Customer Reviews

This Land Is Mine [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles Laughton had a unique ability to reflect the mores of any period in time. In this movie he was reflecting the moral choices faced by a country occupied by the Nazi invasion.
Watch it and see today. Listen to the German ubermeister and hear the rant of today.
Enjoy the movies, think about the message.

this really is 1 of laughton's best. a great cast & a great script. it's a shame it's not on dvd. it's set in france during the nazi occupation, but the messages of truth, freedom and courage are timeless and universal. the monologue delivered by laughton at the end must be 1 of the singular most outstanding scenes i've ever seen. i pray for this to return on dvd format b/c it's too great of film for a whole new generation not to see it.

A truly great film. Very hard to find in DVD in US format. This film should be shown in high schools to teach the importance of the freedoms we have in this country.

I saw this film late one night when I was in my 20s. I never forgot the name of it and watched for years to see it again. When VHS movies came out I waited for it to be available and bought it right away. I have kept this movie all these years. It is more timely today than ever. I cannot recommend this movie enough. If I had the power it would be required of every student to watch and for every class to discuss it.

Do not be confused by the high resale value of this film. It has held its value because it is timeless and some hollyfool executives have a hidden agenda to keep this powerful film from the masses.

What Occupy could do with this film!

French director Jean Renoir helmed this melodramatic wartime propaganda piece, about a small town "somewhere in Europe" that falls under the heel of Nazi occupation. Charles Laughton stars as a bumbling, apolitical local, befuddled schoolteacher Albert Lory, who is forced to face up to the dastardly evil of the fascist regime while others around him either give their lives to the resistance, or collaborate with the oppressors. A talented cast balances out a stilted and rather tendentious script; Laughton, in particular, is stunning for his ability to elevate his talk-heavy closing monologue above its baldly propagandistic scripting into something resembling a stirring, dramatic speech. Fans of the cantankerous character actor Una O'Connor will definitely want to check this one out as well: playing Laughton's domineering, opportunistic mother, she gets to chew more scenery here than in any other film I've seen her in. Also of interest is the attempt to lampoon the supposed gentlemanliness of the German Army, with Walter Slezak playing the well-educated, insidiously manipulative officer who seeks to quell any rebellion under his command. Not a great movie, but an interesting timecapsule of sloganeering wartime propaganda.

This movie was very stirring, since we have relations in several European nations, including Germany. I must admit that the speech made by Charles Laughton gave me the goose bumps, because it pertains to today! What we are now experiencing! Once again! It's amazing!!! All people and patriots "must" hear and see this. It's spot on,... or, right on the money! It made me wipe away a tear or two as well. Very well made film. I wish I could give it to every school for every child to watch. But, we all know that our schools are run by far left groups that teach them to hate America and the West, which was unheard of just a few short decades ago, when I was small. I remember. This administration is the most radical ever! Much like the Nazis were, but even worse, if allowed to carry out it's agenda. All good people must stand up against this tyranny and say the truth. No-one even knows if this President is an American. Everything about him is suspect and all his records are sealed. His friends are the most dangerous people and many are known communists. He has never run a thing, let alone a huge nation. How can he care about soldiers lives when he believes they are the enemy? He's for muslims more than he is for Americans. This film shall teach you the answer to all this. That is in Charles Laughton's speech. Listen to it carefully. Truth and action is the answer. We have a Constitution! Our soldiers have taken a sacred oath to defend us from enemies both, foreign and domestic! Well, let's hold them to it!!! Protect us! We The People! Hurray for this movie!!! Hurray for the TRUTH!!! The next election seems light years away! It can't come quick enough! Plus, DON'T ALLOW ACORN TO COMMIT FRAUD AGAIN WITH ADDING VOTES THAT AREN'T REALLY THERE!!!!!! Don't trust electronic voting machines at all!!! Demand to SEE your VOTE! Be like Laughton and come to your senses, for all our skaes and copy this statement for all to see and show the movie to everyone.