On the Beach
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Perkins, Ava Gardner, Donna Anderson, Fred Astaire, Gregory PeckBrand: PECK,GREGORY
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-02-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of On the Beach
Movie Review: Moving, heartwrenching and a bit scary
Summary: 5 Stars
I read Nevil Shute's book several years ago and thought it amazing. Recently, when culling some books from my bookshelves, I re-read it once again one afternoon. When I read the book the first time, I didn't even know of this classic film. However, I had learned of it since I reading the book the last time, so I ordered this film and, based on others' reviews, the film with Armand Assante and Rachel Ward.
First of all, Gregory Peck and Anthony Perkins were WONDERFUL. Peck had the appeal he had in To Kill A Mockingbird-- strong, sensitive, smart-- all of those good qualities. I've never seen Anthony Perkins like this before. I remember I saw him in one little unmemorable movie (besides Psycho) years ago and liked him, but he was just perfect here. Truly likeable and empathetic and believable. So much so, that I asked my husband why he thought Perkins was typecast after Psycho since he was so talented and appealing. He thought Perkins may have gotten too swishy afterwards and lost his audience appeal (not an indictment or criticism, just a commentary on the times).
The woman who played Perkins wife was also good, as was Ava Gardner. But, herein lies my criticism. I didn't think Ava Gardner was quite as believable as the rest of the cast in her role, although she was definitely adequate. And, I think her role might be the most difficult of all-- she must be a bit brash, bold, regretful, lonely, yet still appealing. Moira is a woman nearing middle age and yearning for a bit of love and comfort before imminent death. I thought Gardner's performance was alright, but I also thought it lacked some depth. Whenever on screen, I found myself studying her performance and critiquing it rather than losing myself in the film.
The story is truly staggering. Taking place in Australia, the citizens are the last known society waiting for imminent death by radioactive fallout which is slowly moving across the earth. Everyone else is dead and they, too, will be dead soon. This film is about how this small group of people spend their last months.
Shute's book is not perfectly written. I remember he calls the baby "it" so many times it was a bit disturbing. Parents don't refer to the baby as "it" too many times after he or she is born! However, certain characters and the story itself are so memorable, despite the book's flaws, that it is a must-read.
The movie, although good and completely recommended, has lost something in the move from book to film. There were certain elements of the book that should have remained in the movie-- not major things, but little details which stayed with the reader long after the book was over. One is how Captain Towers dealt with the memory of his family (who was in America when the bombs hit) and how Capt. Towers spoke of September (the estimated date of radioactive fallout arrival).
Also lost here was how the people dealt with the illnesses of their friends and families and how they planned to deal with their own impending illnesses. Perkins and Anderson dealt with it, since that was the major story line for them in the book. However, while suicide pills were a major factor in the book, it was less so here. And, there is something about a government handing out suicide pills to its citizens that is so awful, and watching the people making their decisions, that I thought it should have been given more focus.
The ending is true to the book, for the most part. The changes made here didn't have to be made and I wonder why the screenwriter or director decided to make them. They are minor changes, but important. I don't want to include a spoiler, but the ending of this film was less emotional than the ending of the book-- and my opinion is based on a certain action that was omitted rather than any performances.
I wound up watching both this movie and the remake of it within the same two weeks. Honestly, the newer remake was better with the exception of Armand Assante's performance (which was OKAY, but not of Peck's caliber.). Both are worth seeing. If you can take two stories about Armageddon, order both these films.
Summary of On the Beach
The war is over. Nobody won. Only the inhabitants of Australia and the men of the US submarine Sawfish have escaped the nuclear destruction and radiation. Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition,another (Ava Gardner) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close... From acclaimed director Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones, Inheritthe Wind) and screenwriter John Paxton comes this spectacular movie landmarka film masterpiece with a message that will resonate as long as the world has the power to self-destruct at its own fingertips.Stanley Kramer's 1959 antiwar movie looks like everything Kramer did: subtle as a car wreck but undeniably affecting. Gregory Peck plays a submarine commander looking for survivors in Australia after a nuclear holocaust. Ava Gardner is among them and, somewhat improbably under the circumstances, becomes his love interest. Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins are among the characters awaiting death from the gradual spread of radiation from the north. One might scoff at Kramer's implicit finger-wagging about nuclear politics in this mad, mad, mad, mad world, but it is hard to stop watching this compelling drama all the same. --Tom Keogh
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