Battle of the Bulge [Blu-ray]

WW 2 in living?color This film has a strong cast and pretty good production values but it is not one of the best by any means. think one of the best things about it is Robert Shaw's performance as the German tank commander. ome of the side stories are good, some not so ...

Format : AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Company : WARNER HOME VIDEO
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Features

Nazi Panzer forces stage a last-ditch Belgian front offensive that could turn the tide of WWII. Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan in the spectacular recreation of a crucial campaign.Year: 1965Running Time: 169 min. Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR Age: 085391142621 UPC: 085391142621 Manufacturer No: 114262

Description

Nazi Panzer forces stage a last-ditch Belgian front offensive that could turn the tide of WWII. Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Robert Ryan in the spectacular recreation of a crucial campaign. Year: 1965

Amazon.com

The German offensive in December 1944 became the basis for this all-star Hollywood take on the Battle of the Bulge. Henry Fonda is an officer who predicts the assault, Robert Ryan and Dana Andrews are Army brass skeptical of his intuitions, and Robert Shaw (his hair dyed yellow and his eyes glinting with malice) is a German officer leading the tank attack. Shaw is certainly the most compelling thing about the film, especially in his philosophical debates with ambivalent underling Hans Christian Blech. Elsewhere, the movie jumps around to sidebar stories (cowardly James MacArthur becomes a leader, wheeler-dealer Telly Savalas falls in love) while messing around with the historical facts of the battle. There are interesting episodes, such as the Malmedy massacre of American POWs and the Germans' use of English-speaking spies, but overall Battle of the Bulge has the feeling of having been patched together from different scripts. On the physical level the movie comes up short, with the Spanish locations rarely suggesting the wintry misery of the battle, and the use of models and studio sets highly inadequate. A number of war films from this era are compelling on their own terms, but in the wake of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, this one looks antique. --Robert Horton

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Customer reviews

WW 2 in living?color by .. J. Carey (oregon)
This film has a strong cast and pretty good production values but it is not one of the best by any means.
I think one of the best things about it is Robert Shaw's performance as the German tank commander.
Some of the side stories are good, some not so good. If you are a fan of WW 2 films you will probably enjoy this but it is the kind of film that you will forget quickly once it is over.

If you like historical war movies, pass on this! by .. Patrick J. Murpphy (Fayetteville, NC)
The movie had to be shot and in the theater in 8 months, and it shows. I had not seen it since I was a kid; what a shock. I never realized how bad it was. How did they get Fonda, Savalas, and Bronson to sign on to this? Ryan? Lord, the cowboy actor never took his gloves off!! And when he called for "Plan A", I about fell out of my chair. The artillery train scence was obviously shot in Spain, and didn't have a thing to do with the plot. Regardless of what the producer said about "scouring Europe for WWII equipment for the movie", they didn't. The tanks are all modern American tanks with German markings. The main tank battle scene was shot in a training area in the USA by the looks of it. There is not an "Ardennes" tree in sight!! Save your money!!! The only neat thing in the movie was the Panzerlied song. I went to Youtube and downloaded it after watching the movie.

Amazing transfer. by .. H. Robertson ()
I'm not going to review the movie itself. Many others here have done a find job of doing so. At this point you already know if you like the film or not. I wanted to rate the Blu ray Edition. It is outstanding. Someone took a lot of care doing the transfer here. The film looks as if it was shot yesterday. It is truly outstanding. I bought the first Superman in the same order and wished it's picture was just as good. Remember that Superman was made 20 yrs later. If you love WWII films as I do or this movie in particular, Blu ray is the only way to go. Th $9.99 price only makes it sweeter.

Nice try but no cigar by .. John Warner (Bellevue, WA USA)
This true story of very heroic men deserves better. Compaired with other pictures of this same epic battle this one left me with a very cheap, hollow, immitation feeling. Henry Fonda is very believable as an American officer. The american troops are largely portraied as poorly lead bafoons. The german troops are played by actual german actors. Their english is much to good and they lack an authentic feel. The battle scenes leave you with a hollow imatation feeling.

John W.

Battle of the Bulge Blu Ray by .. Martin P. Shaw (Florida)
This edition of the movie on Blu-Ray is everything I hoped it would be. It appears to have the full width of the original and the colors are vivid, from the red lapels on the general's overcoat to Robert Shaw's piercing blue eyes. I was surprised at the clarity of the picture for such an old movie. The only problem with that clarity is that the rear- projection shots look really fake ! And I noticed that you can see the multiple studio light reflections in Sgt. Guffy's tank helmet in some scenes. I would strongly recommend this version. Regarding the use of non-authentic armor, ( M-47 and M-24's)the film was shot in Spain and the filmakers use armor currently in the inventory of the host country. The best job I've seen with Tigers was Kelly's Heroes, where they used T-34's mocked up quite convincingly to be Tigers.