Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #268314 in DVD
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Italian
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
This disastrous 1996 film by Sir Richard Attenborough was meant to be part of his informal series of movies about great men, including Gandhi, Chaplin, Cry Freedom (the Steven Biko story), and Shadowlands (C.S. Lewis). In Love and War is a recounting of young Ernest Hemingway's World War I love affair with Red Cross nurse Agnes von Kurowsky, who was eight years older than he and who became the basis for the Catherine Barkley character in A Farewell to Arms. O'Donnell is terrible, in a word, and Bullock mostly seems out of sorts when playing someone real. Except for the scene in which Hemingway is introduced, fearlessly making his way to a trench under heavy bombardment, you have no idea that this person O'Donnell "portrays" will eventually change the direction of American literature. For a much better experience, look toward Attenborough's previous works. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

A great love story
I will readily admit, I am a complete sucker for love stories. They make me go all warm & gooey inside. And when you're not feeling too great, you can curl up and enjoy. There's hardly any violence - it's set at the end of WWI, there has to be a little violence, but that's all confined to the start - it has two great actors playing the parts, and it's set in beautiful countryside. What more could you want?

I've read a few of the reviews about this, and I have to disagree with nearly every person (sorry). You're not getting the movie really, are you? It's a love story. There are no complicated plots to follow. No twists and turns in the story. Hell, you don't even need to be that smart to watch this movie. And I'm certainly nothing of the sort in that department! Which is probably why I like these movies. You don't need to think much about them, and they're perfectly easy to follow.

There are some great love scenes in this, although there are is no graphic, mind-blowing sex. It's simple of how Agnes & Ernie eventually become a proper couple in the most romantic of places - a brothel. And then they have a "waltz" together, which is so romantic.

But the build up to their relationship can bring a little tear to the eye. (I told you I was a soppy cow) Whether it's Ernie telling Agnes that he loves her the first time he sees her, in a voice that will make me anyway go weak at the knees, or when he tries to comfort her after Jimmy dies. All are totally romantic. And other reviews say that there's no build up to their relationship, it's all over very quickly, but what they're forgetting - this was during a war, no one had time for quickness. Life's too short.

The finale is really sad. If you haven't seen it, then I'm not going to be the one to spoil it for you, but it's a real heart-breaker. Things could have been so different only if ... I'll stop there!

After watching this movie, it's got me interested in Ernest Hermingway's work, so that'll be something for me to keep my eye out for. I wouldn't say his work exactly, but probably the story of his life, and why losing Agnes made him so bitter. Plus, the fact he killed himself in 1961, and really, never got over losing Agnes. It would be quite interesting to read. Guess what I'm adding to my wishlist.

A great movie, if you're a bit simple, and like movies that you can actually follow most of the time.

At last, a romantic fim worth watching!
I was honestly and completely moved by this film. It was beautifuly directed with fantastic performances by Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnel. Their chemistry is so good that one effortlessly feels the increasing sexual tension in merely seeing Chris O'Donnel lovingly place his hands on Sandra Bullock's shoulders-demonstrating that when it comes to true screen romance; less is more. This is not to say that 'In Love and War' is devoid of passion; it depicts a love affair at it's most passionate and magical whilst still maintaining an beauty and mystery. In short, bravo Ms Bullock and Mr O'Donnel! Their sensitive and touching portrayal of two complex characters was a joy to watch, and quite frankly I find it almost unbelievable that one could describe this film as anything other than a beautiful love story; one that is as tragic as it is passionate. Not since seeing Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in 'The Thorn Birds'have I been so thoroughly engrossed in a love story. This is a must see for anyone who has lost faith in the Film Industry's ability to produce great romantic films. You'll laugh,you'll cry, you'll smile and sigh...and then watch it all over again!!

Well done despite historical inaccuracies
Curiosity after reading "A Farewell to Arms" led to the diaries of Agnes von Kurowsky and ultimately to Sir Attenborough's film. The fact that the film takes some liberties with the actual timeline of the story (Agnes' assignments, her non-existent reunion with Hemingway in Missouri), the film itself was heartbreakingly beautiful. Chris O'Donnell did a fine job as the young Ernest Hemingway, but I wonder why the vibrant, flirtatious Aggie was played with such serious somberness by Sandra Bullock? The Agnes we read about in the book was indeed a serious and committed nurse, but her personality was the polar opposite of the film portrayal. This is not to say that Sandra Bullock is a bad actress - I just think the direction for her character was wrong.

Ernest Hemingway clearly loved Agnes von Kurowsky with a passion that could only be fulfilled on the written page. For both parties involved, the timing of the love affair was ill-fated.