Rating: 
Summary: Gunboat Diplomacy in Stark Detail
Review: This movie may well be Steve McQueen's best role. In fact, it was the only role for which he received an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, the Academy chose Paul Schofield in 1966 for his role in "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS" and McQueen never again received an Oscar nomination. His career lasted only another 14 years as he died at the all too young age of 50 in 1980 from mesothelioma. This is an excellent adaptation of Richard McKenna's novel of the same name. McQueen plays Jake Holman, a Machinist's Mate 1st Class and the central figure in the story. He is joined by Richard Crenna, in his Oscar nominated role (best supporting actor) as LT Collins, commanding officer of the USS San Pablo, Richard Attenborough as Jake's friend, Frenchy Burgoyne, Mako as the Chinese coolie Po-Han (who Jake trains to run the engine room) and a beautiful 19 year old Candice Bergen in her first major screen role. Filmed on location on Taiwan and the city of Kaoshiung (which resembled Shanghai of the 1920s), the movie concerns itself with the US Navy gunboat, the San Pablo. The ship is a veritable relic, it was captured from Spain by the USA in the Spanish American war and is only used to patrol the less meaninful tributaries of the Yangtze River. Staioned primarily in Tung Ting Lake and the city of Changsha, the gunboat's mission is to defend American lives and interests in the interior of China in the days when even Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists did not control all of the warlords. McQueen is outstanding as the "loner" sailor who has transferred 8 times in his first 9 years in the navy. Each time, he has transferred to smaller and smaller ships so as not to have to deal with all the "military crap." He is the consummate ship's engineer and all he seems to care about are the engines he works on. Respected for his technical prowess, he receives poor performance appraisals for leadership and teamwork. McQueen, who himself was a major "motorhead" was ideally cast for the part. Throughout the movie, he does more with facial expressions and inflections in his voice than any other actor before or since. It was no wonder that his acting brethren in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated him for the Oscar for Best Actor of 1966. As the movie progresses, McQueen begins to soften. There are several reasons. He develops a good friend in Frenchy Burgoyne, he befriends and trains the coolie, Po-Han to run the engine and supervise the other Chinese engine-room coolies and he begins to fall for Candice Bergen, who plays an idealistic young missionary from Vermont, recruited to teach the Chinese at the mission known as China Light. But a happy ending is not in store for these actors in the drama of Chinese history. It is 1926 and the Chinese masses are awakening to the unfairness of having foreign navies patrolling the hinterlands of China, the unequal treatment of Chinese vs. Europeans and Americans and the burgeoning conflict between the Nationalists (under Chiang Kai-shek) and the Communists under Mao Tse-Tung. This is an epic movie, made on a grand scale. All of the details are there; from the 1920s USN uniforms, to the actual working engine room used to portray the one found on the San Pablo. All of the performances are weel delivered and the supporting cast, which included Gavin MacLeod (pre-LOVE BOAT) is first rate. There is high drama and many first-rate action and battle scenes, especially when the San Pablo fights it's way across Lake Tung Ting to rescue the American missionaries at China Light. This is a story of mutual awakenings. One is on the most personal and individual level and the other is on a national and international scale. It is also a fine history lesson about a period of time, not too long after WW I, when the United States began to flex its muscles and started to assume its place among the "players" on the world stage. There are some very interesting parallels between the USA in China in the 1920s and the USA in Vietnam in the 1960s as well. As this movie was being made on Taiwan, the United States was escalating its own involvement in Indo-China. Jake Holman's story in this movie is also the story of the United States as it became a world power. If you want to see an outstanding movie, the type that is rarely made any more and if you want to see Steve McQueen's finest performance, then do not miss THE SAND PEBBLES. And despite the mixed messages, this movie is also a tribute to the men of the US NAVY, who left all they knew at home, to patrol the backwaters of China and to show the American flag. Paul Connors
Rating:
Summary: Great treatment of America's Asia Experience
Review: The Sand Pebbles is an extremely well made movie. The ensemble cast is exceptional but the standouts are Steve McQueen and RIchard Crenna. McQueen is outstanding as a Machinest Mate who is devoted to his machinery and has extremely limited ability to interact with his fellow crewmembers. He is perceived as an outsider by the crew of the San Pablo and a potential troublemaker by the captain of the ship. At this time in Naval history, a good man could and would stay in a single ship for years at a strectch. One who moved frequently was considered to be a problem Sailor. Richard Crenna is excellent as a commanding officer at the this distant end of America's Naval reach. His task is to keep his men motivated to the mission at hand which is to represent American power in Asia. At the same time knowing that the missionaries in the area dislike them and the businessmen tolerate them as a required evil. Coupled with the smallest ship being the fartherst into China, is the local unrest as various warlords are establishing local control, Communist forces are making in attempt to influence events and student unrest boils up. Is it any wonder that the crew is confused as to what thier missions are. But rather than worry, they head for the local saloons and leave the bigger decisions to the officers. This film tells the story of not just a single man, it tells the story of generations of men who served in China. Some came and stayed when their Navy careers were over. SOme came and never left and are buried there. Others came and left and have never forgotten their time there. They did their duty and that was all the America asked of them, or at least the diplomats. I'm sure that in the 20s, very few, if any, Americans ever realized that there were hundreds of US Sailors patrolling thousands of miles of rivers and coasts to preserve America's rights in China. The Sand Pebbles is a comprehensive movie that shows the Asisatic Sailors at their best and worst. It should be a must see movie for anyone intersted in America and China and how our present relationship developed.
Rating:
Summary: A Riveting & Compelling Drama WIth McQueen At His Best!
Review: The Sand Pebbles is an absolutely terrific movie, which is centered on the pitfalls of involving the military in a culture it simply does not understand. The cinematography of the Asiatic land and seascapes is literally breath-taking, and the movie's script is compelling, multilayered, and tends to keep you guessing as to where this is going and what the consequences may be for the crew of a U.S. gunboat slowly becoming entangled in the internal domestic politics of early 20th century China without understanding the dangerous complexities of the situation. The cast is stellar, starting with what may have been perhaps the finest and most accomplished acting by Steve McQueen in his long and illustrious career. Here McQueen does more with a series of facial shots than most actors could do with a gunboat full of dialogue. It also includes a very young and beautiful Candace Bergen, a remote and imperious "by the book" and dangerously gung-ho skipper played quite well by Richard Crenna, as well as wonderful performances by Mako, Richard Attenborough, and a number of notable others. All of them add to the progress of the drama, but it is McQueen's reawakening as a person during the progress of the movie that is the centerpiece of its story, as he slowly transforms from a selfish, emotionally remote, and cynical sailor into a person who increasingly recognizes that there things in life worth fighting and even dying for. The movie is quite long at 180 minutes (3 hours), but through its length provides a very interesting, absorbing, and off-beat look at how our country sometimes becomes embroiled in international incidents without understanding what is going on, and how that military involvement, whether it is in a sleeping China or in Vietnam (which was the obvious parallel in the mid-sixties when this was made) affects everyone involved. Don't miss this chance to see Steve McQueen and a strong supporting cast in this terrific though perhaps subtle anti-war movie.
Rating:
Summary: Do Not Miss Seeing this Film
Review: This is an epic adventure tale of a U.S. Navy Gunboat crew's experiences in late 1920's China. I originally saw this film when it was released with my older brother. I was 10 years old at the time. Viewing the film, particularly at that age, was a significant emotional experience for me. By that I mean it shaped my perception of the world. In my view, McQueen's portrayal of his character's (Jake Holman) isolation from others and "aloneness" (and the broader theme of every individual's isolation) is unparalleled in screen history. There are scenes in the film where a facial expression or look across the camera of McQueen say more than volumes of dialog ever could. This is McQueen at his best demonstrating his expertise, perhaps superior to any other actor before or since, to visually express emotion without dialog in a remarkably subtle and believable fashion. McQueen matured as an actor in this film. It will be impossible for anyone who has ever felt alone (who hasn't) not to have great empathy for McQueen's character and come away from this movie emotionally drained. Neither this film nor McQueen's performance have ever gotten the attention or recognition they deserve. This movie was a unique achievement. In addition, McQueen's performance is supported by a superb cast. It would be a mistake not to see it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films made in the 1960's
Review: An outstanding film, with superb direction and production values, beautiful location photagraphy, a compelling story, and uniformly fine performances by a cast of skilled actors. Captures the political, professional and personal aspects of a tense historical episode with exceptional finesse and candor. MUST be seen in wide-screen format. Most highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Long, but utterly absorbing
Review: Definitely MeQueen's best role. It's a bit different than the novel on which it's based, but actually an improvement on a very good book. The author, the late Richard McKenna, spent some 20 years in the Navy, so he wrote from first-hand experience. There's a bit of everything in this movie -- tragedy, love, war, politics, history. It's absorbing from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: A historical treat
Review: Everybody's review on this board has it right. The cast, the screenplay, the look and feel, the sets are all fantastic. The only thing I can add is this: the movie accurately reflects the dilemma that an American crew would face during that time in China's history - the feuding factions in China, the population tiring of the foreign presence, the corrupt local politics, the well-intentioned but damage-inducing actions by many people, etc. The screenwriter did his homework. One astute reviewer also picked up on the Viet Nam parallel - that is one of the first things I thought as this movie progressed. Isn't it odd how a movie set in 1926 and made in 1966 would look like such a striking surrogate for the events unfolding in Viet Nam? Was that intentional?
Rating:
Summary: McQueen's Best
Review: In my opinion, Steve McQueen's best performance. This movie should rank up there with Hollywood's great epics, but I find that very few people today have seen it. The cast is superb, the technical aspects of the movie appear to be dead on, and the basic human story it tells is compelling. For those who don't like war or military movies, I recommend that you give this one a chance. It's a long movie, but, if you get as caught up in the characters lives as I did, you won't even notice. This is one I'll watch one to two times a year!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding entertainment. Historical fiction at its best.
Review: As a novel, I first read "The Sand Pebbles" while in Vietnam. As a Navy Veteran, I can relate many stories that I have heard over the years about "The Brown Water Navy". The U. S. Navy ship San Pablo, and her crew were a part of the Brown water fleet, showing the flag in Chinese waterways and ports of call. The director, actors and photography were true to the story line and for me, it was as if the characters had walked right out of the novel. While Steve Mcqueen was the dominant actor, the entire cast made "The Sand Pebbles" a truly memorable experience.
Rating:
Summary: A classic adventure movie with the right stuff!
Review: The Sand Pebbles is the best Steve McQueen movie in my opinion. His portrayal of Seaman Jake Holman aboard a U.S. gunboat in China during the 1920's is awesome. Also the supporting cast of Richard Crenna as the Captain of the gunboat the San Pablo, Candice Bergen as a VERY beautiful missionary who falls for Holman, and Sir Richard Attenborough as Holman's Navy buddy Frenchie, and Mako as a coolie that Holman trains, give fine performances as well. There is plenty of action especially during the battle scene where the San Pablo must fight through a line of Chinese junks linked together. It is exciting. The romance storyline between McQueen and Bergen is touching. I highly recommend this film.
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