Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately...
Review: ... Columbia-Tristar had an opportunity (really, an obligation to its movie-going and disc-buying audience) to remedy 30+ years of pan&scan broadcast/tape versions of CASTLE KEEP -- which was originally exhibited in 2.35:1 Panavision, contrary to what another reviewer here remembers -- and have instead elected to preserve a p&s presentation for the DVD release of this excellent and important Vietnam-era film (set during WWII). Whose bright idea was this? A one-star disc -- if I could give it no stars, I would -- for a five-star film? Thanks, Columbia-Tristar, but no thanks. I'll pass.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank goodness!! Widescreen as it Deserves...
Review: A classic!
Sort of akin to the Wild Bunch in WWII in a Medieval Castle, this is an action film with tremendous performances, from the angst of the Castle Baron over fear for his treasure-filled palace to Burt Lancaster's grim ruthlessness and determination to stop the German onslaught at all costs. Patrick O'Neal turns in a great performance too as a well of pathos over the wanton destruction approaching. Ending Battle is both wrenching and astonishing. Not to be missed!
There are some very surreal moments in the film, with many atypical sequences. It's great that we will be able to enjoy this in Widescreen for it so richly deserves such a presentation. Many thanks to Columbia Tri-Star for listening to the fans!
Rating: 
Summary: Deft Blend of Satire and Action
Review: At times absurd and gut wrenching, this WW II allegory is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Some of the dialogue is outright funny and also ironic, but the movie is not played strictly for laughs. Indeed, the ending is both bleak and disheartening, but the action is relentless, uncompromising, and very violent.
I thought about the movie after it had ended, and wanted to watch it again. This is a movie that bears repeat viewings. Taken in its context of being released in 1969, the parallels to the futility of the Vietnam War are unmistakeable. As powerful an anti-war movie as PATHS OF GLORY and GO TELL THE SPARTANS (also starring Burt Lancaster...where's the DVD?), it is also a compelling adventure story filled with great perfomances (Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, and especially Peter Falk as a sergeant turned... baker!) and witty black humor tinged with non-sequitors and one-liners.
A must for war movie buffs, fans of Sydney Pollack, Burt Lancaster and Peter Falk, and lovers of over-the-top action/adventure. This edition just released is the anamorphic widescreen edition, which is far superior to the previous released pan and scan version.
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: get it in original 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen from the UK
Review: Columbia has elected to release this beautiful Panavision film in a pan-scan transfer here in the USA, an abomination for which I don't recommend buying the domestic disc. But note this!
Castle Keep has been released in the UK by Columbia Tristar on PAL Region 2 Disc in 5 languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish) and in WIDESCREEN. If you want this movie in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and if you have a region 2 DVD player you should get it from the Amazon UK site.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Widecreen
Review: Compare letterbox title sequence to non letterbox movie. Someone should be shot for ruining a great movie
Rating:
Summary: BUNCH OF CRYBABIES!!!
Review: First of all I'd like to say I'm going to buy this movie in DVD no matter what format it is in; cropped pan & scan, non letterbox, whatever. The movie is awesome. (The book is better.) I'm just glad it's out on DVD. Let's keep it in perspective now. Just because it's not widescreen what did you miss; a couple of trees, maybe missed some extra snow, or maybe you missed 1/30 of a second of the German Tank rolling in the picture from the left side. Geesh, sounds like you guys are going to die or something. Lighten up a little. I e-mailed Sony multiple times requesting that this movie be released on DVD (None were returned), as far as I'm concerned it's a miracle. Make no mistake I will also buy the widescreen edition when it comes out, but for now Guys... it's all we got.
Sincerely, I'm a gift horse don't look in my mouth.
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: Thanks for nothing, Columbia TriStar
Review: I've been waiting for Castle Keep to come out on DVD for years. Looks like I'll have to wait even longer, as Columbia TriStar decided to put out a cropped pan-and-scan version of it instead of the full anamorphic version.
Rating:
Summary: SHAME OF COLUMBIA
Review: It is a shame that the vesion is cropped not widescreen !!!The poetry of the movie is destroyed!!
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