Anzio

Rating:
Summary: Italian Lament with Hollywood Directing
Review: If ANZIO were recut from the original negative, had new sound effects and included a reworked score by John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith it would have the potential for becoming a good movie. As it is, several versions of the movie were produced for American, Italian and general European audiences. ANZIO has potential. Loosely based on the 1944 Allied landings at Anzio-Nettuno, the film strays into the traditional Italian lament that the Italians are the victims of Axis and Allies alike. Not surprising as the movie is a product of veteran Hollywood director Edward Dmytryk (Back to Bataan, The Caine Mutiny) and Italian mega producer Dino De Laurentiis. Indeed, a good portion of the movie was shot on De Laurentiis' estate. Included are a superb cast who unfortunately flounder with a bad script. Indeed, Robert Mitchum's biography notes that there was hardly a script at all. Robert Mitchum leads the cast playing the role of an internationally reknown war correspondent who is driven to determine why men go to war. Mitchum's character, Dick Ennis, attaches himself to an infantry squad that finds itself cut off behind enemy lines. The Additionally in the film are a pre-Columbo Peter Falk, post western film star Earl Holiman, Robert Ryan, and Arthur Kennedy. Also look for young Reni Santoni who would later make a name for himself as Clint Eastwood's partner in DIRTY HARRY. Wolfgang Preiss does a splendid job, albeit in the few minutes alotted to him, portraying German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. The film does have its moments. The landings at Anzio are faithfully recreated with the assistance of footage from contemporary US amphibious landing manuevers -- not unlike the similar footage secured by Daryl Zanuck for THE LONGEST DAY. The ambush of US Rangers at Cisterna is also pretty spectacular. As with most De Laurentiis films, look for a big production with cast of thousands. If you are a collector of war films, then the DVD version of this film -- complete in wide screen -- should find its way into your collection, but you should also read a good book on the subject before accepting this film as history.

Rating:
Summary: This is one BAD movie.
Review: It may have been a big hit, but this movie stinks. Mitchum is good, but that's about it. It's fake and inaccurate, not to mention boring. Even when there is action, it so fake you won't care. I don't even know why it's called Anzio. It focuses on 7 GIs who survive an enemy ambush and try to get back to their lines. Bad script doesn't help. Inaccuracies include helipads on WW2-era ships and Americans with British WW1 rifles. You'll find that looking at the bottom of your popcorn bowl is more entertaining than the movie. I did.

Rating:
Summary: Not so good
Review: Personally I love WWII movies and therefore I'll grab about anything I can find in relation to WWII genre. Furthermore, I'm usually very forgiving with historical inaccuracies if the script and plot is intelligently written. ANZIO, for me, is a disappointment because the focus of the story plot dabbles with philosophical issues about war and the script is mediocre, not to mention the movie drags. Robert Mitchum is protrayed as a pacificist war correspondent in search of some philosophical reasoning for why men go to war. He uses his words as weapons against inept generals (who carelessly endanger the lives of soldiers), with his published editorials. Persistently throughout the movie he refuses to carry a weapon and indulge in any act of violence. For me, ANZIO was too slow with action, poorly written script, and the plot delved too much into the anti-war sentiments as portrayed by a fictional character (Mitchum) who likewise reasoned this "fictional philosophy," that probably represented the personal feelings of the author or director (aka, the anti-war sentiments of Hawkeye Pierce and the M.A.S.H. crew). Hey, I did like the intro song "This World is Yours" by Jack Jones.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: The 1944 Allied landings at Anzio were more or less a mistake, and so would be buying this film. Although it has a solid cast and some nice moments with Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk and Wolfgang Preiss, it has a phony feel that goes beyond the historical innacuracies and the annoying tendency of late 1960s war movies to outfit all sides with the same kind of tanks, painted different colors. The film is sluggishly paced, overly preachy -- I know it was Vietnam-era, but not all generals are fools and sociopaths -- and battle scenes are few and far between. What should be the big moment, where the Germans ambush and annihilate the 1st and 3rd U.S. Ranger battalions, is ineptly directed. The film is not really about Anzio at all: it is about Mitchum's disillusioned war-correspondent and a misfit crew of GIs who have to make it back to American lines following the disaster. The only good combat sequence is at the end when Mitchum, Falk and company tackle three German snipers, but by then it is too late. Mitchum was in a lot of good WWII films, but baby, this ain't one of 'em.

Rating:
Summary: Historically Inaccurate but Entertaining
Review: The Allied landing at Anzio was not unopposed. Allied forces were bogged down in trench fighting for almost three weeks before they could move inland against the Germans. In this film facts get turned around but the basic story is intriguing. A rather stoic Robert Mitchum plays a pacifist battle-hardened war correspondent who must come to grips with his own convictions. Under Edward Dmytryk's direction Mitchum's character seems to have more military smarts than the professionals do, thus making his character a bit of a conundrum. That's what makes this film so interesting. Peter Falk, Earl Holliman and Reni Santoni are good as the stereotypical GIs that Mitchum goes out on patrol and has to fight his way back with. Riz Ortolani created a good suspenseful score and there are some really good action sequences. The good cast, which is a great asset, includes Robert Ryan, Arthur Kennedy, Patrick Magee and Mark Damon.

Rating:
Summary: DVD is superb!
Review: This DVD release of ANZIO is superior to the VHS prints. The picture quality on the Letterbox side is incredible, and the pan and scan transfer is also very nice. It's much better than I expected. The sound qaulity on the English version is average mono, and sounds a lot better with the French audio track. Restored theatrical trailers for several other similar films are included on both sides of the disc. The movie itself is an average WWII film from the late 1960s, but appears a lot better on this great DVD than on TV and video releases.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This is a movie that most WWII film buffs will enjoy.
For once, American forces are exposed as being ill-led and vulnerable during at least one major conflict (The battle at the Salerno beach-head is another example of an Allied debacle).
The German forces are depicted as a worthy, well-equipped, veteran opponent.
There are some problems with the plot and the characters. For example, only one minute of footage is dedicated to the eventual break-out from the Anzio beach-head by the Allied forces. Also, Peter Falk is completely unbelievable as an elite Canadian Commando ("The Black Devils").
Finally, the firefight between the survivors of the American Rangers against 4 German snipers would have been a no-contest in reality. The Germans would have shot every man dead (i.e. Falk, Mitchum, Holliman,...) within a range of at least 100 meters.
All flaws put aside, ANZIO is still an enjoyable movie to watch because of the beautiful Italian locations, the excellent cinematography, and the decent acting from Mitchum and others.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Movie, Bad History
Review: This is probably the worst movie Robert Mitchum ever made. Aside from the usual Hollywood anti-war cliches, it offers a silly plot, a script full of loose ends and improbable doings, and a ridiculously distorted picture (or lack of picture) of the Anzio landings. If Mitchum wasn't ashamed of this movie, he should have been.

Rating:
Summary: Robert Mitchum Goes To War Without A Rifle
Review: This war picture stands out from the rest with its unusual characters and odd dialogue. Robert Mitchum has a role almost unkown to World War II films, that of a pacifist war correspondent who views war as a futile excercise in which egotistical Generals lead soldiers to slaughter like a butcher stuffing animals into a meat grinder. Mitchum enjoys deflating Generals by reminding them of how foolish mistakes cost lives and the botched operation at Anzio in Italy becomes one of the biggest blunders of all. One of the best scenes has Mitchum chewing out a Commander via a broken radio. Mitchum sums up his frustration perfectly when he is informed no one can hear him. Peter Falk provides some of the strangest moments such as trying to teach a group of prostitutes to sing, 'Bye Bye Blackbird' and when he gives one an excessive tip he tells her to buy something substantial, "like a lawn mower". More of a curiousity than a great accomplishment this film falls just short of an additional star in the rating. Bottom line, Good entertainment you can watch more than once.

Rating:
Summary: ANZIO a must for Earl Holliman fans!
Review: With the current crop of recent WWII films being pumped out of Hollywood, ANZIO remains often over-looked by many yet remains a classic. As a former Hollywood production assistant and professional film enthusiast, I have written many articles concerning the work of various actors. ANZIO, starring Mitchum and Peter Falk, features the underrated Earl Holliman. Holliman,still alive and well, is best remembered for his role in the 1970s POLICE WOMAN television series with Angie Dickinson. Holliman fans can also see more of his fine work in THE RAINMAKER(Burt Lancaster) GIANT(James Dean) and THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER(John Wayne) and the recent DVD release of another fine war film set during the Korean War, THE BRIGDES OF TOKO RI which placed Earl Holliman alongside the great William Holden. ANZIO was one of the better war films of the late 1960s with a well-written screenplay. This film reminds you that writing and acting was plenty to entertain the audience long before computer generated battle scenes existed.