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Summary: US Gunboat in China.
Review: Interesting historic piece of US presence in China 1929 before the revolution. This event has not been filmed very often. The movie is not without appeal, but as McQueen puts it at the end: "What the hell happened?". Richard Crenna is good as the captain and Steve McQueen plays Steve McQueen as in all of his movies from the 60's. His way of acting is completely the same as in for instance "The Magnificent Seven" and "Nevada Smith", but he fills the part OK. The young Candice Bergen is given very little to work with and her romance with McQueen is far from convincing. No sparkle here! Richard Attenborough is not especially good and Emmanuelle Arsan is totally miscast as his Chinese fiancée. A somewhat confusing, but interesting story, too long, too heavy handled but worth seeing once.
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Summary: McQueen is the best!
Review: I've seen this movie many times. Everytime I see it, I am always impressed with the details and accuracy of the surroundings and characters.It must have been a very difficult time for US sailors. What were we doing in the middle of a Chinese revolution anyway. Truly a fantastic film. A must for any collector of war films.
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Summary: Too heartbreaking to watch.
Review: I really did not like this movie because it showed good people who did the right thing, or try to do the right thing die. I cried when I first saw it and I can't watch it to this day.
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Summary: Deep, Fascinating Imperialism Commentary
Review: Steve McQueen stars in this very intense drama about imperialism and the lingering effects of "manifest destiny." This is a first-rate Vietnam allegory, and it centers on Machinist's Mate Jake Holman. He is transferred to the U.S.S. San Pablo, a gunboat stationed on the Yangtze River. It is clear from the beginning that the crew is lazy: they have Chinese "cooleys" to do all the manual labor for them, while the officers hang around. Holman is from the old school, get-your-hands-dirty school of thought. They clash, and soon he has the entire crew on edge as he threatens the balance on board the ship. "Nobody has ever died on the San Pablo" says the stoic captain. Indeed, nothing much ever happens. Every night the guys go to a seedy nightclub, every day they spray down the local protesters. Soon, though, these mean shows turn into resentment in the hearts of the Chinese. Hatred, coming from the Bolsheviks up north and discontentment in China, brings protesters to the San Pablo demanding its departure. Instead of leaving, the San Pablo stays to protect missionaries that neither need nor want protecting. Soon the captain's steadfastness tears the ship apart, nearly to mutiny. The missionaries declare themselves "stateless people" and want no help from the Navy men, but the captain thinks that the time for such fine distinctions is past. Nominated for Best Picture, this is a film that stands the test of time very well, like most of McQueen's films do. A Vietnam allegory and an anti-Imperialism message make this an endearing work, but it is a timeless film and incredibly deep.
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Summary: Steve McQueens best film.
Review: The careers of most hollywood actors can usually be summed up by their two best films. For Burt Lancaster they would be "From Here To Eternity," and "The Bird Man of Alcatraz." For Humphrey Bogart they would be "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon." In my opinion "The Sand Pebbles" is one of Steve McQueen's two crowning glories. The other one being "Papillion." They are probably the only two Steve McQueen movies that are really worth watching, and this one is a classic all the way. One of the best epics I've ever seen. The movie is based on the novel by Richard McKenna. It centers on a salt of the Earth sailor stationed in a gunboat in the backwaters of China in 1926. This marks the beginnings of the civil wars in China, with Communists on one side and Nationalists on the other. The one thing that both sides can agree on is their desire to expell the western powers from China. The gunboat on which McQueen is stationed becomes a symbol of western imperialism by both sides, and the men unfortunate enough to be stationed on it become pawns in a chess game of propaganda. The movie is an epic drama depicting a simple minded and ambitionless 'black gang' sailor from Ohio who joined the navy to excape reform school, and ends up being caught in the middle of the Chinese cultural revolution. Steve McQueen gives a brilliant performance as an unassuming 'squid' who is only interested in engines, beer, and girls. His simplicity makes him the virtuous and classical hero of this epic, since he is too simple to have any interest in the political games that he has been thrown into through no fault of his own. Candice Bergen appears briefly in the film, playing the part of a missionarys daughter who takes a shine to McQueen. Richard Attenborough gives an unballanced performance as one of the other sailors (with a pretty cheesy American accent), and Richard Crenna plays the stilted Captain of the gunboat San Pablo. Nevertheless, the acting is very good. The sailors are very believable and easy to sympathise with. Mako also has a role as a Chinese engine room coolie. One of his earliest roles. Be warned that the movie contains a lot of racial slurrs, which is to be expected from a movie of this era. The Chinese are usually depicted as either villains or idiots, but then again so are most of the westerners. If you take the era in which the movie was made, and are able to overlook these things, it's definitely worth watching.
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Summary: They don't make movies like this anymore
Review: One of the best things McQueen ever did. Learn a little about a time and place with which you might not be familiar. A good one.
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Summary: Fantastic moviemaking...
Review: Sand Pebbles is an absolutely fantastic movie. 9 Academy Award Nominations...need I say more? I will ... :) The movie is based on a tremendous novel of the same name by Richard McKenna. It is a supremely rich novel, fantastic settings, intertwined and complex character developments, and intriguing political insight into gunboat diplomacy and the unfolding of Chiang Kai Shek's revolution and the birth of the modern Chinese nation. As in most book/movie comparisons, the book exceeds the movie in depth and detail, but with SP the movie counters by exceeding the book in some regards. Many of the movies strengths lie with Richard Wise the director/producer. Perhaps better known for his other works such as the Sound of Music and West Side Story, you may be suprised to know that Sound of Music was a "filler" project, albeit a highly successful one, while he was working on Sand Pebbles. The setting is beautiful and exotic and incredibly well-done. Also laying claim to a portion of the credit is the fine acting. Some say this is Steve McQueen at his best. But there is also a young Candice Bergen, Richard Attenborough, Crenna, and a host of others that you will recognize. The acting is nothing short of excellent. There is drama and action, tension and resolution, a beautiful musical score, historical fiction and insight. This is movie making at it's absolute finest. They may not make them like this anymore, but you can still watch them!
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Summary: BEAUTIFUL RE-ISSUE IN DVD!!!
Review: I just finished watching the DVD version of this movie that I purchased. I owned the VHS version and I must say I was greatly impressed with the restoration - it's just gorgeous with the full intro and intermission music. This was the only time that Steve McQueen was nominated for an Oscar and when you see this you'll wonder why he didn't win. I think this role was created just for him - his personality fit the character of Jake Holman perfectly - when Robert Wise first decided to do this movie he wanted Steve for the role but the powers that be at the time didn't think he was an important enough star to back. Wise then did several other movies in the interim and by the time he came back to actually produce the picture Steve had a few more pictures under his belt and was now acceptable to the backers. Paul Newman had originally been offered the part but turned it down - thank goodness he did - although I love Paul Newman, this definitely was not a character he came even remotely close to. I can only say that if you rent or buy this DVD you will not be disappointed!!!!
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Summary: Ahead of its time....
Review: I had seen the Sand Pebbles a long time ago before I had known much about Chinese History. I enjoyed it then, but now after teaching global history for 6 years and making two trips to China the film takes on a whole new meaning. Steve McQueen is great as Holman a sailor on a gunboat in China at the end of the warlord period in the 1920's. But the film is much more than that. It looks at the rise of Chinese nationalism and the rise of Chiang Kai-shek and the nationalist party. the film looks at the end of imperialism in China, and its consquences. The film sets the stage for the eventual victory of Mao and the Chinese communists. In view of recent times and relations with China the film once again becomes important. The connections one can make to the gunboat and the spyplane are obvious. This is a great film on many levels. If you want to see a well made movie, a well acted movie, a beautiful movie, and a fairly accurate historical movie watch the Sandpebbles. This is a DVD to own.
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Summary: An Epic!!
Review: The Sand Pebbles is an excellent movie and one of Steve McQueens best performances. The story of an engine mechanic on a smaller Navy vessel rigged as a gunboat during the Chinese revolution. Portraying Machinest's mate Holman, McQueen gives a very convincing portrayal of a man who is caught between the way he thinks things should be and how they really are. Not one to readily accept authority, he nonetheless, takes command of the battle sequences and motivates the men in those circumstances. He does not fair quite as well with the "coolies" who work on the ship also and seem to think they run the vessel. He makes friends with one though and they together tune the engine well, before and unfortunate accident. A few of these "small incidents" even make his shipmates wary of him and get the whole boat in one fix after another. Some very good photography for the times and quite good character acting by Candice Bergen, Mako, and Sir Richard Attenborough, as well as the ship's captain portrayed by Richard Crenna. This film is a little long, but you will want to watch it straight through, very good score too.
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