Customer Reviews

Voyage of the Damned

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

THIS IS A VERY GOOD MOVIE BASED ON A GREAT BOOK OF THE SAME TITLE,BUT
WHY IS THIS DISC NOT IN 1:85:1 WIDESCREEN INSTEAD OF PAN AND SCAN??
ALSO THERE IS A 182 MINUTE VERSION OF THIS FILM WHICH WAS RELEASED
ON VHS TAPE - WHERE IS ALL THIS EXTRA FOOTAGE?? THIS DISC EARNS ONLY
2 STARS - THE MOVIE REALLY DESERVES 4 STARS FOR QUALITY

There seem to be multiple versions of this film, perhaps due to its length. I've always wanted to view an intact version, but this obviously isn't it. For some reason, Lion's Gate, which used to be a fairly reliable DVD producer, has taken it into their collective stupidity to release their films in full screen. What are planning next...video tape?

The ill fated voyage of the SS.St Louis has long passed into folk lore as one of the nazi propaganda machines more devious creations. All courtesy of Dr Joseph Goebbels. Briefly the idea was to allow a specially selected group of some 900 jewish refugees to leave Germany ostensibly to Cuba and then wait for the fallout when their visas were refused entry first by Cuba then the US, Canada and other so-called 'democratic' countries. The reasons given for refusal were couched in political jargon but the underlying translation was, 'sorry but we dont want to be overrun by thousands of jewish migrants, take your problems elsewhere'. Juden ist verboten !. The nazis would chomp with glee at these actions which would of course support their aryan theories that the jews were a race apart, and that the policies of other nations were indeed no different from Hitlers germany. Sad to say the plan worked all too successfully.

The star studded cast here give mixed portrayals of a cross section of the ships passengers. They are led by Oskar Werner and Faye Dunaway as Egon & Denise Kreisler. Max von Sydow gives an understated performance as the beleaguered ships captain, determined to stay neutral and non-political despite being caught in the middle of some diplomatic pointscoring. After the war his courage and bravery is honoured by world jewish congress. Lee Grant tends to overact her role but unforgettable is James Mason as Remos, the incorruptible foreign minister determined to save two young girls following a personal appeal by their father to a certain influential high class prostitute. Played superbly by Katherine Ross her parents are also on the ship and their is a brief but tearful reunion scene as the mother realises her daughters true profession. But this is just one story of many. No doubt the story is full of historical inaccuracies and the purists will howl at this but for all that it is still a watchable film re-enacting one of the more shameful episodes of WWII not entirely of the nazis own making.

DO NOT BUY AT ANY COST!

The movie is excellent, but this DVD is one of the worst I've ever seen.

All I can say is Lionsgate truly deserves to go out of business... There are no fewer than FOUR fatal things wrong with this release:

1. A cut 158 minute print
2. A Dual sided DVD with a 2 1/2 hour feature only 4.8 GB out of 8.5 GB available, which results in an abominable average bitrate of 4.21 Mbits/sec... The whole transfer is a soft, muddled mess, riddled with compression artifacts.
3. NO EXTRAS
4. Pan and Scan which isn't even an open-matte transfer! Adding even more insult, the END CREDITS are PROPERLY LETTERBOXED in the OAR of 1.85:1!!

DIE, Lionsgate, just DIE now, please.

All-star cast (Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Sam Wanamaker, Maria Schell, Julie Harris, Max von Sydow, Wendy Hiller, etc.) recreate the true and gripping story of a shipload of Jews seeking to emigrate from Germany during the Second World War. They have been granted passage on a German ship but then cannot find a country that will take them in.

Beautifully executed from start to finish, this movie is based on the book of the same title. It has great acting, interesting characters and a poignant story. The action of the movie has an upbeat ending, but the final frames of the movie inform us of the ultimate fate of each passenger.

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED, Sir Lew Grade's star-studded dramatisation of the infamous SS St. Louis affair, is absorbing and harrowing viewing. The cast is truly amazing and most of the characters come directly from real-life people caught up in the drama. During World War II, 937 Jewish citizens were curiously allowed to leave Germany and emigrate to Cuba. While many believed the offer to be a trap, most took their chances and decided to flee from the impending Holocaust. Sure enough, once the ship docks in Havana, the passengers are refused entry and their visas' are cancelled. With country after county refusing to take them, the Captain has no other option than to return to Germany...

The escalating horror and dread onboard the ship is perfectly-pitched amongst the strong cast, with standouts including Faye Dunaway and Oskar Werner as Dr. and Denise Kreisler; Max von Sydow as the Captain; Lee Grant as Lillian Rosen (with Lynne Frederick as her daughter); Dame Wendy Hiller as Recha Weiler; Julie Harris as Alice Feinchild and Helmut Griem as the menacing Otto.

The cast also features Malcolm McDowall as the sympathetic young Captain's steward; Katharine Ross as the frantic daughter in Havana trying to save her onboard parents; Paul Koslo as Aaron Pozner and Ben Gazzara as Morris Troper, who becomes one of the refugees' most ardent champions and saviours.

The rest of the cast includes Janet Suzman, Victor Spinetti, James Mason, Luther Adler, Nehemiah Persoff, Denholm Elliott and Georgina Hale. Originally shown on TV in two parts (179 mins); and the cinema version runs for 155 mins with several altered scenes and cuts.

Aside from the fact that these events (or perhaps events just like them but more horrible ) took place, this film could not be more compelling.

It is filled with first rate performances (some only in cameo, but all of them fully drawn and realized). This is perhaps among the best ensemble film work done by Lee Grant, Faye Dunnaway, Julie Harris, and a host of others. Tension builds with unrelenting force as the story shifts back and forth between The "damned" St. Louis, and Havana where "conscience" in the persons of a father and a leader of the Jewish agency (Ben Gazarra in a meaty role) attempt, unsuccessfully, to plead, then shame, then bully Cuban politicians into honoring the visas issued to the jewish passengers.

We watch as this tension takes its toll on so many of the passengers. We watch as the largely Nazi crew commits their small tortures upon the passengers. We know, as do the passengers and the Captain (Masterfully played by Max Von Sydow) what awaits them should they be forced to return to Germany. The fact that the entire voyage is a perverted Nazi publicity stunt ("See, no one wants them!") is driven home when both the United States and Canada refuse permission to enter their waters....

No spoiler here - you will have to watch the film to see their endings. The performances will haunt you. The set pieces (The entire masked - ball sequence for example) will haunt you. The soundtrack is evocative of europe in days gone by, and the beautiful theme, restated by a variety of instuments and in increasing earnestness, ties the many stories of this large ensemble cast into one coherent experience for the audience.

This is, to many, a mere footnote to history, the plight of these people. But watch and see if you don't feel the largeness of their fear. The impotence of their hopelessness. This underappreciated film has much to teach us that cannot be found in history books.

My only regret is - no widescreen edition. This film begs for it.

This review, and the 5 stars, refers to the film, VOTD, which is a superb historical drama about the ill-fated SS St. Louis and it's doomed passengers. How close this is to the actual events I cannot say, but the film is an exciting and suspenseful story with compelling characters that will hold you riveted from beginning to end.
I used to have a 16mm print of this and I always hoped that someday a pristine, widescreen release of this would come out on Laserdisc or DVD. I guess I'll have to keep on wishing.

The tremendous cast drives this fact-based story of a ship of over nine-hundred Jewish refugees allowed to leave Germany not long before the start of WWII to settle in Cuba. The Germans had no intention of letting the ship dock in Cuba, but it was a propoganda ploy. As the title of the film indicates, there is a feeling of doom permeating the whole story.

Max Von Sydow does an excellent job portraying the compassionate captain trying to find some way of saving his passengers despite the personal risk to himself and his family back in Germany. An all-star cast populates the passengers with strong performances coming from Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Wendy Hiller, Maria Schell, as well as Sam Wanamaker and Lee Grant who both get a memorable scene of hysteria each.

The attempts on land to solve the problem of the ship make up the other part of the film. Most of these cameos are brief, although Ben Gazzara and especially Katherine Ross standout.

The direction isn't particularly inspired, and if it weren't for the compelling story and cast, the film would have been far less effective. It is darkly photographed, which adds to the atmosphere of the story and sets and costumes are all authentic and well done.

Voyage of the Damned isn't a great film, but the plight of its characters and the fact that it really happened will keep viewers watching until the end.

It COULD have been an accurate and informative documentary-type film...it COULD have had an interesting, realistic script...it COULD have done with half the cameo stars and with lots more explanation of the true historic setting...but it wouldn't have become the made-for-tv film that it is. Everyone tries just a bit too hard in their roles, and the German stereotypes are actually very funny..the sneering accents, the Dachshund, the singing of "party" songs, the "comraderie" of the committed officers...Yah!
Lots of money was spent on on this mediocrity, most of it, probably, going to the vast number of big names; just maybe it was PC in those days to sign on. It certainly couldn't have been to advance anyone's career...