Humphrey Bogart - In The Frame Collection (Sahara/Dead Reckoning/The Caine Mutiny/The Harder They Fall/Sirocco/In A Lonely Place) [DVD]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk
pbSahara/b/p pColumbia's biggest hit of 1943, iSahara/i confirmed the superstar status Humphrey Bogart attained with his Warner Brothers' North African adventure, iCasablanca/i(1942). Surrounded by the Germans on three sides, Bogart's tough-as-they-come Sergeant Joe Gunn takes his tank and a crew of American, British and French soldiers into the Sahara to reach the retreating allied forces. But when they find that the only water for 100 miles is also the target of a German battalion they decide to take a desperate stand. Early scenes present the characters with assorted perils: thirst, sandstorms and a German air attack. The characters are rather stereotypical: the cowardly Italian prisoner, the Frenchman obsessed with food, the German humourless and fanatical, though the British come out well, and there's a sympathetically drawn black British Sudanese soldier (Rex Ingram)./p pThe director was Zoltan Korda, the man behind such British classics as iThe Four Feathers/i(1939), and though Sahara lacks the scale of that adventure, Korda's experience pays off in mounting the extended and suspenseful siege/action climax. With support from Lloyd Bridges and Dan Duryea, Oscar-nominated photography by Rudolph Mate and a fine score by Miklós Rózsa, iSahara/i is a taut, gripping desert war thriller which wouldn't be bettered until iIce Cold in Alex/i(1958)./p pbThe Harder They Fall/b/p pA movie that proved a fine swansong for Humphrey Bogart, iThe Harder They Fall/i is a gripping drama set against a background of fixed boxing matches. Not so much about the fights as the exploitation of the sport, the film is based on a novel by Budd Schulberg, whose Oscar-winning screenplay for iOn the Waterfront/i (1954) helped turn Rod Steiger into a star. Here Steiger delivers an equally bravura performance as the chillingly corrupt manager, Nick Benko, a man who will do anything to turn a buck. Bogart meanwhile is outstanding as unemployed sports writer Eddie Willis, hired against his better judgement to promote a no-hope Argentinean boxer, Toro Moreno (Mike Lane)./p pPowerfully written, if built around the unlikely premise of building a 10th-rate fighter into a world-class contender, the drama is essentially a battle for Willis's soul as he is torn between money and conscience. Though the scenes with Bogart and Steiger facing off are the strongest and a veritable masterclass of hardboiled characterisation, Mark Robson, who also helmed the Kirk Douglas boxing classic Champion (1949), directs with a convincingly dirty realism, the final punishing and bloody match a clear influence on Scorsese's iRaging Bull/i (1980)./p pbThe Caine Mutiny/b/p pHumphrey Bogart is heartbreaking as the tragic Captain Queeg in this 1954 film, based on a novel by Herman Wouk, about a mutiny aboard a navy ship during World War II. Stripped of his authority by two officers under his command (played by Van Johnson and Robert Francis) during a devastating storm, Queeg becomes a crucial witness at a court martial that reveals as much about the invisible injuries of war as anything. Edward Dmytryk (iMurder My Sweet/i, iRaintree County/i) directs the action scenes with a sure hand and nudges his all-male cast toward some of the most well-defined characters of 1950s cinema. The courtroom scenes alone have become the basis for a stage play (and a television movie in 1988), but it is a more satisfying experience to see the entire story in context./p pbIn a Lonely Place/b/p pOne of the classics of the noir psychological thriller, iIn a Lonely Place/i is one of Humphrey Bogart's finest performances. He is almost unbearably intense as Dixon Steele, a screenwriter with high standards and a nasty temper who finds himself under suspicion when Mildred, a hat-check girl he knows, is found murdered. Immediately he gets an alibi from a neighbour, Laurel, and equally quickly, he recognises that this is a woman who meets his standards: the question is, as suspicion of his involvement in Mildred's death continues, can he make himself meet hers?/p pThis is a wonderful study in trust and suspicion and the limits of love; Bogart's performance is impressive simply because he is prepared to go well over the limits of our sympathy in the name of emotional truth. The scene where he explains imaginatively to a cop and his wife how the murder might have happened is a spine-chilling, creepy portrait of amoral artistic brilliance. Gloria Grahame is equally fine as the woman who lets herself love him, for a while./p

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-05-12 rating:
Superb Collection
All of these films from Columbia Tristar have nice clean prints, especially 'In a Lonely Place' which has been given the full restoration treatment. If you are a Bogie fan, buy this now before it goes out of print! br / br /* Sahara (1943 Dir: Zoltan Korda) br / br /Genre: Action, Drama, War br /Subs: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Finnish br /Extras: Vintage Advertising, Trailers for; The Caine Mutiny, Bridge on the River Kwai, Guns of Navarone. br / br /An all-action war drama confined entirely to the Sahara desert with every foreign stereotype in the book thrown in. Basically a propaganda film made for US audiences with Bogart playing against type. Great movie! br / br /* Dead Reckoning (1947 Dir: John Cromwell) br / br /Genre: Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller br /Subs: English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish br /Extras: Vintage Advertising. br / br /Excellent noir with Lizabeth Scott. Full of interesting dialogue with a deja vu feeling, and lots of twists and turns along the way. Brilliant! br / br /* In a Lonely Place (1950 Dir: Nicholas Ray) br / br /Genre: Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance, Thriller br /Subs: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic br /Extras: In a Lonely Place: Revisited (21 mins) Excellent featurette with Curis Hanson, In a Lonely Place: Restoration Story (5 mins). br / br /Film possibly mirroring director Nicholas Ray's disdain towards Hollywood. What you get here is a brooding and violent, career-defining performance from Bogart plus the stunning Gloria Grahame. For me, this is the pick of the bunch. br / br /* Sirocco (1951 Dir: Curtis Bernhardt) br / br /Genre: Action, Drama br /Subs: English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish br /Extras: Vintage Advertising br / br /Often described as failed attempt at another Casablanca. There are many similarities in the plot, but the film stands up well on its own merits. Not least due to the lovely Swedish actress Märta Torén (sadly passed away at the age of only 30), who is excellent in very difficult role. br / br /* The Caine Mutiny (1954 Dir: Edward Dmytryk) br / br /Genre: Drama, War, Romance br /Subs: German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian br /Extras: US Theatrical Trailer, Photo Gallery br / br /The romantic aspect of the film involving Robert Francis and May Wynn still seems out of place to me after many viewings, but Bogart's disintegration in the chair is one of the all-time classic moments of film. br / br /* The Harder They Fall (1956 Dir: Mark Robson) br / br /Genre: Drama, Film-Noir, Sport br /Subs: English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish br /Extras: Trailers for; On the Waterfront, The Greatest. br / br /Bogart's last film and a great one too. His scenes with Rod Steiger are worth the admission alone on this one. br / br /As noted by previous reviewer, DVDs are in individual card cases. They do have full artwork, and are enclosed in an outer box. Personally, I like this system as it is a great space saver! br /


review by: villafan82 date: 2009-01-16 rating:
Cheap and Cheerful!
"Smart new packaging"? That's stretching it a bit Amazon! I'd call it flimsy and shoddy - thin card sleeves inside a thin card box. br / br /But no matter; the content is what counts - and this is as cheap a way as you'll ever find to get six good (in some cases great) Bogart films in one place. br / br /Value for money? Definitely! br / br /

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