Customer Reviews

The Prize [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Prize is a fast, humorous, suspense story set against the backdrop of the Nobel Prize and the Cold War. A great cast headed by Paul Newman, Elke Summer, Diane Baker, Kevin McCarthy, Leo G. Carroll and Edward G. Robinson in one of his later performances.

Paul Newman plays a once promising author, now writing mysteries under a assumed name, who receives the Nobel Prize for Literature. His curiousity leads him into many embarrassing and dangerous situations. No superhero, he uses his wits to survive.

Rarely seen on TV or mentioned in reviews of Newman's career, it is unexpected pleasure to watch. Set against the glories of Stockholm and in color, it is a feast for the armchair traveller. Get the popcorn ready and sit back and enjoy.

After visiting Stockholm a few times I was very keen to see this film. The location is among the most beautiful in the world.
This film is almost 40 years old, however it still looks incredible.
Mark Robinson's direction is very Hitchcock, and in my opinion works better than Newmans and Hitchcocks very own "Torn Curtain" effort.
One of Newmans top ten if you ask me, it's just a shame that it doesn't recieve as much recognition as it deserves. Great fun.

If you're thinking to order this DVD---be VERY careful! I did, and instead of the 1963 movie with Paul Newman I received a DVD-R with a totally different movie. Both the disc's label and jacket show Paul Newman's image, but still the movie is another one.

Not the Nobel Prize but only a movie about snow. The film which was expected was packaged incorrectly. It is not the 1963 movie but another about a prize for skiing. Be warned!

Like the two previous reviewers have stated, this movie is not as advertised. I remember the Paul Newman movie to have been good cold-war entertainment. The DVD Amazon sold me contained what looked like a 1970's TV movie having a guest appearance by Chuck Wollery (maybe it is worth watching, after all)! Amazon has put up its usual return hurdles for this piece of junk--even after three customer service emails. I have urged them to credit everyone who bought this item to be credited the $9.99 it cost without the hassle of returning it, but to no avail.

For a Hitchcock knock-off, The Prize is not bad at all. There's an amusing situation (not Lincoln's nostril but the Nobel Prize ceremonies), scenic tours (not of the Riviera but of Stockholm), a gaunt killer (not an imported assassin who knows music but a waiter), a long, terrifying fall (not Madeleine Elster but Paul Newman), a supple blond ice queen (not Grace Kelly or Eva Marie Saint but Elke Sommer) and a dashing hero (not Cary Grant but Newman). And in an odd sort of way, it's Paul Newman who is as much a drawback to the movie as a plus. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed, but the set-up is all established in the first ten minutes of the movie.

Newman plays Andrew Craig, an American author who has run out of steam after two great books. He's been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and has arrived in Stockholm, full of martinis and self-loathing, for the award ceremonies. Craig is on his way to becoming a lush. The Nobel committee has assigned him a keeper, Inger Anderson (Elke Sommer), to keep him out of trouble, away from the booze and to see that he minds his manners. She's not altogether successful. At the hotel, Craig meets Dr. Max Stratman (Edward G. Robinson), an émigré after WWII from Germany who is now an American citizen. Stratman is receiving the Nobel for physics. They chat and agree to meet for further discussion the next day. Craig also meets Stratman's niece, Emily Stratman (Diane Baker). Yet at the next morning's press briefing, where all the Nobel winners have gathered to meet reporters, Stratman acts as if he's never met Craig before. Only we know why; Max Stratman has been propositioned to defect to East Germany...and when he refused, he was abducted and replaced by his twin brother, Walter Stratman, from behind the Iron Curtain. It's not long before Craig catches on that something nasty is happening. Partly out of concern for Max Stratman, partly out of boredom, he sets out to answer the questions that keep popping up in his head. Along the way he finds a body, is pushed off a tall building into an ocean channel and nearly killed by a tugboat, is threatened and then almost run over by a car, finds himself in an eery psychiatric hospital and then, pursued by two killers, in a meeting hall filled with nudists. What can he do but take off his clothes to blend in? At the climax, he finds himself clamoring around the cargo holds of an East German freighter where only he seems to believe the villains have hidden Stratman. And all along he is either helped or hindered, take your pick, by Inger Anderson and Emily Stratman. It's easy to tell who the bad guys are, but not so easy to figure out which of the two women is playing a double game.

While all this is going on, preparation for the Nobel ceremonies is taking place...the receptions, the rehearsals, the getting-to-know the other winners, some of whom turn out to play key roles, especially the two who have won the Nobel for medicine. They dislike each other intensely yet find a grudging friendship when they must work together to save a key character. Best of all is Leo G. Carroll as Count Bertil Jacobson, charged with making sure everything at the ceremony moves smoothly. Carroll, a veteran of Hitchcock films, is droll and understated.

Why is Newman essential to the movie? Because he has star power, and we recognize it as soon as he appears on the screen. Hitchcock was at his best with strong, charismatic actors. Newman provides the same strength here. Why is he also a weakness? Because he's no Cary Grant. The Prize is the same kind of international adventure, romantic and stylish, as are To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest. Where Grant could effortlessly turn irony into amused charm, however, Newman turns irony more often into a kind of petulant sarcasm, especially when he's acting half in the bag. And where Grant and Kelly melted the celluloid, Newman and Sommer don't make many sparks. They're playful, find themselves in compromising positions, smile out a few hopeful double entendres, but it's all just pleasant acting. On the other hand, Edward G. Robinson brings a great deal of authority to his role. There's not much of him in the second half of the movie. In the first half, however, we get to see him as an avuncular, kindly and smart old man, someone we can believe would make a man like Craig become concerned about, and then as a cold-eyed, deliberate and not-so-kind character.

All-in-all, The Prize is a snappy, reasonably fast-paced cold-war adventure, a lot of fun to watch. I enjoy it whenever I see it. I just wish Hitchcock and Grant had made it.

THE PRIZE was one of the first books I read back in 1963 and was later rewarded by the movie being issued. Though the book and the movie vary greatly each is excellent in its own way.

I still have the hardcover book on my shelves, but did not have a copy of the movie, until today when Turner Classic Movies ran the film. I had not seen the film since its release in 1963 but after viewing it today believe it to be just as entertaining now as then. The on-location scenes really add to the movie, especially in the wide screen version, and the color is still very good. The dress and mannerisms, especially Newman's over the shoulder quips and wisecracks, amidst the 'cold war' atmosphere offer a view of a past most of us endured. Both the book and movie are very much marked as a 50's-60's outing. Great to see several very good actors of the past doing what they did best now that so many are no longer with us.

They do not make movies such as this any longer but fortunately we yet have these older movies to watch. I gather from the other reviews that the movie isn't for every viewer, yet most will still enjoy viewing it.

Semper Fi.

Glad to finally have this movie on DVD. Warner Archives did an excellent job with the Remastered version of the 1963 movie starring Paul Newman, newcomer Elke Sommer, and Edgar G. Robinson.

The audio and video transfer is outstanding.

The only special feature is a trailer for the movie.

Interesting footnote is that this movie came from the same screenwriter who gave us North By Northwest.

I bought this import dvd, big mistake, very poor quality, I just hope Warner Bros may bring this out, perhaps in their Archive Collection.

You can read other reviews regarding the quality of this title as a motion picture. I just wanted to convey some information regarding the quality of the video transfer. First I must say that I watched this on a HD video projector on a 92" screen. This would tend to magnify quality issues.

Overall, I gave this 3 stars or a passing grade. The quality was only slightly worse than I have seen on some S-DVD releases from the original studios. Some scenes were actually quite clear, but most suffered from a lack of definition. However, I would think that watching this on a smaller screen could improve that somewhat. Compared to VHS, which is the only way to get this in an authentic Turner-M-G-M/UA release, it generally isn't quite as sharp, but if you'd rather have it on disc (or want to see it in its original widescreen format), this isn't a choice you'd likely regret. Note that this is a letterbox edition and is NOT enhanced for 16:9.

Although this isn't one of Paul Newman's classic films and its certainly isn't one of his best performances, it is a lot of fun to watch (particularly easy to watch is Elke Sommer). I'm at a loss as to why it hasn't been officially released in the US, I would think it deserves to be (I mean, if they can release "Rally 'Round The Flag" ...).

UPDATE: Warner Brothers has released this title as a Burn-On-Demand DVD (available from Amazon). I have viewed it under the same conditions and the quality of this new video transfer is excellent. I would highly recommend the WB, remastered, Region 1, enhanced for 16:9 release over this one. In light of this latest release, I do regret my earlier purchase of this copy.