55 Days at Peking
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DVD details
DVD: Region Code 0Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: NTSC
Audience Rating: Unrated
DVD Reviews of 55 Days at Peking
DVD Review: Chinese Epic!
Summary: 4 Stars
55 Days in Peking is quite the epic movie. I was expected a sanitized version of the Chinese Boxer Rebellion and got a much darker film than I expected.
Charlton Heston plays the major in charge of the US forces. David Niven a British ambassador. There are several subplots of sneaky Russians and an over-sexed Baroness (played fairly well by Ava Garner).
The film looks at the Boxer Rebellion and the actual historic fact of many foreign factions holding their own against the Chinese Boxers (as they were called) who wanted to overthrow the foreign influence and take back their country.
In many ways I could see the Chinese dowager's point (she was a type of queen or princess of the Chinese Quin Dynasty) that she saw several foreign countries cutting up her country and serving it for their own purposes. She said she was against the Boxers, but in actual fact was persuaded by one of her generals to use the Boxers to kill the foreigners. David Niven played his part well as the British ambassador who tries to talk her out of violence and to discuss a peaceful solution.
The subplots abound and in some ways are confusing. We have an 11 year old girl whose father is one of the American Marines. He gets killed and Heston's character has to tell her that he just died and tries to comfort her. This scene is fairly subdued and not as emotional as I was expecting. Even so, the later scenes between her and Heston do put a smile on your face. And I didn't cry which is quite a success!
The subplot of the British ambassador's wife wanting to leave and her own son is shot by a sniper's bullet! Now that was intense!
And the Americans pulling off a coupe in destroying an ammo dump was exciting as well.
The film is very top-heavy in its battle scenes. In fact the film is two-thirds battle scenes and you have to really give the Chinese credit for how they're attempting to get rid of the foreign powers - albeit in a deadly, bloody way - and I found myself rooting for them in some scenes.
Other scenes were confusing to me. Why did the Dowager for example sue for peace, and then next scene we see hundred of Chinese storming the foreign buildings and its Imperial troops shooting cannons? Maybe I need to see it again.
Overall, 55 Days in Peking may not be the most historically accurate of films that Hollywood put out in the 1960s, but it is certainly the most epic. Heston is great and Ava Garner is a bit boring in the film. David Niven really pulls it off.
The DVD I had did not have extras - it does include Chinese subtitles and the soundtrack won an Academy Award that year.
Recommended.
Description of 55 Days at Peking
In 1900 Peking, Boxer fanatics are encouraged by the Empress to take over the city and besiege the international diplomatic quarter. @Imported from Korea. (Some DVDs Have Korean Description on Cover) @Some DVDs Have Several Languages & Subtitles. @High Quality as USA Products. @All DVDs are Exactly Same as Description. @Language: English @Subtitle: Korean, NoneBestsellers in DVD
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