On the Beach
by Russell Mulcahy
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DVD details
Actor: Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, Mark Pennell, Rachel WardDirector: Russell Mulcahy
Brand: PLATINUM DISC LLC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 209 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Platinum Disc
DVD Reviews of On the Beach
DVD Review: Zero Stars!
Summary: 1 Stars
Do not buy this movie, do not rent this move, and if a friend plays it -- leave.
This has to be the worst re-make of any movie. I was forced to give it one Star to write this review.
First: This mess is totally miscast. Armand Assante plays the captain of a nuclear sub like he was Al Capone. He delivers his lines in the same gruff manner; no intelligence. Rachel Ward behaves over-the-top like such an alcoholic slut, who could fall in love with her except another alcoholic? (See Barfly) And Bryan Brown is the loud shouting hysterical doomsday scientist who annoys you after his first bit of dialog and over acting, until his last words, and unbelievable facial expressions as he drives off the road to his death.
Second: The script was rewritten with different scenes and dialog and was a total bore. It's okay to update a film, but at least they should have tried to recreate the spirit of the original. And the director changed the ending to a more sappy Hollywood ending.
Third: This film is a slap at those who serve aboard nuclear submarines. The crew was completely unprofessional, acting more like new recruits or reservists who had never been on a submarine. And officers DO NOT play poker with the enlisted men(and take their money)! Plus, this is the military, not a democracy -- the crew do not get to vote on the captain's next course of action. Nuclear submariners have been taught that after a nuclear war, they are still U.S. Navy Submariners, and not civilians. Even if the world is coming to an end, they will behave professionally -- that is their Esprit de Corp!!!
DVD Review: In Love With This Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Caught this on Showtime a few months ago and recorded it. Wanting my own pristine DVD, I ordered this. It is great on Hi Def, though it wasn't made for that, showing many more details than the recording off SHO. My only small complaint is that since it was originally a mini-series, they show the credits in the middle, but that's a very small price to pay for an extraordinary film. Though it was made on a tight budget the acting, direction and soundtrack are brilliant and to me, far superior to the original 1960? version. For me it's definitely a *feel-good*, exhilarating movie even though the subject matter is tragic and still very timely today. The more I watch this, the more I have to watch this. For an all-Australian production, with the exception of Armand Assante as the only American, most of the actors playing Americans do very well with the accent. The ones that don't do American accents so well make this film even more endearing.DVD Review: There Is Still Time
Summary: 4 Stars
For those who come to the 2000 version of ON THE BEACH after having read the novel by Nevil Shute and seeing the earlier version with Gregory Peck as the lead will find the remake closer to the book than the original film. Shute's novel of a post-nuclear Australia awaiting slow death by radiation is a desensitizing experience. Not only is the topic one to give the reader pause but his literary style in its deadening prose emphasizes that we had better start thinking about the unthinkable before it is too late. The 1959 film focuses on the stiff upper lip quality that America likes to think is hardwired into the British DNA as the Australians go about their Last Day business with o so coolness. Here, director Russell Mulcachy depicts a Down Under that is probably more realistic than either the novel or the first film. As most Australians realize that the radiation that has wiped out the entire Northern latitudes is inexorably drifting southward civil order and hence morality begins to dissipate. We see scenes of citizens heading toward Melbourne in human tidal waves, overcoming the ability of the government to feed and clothe them. We see scenes of looting, rioting, and civil disorder. We even see a heart-rending scene in which one man deliberately drives his car filled with his children over a cliff. What we do not see is much about the WHY of all this. There are a few minutes of flashbacks to indicate that hostilities began when China blockaded Taiwan, forcing the United States to intervene. The majority of ON THE BEACH deals with how three lives interact. Armand Assante is an American nuclear sub commander who has orders to deliver Bryan Brown to the central government. Rachel Ward (Brown's real life wife) is his jilted ex-fiance who begins a romance with Assante who still mourns the loss of his own family. The film suggests that it is better for the government to hide a bitter truth even when it knows that the public is quite well aware of that truth. The 1959 film begins and ends with a street corner fanatic preaching under a banner that reads "There is Still Time." This banner is present too but only once at the beginning, thus muting the impact that there may not be time. A number of viewers have complained that the ending simply cuts the film off without any satisfying resolution, but that may be the point. Nuclear armaggeddon is so soul-crunching in its finality that viewer satisfaction is probably the last thing that director Mulcahy wanted to leave that viewer with.DVD Review: Equal To The Original
Summary: 4 Stars
I've seen both films, and personally, I prefer this one. It seams more realistic to me with the flow of the story (already jumping into the mission and using flashbacks to tell the back story help out the flow, in my personal opinion). Whereas the original film has the depth and more disturbing message behind the story, this is more entertaining just for watching it at face value. Both are equal as far as its emotional content, but this is my choice of the two.DVD Review: Stick with the original
Summary: 2 Stars
While interesting, this version is over the top in areas that simply don't contribute to the story. Captain Towers in unbelievable as a nuclear navy sub commander. Julian Osborne is unbelievable as a government scientist. Moira Davidson is unbelievable as anything other than a complete bitch. The only characters that improved with this telling are Peter and Mary.
As noted in previous reviews, the tech flaws include a blinking corpse. In addition, when Bill Gates or Dell comes up with a solar battery powered laptop--someone let me know, OK?
Kramers original is still the best. You could hardly go wrong with a cast and script like that.
If you're a die hard "End Of The World" film geek like me, then this is a must own. Just don't spend more than US10 on it.
Description of On the Beach
Studio: Platinum Disc Llc Release Date: 01/31/2006 Run time: 209 minutesGeneral DVDs
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