Customer Reviews

Three Came Home

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had never even heard of Three Came Home until I ran across it in a catalog. The description sounded interesting enough to get me to buy it, and I'm glad I did. Three Came Home is a riveting and moving film that grabs the viewer and never lets go. Focusing on what happened to many civilians in the Pacific the film covers a 4 year period from 1941 to 1945, and it shows what kind of hardships and trials many people had to endure in prison camps during the war, primarily focusing on womens camps. Claudette Colbert gives a fantastic performance, and Sessue Hayakawa is outstanding as the Colonel in charge of the prison camps. The script is intelligent and filled with great dialogue, and the acting is first rate throughout. The Alpha DVD is quite good - the print is VERY clean for a "bargain" (public domain) copy, and you should have no concerns as to the quality of this DVD. Highly recommended.

One of the best World War Two era dramas ever. The fact that I had never heard of this movie is a testament to it's being under-rated. It's usually not shown in retrospectives of war movies, not enough testosterone displayed, I presume, which is a shame, as it is a powerful take on the "human" side of war, and the effects on the individual. Claudette Colbert, whose only starring role I was familiar with was in "It Happened One Night", is wonderfully touching and noble in this true- story based drama of an author forcefully seperated from her husband and placed, with her little boy, in a Japanese prison camp. As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I like strong womens roles, the good ones of which are few and far between. This is one of the best. Her portrayal is one of pathos, bravery, and perseverence in the face of overwhelming, spirit- breaking odds. This film also offers a rare for that time somewhat sympathetic view of the Japanese, in the role of Sessue Hayakawas' Japanese officer who, over time, developes a true respect for Colberts character that transcends gender and war time prejudices, and, shows the human loss on both sides. This film says just as much about the tragedy of war, maybe more so, than any battle scenes. I am not generally a fan of many war movies, how many battle scenes can you watch??, but I was totally drawn in when I happened upon this film by accident on the History Channel. I was so impressed by it that I bought the video, after trying to track it down for some time. A wonderfully moving drama, yes, it is a "tear-jerker", but much more than that, it is also ultimatley uplifting. A classic movie, very radical for it's time, it's a must have for any film buff, or anyone who wants to see what true movie making WAS.

Claudette Colbert gives a very strong performance as real life writer Agnes Keith, an American woman living on Borneo with her British husband and son during WWII. When the Japanese invade, she and her son are separated from her husband, Patric Knowles, and all are imprisoned in camps. A Japanese colonel, very well played by Sessue Hayakawa, takes an interest in Colbert since he has read her book, and they have a platonic relationship that is one of the most interesting features of the movie. He has been educated in America, and he reveals more about himself than a typical Japanese soldier would. Three Came Home illustrates the poor conditions of prison camps during WWII and the effect of the war on those who weren't soldiers but had to fight to survive. It's a dramatic story, well acted, and worth viewing.

I remember seeing this movie years ago when it came out to the theaters. I was only a teenager in the middle of World War II. The scenes of being a prisoner of war made a great impact on me. I read the book and found the details of survival very interesting. I have both the book and the VHS and have enjoyed seeing and reading both again over fifty years later. Claudette Colbert is terrific as usual. I would recommend the book first and the movie second.

I am a avid classic movie fan and Claudette Colbert is one of my favorites. She makes you feel and believe that you are there with her. I also have a degree in History and this movie potrays that time with accuracy and emotion on both sides of the spectrum. Enjoy

I was pleasantly surprised that for the price this DVD's quality was pretty good. I have seen this movie numerous times on late night TV and the quaility of the transfer on this DVD is clear and clean- A good buy!

If you are a Colbert fan or not or simply want to know her, this movie should be on your list! She gives a good range of her acting (even if Hollywood believes that mascara was easy to come by in a Japanese camp!). What`s more, Sessue Hayakawa, a typical villain, proposes a sweet & sour taste to his character rather uncommon to his more typical roles. And if you liked that movie, go to "So Proudly We Hail", a story with a similar plot but even better!

This film is based on a true story and although Hollywood puts their "mark" on it, it is very realistic of how war impacts wives and children. Claudette Colbert is excellent in this role and I would recommend this as a rainy day movie.

Based on a true story, a memoir written by American Agnes Keith of the years she,her young son and British husband spent in Japanese POW camps in Indonesia, the film though restrained in the way of its time, is still very powerful about the brutality that soldiers display during war, even toward civilians. The bad guys in this film are of course the Japanese, but we've all learned since then that soldiers from all countries can at times behave abominally.

The camera discreetly turns away at some scenes of physical torment. The camp commander played by Sessue Hayakawa, is a tough soldier but a complex character with facets of humanity and even grief. The lead character and her husband have a physically passionate relationship, and there is even a suggestion of a clandestine conjugal tryst in the jungle.

My criticism is primarily about cosmetics, literally. For a woman and her son, and their fellow captives who spent three years or more in appalling conditions, Claudette Colbert et al looked incredibly healthy and well-groomed at the end. Starvation and beatings were frequent, but barely a hair fell out of place, and after the captivity she looked pretty much the same as before-wearing salvaged clothes that fit beautifully.

Still, the tensions, the unfairness, the fear, the dirt, labor, and disease, loss of family time, and even the physical passions, approach authenticity, which was especially rare in film in 1950. The DVD version I watched had no special feature--the film is in black and white. The story was so moving that I ordered a copy of the book from Amazon UK. This was one of Claudette Colbert's finest performances.

Miss Colburn did a lot of work in war movies and it was all excellent: Three Came Home rates among the best ever made about WWII, it is all true, wonderfully made, rarely known among the best b&w war movies, a fantastic story really well done.