Product Details

• Actors: Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer, Inger Stevens
• Directors: Anthony Quinn
• Producers: Cecil B. DeMille
• Format: Widescreen, NTSC, Color
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Olive Films
• DVD Release Date: February 28, 2012
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B006H3KQIA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,255 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Cecil B. DeMille was set to direct a remake of his 1938 swashbuckler classic, The Buccaneer, he suddenly fell very ill and his son-in-law and screen legend, Anthony Quinn jumped in and took over the directorial duties. this was the first and only film directed by Quinn. Yul Brynner plays the debonair pirate Jean Lafitte who historically aided General Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) against the British during the War of 1812. Lafitte has been carrying a discreet love affair with Annette Claiborne (Inger Stevens), the daughter of governor William Claiborne (E.G. Marshall) who promises to pardon the pirate and his men. The stellar cast includes Charles Boyer as Lafitte's right hand man and Claire Bloom as the daughter of a rival pirate. Credited as Supervising executive producer, this was Cecil B. DeMille's final film; he died shortly after the release of this film.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite when I was a kid February 8, 2012

By Samuel B. King

Format:Blu-ray

I saw this film around the same time as Disney's Great Locomotive Chase and was enthralled for the same reason; an action flick with period uniforms/costumes, cool weapons and not too blood thirsty. Growing older I eventually picked it up on VHS and still love the film. Heston's Jackson virtually jumps out of a history book at you. i still remember the line he gave to a new recruit complaining of being humgry: "Son, you aren't hungry until you can wipe your face with the slack of your belly!" LOL!! Brenner plays, well...Brynner (as he did in Taras Bulba, The Magnificent Seven and even Westworld). One difference here - he plays Brynner with "hair" on his head. Charles Boyier plays a forgettable role as a former Napoleonic officer who has fallen on hard times and waundered into Lafitte's gang of pirates. Lorne Green (funny because he was a Canadian and Canada was on the other side in this war) plays one of the more undesirable New Orleans politician types at odds with Jackson. The female actors are beautiful...that's all one can say.

The film is kind of cornball, but does a fair job of showing the dire straits the American Army was in at that time during the war of 1812. Predictible pirate scenes and inter-personal rivalry which descends into cliche. Similar to the travis and Bowie characters in John Wayne's version of the Alamo. Love scenes would make a teeneager sob ("I love you so much I have to leave and never see you again" type of stuff. LOL!!).

So why the 5 stars? Because it is a forgotten gem of latter 1950s epic films, one of the few, if not the only, film on the Battle of New Orleans, the short battle scene is both suspenseful ansd spectacular (the fog, pipes/drums, red coats, battlefield rockets...all of it). Also, if you just suspend reality and go along for the ride, its a great film. Perhaps I like it so much because I was nine when I first saw it and still see it through those eyes. I sincerely believe that you, too, would like this film if you take the leap and look at it as just an adventure film. Classic stuff - produced by Cecil DeMille and directed by Anthony Quinn (but feels more like a Disney production of the period - which is meant as a compliment).

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Jean Lafitte, Prince of Pirates July 1, 2004

By Alejandra Vernon HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

A swashbuckler with pirates, smugglers and patriots, this is marvelous entertainment, with two actors who are riveting to watch, and some history, which though embellished in some places and condensed in others, is in essence correct.
Jean Lafitte was flamboyant and a favorite of the ladies, and with his horde of sea robbers had his headquarters on an island in Barataria Bay, and controlled the waterways known as the bayou. As Lord Byron wrote of Lafitte,
"He left a Corsair's name to other times-
Linked with one virtue and a thousand crimes".

Yul Brynner is terrific as Lafitte, with swagger and strut, and even singing a beautiful Creole ballad, which Lafitte was known to do. The Costume Design in this film received an Oscar nomination, and should have won for the way they managed to fit Brynner's numerous outfits.
In the smaller but pivotal part of Andrew Jackson, Charlton Heston is downright magnificent and looks fabulous. With thick white hair, his resemblance to General Jackson is a marvel. Both Brynner and Heston, who two years earlier had starred in C.B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments", have command and presence that fills the screen and is a joy to watch.

Others in the cast are Charles Boyer, charming and humorous as Brynner's friend and fellow pirate, Inger Stevens as Brynner's love interest and the daughter of Governor Clairborne (E.G. Marshall), and Claire Bloom as tough girl Bonnie Brown. The score by Elmer Bernstein is wonderful, and cinematography by Loyal Griggs very good, especially the scene of the British advancing, with bagpipes and drums, in the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in the Winter of 1814-15. The Red Coats falling to Jackson's troops was accurate, as the British lost an astounding 2,600 to the loss of only 13 of Jackson's men.
A remake of Cecil B. DeMIlle's 1938 film, this was supervised by him, and directed by actor Anthony Quinn. DeMille also gives us a small history lesson at the start of the film, with maps to demonstrate where the action takes place.
Total running time is 121 minutes.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First Rate Epic Entertainment March 3, 2012

By Michael

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just checked this Blu Ray out and it was a distinct pleasure. All the historical notes say DeMille was too ill to shoot this movie but I dare say the final product still bears his stamp. The Technicolor and Vista Vision images are eye popping and Yul Brynner is far more charismatic than Frederic March was in DeMilles's 1938 version. Besides it is worth the purchase alone for Charlton Heston's commanding turn as Andrew Jackson. The score by Elmer Bernstein is sweeping and majestic. Historically it might be inaccurate but this is a first class movie treaure. It is meant to be treasured for what it is, a first class entertainment.