Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Edison Witt The first must-see film of the year.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

clanciai This is one of the great stylish films of the 60s, extremely carefully made, every scene is perfect in itself, the actors as well, and Jerry Goldsmith's music adds to it. To all this comes a very interesting story about ambition and honour and how easily honour gets lost in ambition. You could thereby positiviely say, that this film and story conveys a universal message and lesson.George Peppard makes his most unsympathetic role ever, it's quite comparable with Steve McQueen's in "The War Lover" (1959, see my review,) but he is clearly not ashamed of it but actually carries through his dirtiest tricks with a vengeance. Jeremy Kemp is the better pilot and man but is true to his honour as a pilot by taking on and suffering Peppard's challenges. Ursula Andress is the femme fatale but maintains her honour in spite of all. You must understand her demeanour being married to the old general James Mason, who makes the most impressing role. On his shoulders lies the fate of Germany, he feels it thoroughly and acts accordingly. His performance, minor to begin with but gradually looming over the others, is one of his most awesome, and it's strange that this film is not mentioned among his 25 best. On the whole it's an almost solemn tribute to imperial Germany as a swan song underscoring chivalry and idealism, especially as it faces its Harmageddon. James Mason tries to save it, Ursula Andress is the only realist in the situation, the others fight to maintain it, and Peppard is the Siegfried of it, doomed by his own human failure. It's an amazing film, I saw it as a young man 47 years ago, but it was more impressing now, bringing the first world war and its tragedy better to life than any other film, except perhaps Renoir's "La grande illusion". And not the least amazing thing of all is the fact, that it was all filmed in Ireland.

sol- Titled after a World War I German medal for air force pilots with twenty confirmed kills, the plot here follows an ambitious soldier dead set on earning one such medal. As the soldier, George Peppard is well cast with the "satisfaction of knowing you have served the Fatherland" never enough for him, instead yearning for something solid to prove his worth. With lots of impressive stunts, the film shies a bit over Peppard's background and the factors that may have contributed to him being such an emotionless killing machine, however, with his scorned-upon working class background, it is easy to surmise that the German culture of achievement is the main contributing factor. Things get even more complex as Peppard is celebrated by the army as a "hero for the people" due to his working class background and despite the fact that he is hated by his peers for his callousness, never upset when others die. Whether the film really needed to be two and half hours long is debatable; there is an entire subplot with Ursulla Andress that could have been cut. It is quite an immersive experience though despite the odd lull. The film is gloriously photographed with several remarkable crane shots and camera-work from Douglas Slocombe that almost never sits still. The aerial scenes are impressive too and it is easy to see why the film won a BAFTA award in its day for its detailed sets.

Jakester World War I set the template for the bloody 20th century. The Great War, as it was known until World War II, created thousands of heroes. It consumed millions of lives, broke millions of hearts, and damaged millions of psyches. It revealed the murderous implications of technology (much to the shock of Victorians who believed that science and technology represented pure and undiluted progress). It exposed the mendacity of governments, financiers, and elites, thereby destroying the naive trust of the 19th century, when governments and elites were actually believed. ("The last one of all," said the French of this war. "The war to end war" said President Wilson. Mm-hmm.)The Great War has gotten a fair bit of filmic attention, although not as much as it deserves, and not nearly as much as WW II. For me, the movies of WW I that stand out, that are worthy of four stars, are "Lawrence of Arabia," "Paths of Glory," "The Grand Illusion," "A Very Long Engagement," "King & Country," and "La Grande Guerra." I give a solid three stars to "Gallipoli," "The White Ribbon," "Wings," and several others including "The Blue Max."The air war of World War I was epic and highly photogenic. The aerial scenes in "The Blue Max" are excellent and generously long.Most of the acting is very fine. I would especially mention Karl Michael Vogler as the squadron leader; he's entirely convincing. Vogler was a major presence in German film for many years; he appeared only occasionally in Hollywood productions but was always good--for example, his work as Rommel in "Patton," where his weary walk and subdued ferocity perfectly capture the ailing field marshal circa 1943-44.A character actor named Harry Towb plays Vogler's aide-de-camp. He's very strong in the role. I looked him up. He too is in "Patton"--he's the cook who gets chewed out by the general: "Where's your helmet?" demands Patton. "HELMET? General, sir, I'm a COOK!" "You're a soldier. Twenty dollar fine." (That, by the way, is a week's pay.) Stanley Kubrick, who had a gift for finding excellent understated actors, liked Towb's work and cast him as the innkeeper in "Barry Lyndon."George Peppard is OK here. I'm not a Peppard fan--the stiffness and utter lack of depth get to me after a while--but he works hard to portray a guy with a major chip on his shoulder (maybe Peppard's real-life chip helped). One wonders what a good actor might have done with this meaty role. (Michael Caine comes to mind in this regard; also Robert Redford, Oliver Reed, and Warren Beatty.)This film was nearly the last gasp for Peppard's dreams of becoming a superstar. He had been groomed for the spotlight for years ("How the West Was Won," etc.) but it never quite worked out. A year after this film came out, he got second billing to Rock Hudson in the pretty bad "Tobruk," and a year after that starred with Mary Tyler Moore in "What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" which was seen by exactly four people. Peppard's next stop, basically, was TV, where he kept body and soul together for years (despite getting fired from "Dynasty" for being a jerk; John Forsythe got the gig and perhaps wept tears of joy).Ursula Andress is spectacular here. She is at her luscious best, and may I just say, damn that stupid towel. James Mason is good. The glimpses of Berlin streets are interesting. The cameo by the Red Baron is fun. I wonder if there's any connection between the baron's appearance in this film (which was shot in 1965) and Snoopy's charming fight with the Red Baron in "Peanuts" which began in the autumn of '65.The concluding sequence of the film is idiotic in terms of logic. Mason sends Peppard up to die in a rickety plane to get rid of him--he sends up a "death trap" of a plane over a huge crowd. Not just a huge crowd but a huge crowd filled with dignitaries, including the crown prince of the realm, half the general staff, and, most importantly, all the aircraft designers and builders. The plane flies right over the crowd a couple of times. The scriptwriters could have steered clear of any problems by having Mason say, "I want to see some real flying--but confine yourself to the far side of the field for safety." "Safety? I care nothing about safety!" "That's an order." Still, the sequence is memorable, in a melodramatic way.If you want to read a short piece about the air war of the First World War--the intensity of it, the honor of it, the class-bound nature of it--check out the "Manfred von Richthofen" entry in Wikipedia.

ma-cortes Interesting War drama taken from German point of view , it deals with a young pilot named Stachel (George Peppard) in the air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous , attempts ambitiously to earn the medal -The Blue Max- offered for 20 shooting down enemy planes . He reunites an aristocratic group of flying aces (Jeremy Kemp , Karl Michael Vogler) and emerges dispute , envy and hating . Most of the officer corps comes from Germany's high-class elite and Stachel feels out of place . His blind ambition leads him to claim a shooting down that is not his and when he confides in the gorgeous spouse (Ursula Andress) of a General (James Mason), conflicts are inevitable .Big-budget extended adventures produced by Elmo Williams about a maverick pilot and his partners undergoing risked feats on air and bombing on earth . Based on a novel by Jack Hunter and being well adapted by Franchina and Ben Barzman . Very good aerial actioner plenty action , steamy romance , drama , fantastic cloudy scenes and spectacular dogfighting . George Peppard shows professionalism as crack fighter pilot named Stachel , an ambitious youth assigned to dangerous missions . Top-notch support cast gives excellent performance as Jeremy Kemp as astute contender , Anton Diffring , Derren Nesbitt , Peter Woodthorpe , Loni Von Friedl and Carl Schell as Von Richthofen , the famous Red Baron . Rousing aerial scenes staged by Squire , being wonderfully photographed by Douglas Slocombe and marvelous musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith are the chief assets of this spectacular film . This lavish airplane movie is professionally directed by John Guillermin , habitual of disaster films ( Skyjacked , King Kong , Kong lives ) , adventures ( Tarzan in India , Tarzan's greatest adventure , Sheena ) , Wartime ( Bridge of Remangen , Guns at Batasi , I was Monty's double ) and intrigue ( Death on the Nile , Shaft in Africa , The whole truth ) . John Guillermin usually worked with George Peppard in various films ( such as P.J , House of cards and Blue Max) and Peter Sellers (Never let go , Walz of the Toreadors) . 'Blue Max' is a rehash of the former airplane movie clichés in which the splendid casting stands out . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable and breathtaking film and results to be a good treatment of WWI flying aces .