They Died with Their Boots On
by B. Reeves Eason, Raoul Walsh, Robert Clampett
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DVD details
Actor: Eleanor Parker, Errol Flynn, John Litel, Olivia de Havilland, William T. OrrDirector: B. Reeves Eason, Raoul Walsh, Robert Clampett
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Lenore J. Coffee
Writer: Owen Crump
Writer: Wally Kline
Writer: Warren Foster
Writer: ?neas MacKenzie
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 139 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland star in this rip-roaring account of General George Custer directed by Raoul Walsh and highlighted by a strong supporting cast that includes Arthur Kennedy and Anthony Quinn. Year: 1942Running Time: 140 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DRAMA Rating:?NR Age:?012569518025 UPC:?012569518025 Manufacturer No:?65180
DVD Reviews of They Died with Their Boots On
DVD Review: They Died with Their Boots On
Summary: 4 Stars
This film is a glorification of George and Elizabeth Custer. Of course, some elements of accuracy are tossed into this Raoul Walsh's adventurous waltz.
The romance between Custer and Elizabeth Bacon is a theme throughout this presentation. As a number have said, the last scene between these two has such poignancy. This is a final goodbye which is played to perfection.
Custer's rise from the bottom of the West Point graduating class to legendary status from 1863 to 1876 is a historical fact. The boy General is a remarkable historical figure which this film brings to live with vim and vigor.
The haunting tune of Garryowen is woven throughout the Max Steiner's score. This Irish drinking song was a rousing call to arms for the 7th Calvary.
There is a lot to like about this 1941 film. It made its national debut in January 1942 a few weeks after Pearl Harbor. The Native Americans are not painted as savages, but a proud people defending their lands against broken peace treaties and an overpowering force. As Custer said, "And against us are ranged thousands of the finest light cavalry on earth."
In summary: the best line is from Custer the night before the fatal battle: "To hell or to glory. It depends on one's point of view." Custer found glory in this film as well as the 7th Calvary.
DVD Review: The movie and the music
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The actors, the action and the background music are the best. The 7th Cav's theme song, "Gary Owen" sends chills up my spine every time I hear it, especially played with the fife and drums. It's the most inspirational marching song around. Marching to battle to "Gary Owen" is marching to glory.DVD Review: ONE OF FLYNN'S BEST.
Summary: 5 Stars
It is quite easy to completely write this film off unless it is watched with a certain mind-set. The story, the tale of the rise and well known fall of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, is so historically inaccurate that in many ways it is completely offensive. About the only aspect of the film is that the screen play does name the characters correctly; most of the time. All else is complete fabrication. Now that being said and acknowledged, when I watch this film I attempt to place myself in the position of being a small boy when this film was first made (which indeed I was) and attempt to see the film through that small child's eye in 1948. Doing so gives the film the break it deserves. Doing this creates a very good movie!
Errol Flynn does a wonderful job of playing Errol Flynn; action, devil may care attitude, troubled, egotistical, funny at times, flashy to the point of being overly flamboyant, brave and certainly foolhardy. Flynn through his portrayal of Custer does Flynn well. This was probably one of Flynn's better pictures (certainly not as good as Robin Hood but that is okay), and was the last that he and Olivia de Havilland (one of my favorites of that era) play together. Of the others in the cast, Sydney Greenstreet who plays Lt Gen. Winfield Scott delivers what is probably the most believable and historically accurate character in the film. The other stand out of course is Olivia de Havilland who, inadvertently it is true, portrays Custer's wife quite well, not for her strong stance at the end of the film upholding the rights of Native American, but rather for her bulldog determination to add to the Custer ledged as did the real Mrs. Custer. Mrs. Custer was Gen. Custer's biggest fan in real life and this comes through in the part of the fictional Mrs. Custer of the film.
The action sequences, i.e. the battles were quite well shot and of you completely ignore that most of the Civil War action scenes were shot in the western desert and not near Washington, they come out quite well. Two non-action scenes stand out in my mind as I re-watched this film. The first was Custer's emotional "speech" to the officers when he first arrived as commander of the 7th cavalry at Fort Lincoln. He stresses the importance of the concept of "The Regiment," as a motivational factor in any army, the demise and problem of which Col. David Hackworth so well discusses in his autobiography "About Face." The second scene is the departing dialog between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland which is quite touching and quite emotional. It is one of those that will stick with you.
For those interested in the technical aspects of films shot years ago, pay close attention to the camera angles and in particular the lighting in this film. It is probably the best of the best up to this point. New ground was broken here; something that is often overlooked I think. This VHS tape is of good quality both visually and in sound.
Try, as you watch this film, to view it though the mind of a kid in 1948 and try to imagine the story of Custer as Custer should have been, rather than what he was. Attempt to change your attitude and view the pictures through the eyes of someone with limited historical information and a complete different outlook of what was right and what was wrong. Accept this as an action picture and ignore this history...trust me, it is the only way to watch it and appreciate it.
On the other hand, you can take this film and have quite a lot of fun with friend just pointing out and noting the areas of truth verses fiction, of which there are many even down to the uniforms, weapons and riding tack used in the film. It can turn into a rather pleasing game on the order of trivial pursuit.
I must and am obliged to give this one five stars because it is what it is, and dose what it is in grand style. For better or for worse, they simply don't make movies like this anymore.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
DVD Review: They Died with Their Boots On
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie, one of the all time Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland classicss. Not accurate hitorically, but a classic nevertheless. Worth watching over & over again...DVD Review: Classic Flynn
Summary: 5 Stars
Probably his last great film (after this Flynn's legal problems mounted and Warner Brothers tended to put him in westerns and lower-budget action movies). His last pairing with Olivia Dehavilland as well. The DVD copy is well-restored and it has some nice extras. Too bad no one has restored his other film Santa Fe Trail, with Dehavilland and Ronald Reagan -- the public domain copies out there are appallingly poor.
Description of They Died with Their Boots On
THIS IS THE STORY OF GENERAL CUSTER FROM THE TIME HE ENTERS WESTPOINT MILITARY ACADEMY, THROUGH THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR & FINALLYTO HIS DEATH AT LITTLE BIG HORN.Bert Glennon, who shot Stagecoach and seven other John Ford classics, has given this Raoul Walsh biopic of George Armstrong Custer a burnished glow--an evocative interplay of raw sunlight and elegiac shadow like no other vintage Warner Bros. Western. Glennon's artistry and Walsh's trademark gusto sustain enthusiasm even as the screenplay beggars belief. The flamboyant Custer (Errol Flynn), rushed into Civil War service straight from West Point, did get promoted overnight to general and establish a spectacular record for "ride to the guns" leadership. However, Custer as defender of Indians' rights--to the point of willing his own Last Stand so he could accuse corrupt Indian Commissioners from the grave--is historical rewrite of such sweeping chutzpah as to shame DeMille. Flynn and Olivia de Havilland make an even more appealing couple than usual, and the big supporting cast is unflaggingly energetic above and beyond the call of duty. --Richard T. Jameson
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