Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Ray Milland
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: September 2, 2003
• Run Time: 123 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783230400
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,200 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Reap the Wild Wind" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

John Wayne was in the early stages of superstardom when this lavish Cecil B. DeMille adventure was produced in 1942, so it's interesting to see the Duke in a heroic supporting role as opposed to the commanding one. Here he's on equal footing with Ray Milland in the romantic lead; they play a pair of dashing yet wildly different characters who've both fallen for a feisty Southern belle played by Paulette Goddard. It's 1840 on Florida's Key West, and while Wayne plays a daring seaman eager to command a brand-new steamship, his ambitions are hampered by his daredevil reputation and the ruthless profiteering of a salvager (Raymond Massey) who preys on ships that are routinely wrecked in the Key's rocky coastal waters. Milland plays the dapper gentleman who can decide Wayne's future, but Wayne's competitive edge leads to a progression of apparent betrayals and shifting allegiances. Ultimately, both men cast aside their differences to seek justice on the open sea, where an underwater encounter with a giant octopus threatens to bury them both in a watery grave. Providing spectacle and romance as only DeMille could serve it up, this blustery adventure has its share of corny dialogue and obligatory crowd-pleasing action, but that's all part of the movie's considerable charm. It's like Gone with the Wind on the open sea, with the high-spirited Goddard (who had been a candidate for the role of Scarlett O'Hara) holding her own with her chest-thumping costars. DeMille fills his frame with delightful characters and background business, spicing up the story with just enough humor and hokum to offset the movie's forgivable flaws. Presented in glorious Technicolor that's been flawlessly preserved on DVD, the film earned Oscar nominations for its cinematography and costumes, and its still-exciting climax earned an Oscar for Best Special Effects. All in all, this is rousing Hollywood entertainment from the peak years of the studio system that DeMille had dominated for decades. --Jeff Shannon.

Product Description

REAP THE WILD WIND - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Stock Character Movie in Glorious Technicolor!, March 31, 2005

By 

Michael Ziegler (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reap the Wild Wind (DVD)

This movie is based on Thelma Strabel's story that first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and DeMille had the story published in book form by Triangle publications in 1942, when the film came out! It concerns the state of the United States one hundred years prior. The subject is about ships foundering off the Florida Keys and salvage profits to local compaines who take 50% of the cargo value. Of course this leads to corrupt practices where ship captains are bribed to deliberately wreck their ships on the shoals in exchange for something on the side. The movie is as one previous reviewer has so admirably stated "Gone With The Wind" on the sea. It is a movie that shifts between barely civilized Florida and "Gentlemenly" Charleston, South Carolina. The movie is deliberately stocked with crazy characters that are memorable and funny. This is of course, the old south and slaves are everywhere and speak and act accordingly. There are also idiotic southern belles and rich eccentrics along with a few great performances. A standout is Raymond Massey as "King Cutler", the worst of the salvage pirates. There are also looney sea captains that remind you of Popeye the Sailor and the film is FULL of Sea Jargon and terminology that will make you laugh. The two main stars, Wayne and Milland are good and the climax scene in the encounter with a giant squid in their diving suits makes for the stuff of hollywood legend. DeMille's method of working with a hugh cast also does well in this movie. The only problem being the background scenery, which reminds you of cheap movies where a guy is driving in a car and you see "road film" in the background. Some of these scenes are cheesy and DeMille uses multiple backgrounds in some of the situations to make the scene seem bigger than it really is. If you like stock characters, this movie is full of them! From bald headed thugs with rings in their nose that don't speak but grunt to typical mammies and characters that today would be played by Robin Williams! The movie is VERY colorful and wonderfully preserved in Technicolor which is worth the price of admission. Consider this as entertainment and you will be pleased. The DVD also contains the original trailer with commentary by DeMille at the beginning of the trailer explaining what he tried to accomplish.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer good fun old fashioned entertainment., November 19, 1999

By 

Ginge "T." (Sydney) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reap the Wild Wind [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film is lovely to look at. It is shot in typical DeMille fashion with the spectacle and action scenes given more importance than the stars of the film. How I wish Mr. DeMille had a few more close-up shots of the actors, especially Ray Milland. Ray as usual displays that magical charm and wonderful wit in a role that would otherwise make lesser actors fade into insignificance when up against the standard macho-hero character rival of John Wayne. This film is great escapism, and very fun to watch. The colour photography is quite beautiful. All in all a very satisfying film full of humour, romance, and action. My only real complaint is the fact that the marketing of the video bills John Wayne and Susan Hayward above Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard, when they were actually the main stars as evident in the opening credits of the film.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Film Surprised Me, November 22, 2001

By 

Queen of Swords "jsabrina" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reap the Wild Wind (DVD)

I enjoyed this film more than I expected to. Another reviewer called it "predictable" but I was surprised several times. Paulette Goddard is enjoyable as the spunky heroine who expects too much of John Wayne's ship captain and not enough of Ray Milland's gentleman lawyer. I too kept expecting John Wayne to display his legendary heroism, but this movie casts him in the role of the weaker man, one led to disastrous decisions through a combination of pride and stubbornness.

The supporting cast, including a young Robert Preston, provide solid backing to the leads, which is always nice. The sets and costumes are beautiful. The pace is brisk, and I never got bored.

The film won a special effects Oscar, and I'm sure the climactic underwater sequence thrilled original viewers -- but I found the rubber giant squid more silly-looking than scary, and its use as a plot device unsatisfying.