Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always Good To See an Old Favorite, Return., February 4, 2008
Well everyone, here it is and better than ever! :)
As always, Charlton Heston's screen presense Magnificent.
David Niven is as charming as ever and always brings his particular brand of class to the screen. And what could one say of Ava Gardner that hasn't been said, before? Truly, she shines in this picture.
One Note to bring to your Attention: Subtitles (which are sometimes set as Default by the manufacturer) are Removable via the Set-Up Menu. Very simple to do.
You will not be disappointed with the video and sound quality of this release.
Illusion
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Golden Age of Hollywood!, April 6, 2009
This epic, set in China at the beginning of the twentieth century, has everything: top-notch Hollywood stars, including David Niven, Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner--to all appearances, still in their prime; magnificent costumes and sets; high production standards; thrilling action scenes, and a cast of thousands without computer generation. In fact, they just don't make 'em like this anymore!
Particularly memorable are the opening scenes in which each of the foreign legations at Peking--including the British, French, German, American, Russian, and Japanese [all the usual suspects] are raising their flags at dawn, to a cacophony of competing national anthems (a scene echoed at the end, when after pulling together for 55 days against a common enemy--the Harmonious Fists, or Boxers--the besieged foreigners revert ominously to their separatist ways. Equally interesting are the scenes in the beautifully recreated Forbidden City at the court of the Manchu Empress, whom the incomparable Flora Robsen invests with sympathy as well as inscrutability. Robert Helpmann, the great premier danseur of the Royal Ballet, plays the sinister prince Tuan, and Leo Genn performs the role of his rival, the general Wen Lu (who has conducted a secret love affair with the enchanting Russian Countess [Gardner]), whose reputation has been consequently ruined [It seems to me that some of Genn's scenes have unfortunately been cut or lost with the passage of time].
The transfer to DVD is sharp and does not seem to have diminished in color, and the sound is excellent with one important exception. Lamentably, Dimtri Tiomkin's musical score, which accompanies the opening titles has not been re-mastered properly, and it sounds tinny and wobbles slightly off tune. Although this significant imperfection had me worried at the beginning, all sonic quaverings disappear as soon as the film starts. Although Korean and Japanese subtitles appear at the beginning, they are easily dispensed with by a press of the "subtitle off" button. Unfortunately, there are no English captions for the hearing impaired.
Nevertheless, we should be grateful to the Korean company for releasing this splendid example of Hollywood films at the end of a golden era. One wonders why Hollywood itself did not do so.
Buy this one and enjoy!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
55 days at peking, April 2, 2009
I have been looking for this movie FOREVER. I was soooooo happy when it arrived. I was not disapointed. I had seen this movie when I was a child and it has stayed with me all these years. I was very pleased with the quality of the dvd.
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