Castle Keep

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Burt Lancaster gives a brilliant, measured performance in this anti-war film that features a top notch director ( Sydney Pollack), first rate cast ( Patrick O'Neal, Peter Falk, Tony Bill, Michael Conrad [ Sgt Esterhaus on Hill St. Blues] & Al Freeman Jr.)based on the book by William Eastlake. At times surreal, bitterly ironic and bitterly funny. It takes place during the Battle of the Bulge, as "8 walking wounded misfits of the American Army" try to hold a castle against the advancing German Army. Once seen, not to be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Unmatched valor
Review: Burt Lancaster is poised,confidant and unwavering in his devotion to duty as he leads a small squad of American soldiers in this unusual,intelligent film.A tenth-century castle filled with irreplacable art treasures is the focal point of the story.The Germans have broken through Allied lines near the castle,and battered American troops are rapidly retreating.Do Burt and his men also retreat and leave the castle and its treasures to the advancing Germans? Excellent verbal exchanges among the American soldiers and truly explosive combat sequences interwoven with touches of romance and art make this more than a "men only" movie.It dwells on many levels.A classic!

Rating:
Summary: Underrated war movie
Review: Castle Keep is a very good war movie with an excellent storyline that is a little different from other war movies. The story takes place in the Ardennes during WWII in the Battle of the Bulge. Eight walking wounded misfit Americans discover a castle whose count offers to let them stay there. The Americans must decide whether to stay and delay the Germans at the risk of destroying the beauty of the castle or just turning around and running for their own lines.

This movie boasts an excellent cast that includes Burt Lancaster, Peter Falk, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Tony Bill, Patrick O'Neal, and Bruce Dern. Lancaster gives another great performance as Major Falconer, the leader of the group. O'Neal is also very good as Captain Beckman, an art historian who wants to abandon the castle so it won't be destroyed by the advancing Germans. Another interesting performance is by Peter Falk as Sergeant Rossi, who disappears into the nearby town and becomes their baker. This movie has some anti-war messages, but at other times it is very funny. I hadn't heard of this movie before I saw it on TV, but it is very good. Well developed characters, good action, some humor, and an interesting if sometime out of place musical score. Either way this is a movie that is well worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Pity no one wants it on DVD.... It's a masterpiece!
Review: I review this movie, basing myself on a VHS copy I recorded from Cinemax some years ago. The only copy I own and which I cherish jealously.
I can only compare it to such other masterpieces as "When Trumpets Fade" and "On a Midnight Clear", to which it should be rightfully added, if one is a true movie "connaisseur".
Burt Lancaster's hour of excellence without a doubt, although let's never forget his performances in other movies such as "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Swimmer", "The Gypsy Moths", "Go Tell the Spartans" or "From Here to Eternity".
But let's not forget the strong performances delivered by Peter Falk (as a private who prefers to bake fresh bread, rather than fight a dirty war) and Bruce Dern (as a sort of conscience objector of the times).
The landscape, the scenery, are magic to say the least.
Filmed in plain winter in a fairytale-like village and countryside, it contrasts with the harsh reality of World War II.
In fact, most of the film is about peace, not about war.
These soldiers, all want a spot in which to be at peace, and thought they have found it, are then suddenly, brought back to reality through the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes.
Most of the movie, is a consideration on what a folly war is in the face of so simple realities of everyday life, such as indeed, baking bread, early in the morning and smelling its fresh and "clean" scent.
This is why it is so more shocking when the German counteroffensive hits home, waking everybody up, including us, the audience to this beautiful account.
It is so strident and so brutal, that everything that was so beautiful and peaceful turns to living hell.
This movie is meant for thinkers, for people who look for something to make them think.
It is as strong as any true anti-war movie I've ever seen and forces the viewer to reconsider the glorification of war.
Even though the Castle is the centerpiece of this movie, it is highly symbolic for the comfort we all feel when at home.
When it finally gets shelled by the German 88mm guns, it brings home the sadest of images, the destruction of a home, not that of a fortress.
All so often do we forget that in war, who ultimately suffers, are innocent civilians, which should not be supposed to take part in the combats and strivings of armies and yet are continuously touched by the horror and the cruelty of such events.
No war, not even the most just one, justifies or excuses what innocent "bystanders" have to endure, while two contenders, in the name of so-called "principles", are willing to push them through.
It is the curse of our modern age, and despite the fact that civilians were ultimately always "targets" of war, we still haven't learned the lesson, and as such we cannot speak of ourselves as a civilization, but rather as very convenient hypocrits, who think they are civilized.
When it suits us, we all become wild barbarians.
Let's face it. This movie brings it home to us.
It tells us who and what we are.
Whether right or wrong, does not matter.
What matters is that when in the right frame of mind and when the occasion justifies it, we all are guilty of "willing" a war.
This is why "Castle Keep" is not just a novel or a movie, but rather a mirror placed right in front of us, forcing us to think and think hard.
This is also why I miss it greatly on DVD.
When I first watched it theatrically, I was amazed at the beauty of the images and at the poetical values in them, which alas on the VHS format, is getting totally wasted.
If I remember it well, it was not filmed in CinemaScope, nor Large Screen Panavision, but rather in the rather conventional Academy standard of 1.85:1.
Nevertheless, this is a movie that really needs a well-cared transposition to DVD with a fairly sharp picture resolution, to render the beauty of its images fully plastic again.
Don't expect a Digital Dolby 5.1 sound out of this picture.
I remember that even in the movie theatre, it was shown in a Monaural version.
Still, I would suggest to transpose it with a maximum of sound accuracy, since I remember that despite this being a Mono copy, it was highly crisp and every sound and every dialogue was extremely clear!
Pity they don't make them anymore like this, but then again, where would you find actors of a caliber such as Burt Lancaster, Bruce Dern, Peter Falk or even, Patrick O'Neal?
Granted, we have Russell Crowe, but could he stand the comparison with a giant such as Mr. Lancaster?
I sincerely doubt it, although I am a great admirer of Mr. Crowe's line of roles.
Nevertheless, I still vouch for the "old ones".
They were less academic, although impregnated with it, but rather more human on screen.
Today's stars have forgotten what it is to be human on stage, as well as on the silver screen.
Some are perfect actors, but lack the "human factor" component, that actors such as Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger and yes, even John Wayne and Clint Eastwood had brought through the screen to us.
Today, they are unapproachable superheroes. Back then, they were full-blooded and feeling human beings in which we, the audience, could truly recognize ourselves.

I can truly recommend this movie, even in VHS format.
You will probably lose some of the beauty of the scenery, but the story is truly there, clearly defined and masterfully told by a cultor of good writing and good moviemaking.

And if someone out there has some taste left, he or she, should pick it up from the dust, where it probably lies, and make every effort necessary to bring it back to its glorious life.

I am convinced that even younger generations nowadays would love it...

Rating:
Summary: An Artsy Take on War?
Review: It's tough to tell whether "Castle Keep" is groundbreaking or just plain pretentious--it's one of those films that features an explosion of ideas that on first glance seem to dart off in all directions, only to end up pretty much where you'd expect them to. It does have strong performances and arresting, if frequently odd, imagery. Filmed with lots of quick, often jarring cuts and featuring a thin plot that seems to take the long road to conclusion--you'd think Robert Altman directed it--"Castle Keep" just taunts the senses for the most part until the fiery climax. Burt Lancaster is a one-eyed major determined to hold his position in an ancient castle with a battle-weary squad of men, including Peter Falk, Patrick O'Neal, Bruce Dern, and other familiar faces of the era. Until the Nazis arrive, the men pass the time as best they can, generally loving up the locals or musing about their predicament in slow, moody takes that Terrance Malick would revise in "The Thin Red Line." It's the kind of thing scholars may point to as poignant, even if casual viewers may find themselves with a headache. Watch it most of all to see how actors like Lancaster and Falk can carry a scene, even when it's hard to tell exactly what is going on.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible piece of ...
Review: Yes it's true, Columbia has released this excellent movie in pan & scan! And to make it worse, contrary to what was said by an earlier reviewer, the original aspect ratio was not 1,85:1 but the full Panavision 2,40:1 framing (that's easy to check out, because the opening credits actually are shown in widescreen on the DVD). Well, that's it, folks, what we have here is another useless disc which all movie lovers should stay away from until Columbia finally understands what customers want.

1 star because I don't have any other choice (please Amazon, make it possible to give a 'Zero star' rating!)