Customer Reviews

TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures (Desperate Journey / Edge of Darkness 1943 / Northern Pursuit / Uncertain Glory / Objective Burma)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here are the specifications of the extra features. Note the return of the Warner Night at the Movies that was last seen on the Warner Homefront Collection in late 2008. Also note that Objective Burma is a new release but that there are several new features on this new version.

Desperate Journey (1942) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1942 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Oscar-Nominated Patriotic Short The Tanks Are Coming
Musical Shorts Borrah Minnevitch and His Harmonica School and The United States Army Air Force Band
Classic Cartoon The Dover Boys at Pimento University or the Rivals of Roquefort Hall
Trailers of Desperate Journey and 1942's Murder in the Big House

Edge of Darkness (1943)-directed by Lewis Milestone
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1943 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Musical Short The United States Service Bands
Classic Cartoons Hiss and Make Up and To Duck....or Not to Duck
Trailers of Edge of Darkness and 1943's The Hard Way

Northern Pursuit (1943) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1943 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Wartime Short The Rear Gunner
Musical Short All-Star Melody Masters
Drama Short Over the Wall
Classic Cartoon Hop and Go
Trailers of Northern Pursuit and 1943's The Constant Nymph

Uncertain Glory (1944) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1944 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Musical Short Unted States Coast Guard Band
Classic Cartoons Brother Brat and Russian Rhapsody
Trailers of Uncertain Glory and 1944's The Mask of Dimitrios

Objective, Burma! (1945) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES :
2 Classic Warner Brothers Wartime Shorts
1941's The Tanks are Coming With George Tobias, Richard Travis and Gig Young
1943's The Rear Gunner with Burgess Meredith and Ronald Reagan
Raoul Walsh Profile
Theatrical Trailer
Commentary by Historians Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Frank Thompson
Warner Night at the Movies 1945 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Joe McDoakes Comedy Short So You Think You're Allergic
Classic Cartoon A Tale of Two Mice
Trailers of Objective, Burma! and 1945's Pride of the Marines

All of these films have a World War II theme and all five are very good with the exception of "Northern Pursuit" which is ridiculous and - worse for a Flynn film - painfully slow. There have been some disagreements on what I've seen for extra features on Objective Burma. Some show the commentary as present, some do not. Overall, I'd recommend this set as a buy, especially if you don't already own Objective Burma in some form.

Impressive, absorbing and fundamental film during the Nazi take over in Norway. Lewis Milestone was a great director but when he decided to make a war movie something happened. He was provided by a special spell touch. It's happens the same when John Ford made a Western or Hitchcock a suspense picture. He was possessed by an inner call . There is a Spanish term previously used by Federico García Lorca when he meant that special phenomena. He talked about "to have hobgoblin". And precisely this is the appropriate term designed to L.M.
An efficient cast completes the whole work.

I have been waiting for years for this collection! Next to John Wayne, Errol Flynn was probably the most iconic screen persona of the 'wartime hero', and the screen's greatest swashbuckler made an inspiring spokesperson of allied wartime heroism...until his infamous 1942 rape trial revealed a more flawed, less heroic carouser and womanizer. Warner studio boss Jack Warner would be shocked and pleased that ticket sales for Flynn films didn't decline after the revelations, but Flynn's public image (and personal self-esteem) never truly recovered. So, in a sense, these five films show Flynn at the pinnacle of fame and success, sliding into his tragic decline...

"Desperate Journey" (1942): Aussie co-pilot Flynn's disregard to his captain's orders to remain at high altitude on a bombing mission over Poland gets the plane shot down, the captain killed, and Flynn and crewmates Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, and Ronald Sinclair pursued across Europe by stereotypical Nazi villain Raymond Massey, and the most inept collection of German soldiers since "Hogan's Heroes"...This film is NOT to be taken seriously (in case you weren't sure), but to be enjoyed as one of the wildest, zaniest, most exciting adventure films of WWII. Director Raoul Walsh pulled out all the stops...and listen for Flynn's final line..."Now for Australia, and a crack at those Japs!", which had audiences in stitches, even in 1942! (4 1/2 stars, out of 5)

"Edge of Darkness" (1943): If "Desperate Journey" was unabashed silliness, "Edge" was a strong, brooding ensemble drama, filmed with director Lewis Milestone's compassion and understanding. Framed with a "Beau Geste"-style opening (in a ruined, deserted Norwegian village), the tale is told in flashback, as the Germans hold the village under an iron thumb. Some villagers profit by the Nazi presence, some plot their destruction, but Milestone makes it clear...to be neutral is no safe haven; either you fight, or you are no better than the profiteers. The cast is simply superb, especially Walter Huston, as the pacifist village doctor, Ruth Gordon as his oblivious wife, and Judith Anderson, as a woman fighting an attraction to a sympathetic German soldier. Flynn gives a restrained, self-assured performance as the resistance leader...sadly, Flynn's rape trial occurred during filming, overshadowing a profoundly moving film...(5 stars, out of 5)

"Northern Pursuit" (1943): Flynn's first post-trial film, this slow-moving adventure of Canadian Mountie Flynn infiltrating the spy ring supporting Nazi Helmut Dantine's deadly plans, lacks a spark of real enthusiasm from either Flynn or director Raoul Walsh. There are a few forced bits of 'humor' referring to the trial, and Flynn's character is already incorporating elements of the 'roue' that would redefine his screen persona, but as a whole, the film is indecisive as either action or drama, and a disappointment...(2 stars, out of 5)

"Uncertain Glory" (1944): The most bizarre, least successful of Flynn's war films, Career criminal Flynn (here playing 'Jean Picard') is sentenced to the guillotine, but an explosion allows him to escape...only to be recaptured by wise Inspector Paul Lukas. While returning Flynn to be beheaded, the pair learn of an act of sabotage (a destroyed bridge) that has so infuriated the Nazis that they announce they will execute 100 innocent French citizens, unless the saboteur steps forward. Flynn offers to accept the blame, preferring a firing squad to a guillotine, but the question is, will he turn himself in, or try to escape, especially as he falls in love...This reworking of "A Tale of Two Cities" (with a touch of "Les Miserables" tossed in) simply doesn't work, at all...Flynn's usual charm seems forced, the drama slides into melodrama, and by film's end, I really didn't care WHAT Flynn would do...(1 1/2 stars, out of 5).

"Objective, Burma!" (1945): A tremendous rebound, after "Uncertain Glory", this taut, exciting action/drama of a successful mission in occupied Burma going terribly wrong, should have been a worldwide hit, offering incredible battle sequences, and some of Raoul Walsh and Errol Flynn's best dramatic work together...but politics sank the film. The British government felt the American filmmakers snubbed their position as the major 'player' in the Burma campaign, implying the Americans "did it all", by themselves. This wasn't true (or even implied), and Warner's quickly added a preface to the movie, acknowledging British leadership and involvement...but the damage was done, and foreign distributers quickly yanked the film, as crowds booed Flynn and his squad off the screen. A great film never had a chance...Watch it, today, and you'll appreciate the film for the masterful work it actually was...(5 stars, out of 5).

What a collection...Enjoy!

Errol Flynn was the Quintessential swashbuckler. He literally stormed onto the screen in 1935 and proceeded to give us Captain Blood (1935) , Major Vickers of the Light Brigade (1936), Robin Hood (1938), the Earl of Essex (1939), Privateer Geoffrey Thorpe aka "The Seahawk" (1940, and George Armstrong Custer (1941). Most of these he made with Michael Curtiz and Olivia de Havilland. He also made the westerns like Dodge City (1939), Virginia City (1940), and Santa fe Trail (1940) in which he exchanged the sword for the six shooter. But all along he yearned for films that required more "acting" and as the war came along, and Flynn found himself unable to enlist (due to a TB spot and recurring bouts of Malaria), he turned to the making of war films not only to extend his acting but to serve his adopted country.

Here in one collection are those films. They range in quality, not only with respect to the films but also to Flynn's acting. In some (e.g., Objective Burma) he is the old recognizable hero, while in others he pulls back the throttle (e.g., Edge of Darkness) and in others the old Flynn will not be recognizable (e.g., Uncertain Glory).

This is an absolute must for Flynn fans.

We see him here at the peak of his powers, trying to change course, but the strong currents of his past will be impossible to steer against. Ahead lay the rocks of obscurity and undistinguished roles, the descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, the failure of his multiple marriages, and the self-parody. Near the end, the sun will rise once more and he will finally get the chance to reach the shores he yearned for. But in this remarkable collection we get a glimpse of the giant before the fall.

I had previously seen 3 of the 5 films in this set at one time or another, either on TV or old VHS copies from the library. Because I'm a fan of Errol Flynn and because I had enjoyed the 3 films I had seen, I wanted to buy this box set of his World War 2 films. I always find it truly amazing how Warner Brothers managed to fit Flynn in to so many different nationalities! Within these 5 films he's: 2 Americans, a Norwegian, a Canadian and a Frenchman. Somehow, I don't think Warners ever cast him as an Australian (or a Tasmanian, which he truly was). Yes, I know of the flack the he and Warners encountered over "Objective, Burma!"; I know that the film makes it look like the Americans were a big presence in Burma, when in reality it was more of the other Allied Troops that were involved. Regardless, it is a good action picture. Buy this for the Flynn films because most of the extras (except the cartoons) are a little cheesy by today's standards.

The DVDs are sturdy and well-encased in the box. The quality of the picture and sound for each film is very good (subtitles in English, French and Spanish a nice extra). Each film is accompanied by a cartoon, a short and a newsreel. All in all, a fine set of Flynn's wartime films. If someone would finally do a really good re-master of Santa Fe Trail, then the best of Flynn's work would be complete.

I love these movies. It's so refreshing seeing Hollywood support America instead of trying to tear it down. And who's more handsome than the delicious Errol Flynn?

I have been waiting for years for more Errol Flynn. I have three other sets plus a few single DVD's of Flynn's. Remember watching Errol Flynn Theater on Sunday afternoons when I was a youngster.Desperate Journey, Edge of Darkness and Northern Pursuit are still as great as I remembered. I already owned Objective Burma and have to say it is one of my favorite WWII movies of all time. No idea why it hasn't been better received,it is on my top 10 list. I had never seen Uncertain Glory before and was looking foreward to it. Too be honest I probably won't be watching it again in the near future. This set of DVD's adds to my collection of 30 plus movies. A must have for Flynn fans.

The heroic resistance of the occupied Norway attracted, for some reason, a fair amount of interest, in "The Commandos Strike At Dawn,"

"The Moon Is Down," and "Edge of Darkness."

Lewis Milestone, who has made the pacifist "All Quiet on the Western Front, is a key figure in crusading films about war..

His "Edge of Darkness" is a brave and interesting film ,and a touching tribute to Norwegian courage during the Nazi occupation...

The characterization is cleverly drawn: Errol Flynn, the fisherman who assumes command of the resistance in his small Norwegian village; Ann Sheridan, the willful and obstinate daughter of the respected physician Walter Huston who didn't want to know but is led inexorably to aid the resistance after his innocent daughter is brutally raped by a German soldier; Ruth Gordon, his shy retiring wife, as the neurotic mother who lives in dreams of the past; her greedy brother, the opportunistic businessman Charles Dingle who owns the cannery which employs most of the villagers, a traitor who "deals in facts... The future is with the New Order."

After the battle between the German garrison and the townspeople, when all his hopes and dreams are shattered, he wanders through the devastated village claiming it as his own: "It's mine, it's all mine", he cries with mad irrational eyes to a German patrol... Of course he is shot down...

Another characters in the movie: John Beal, the weak and traitorous son; an innkeeper (Judith Anderson) whose hatred of the enemy is intensified by their killing of her husband; and a courageous schoolmaster (Morris Carvosky), whose ivory tower is completely smashed...

The most interesting feature of the film is in its declination of social structure... The capitalist Dingle, is recognized by the brutal Nazis; the humble fisherman Flynn becomes the leader of the underground movement...

All the peacetime hierarchies are overturned: the lovely Ann Sheridan is capable to fall in love with Flynn, who, in peacetime, would have been untouchable..

Decision-making is no longer the exclusive right of the town elders, but of everybody... All the villagers must be involved... In the church they gather to decide whether or not to accept British guns and bullets... It is a matter for the villagers to decide by concord of opinion... They talk until they have agreed..

The film ends with the marching into the hills to continue their resistance... Walter Huston stumbles and falls... Flynn and his fiancée rush to help him up... He protests, "I can manage alone!" They persist, and as they hold him between them, Flynn says, "There is no need to walk alone."

Except for Objective Burma the movies on this CD represent Errol Flynn movies normally not shown on TV. They are all enjoyable films and the CD set is worth adding to your Errol Flynn collection.