Customer Reviews

Walk in the Sun [VHS]

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have watched this film trillions of times, and I own many VHS and Beta copies of it. I first saw it as a kid in the 1950's, and it is truly haunting. The dialogue, acting, tension buildup, realism, psychology, and photography/camera work are nothing short of superb. It is a film way ahead of its time, true to its genre, and probably the best/most realistic film to come out of WWII. Many of the ethnic/cultural stereotypes are quite good, even considering the absence of African-American roles, probably fairly accurate for the time. The depiction of war seems very genuine. Does anyone know what Dana Andrews meant when he said "4 ways from the jack?" What a shame that the DVD version by Madacy is so poor. There are video/digital dropouts, terrible sound, missing frames. The VHS and BETA versions are of better quality overall. There is no evidence of ANY Dolby Digital sound.

I hope someone will recognize the true artistry of this film and issue it in a better DVD version.

I would also recommend "The Best Years of Our Lives", although I don't know if it is out on DVD yet.

Anyway, I rate this film as a "Must See/Own!"

A Walk in the Sun may be a good movie, but this DVD is amazingly bad. It looks like Madacy made it from a 10th generation VHS tape. They are even moments when static, from the poor tracking of the source tape, is visible. On top of that DVD compression artifacts abound, and my new DVD player has a lot of difficulty playing the disc without pausing every few minutes. It's absolutely amazing how little pride Madacy apparently takes in its products. The one star rating is for the wretched DVD quality only.

I use the term ordinary to emphasize just how extraordinary the US infantryman was in WWII. In motion pictures it seems that most war films focus and glorify trained teams sent on secret missions or small groups of elite fighting men trained for a specific purpose. Most of these films never really focus on the men, the morality and camaraderie developed (one exception being THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE) and the day-to-day grind of combat and unsettled nerves. A WALK IN THE SUN is one of a handful of war films that focuses on these endearing elements of civilian men thrown into this mundane (on the surface) yet extraordinary routine of constant exposure to death from enemy ordnance. They are a unit from mixed backgrounds thrown into this maelstrom of uncertainty and death. They develop camaraderie and build trust in each other and execute the daily task they are ordered to without real knowledge of the bigger picture and without specific question of purpose. They get the job done ay any cost whatever the reason. Men die, they grieve and they keep moving. They are on the lowest rung in the field of getting the job done. And they persevere. Recent pictures like SAVING PRIVATE and the restored Sam Fuller epic THE BIG RED ONE have redirected the focus to the lowly ordinary infantryman out there getting the job done. BATTLEGROUND and THE STORY OF G.I. JOE have been around for a while and they too have gotten their deserved recognition. Their greatness comes because they have focused on the men. A WALK IN THE SUN is poetic in nature. Mild mannered Sterling Holloway's death scene is very poignant and difficult to watch and even fathom because of the irony that war has exposed these men to. The diversity of the men is great yet the leader types pick up and take charge when it becomes necessary without any hesitation. Dana Andrews is a man seeing that they get the job done. John Ireland, in one of his better performances, is a distant and cool character that seems like the eyes and ears of the viewer taking in all that transpires. Screenwriter Robert Rossen's script is rich in the character studies of these men including Richard Conte, Lloyd Bridges, Norman Lloyd, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Herbert Rudley under Lewis Milestone's lyrical direction. Beware that this DVD may not be up to your standards of picture quality.

Great film (though not as good as "Attack!"). However, don't, repeat DON'T buy the dvd version of this film. - The quality is simply appalling with a hugely bad compression ratio (honestly it's like watching a grainy movie clip on someone's website). The dvd also had a tendency to splutter to a stop on my dvd player. Now wonder the dvd is so cheap. I've no idea what the vhs video version is like, but it's got to be better than the dvd. 4 stars for the film overall but only 1 star for the dvd version!

This WW2 gem has been out in the public domain for many years. Those VHS/DVD's have been dark and grainy and some footage was cut. The movie is based on the bestselling novel of the same name. The story line follows a platoon that has just landed in Italy and is facing their first combat. Their objective is to drive inland from the beach and capture a German held farmhouse. Some very good action/combat sequences. The main story, however, is about the strain of combat and the responsibility of command....and doing your "duty". Good individual performances and overall a good (but NOT great) story of WW2. I am taking the mfg's word that the movie has been "restored", is "uncut", and is in better shape than the one in public domain. Once I view the DVD I'll add to this review.
UPDATED REVIEW...I have watched this DVD and compared it to the "public domain" copy I had before. This latest edition is sharp, crisp, and clear with good sound. It could be better if the original film stock were newer but considering the age (@1944) it is a vast improvement over the other. The scenes in the landing craft are still a bit dark but still very viewable. At least now you can see the actors and what they are doing when before there was a black screen. The daylight scenes are very good. Sound is better, too.
There are some extras such as commentary and actor profiles, etc. Overall a much improved version and well worth the money.

The movie itself was a good one, so I'm not going to address what others have as far as what a good film it is...Instead I am forced to issue a warning to anyone interested in purchasing this video. The quality is absolutely terrible and if the cost didn't make a return not worth my while, I would have returned this video. The sound quality is so bad that the dialogue can hardly be heard at times (quite often in fact) -- there is also a steady hum that can be heard throughout the movie. The picture quality is a joke. At times the picture drops out completely and you see nothing but static. Add to that the missing footage and you come up with a video that is not worth the money! Do yourself a favor and try to remember the film as it was -- wonderful -- and then DON'T ruin the good memories by buying this disaster of a release. My parents and I were extremely disapointed in this video.

A Walk in the Sun remains one of the truly best world war two films.It was a low budget film that got the most mileage out of that budget.

The action scenes were spare but very effective. The final assault on the farmhouse occupied by Germans and their dreaded machine guns is one of the most memorable few minutes in war film history.

However, viewers may have great difficulty obtaining a complete version with good video quality. Over the years VHS tapes and even the current DVD have been remiss in either completeness or picture quality. I think this may be due in part to the film's having been public domain for so many years.

Nevertheless, a laserdisc version was produced in about 1991 0r 1992 and has excellent picture quality and is a complete version to boot. The only downside of the disc is the poor sound quality which can be levelled and enhanced with an updated sound system.

For lovers of war films, "A Walk in the Sun" is a definite must have and even the current DVD is better than no version at all.

Just for clarification, this review applies to the 2009 Kit Parker remastered version.

For those of us waiting decades for a version of A Walk in the Sun with decent picture quality, our prayers have been answered...mostly. It's not quite as clear as what the 1991 Lumivision Laser disc offered but I admit I am being very nit picky here. But, visually, the LD was incredible and this one is very very close to it. Bottom line? I am still very satisfied with the new remaster.

In scene section 7, about half way through, I found there was some pixel and sound distortion for a few seconds. That really irked me. I viewed this section twice and it was worse the first time through than the second. I have a pretty good DVD player and have never had problems with it.

SOUND QUALITY: The difference in volume between action sequences and normal conversation is waaaay too extreme. I found myself constantly adjusting the volume during the action sequences, mainly because I didn't want to wake up the whole neighborhood, not to mention my family!

XTRAS: Not a whole lot. There's a ponderous 2007 interview with Norman Lloyd, who was outstanding as platoon scout Archimbeau in the film. The pace is slow and he rambles off topic quite a bit but you can still pick up a few interesting tidbits if you don't fall asleep along the way. If you are looking for something along the lines of a "making of" scenario it ain't here.

"The Men of 'A Walk in the Sun'" is nothing more than a bio of the leading actors. The chapter menu on the DVD is nicely done but there is no external chapter printout nor anything else for that matter. There is also a movie trailers section including action films I'd never heard of. That was interesting!

The movie itself needs no explanation. I must have seen it a million times. It is one of my top five favorite war films. The pacing, directing by Lewis Milestone and acting are top notch and while there are only a few short action sequences, they are masterfully done and memorable. The film as a low budget marvel. But I just can't get over feeling that this new production should have given us a little more.

So, I've broken down my rating of this new DVD by section as follows:

The movie itself: *****

Picture quality: ****1/2
Sound: **

Extras: ***1/2

Overall production values: ***

Overall package rating: ****

It is apparent that the copyright has expired on this movie, as a number of DVD houses are offering various versions. This transfer is moderately scratchy and occasionally fuzzy, and obviously slightly cropped.

It is too bad the studio hasn't seen fit to issue a restored version (and copyright the restoration). Unfortunately, judging by the offerings here on Amazon, there is no studio version available.

I too have seen A walk In The Sun countless times since I first saw it on television when I was a kid in the mid 1950's. I still believe that it is one of the best war films ever made. Yes, I also have seen Saving Private Ryan many times and love it as well.

In many ways, these films have a lot in common. They both exemplify the tenseness and horror of war. While SPR is more graphic, A Walk In The Sun succeeds with superb camera work and more subtlety.

The acting in A Walk In The Sun is excellent and I practically memorized all of the humorous dialogue between Pvts Rivera (Richard Conte) and Freedman (George Tyne). These two were a quintesential element of the film.

This film was excellently directed by Lewis Milestone and should not be missed.