Rating: 
Summary: Och aye, a supairrb disc!
Review: One of my favorite films has finally made it to DVD. One of the true gems of the postwar British cinema, by a director who often gets short shrift alongside his illustrious contemporaries, Ronald Neame. Everything about the picture's been said - some of the best screen acting of all time in this one. The disc does it justice. The delicate color balance is magnificently rendered,
and the sound is equally well-presented. The real kicker, tho',
is in the extras. The Neame interview is a delight, as is the Guinness one. The Mills one is marred slightly by the rather fatuous questions he is aked, but still quite fine. In short, Criterion hits another one out of the park. Pour yersailf a
wee dram, sit down, and enjoy a bona-fide classic.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful movie of human conflict.
Review: Outstanding movie revolves around clash of wills and styles of Major Sinclair (Alec Guiness) and Lt Col Barrow (John Mills) when combat veteran acting commander is replaced by staff officer when Highland battalion returns to garrison duty after World War II. Both actors are magnificant as their conflict effects the officers and family members around them. Includes strong performances by Dennis Price (Major Scott) and Gordan Jackson (Captain Cairns) as subordinate officers caught in the middle between personal loyalty and professional duty. Interesting first part for Susannah York. NR but would probably be at least PG13 with mild violence and languarge and some adult situations.Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishing story by Ronald Neame...
Review: The sociable and veteran Major Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) has been the acting as Commanding Officer for the Highland Regiment since World War II where he once began as a piper. However, Jock is about to be replaced by a new Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Basil Barrow (John MIlls), and the mere thought of being swapped with another officer upsets Jock. Colonel Barrow is an aloof and pedant officer with deep scares from the war where he spent most of his time in a prison camp. When Colonel Barrow takes over he immediately begins to set his changes into action, which upsets the lenient Jock who does not like Colonel Barrow or his new strict changes that he has brought to the Highland Regiment. These changes instigate Jock to begin a private psychological warfare toward Colonel Barrow where he plays on the fact that the other officers are not used to changes. Tunes of Glory is an astonishing story as it displays the rough surface of the Highland military, but at the same time presents the affectionate side of grown men that have returned from war. On top of this the audience gets to see two outstanding performances by Alec Guinness and John Mills that are supported by a terrific cast. In the end the audience will have experienced a wonderful film that leaves them with thoughts and stirred feelings.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishing story by Ronald Neame...
Review: The sociable and veteran Major Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) has been the acting as Commanding Officer for the Highland Regiment since World War II where he once began as a piper. However, Jock is about to be replaced by a new Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Basil Barrow (John MIlls), and the mere thought of being swapped with another officer upsets Jock. Colonel Barrow is an aloof and pedant officer with deep scares from the war where he spent most of his time in a prison camp. When Colonel Barrow takes over he immediately begins to set his changes into action, which upsets the lenient Jock who does not like Colonel Barrow or his new strict changes that he has brought to the Highland Regiment. These changes instigate Jock to begin a private psychological warfare toward Colonel Barrow where he plays on the fact that the other officers are not used to changes. Tunes of Glory is an astonishing story as it displays the rough surface of the Highland military, but at the same time presents the affectionate side of grown men that have returned from war. On top of this the audience gets to see two outstanding performances by Alec Guinness and John Mills that are supported by a terrific cast. In the end the audience will have experienced a wonderful film that leaves them with thoughts and stirred feelings.
Rating:
Summary: An intense look at the psychological aftermath of war.
Review: This is a great movie. The time: immediately following the Second World War. The place: Scotland, specifically the Scotts Highland Regiment. The Regiment has returned from hard combat in North Africa and Europe, and once again is esconced in its barracks in the Scottish Highlands--the place in which it has been headquartered for over three hundred years. The Acting Commanding Officer is Col. Jock Sinclair (Alec Guiness), a rough, uneducated man from the lower classes who worked his way up to Colonel from the ranks. Sinclair got his promotion in the desert, fighting Rommel, and one senses that these experiences have created strong bonds of friendship between Sinclair and certain other officers in the battalion. Now higher headquarters has assigned a new Commanding Officer to the battalion--Col. Basil Barrow, a university-educated man from the upper classes who comes from a long line of officers who served with, and indeed commanded, the battalion. But Barrow, for all that, is viewed as an outsider and newcomer--while the other officers forged friendships in the war, fighting the Germans, Barrow was in the Pacific theater. Sinclair is relegated to second-in-command. Sinclair is deeply resentful of Barrow, and immediately gets off on the wrong foot with his new commander, unintentionally belittling Barrow's war service, most of which involved the horrors of being a POW tortured by the Japanese. In fact, Colonel Barrow is deeply scarred by his wartime experience, and has lost perspective in dealing with his officers. He is a martinet, and appears to forget that leadership involves earning the respect of one's subordinates--it is not simply bestowed from on-high. Although both men love the Regiment above all else, this film is about an implacable conflict between Sinclair and Barrow. For Sinclair does not respect Barrow, who he views as a "spry wee gent who will not command the Battalion for very long..."
The interaction between Barrow and Sinclair provides for an intense psychological confrontation. This is a war movie without a war. None is needed. This is a superb study in leadership, confrontation, loyalty, and the nature of the tradition-rich Highland Regiment. The class divisions among the Regimental officers is interestingly portrayed. The entire cast turns in a fine performance, and Guiness is truly stellar as the rough-spoken Colonel Sinclair.
The DVD is beautifully remastered, with crisp audio and video. I've been keeping an old ratty videocassete of this film for years, hoping that the film would eventually turn up on DVD. Now it has, and any film afficianado will enjoy this crisp, fast-paced and intense story.
Rating:
Summary: Peace Time Rivalries in a Scottish Regiment
Review: This is a most excellent movie. Both Alec Guineness and John Mills put in great performances as two troubled commanding officers squaring off for command of a post war Scottish regiment. The acting is supurb all around. What I find most interesting is the depiction of regimental life. Few movies have ever provided such a vivid and lush view of being an officer in the Britsih army in the post war period. One can see that the comfortable and cozy regimental lifestyle continued for many years until recently where cut-backs and reductions in the army have no doubt curtailed much of what we see here. Still, this movie shows how regimental tradition is so important in the British army, and in Scottish regiments in particular. The pipes are a part of every day life with their various duty tunes played throughout the day as shown in the film. The dancing scene where the officers are all brought out on parade early in the morning was not unknown, and shows that social comportment was a much greater factor in the past than it is today. We never get to know which Highland regiment is being portrayed in this movie. The location is most likely Stirling Castle which would make it the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, yet there is a lot of evidence to indicate the contrary. It seems that the regiment portrayed is an amalgam of all the Highland units in the British army, and does not indicate any one in particular. To have highlighted one regiment over all the others would have been unfair and so perhaps was a conscious decision made by the producers of the movie. Americans will find the regimental life shown here somewhat different than what is normally associated with army life. These british regiments have every bit as much esprit de corps as anything that can be found in the US army. In fact, regiments matter little in the US army. Divisions and Services are the important thing, not the regiment. Perhaps it was no suprise when the great desk general Colin Powell asked the pipe major of the Argylls recently what accounted for such great morale in the British army: The only response he got was "the regiment sir!" Powell could only nodd his head! Anyway, this movie is great to watch not only for the fine acting, but for its sets and portrayal of army life in a bygone era.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Movie, With Guinness and Mills
Review: This is a sad, great, superbly acted movie about the struggle for dominance in a Scottish regiment after WWII. Colonel Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) was named acting commander of his regimental battalion and now expects to be confirmed. He's an up-from-the-ranks officer, hard drinking, bluff but sly, whose whole life as been the regiment. He demands loyalty and manliness in his officers. But he isn't confirmed. Coming to replace him as battalion commander is Colonel Basil Barrow (John Mills). He's everything Sinclair dislikes, aristocratic, privileged, from a military family. He also is something of martinet, a man who prizes decorum in his officers, a man who was a prisoner of war and returned shaken. Something of a weak man.
The stage is set for Barrow to try to take moral command of the batallion, and for Sinclair to undermine him every step of the way. The result is that both men, with their own weaknesses, destroy themselves.
A number of elements makes this, in my opinion, a powerful motion picture. The setting is batallion headquarters in Scotland, located in a towering, massive stone hulk of a building that reeks of tradition. It's winter and it's cold, and it's a perfect setting for the struggles going on. The customs of the regiment, the playing of pipes, all underline the closed-in atmosphere of this all-male society. The cast is excellent, from the actors playing the soldiers to the NCOs to the officers. Dennis Price, a first-class actor, is cool and enigmatic as the battalion's exec who may have to pick up the pieces and who may not be so disinterested as he appears. And Guinness and Mills are extraordinary, with both playing against type. While Guinness has the flashier role, Mills brings such depth of well-intentioned weakness that the match is equal between the two. You wind up understanding both men and having sympathy for both. Most of all, I think, is the story. It is a fascinating look inside a regiment, tied to a story of real power and tragedy as these two men ruin their lives. This is great story telling and great acting. I recommend the movie.
The Criterion disc is first rate. Among other extras, it features an excellent interview with the director, Ronald Neame, in which he describes the filming of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A very nice movie with great music
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
"Tunes of Glory" is one of the greatest films I have seen which star Alec Guiness. The film is about a batallion of soldiers in Scotland under the command of Jock Sinclair (Guiness) He is an eccentric man and is nearing retirement. When his replacement arrives, he disaproves of his methods. They begin to argue over the right way to command and later the argument is on the verge of becoming violent.
The film has some excellent acting and excellent music performed on the bagpipes. Much of it was composed for the film. There is also excellent scenery and great acting by Alec Guiness and John Mills.
The special features on the DVD are a video interview with director Ronald Neame and an audio interview with actor John Mills. There is also a 1970's BBC interview with Alec Guiness. There is also a theatrical trailer.
I highly recommend this film and it is bound to remain a classic for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: One astonishing movie
Review: This smart film shows us one true tour de force between John Mills and Alec Guiness.
Besides all the technical aspects that support this work, the dramatic nucleus deserves be remarked.
Yet this film was made in 1960 ; this script turns around one the essentials lines that support the question about what an effective leader must be.
Look inside what Guiness means; he has set up his mood leadership in a crowd of soldiers accostumed to his irreverent behavior.
He shares what they like; he drinks and he's vulgar too; in other words he flies with them , even ridiculizes the essential role of the authority. This a style yet employed for many managements specially in organizations composed by people of medium professional rank ; this leader stans up about the warm scent of the charisma; that behavior lets to Guiness smell and know the hidden weakness of every man under his power.
This approach is suddenly disturbed when an officer (John Mills) comes for him to replace. Obviously; that fact generates an inmediat reaction state in all the officers. Guiness knows his days are gone and yet he fights with his rules ; you disagree with his psycolghical handles; but you think that Mills a distingued officer, will be capable to end with this screwy state of things.
The obstacle are countless: some are direct and the rest you can imagine: that invisible match to establish the real rules of game , will turn in an unexpected twist ending.
The script is very carefully made ; just remember just two years before Stanley Kubrick had filmed Paths of Glory. This is important due the bitter atmosphere about every item related with the authority excess was not accepted in any society status.
Add to this, the Korea Cold War from the fifties ; the russian invassion over Hungary ; the growing nuclear tension around the nuclear weapons and the visible increase of peace movements all around the world in multiple facets as Litherature; poetry ; painting (Jason Pollock) ; music (rock & roll); cinema (New Wave birth) and challenging films as Baby doll, On the waterfront or Anatomy of a crime ; the raising movements for protecting the nature ; at this decade (fifties) the society was opened for new discoveries and sensations search (remember that the pill was discovered in the middle of the fifties) ; and this mood made the loss of certain principles you assumed as permanent.
And this movie walks in that direction. Watch this one; because its values and intentions goes far beyond a mere entertainment , the movie inquires you ; it challenges you and invites you to react.
Another superb achievement.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional study on leadership
Review: Tunes of Glory is a study in the conflict between two characters, Major Jock Sinclar and Colonel Barrow in a Scottish regiment post World War II. Sinclair is an up from the ranks officer who is steeped in the traditions and history, boisterous and hell-raising. Barrow is a much more traditional officer, reserved and remote. From the outset tension is visible and obvious as Sinclair relinquishes temporary command to Barrow. Regimental life is a constant theme in this film, something that many American's have never seen; the concept of the regiment as a family group. Sinclair has served in the regiment his entire life, Barrow returns to it only late in his career after initial service in it prior to World War II. Sinclair prospered in the war, gaining distinction. Barrow spent his war in a Japanese POW camp and all that such an event may have held. The conflict is continuous and draws other members of the regiment into the conflict, from other officers to the lynch pins of a Scottish regiment, the regimental Sergeant Major and the Pipe Major. All the actors in this film give excellent support to Guinness and Mills. The final scene is a stunning performance by Guinness that is the high point of the film. For anyone interested in military themes, this is a markedly different film, but one that should not be overlooked.
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