high civilization into the totalitarian paranoia of the Nazi regime. Jimmy Stewart is a free-thinking, kind hearted Everyman, whose best friends turn on him when he refuses Party membership, and whose life and career are destroyed by the people who were once his neighbors and confidants. The sense of horror and surprise at how swiftly things changed is made manifest in this film, which is one of Hollywood's most effective pre-war antifascist propaganda films. Margaret Sullavan plays opposite Stewart, and once again adds a nice touch to her role as the girl he loves, and the daughter of an eminent scientist who runs afoul of the local Nazi fanatics. Robert Stack also appears, so young (and so blond!) that you'll hardly recognize him. A powerful film; well worth watching.

Probably the best movie concerning the rise of Hitler and Nazism ever made. By far, the most compelling performances were that of Jimmy Stewart (Martin Breitner) and M. Sullivan. There are many familiar faces in this film that went on to even greater heights: Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz), Robert Stack (The Untouchables), & Robert Montgomery (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby MD). But to really understand this film you have to understand the director, Frank Borzage. A 2-time Oscar winner (Seventh Heaven, The Bad Girl), he attained high rank in the Masonic Order. A primary axiom of the Masons was their belief in the universal brotherhood of man. The idea that all had value. This themes is very evident in the film. The alpine village depicted here serves as an excellent model relative to what happened in nearly every German home. Although a box office failure, the film serves as perhaps the best commentary ever on the effects of Nazism on the individual German family.

No one who has lived in this century should avoid conducting a serious reflection on whether or not he or she would have had the courage to recognize and oppose trends of profound evilness, within their civilization, had they lived in Nazi Germany prior to World War II. The Mortal Storm provides one with such an opportunity. The film, produced in 1940, is not in any way limited by being mindful of its wartime anti-nazi message. This is melodrama at its finest, no mere propaganda film. The film is set in an alpine, university town in southern Germany near the Austrian border. It opens on the occasion of the celebration of the sixtieth birthday of a universally revered science professor at both his university and later at his home. His three stepsons, although respectful of his humanitarianism, are more swept up by the promises a Nazi Germany holds for their youthful, male vanities. The professor, his wife, his daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan), and family friend Martin (Jimmy Stewart) demonstrate an unhappy skepticism towards this regime, and this becomes the basis for evolving tensions which are not explored by deep philosophy but in melodramatic ways that are not always predictable, and very moving even when you know they're coming. When the nationalistic disloyalties of Martin and Freya become established, they are forced to seek an escape, their romantic interest having been nurtured by their mutual respect for each other's courage confronting the evil of escalating nazi sentiment. The blessing they receive from Martin's mother prior to their departure is one of the most poignant scenes in film history. This wartime film has the rare grace of not demonizing the whole of German culture and tradition for the mass moral insanity that frequently envelops all civilizations and requires a rarefied courage to resist. The English speaking cast does not subtract from the sense of alpine authenticity, and the overriding decency of his character, a Stewart trademark, enables the viewer to ignore Stewart's inability to shed his Midwestern accent for the role. It amuses rather than distracts. Except for Stewart's more famous film, It's a Wonderful Life, melodrama doesn't get any better than this.

No one who has lived in this century should avoid conducting a serious reflection on whether or not he or she would have had the courage to recognize and oppose trends of profound evilness, within their civilization, had they lived in Nazi Germany prior to World War II. The Mortal Storm provides one with such an opportunity. The film, produced in 1940, is not in any way limited by being mindful of its wartime anti-nazi message. This is no mere propaganda film. The film is set in an alpine, university town in southern Germany near the Austrian border. It opens on the occasion of the celebration of the sixtieth birthday of a universally revered science professor at both his university and later at his home. His three stepsons, although respectful of his humanitarianism, are more swept up by the promises a Nazi Germany holds for their youthful, male vanities. The professor, his wife, his daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan), and family friend Martin (Jimmy Stewart) demonstrate an unhappy skepticism towards this regime, and this becomes the basis for evolving tensions which are not explored by deep philosophy but in melodramatic ways that are not always predictable, and very moving even when you know they're coming. When the nationalistic disloyalties of Martin and Freya become established, they are forced to seek an escape, their romantic interest having been nurtured by their mutual respect for each other's courage confronting the evil of escalating nazi sentiment. The blessing they receive from Martin's mother prior to their departure is one of the most poignant scenes in film history. This wartime film has the rare grace of not demonizing the whole of German culture and tradition for the mass moral insanity that frequently envelops all civilizations and requires a rarefied courage to resist. The English speaking cast does not subtract from the sense of alpine authenticity, and the overriding decency of his character, a Stewart trademark, enables the viewer to ignore Stewart's inability to shed his Midwestern accent for the role. It amuses rather than distracts. Except for Stewart's more famous film, It's a Wonderful Life, melodrama doesn't get any better than this.

I'm 36 years old and the first time I saw the move I was 30. Something cought my eye to the station I don't know what. I felt sorry for the families in the show. I thought this couldn't have been what it was like. How people could hurt the ones they say they love. It made me start reading and telling my children on hate and what it can do. After that movie I read and watched documentaries on the subject I'm no expert but I understand more. I think this video should be watched in school so that other can see what happens when a few are let to take contorl and conqure a nation and try to kill of a nation of their own kind. This movie is so gentle and conducted in such a way it makes you think.

"The Mortal Storm" is a movie that predates America's entry into WWII. It is based on a book that was published the year before the war began in Europe. It tells the story of a Bavarian family and their mixed relationship with the Nazi party. Within this family and their close associates, is a mixed opinion of the Nazi party. Some were hard-core adherents and others either ignored or disagreed with its' totalitarian stance. The film suffers somewhat by not exploring the rationale behind the near-fanatical supporters. One day they're classmates and after Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany, they are uniformed thugs. Maybe I missed "The Prenatal Storm" but I found it hard to make the transistion. Oh well, much of Germany, Europe and the rest of the world probably felt the same way. That isn't the point to "The Mortal Storm".

The essence of "The Mortal Storm" is its' excellent depiction of how mob rule can intimidate freedom of speech. Once freedom of speech is repressed, anything can happen. The bullying and coercion came through loud and clear. Although I'm repeating myself, this "overnight" transistion from brotherly love to thumb screws and jack boots, left out a major part of the lessons to be learned from Nazism. That's unfortunate because we, as a world community, cannot speak coherantly about the lessons of Hitler's rise to power. We hear people make comparisons to modern day political issues but those comparisons are quickly denounced as excessively inappropriate. It's true that we have no Hitler/Nazi Party components wielding power in America. but it isn't true that freedom of speech is free from attack. The emergence of "Politically Correct" speech has intimidated a lot of thoughtless and worthless speech out of our national vernacular. Our sense of decency and fairness has helped improve our diversity awareness and that is good. However, the frontiers of Political Correctness have edged into intimidating the serious discussion of a number of moral and politcal issues. Unlike "The Mortal Storm" these things don't happen overnight.

I found myself challenged to determine how much courage I would have had in such times as I was watching. That, I believe, was the point of the movie.

Terrific stirring film that should be put out on DVD along with some of Miss Sullavan's other films like, Cry Havoc, No sad songs for me, Back Street.

My kids love Jimmy Stewart from It's A Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, so based on Amazon customer reviews I brought this one home. I had never heard of it, but we all agree this is a classic movie. Very subtle and interesting themes surrounding this horrible situation. The movie has many terrific performances and overall presents a compelling drama that educated my kids better than most history books ever could.