The Blue Max
by John Guillermin
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: George Peppard, James Mason, Jeremy Kemp, Karl Michael Vogler, Ursula AndressDirector: John Guillermin
Brand: PEPPARD,GEORGE
Producer: Christian Ferry
Writer: Basilio Franchina
Writer: Ben Barzman
Writer: David Pursall
Writer: Gerald Hanley
Writer: Jack Hunter
Writer: Jack Seddon
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 156 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of The Blue Max
Movie Review: A flying epic: one of my 200 cult movies ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
A humble but ambitious German official -Bruno Stechel- is eager to become as war ace against all the odds. He will have to face the well known sense of military aristocracy., specially when he deals with Willi the first rank pilot who has shot down more than twenty airplanes. But Bruno has something else in mind and will crown his expectations with an alluring Countess, wife of his chief in command (James Mason).
John Guillermin a talented British director depicted an admirable and honest portrait from the contrary side (The Germans) showing us their passions, envies, personal rivalries and intrigues behind stage.
George Peppard made (to my mind) his lifetime role as the unscrupulous and ruthless officer who will defy the boundaries of the forbidden. James Mason also stole the show as the implacable general who finds the golden occasion in order to undo him.
The memorable aerial sequences remark the internal dogfights between these lions of the air make this film a true landmark in the history of cinema.
Summary of The Blue Max
The "Blue Max", a coveted medal for achievement in flying, is ruthlessly sought by Peppard, a poor-boy german soldier who climbs out of the trenches and into the aristorcratic air force. He is met with prejudice by the other contestants, wealthy snobs whoThe Blue Max is highly unusual among Hollywood films, not just for being a large-scale drama set during the generally overlooked World War I, but in concentrating on air combat as seen entirely from the German point of view. The story focuses on a lower-class officer, Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), and his obsessive quest to win a Blue Max, a medal awarded for shooting down 20 enemy aircraft. Around this are subplots concerning a propaganda campaign by James Mason's pragmatic general, rivalry with a fellow officer (Jeremy Kemp), and a love affair with a decadent countess (Ursula Andress).
As directed by John Guillermin (who later made The Battle of Britain in 1969), the film's main assets are epic production values, great flying scenes, and stunning dogfights. The weak point is the sometimes ponderous character drama, not helped by Peppard, who is too lightweight an actor to convince as the driven antihero. Clearly influenced by Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1958), The Blue Max is a cold, cynical drama offering a visually breathtaking portrait of a stultified society tearing itself apart during the final months of the Great War. --Gary S. Dalkin
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