Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) Review

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(More customer reviews)Those are among the first lines we hear from Cicely Tyson in this wonderful movie.
I freely admit that I'm a sap for old movies and old things and old times. And perhaps that's why I love this movie so much. It opens at the beginning of the 20th Century, the early 1900s. As someone who's written a couple architecture books about this period of time, I'm happy to say that the historical aspects of the movie all looked good, so I was able to just relax and enjoy the flick.
We all think that the early 1900s were a simpler time and place but this movie presents a more honest view of history, particularly as it relates to women's issues. One of the minor plot lines presents the story of a woman who has lost her children forever because she sought a divorce. Another poignant scene is where Lucy (lead character) gives up on life after a tragedy in the family.
Laying in bed, she chews on crayons and tells her husband (Donald Southerland) that she's only "fuzz on a pillow." (BTW, crayons in those days contained lead, giving them a taste not unlike sweet tarts and said to be highly addictive. That's what I loved about this movie; it got the details right.)
I've watched this movie about 20 times and even though I've memorized many of the lines, I still cry and laugh and feel touched, stirred and inspired. I love the acting, the setting, the story, the beauty, the love affair between the old "Cap'n" and his beautiful young wife. It's believable, endearing and captivating.
The acting is first rate, too. I recommend this movie 100%.
Rose
author, The Houses That Sears Built


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Item Name: Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All; Studio:Allumination

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The Horse Soldiers (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)A wonderful picture of the war between the states, "Horse Soldiers" follows the story of Wayne leading his troopers in an attack deep into enemy territory. Loosely based on a factual event, the Union must cut off the supply lines to Vicksburg. DUKE leads the raid.
This is a fantastic transfer, as others have mentioned. I spotted literally one damaged frame, with a "V" shaped crease in it. The colors blaze off the screeen, and although there are no booklets, inserts, or extras (other than the original trailer), the disc is a real keeper.
Although many see this picture as "Ford-lite," there are several classic Ford touches throughout the film. The opening shot of the calvary marching in a sundown silhouette is stirring. The charge of the child soldiers is a great moment (you see Wayne tip his hat to them as he rides off).
For me, I like the subtle, "hidden" Ford touches in all of his films, which reveal telling information about characters without the overbearing, in-your-face, and just plain heavy-handed direction in today's movies.
In "Horse Soldiers", the dyed-in-the-wool Southern patriot Hannah Hunter has spent several days as prisoner of the Union soldiers. At one point, in order to make her feel better, a soldier gives her a candle for light. Another offers her a fragment of a looking glass. The soldier holds up the broken mirror, and when she looks at her reflection she can see the soldier's Yankee cap over the top of it, as if she wore it herself. That's Ford telling us she's been converted, without slapping us in the face or dumbing it down for us.
You'll see familiar Ford faces pop up here and there, too. Jack Pennick is in just about all of John Ford's westerns. Hank Worden and Ken Curtis will be instantly familiar to fans of "The Searchers". Ken Curtis was also in "Rio Grande" and "The Quiet Man", and is probably best known as Festus on "Gunsmoke".
O.Z. Whitehead was in "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". Walter Reed was in "Sergeant Rutledge" and "Cheyenne Autumn".
Bing Russell, who plays Dunker, is the man gunned down in the saloon in another DUKE movie, "Rio Bravo".
Of couse, other familiar faces include Storther Martin and Denver Pyle as a pair of Confederate deserters.
This is a really solid cavalry film, with The DUKE in the thick of the action. William Holden is a good match as a foil for DUKE.
For those who say DUKE couldn't act, DUKE has a great scene in the Newton Station bar when he reveals why he doesn't like doctors.
"Horse Soldiers" is an overlooked gem from Ford, only because his more famous films shine that much more.

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John Wayne teams with William Holden and eminent western director John Ford for this frontier actioner "packed with laughter, romance and thrills" (The Hollywood Reporter)! Written by John LeeMahin and Martin Rackin, this faithful representation of one of the most daring cavalry exploits inhistory is both a moving tribute to the men who fought and died in that bloody war and a powerful, action-packed drama.Based on an actual Civil War incident, The Horse Soldiers tells the rousing tale of a troop of Union soldiers who force their way deep into Southern territory to destroy a rebel stronghold at Newton Station. In command is hardbitten Colonel Marlowe (Wayne), a man who is strikingly contrasted by the company's gentle surgeon (Holden) and the beautiful but crafty Southern belle (Constance Towers) who's forced to accompany the Union raiders on perhaps the most harrowing mission in the war.

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The Red Badge of Courage (1951) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life. While it is true that the leads, Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin, were not professional actors, they were cast for their wonderful faces and the fact that they had actually been through a recent war. Considering what Murphy had been through, his innocence and boyishness is a joy to behold. And they are surrounded by pros such as Andy Devine, Bill Easton and Royal Dano - as well as the usual Huston cronies. It has many moving vignettes - the captured Rebs being questioned by their Yankee peers, Andy Devine, as the jolly soldier, leading Murphy back to his unit, the General falling to prayer before battle, Murphy confessing his cowardice to Mauldin, the General promising to have supper with the men, etc...
The narration was added later because the studio had no confidence in Murphy being able to convey the story. This was years before Hollywood understood how effective non-professionals could be if directed properly. The studio also hated the General's high-pitched voice and so dubbed in a different actor and, of course, the complete butchering of whole scenes which reduced the movie to about 55 minutes.
With all its faults, this is one of Huston's true beauties.

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Psychological study of an untried young Union soldier who panics in his first encounter with the enemy but regains his courage and emerges a hero. Based on Stephen Crane's novel. Screenplay by John Huston.

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Shenandoah (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)Classic, family-friendly Civil War story about an isolationist Virginia farmer (James Stewart) who is forced to become involved in the conflict raging around him when his youngest son (Philip Alford) is mistakenly taken prisoner by Union soldiers. Like John Wayne in "The Searchers", Stewart sets out to hunt down his kidnapped loved one, enduring physical, emotional, and spiritual hardships along the way. Uniformly well-acted by a superb cast, with stand-out performances from Patrick Wayne, film newcomer Katharine Ross, talented juvenile lead Alford, and of course, venerable screen legend Stewart. Capably directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, from a solid screenplay that deftly blends moments of sweet-natured humor and wrenching drama. (Take special note of the tragic scene at the family farm ... most of the violence takes place off-screen, and is all the more disturbing because of what you don't see. Now that's skillful, mature filmmaking!)
Fans of the movie who have patiently awaited its release on DVD are bound to be a bit disappointed with Universal's unremastered print and bare bones presentation. The first two or three minutes of the DVD are plagued by bad sound (the music crackles and pops with distortion) and a horrendous video transfer (the picture is grainy and has tiny white lines running through it). Thankfully, things quickly get better after that rocky start. The DVD includes the Original Theatrical Trailer which has deteriorated badly and is presented in full-frame; sadly, there are no other extras offered on this edition.

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Ride with the Devil (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)Thus reasoned young bushwhacker Jake Roedel, (Tobey Maguire) summing up the condition of his native Missouri, torn apart by savage guerilla warfare, as neighbor fought and killed neighbor during the Civil War. This outstanding movie manages to take much the same attitude as it tells the tale of this troubling period that has usually been handled in a much more partisan manner.
The Civil War in Missouri was particularly terrible, as the loyalties and interests of the population split between the Union and the Confederacy. Few regular troops were committed to Missouri, and most of the fighting was done by roving gangs of Irregulars; Secessionist Bushwhackers and Unionist Jayhawkers. These men more often made war on those who once had been their neighbors and friends than on uniformed troops, and terrible atrocities that were more murder than war were committed by each side.
`Ride with the Devil' is an incredibly thoughtful and nuanced telling of this sad story. All of the protagonists are bushwhackers, but the movie does not attempt to paint them as pure heroes fighting against evil for all that is good and right. Instead, it manages to show them as young men who had the misfortune to be caught up in the sweep of history and forced into a violent life by unavoidable circumstances. We see the struggle some of them had between the violent actions that had become their life and their own sense of decency, and we see others enthusiastically revel in the murderous mayhem - glad for the excuse the war had given them to be free of the constraints of civilized society. One scene in particular drives home the fact that these warriors were more boys than men. Jake (Maguire) faces his new bride, a young women already widowed by the war (Jewel) in the bedroom on their wedding night. When she asks him if he is a virgin, he blusters that "I've seen plenty" and when ask again if he has been with a woman, he seems frozen with terror, and only manages to say, "Girl, I've killed fifteen men." These were boys forced to become killers before many had the chance to be lovers.
Though there were no Unionist protagonists in this film, it used an effective device to put across the humanity of the bushwhacker's enemies. A captured mailbag was plundered, and letters were read aloud as the bushwhacker's searched for enemy secrets. The letters turned out to be mundane messages from mothers to sons and brother to brother. The young men heard and acknowledge how like their own mothers and brothers these people sounded, and how in other circumstances they might find them fine people, before someone reminded them that the sons of that mother would kill them, given the chance.
`Ride with the Devil' is filmed beautifully, and is as close to being cinematically perfect as could be desired. Its scenes of violence are quick, realistic, and brutal, but the film does not dwell on them. Indeed, there are long sequences that deal with nothing but the complex interpersonal relationships of the characters, and action war movie junkies are likely to find `Ride with the Devil' a disappointment despite its realism. Tobey Maguire is perfectly cast as a shy, decent young man trying to maintain his integrity in a violent life, and Jeffery Wright is outstanding as a freed slave who fights for the bushwhackers out of loyalty to his friend who freed him. All of the roles are well cast and acted, including Jewel in her film debut as a young Confederate widow.
`Ride with the Devil' is the best done of any Civil War film that I have yet seen. It is beautifully filmed, skillfully acted, intelligently written, and tells its story with fairness and perspective. Unfortunately, its virtues are exceeded by its obscurity, as so many have never heard of it. Now that you know of it, don't cheat yourself by missing this outstanding film.
Theo Logos

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Beulah Land (1980) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is what I especially love about DVDS, the chance to see something that will likely never play on a television channel again. 1980's BEULAH LAND was a three-part mini series running just over four and a half hours. It's not perfect but it is highly entertaining and very well-acted. The program spans a period of over 30 years, from decades before the Civil War to the War to it's aftermath. BEULAH LAND stars Lesley Ann Warren who marries her childhood crush and eventually becomes mistress (the nice kind!) of his vast plantation estate, Beulah Land, battling evil overseer Paul Shenar, Yankees, financial hardships, hunger, and her feelings for artist Michael Sarrazin, not necessarily in that order. At times BEULAH LAND threatens to become a P.C. GONE WITH THE WIND or a PG MANDINGO (or vice versa) but it's extremely watchable (I planned to watch it over several nights and ended up watching the full movie in a night) and nice bit of nostalgia when these lavish mini series were on the main networks several times a year in the late 1970's and early 1980's. One thing I found a bit irritating was the continous jumps in years in the storyline as well as several main characters dying outside of the story, having just read some Amazon reviews of the book it appears the movie is only following what the book outlined.
Lesley Ann Warren is very appealing as the noble heroine Sarah, Meredith Baxter is fun as her fairly trampy sister. Paul Rudd (not the current film star of the same name) is appropiately bland as Sarah's husband Leon and Hope Lange shines in a too brief role as his imposing mother. Paul Shenar may give the best performance as the rather dashing example of pure evil but equally fine work is done by Dorian Harewood in the complex role of Floyd, a slave of dignity and intelligence who yearns to be a free man but remains on at Beulah Land. Clarice Taylor as Floyd's mother Lovey also gives a superb performance. Jenny Agutter is pretty good as the whore who becomes Shenar's bride although the British actress curiously speaks with an Australian accent at times instead of a Southern one.
Some of the more fascinating threads in the storyline of BEULAH LAND are somewhat under the surface: Leon and Floyd's relationship from best friends in childhood to it's ultimate strain as they grow into master and slave, Floyd's discreet unrequited love for Sarah, and a strong suggestion of at least a latent lesbian relationship between Leon's sister and her devoted black companion.
The current DVD cover shown on Amazon.com for BEULAH LAND seems to suggest the film is a grittier Civil War story like THE BLUE AND THE GREY; the copy I own has a more appropiate cover of Warren and Sarrazin that suggests a old-fashioned romance. Although the DVD lacks any sort of "extras", and doesn't even have closed-captioning, I consider it rather bargain-priced considering it's a two-disc set with 281 minutes of story at it's current price. BEULAH LAND may not be a classic but it's a solid piece of storytelling and should appeal to those who enjoy this genre of filmmaking.

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Item Name: Beulah Land; Studio:Sony

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