 |   Format : Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC Publisher : Hbo Home Video Company : SINISE,GARY List Price: Our Price: $3.54 You Save: $6.44 (65%) Used Price : $2.90 |
Product Description
Biographical drama of the simple man of the people who led American and guided the world through the most troubled period in history, Harry S Truman.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 29-FEB-2000
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Harry S. Truman had a hard row to hoe as the 33rd president and he never enjoyed popularity while in office. Think about what occurred on Truman's watch: the bombing of Hiroshima, a nationwide railroad strike, the rise of the Southern States' Rights Party, integration of the armed forces, the ascendancy of McCarthyism, the early cold war, and finally the Korean Conflict and Truman's decision to fire General MacArthur. Few American presidents have been faced with more difficult and dangerous times than Truman. It wasn't until some 50 years later that Harry Truman, a farmer from Missouri, got his due appreciation in the history books. Truman follows the man from his beginnings as an artillery officer in WWI through his connections with Missouri's Pendergast political machine and onward to Washington. The always-excellent Gary Sinise is a perfect fit for the Truman character, having obviously studied the President's plainspoken Missouri twang and ramrod-straight bearing at great length. Diana Scarwid is also very good as Truman's long-suffering wife Bess; the film studies the relationship between the two in some depth, and also sheds light on the men who surrounded Truman in Washington. Truman's chief failing is that in its effort to detail 40 years of the man's life, certain historical events are given short shrift in order to fit them all in. Nonetheless, Sinise inhabits the character well; the scene where the President ruminates on dining alone in the White House (while Bess is back in Missouri) is a great, understated comment on the loneliness, isolation, and stress of the job. --Jerry RenshawSimilarProduct
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Customer reviews
Sinise is Brillant! 
by .. ()
I have watched this movie many times and have always felt better for it. I have always had a great respect for President Truman. Mr.Sinise's performance was heart-warming & captivating. He brought the essence of the character to life. The movie transports the viewer to his time and does not let go until the end (which, I found myself wanting to know more of the Trumans, post-White House). Diana Scarwid's portrayal of Bess Truman conveyed that the man who made some very tough calls in a nation's darkest hours had a woman of steel behind him. He made decisions that were unpopular and yet necessary. "War is Hell". Our 33rd President did what he felt was right at the time. He is in my estimation one of the most under-appreciated US Presidents and important historical figures of the 20th Century.
Gary Sinise does it again! by .. Roberta Cram (Southington, CT USA)
This DVD stars Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman and covers his life from when he is a farmer, through marrying Bess, up until the time he leaves the White House. Gary is terrific as usual and when he gets going as the older Truman on the campaign trail, he is dynamic. Also stars Diana Scarwid as Bess, who is usually in campy movies such as playing Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest, but she is also very endearing as Mrs. Truman. There are some very cute points, especially when the Truman's move into the White House, the "first house they have ever had alone" and Mrs. Truman comments about how dirty it is! Not to be missed! One minor flaw - there are NO special features on this DVD.
The man who played the cowboy hunk from "The Stand"... by .. R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA)
...tries his luck as one of the most unpretentious Presidents ever. That's the mark of a good character actor--when he can play two men absolutely unlike each other. Especially when Gary Sinise's performance here covers a period of Truman's life when he was about the same age as "The Stand"'s Stu Redman. Truman's low popularity while he was in office was entirely attributable to the fact that he lacked the charisma his predecessors and successors all had. Americans have always liked flash and Truman had none. We've always preferred leaders who tell us what we want to hear, or at least in a way that makes it sound like that. Truman was always blunt--often painfully so. In recent months (which is to say since September 11) one of his observations that appears here has come back to bite us on the rear end--that far too many of us are so carried away with "freedom" that we forget that responsibility also goes along with that freedom.
WHO SAYS HISTORY ISN'T INTERESTING! by .. ()
Film biography is very ticky business. Directors are often tempted to to make their subjects out to be over the top martyrs, or self- importent gods. Frank Pierson avoids that trap in this wonderful look at our 33rd president, Harry S. Truman. The Truman we see here, as brought to us by the always wonderful Gary Sinise, is a very flawed human being. He's not sure of everything, and he makes his share of mistakes. However, he is also an honest, inteligent man, who works hard to help our country, and becomes one of our greatest presidents.Pierson's attempt to make such an honest movie is commendable, as is his wonderful recreation of America in the first half of this century. Rural Missouri in the 1920's and Washington D.C. in the 1940's are brought to us effortlessly. It is a delight to see such informative and interesting portrayals of great men like Harry Truman coming out in recent years. It is importent that we as Americans know about the great men who have served our country, and what better a way then through the movies?
Truman by .. Nancy L. Nordin (Richmond, VA USA)
Gary Sinise gave a wonderful performance as Harry Truman. This film is one we will watch from time to time and share with our grandchildren too.