Product Details

• Actors: Steve McQueen, Jackie Gleason, Tuesday Weld, Tony Bill, Tom Poston
• Directors: Ralph Nelson
• Writers: Blake Edwards, Maurice Richlin, William Goldman
• Producers: Blake Edwards, Dick Crockett, Martin Jurow
• Format: NTSC, Black & White
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Key Video
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F67S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,044 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another lost gem, October 8, 2002

By 

Benjamin A. Harrison (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soldier in the Rain [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's a shame that this classic is going the way of all things. I don't know if service in the military is absolutely essential to appreciate this film, but those who have served can easily appreciate Gleason's and McQueen's genius in rendering their characters. Both figures are timeless and ever-present in the real military (the military that's generally not reflected in entertainment media because it's simply too real, ordinary and every-day) and Gleason and McQueen play them with dignity and a sensitivity that shows their characters for the ordinary human beings they are. These characters may be less compelling to the average movie-goer than those of Preminger or Spielberg, but they are much more typical of the institution that, for most Americans, exists in peacetime somewhere out there in the backstage of their minds.

One might argue that a movie about street sweepers would be just as relevant. To the degree that most Americans have well developed preconceptions about street sweepers that don't accord with the every day reality of street sweeping in our society, the argument may be justified. But I doubt that's the case. That most Americans have fairly concrete, if uninformed, notions about their standing military is hard to deny. That even informed citizens fail generally to distinguish between the peacetime and wartime institutions is nearly axiomatic (and not a peculiarly American phenomenon).

Nor should Gleason's and McQueen's characters be interpreted as exclusively American stereotypes. Anyone who has served in any professional military - American, Soviet, German, Chinese, French etc - will recognize these characters and appreciate the realism and drama these masters bring to their roles.

Movies like "Soldier in the Rain" (or "The Pawnbroker" or "A Patch of Blue") are evidence of what Hollywood can do when it's not just trying to sell movie sound tracks and sequel rights.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Great Movie, July 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Soldier in the Rain [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I read the other 2 reviews of "Soldier in the Rain" and totally agreed with them. I just wanted to add my opinion - and that is that this movie has universal themes that will appeal to anyone I think. I first saw the film, probably in the 70's when a friend highly recommended it. The characters from Jackie Gleason's seasoned performance to Steve McQueen's innocent youthfulness to Tuesday Weld's sweetness to Tom Poston's pompousness all contribute to a very human story - along with the antagonist soldiers and gentle humor and little tragedies we all encounter along our lives. I highly recommend this great great movie to everyone - it has some wonderful lines and lessons for us all.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Soldier" Never Put Out On DVD? HUH?!, January 29, 2006

By 

Edmond Gauthier (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soldier in the Rain [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Solider In The Rain features:

The best theme Henry Mancini ever wrote.

The best script Blake Edwards ever wrote.

The best directing Ralph Nelson ever did.

The best acting Gleason, McQueen and Weld ever did.

So naturally it's NOT allowed to be put out on DVD.

That's Hollywood thinking for you!

(Or perhaps they've held back on it for this long because they were rightly afraid
that this movie is so good that it would make many people in the film biz today
just give up and find a different line of work.)

UPDATE: We had already lost McQueen in 1980 and Gleason in 1987.
In April 2007 we lost another "Soldier" cast member, Tom Poston.
Yet another reason to save the memory of this fine movie by putting it out on DVD.