Product Details

• Region: All Regions
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000I6M5C2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,709 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Idealist John Wickliff Shawnessy (Montgomery Clift) drifts away from his high school sweetheart Nell Gaither (Eva Marie Saint) and enters into a passionate, but loveless, marriage with Susanna Drake (Elizabeth Taylor) a wealthy New Orleans belle. But John soon learns that Susanna's mother died in a lunatic asylum and it becomes apparent that Susanna has inherited her family's curse for she tricked him into marriage. Frustrated with life, John leaves home by enlisting in the Northern Army and fights in Tennessee and Georgia during the terrible and brutal Civil War where he does some soul searching for himself and explores his path in life to what may lay in store for him should he return home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Go with This Version, June 20, 2007

By	gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Find the Laser Disc (General release version) or VHS (restored roadshow version) in Widescreen or Full Frame. The stereo sounds great on all these versions. There is something very magical about RAINTREE COUNTY. It truly is a place of the mind where you return to it once you have seen it. I have been watching this film over and over again ever since I saw it while I was in High School. Clift's performance, torn almost into two personalities because of the accident he had during the shooting (which changed the structure of his face) haunts this film as does Elizabeth Taylor's twisted performance of a woman on the edge of insanity. It's almost like a metaphor of the Civil War itself, a country torn in two, brother against brother. Johnny Greene's score is an outstanding achievement for this composer with its beautiful flowing passages that embrace the viewer with a haunting passion. It too stands as a metaphor for all that is beautiful in the world yet intrigues us with many mysteries that are envisioned in the mind by we who inhabit this beautiful land. If only now we could get an official first rate DVD from the MGM library. That DVD seems as elusive as the Raintree itself. Standing before you stands a seeker who has yet to find.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waiting for the Good Version..., January 4, 2008

By	R. Gawlitta (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Elizabeth Taylor is a great actress, as her career has confirmed. Let's not forget that she started out as a child star, and is one of the few who have grown into a successful adult film career (not forgetting Natalie Wood, Dean Stockwell, Roddy MacDowell, Judy Garland). "Raintree County" was her 1st Oscar nom, and for the following 3 years, one of the few to receive 4 consecutive noms. I saw this film in its initial release when I was 8 years old and it fascinated me. In subsequent viewings, I learned of the history in making the film, and I still think it's wonderful. There were major set-backs during the filming, especially Monty Clift's disfiguring accident, but the resulting film works for me. I'd heard that a 50th anniversary edition was on the horizon, but it's now 2008 and none has appeared. D'ya think this film will ever be given proper treatment? Many great, classic films are still awaiting DVD release (The Human Comedy, The Uninvited, Summer & Smoke), while there's pure garbage being turned out ad nauseum. I'm currently disappointed.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a buried title, April 5, 2007

By	Gerard Dessere (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

MGM does not seem to have much of an interest releasing this title .We therefore have to fall back on an asian bootleg which meanwhile is perfectly all right .Not everything comes out on dvd so we have to wait for an authoritative edition of this film .