Rating: 
Summary: Another great film about another great general
Review: The FULLY RESTORED version of "MacArthur" is here and it is NOW on DVD! Not as strong as "Patton", but still intriguing. The complete war campaign of MacArthur...starring Gregory Peck in the leading role. From his first campaign in the Phillipines to his final battle in Korea. Indeed...you shall return to this DVD & see this movie over & over again. Truly delightful.
Rating:
Summary: "Duty, Honor, and Country..."
Review: The movie "MacArthur", played by the great Gregory Peck, mainly takes place between the years 1942 through 1952, from MacArthur as a four star general to when he `retires' in the wake of Eisenhower's presidency. The movie takes you through MacArthur's historic events: leaving Corregidor, arriving in Australia saying those never to be forgotten words 'I shall return', island hopping back to the Philippines, on through the Korean War, then ultimately his retirement.
I cannot express in words how wonderful Peck's portrayal of MacArthur was. He WAS Douglas MacArthur in every sense of the man. He played the part of the historic figure perfectly; where he was beloved by people, yet at times could be so agressive, straightforward, and outspoken that he made people clench their teeth in annoyance of that man (how do you think he got the nickname, 'American Caesar'?). A truly gifted actor, Greogry Peck will forever fill my memories of 'THE actor who played one of the greatest men of all time.'
Setting aside Peck's performance, a few other honorable mentions are Marj Dusay as MacArthur's wife and Ed Flanders respectfully as Harry S. Truman. Dusay had few lines but instead, through her quiet courage and determination in standing by her husband's side shows indeed the importance she played as the faithful wife. Ed Flanders deserves much applause for his role as President Truman with a splendid performance as one of the many men who, though he hates MacArthur's guts, can't help admiring his military genius.
In the historical point of view, I felt that "MacArthur" was fairly accurate, especially the depictions of the Korean "Conflict" (War). It portrayed just how much of a 'political' war it had begun, especially with the Chinese making it into an international incident.
As for myself being half American-Japanese living in Japan, it was quite interesting to see how MacArthur began the reformation of Japan after WWII. I was also quite impressed with Yuki Shimoda playing the Prime Minister of Japan, and how he gave MacArthur full support in making sure that Japan could not again build a military force. That meeting between the Prime Minister and MacArthur was very touching to me.
After watching the film, I also couldn't help but feel somewhat sad seeing how the world has changed from the circumstances of the past. After the Korean War, where communism was allowed to take hold of North Korea, the situation between North Korean and Japan is now somewhat strained, what with various incidents including kidnapping and illegal transportations. It is sad to see in the movie how this would have been prevented if MacArthur had been given leeway to finish the Korean War with a sound victory instead of the unforgivable option, the "armistice."
All in all this is a wonderful movie that shouldn't be missed. There is one warning I would like to add which a few reviewers have also mentioned. The film is somewhat 'choppy' as in the plot moves along pretty swiftly. Unless you are very well informed about the years in which the movie takes place, there is a high possibility you would be lost as to what is going on. My suggestion is either 1) watch the movie with someone who understands the history of that time well, or 2) study the history before watching the movie. I can guarantee though that after watching "MacArthur", curiosity will overcome you and make you want to read more about those years.
*Rated PG for some war violence. But in any case, best watched by older teens and adults so that they know what is going on. I guess this will lean more towards being a 'guy' movie, though for any girl (like me) who loves good acting and is interested in history will most definitely like this movie*
Rating: 
Summary: Key Scenes Were Cut
Review: This is a good movie as it stands. It was originally a superb movie.Example of a key scene cut: Retained in this version is the time MacArthur assumes the military governorship of Japan after WWII. He comments to an aide that Emperor Hirohito is to remain as emperor but that he (MacArthur) would not visit Hirohito, that eventually Hirohito would come to MacArthur and that would be the beginning of the end of the emperor's divine reign. Cut from this version is Emperor Hirohito's actual visit to MacArthur (the emperor never appears in this version at all)! This visit is a short scene, it is historically of incredible significance, and it is vital to the story of Douglas MacArthur for it tells of MacArthur's wisdom and undiluted success in converting feudal Japan to modern Japan. Historically when MacArthur was fired by Truman the Japanese literally wept, so successful was he. The editor of this version had no sense of MacArthur as anything more than a general, probably saw him as another Patton and tried to make another such movie. It's still a good movie but not a great one.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, very informative, could have been better
Review: This is a good movie, very informative about MacArthur. I would have liked to seen the 2hr 40min trade screen version because a lot of interesting events have been omitted from this movie that occurred in real life. All in all, its refreshing that at least some people remember the greatest General of the United States ever. His positives and negatives are portrayed in this movie very straightforward. Hollywood has seemingly forgotten about the war in the Pacific against Japan. In the past few years tons of movies have been made about the European theatre with almost zero about the Pacific. MacArthur, the Army, Nimitz, the Marines, and the Pacific and their conflict relationship is quite interesting. I would love to see something to that effect on the big screen (not holding my breathe).
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: This was a good movie, it could have been a great movie but it fell short in a couple places. The performance by Gregory Peck was great (almost in George C. Scott league but not quite). The performance by the supporting actors was not bad, especially the guys that played Truman and Roosevelt. I think where the movie fell short was that it seemed too jumpy. The scenes of his battles (both military and political) seemed short. There didn't seem to be closure on the battles other than jumping to the next battle to be fought. I've never seen the uncut version, so I don't know if that's addressed there. It seems like this movie would have been better served with another hour at least. I would have to say my favorite aspect of the movie was his warning as he was fired. Namely that you should never tell the military to fight a war of half measures. Also, that Congress shouldn't shirk its responsibility by not declaring war.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: This was a good movie, it could have been a great movie but it fell short in a couple places. The performance by Gregory Peck was great (almost in George C. Scott league but not quite). The performance by the supporting actors was not bad, especially the guys that played Truman and Roosevelt. I think where the movie fell short was that it seemed too jumpy. The scenes of his battles (both military and political) seemed short. There didn't seem to be closure on the battles other than jumping to the next battle to be fought. I've never seen the uncut version, so I don't know if that's addressed there. It seems like this movie would have been better served with another hour at least. I would have to say my favorite aspect of the movie was his warning as he was fired. Namely that you should never tell the military to fight a war of half measures. Also, that Congress shouldn't shirk its responsibility by not declaring war.
Rating: 
Summary: What a shame....
Review: this would have been a really good movie if they hadn't hacked out half of it. I've only seen the real one once and it was great. in this they hacked out Toshiro Mifune and a bunch of other characters. The cutting is worse than when they [messed] with the battle of the bulge or when they lopped out the corral sea battle in midway. if they left in this footage it would make much more sense. I bet Ted Turner's crew was reponsible for these cuts.
Rating:
Summary: "duty, honor, country"
Review: Those that are interested in General Douglas MacArthur, and admire his qualities of courage and fortitude, will find this film fascinating; it is beautifully filmed, with marvelous re-creations of the mid 20th century, and the battle scenes are very well done.
The speeches alone are a glory to listen to, full of passion for "duty, honor, and country", and the words are so exquisitely crafted they are like the finest prose.
The film starts and ends in MacArthur's beloved West Point, on a blustery day, as he speaks to the cadets, and is among the many memorable scenes; others are the landing on Layte, and the signing of Japan's surrender, on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, which is a fabulous re-staging of the historic event. Gregory Peck gives a monumental portrayal of MacArthur; it is nuanced and brilliant, and from the old film clips I have seen of General MacArthur, subtly captures his posture and movement, with his many different pipes. This film is one of Peck's best, and it's sad it did not have more critical acclaim, as I feel it certainly deserved it.
Other terrific performances come from Marj Dusay as his wife Jean, Sandy Kenyon as General Jonathan Wainwright, and Ed Flanders as President Truman is quite exceptional; tough, gritty, and angered by MacArthur. An excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Mario Tosi complements the well-paced direction by Joseph Sargent. If it has a flaw, I feel the film makes too much of the publicity loving aspect of MacArthur's personality. Yes, he liked to use the media to his advantage, and most people who make history feel the same way no doubt...otherwise it is a fairly balanced depiction of one of the great men of the 20th century. It is interesting to speculate what would have happened had General MacArthur been able to do what he thought was right, and not the "capitulation" and "immoral compromise with evil" he felt he was forced to accept. Perhaps over time millions of lives would have been saved, but I'm sure many would argue otherwise.
Total running time 130 minutes.
"A soldier above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war".
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