Product Description

Two navy officers fight guilt and the Japanese in the World War II Pacific.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4210 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2001-05-22
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 165 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Otto Preminger's sprawling World War II drama packs a lot into its 165 minutes, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor (which Preminger re-creates in amazing detail) and ending a couple of years later with America's return to the South Pacific in force. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas star as a career naval captain and his self-pitying commander in the peacetime navy who are thrust into battle when Pearl Harbor is bombed while they are on maneuvers. Minutes into WWII, they are already scapegoated and demoted by the embarrassed military brass. Wayne romances a WAVE nurse (Patricia Neal) and attempts a reconciliation with his estranged, spoiled son (Brandon de Wilde) while Douglas sinks into the bottle after the death of his cheating wife until the American fleet rebuilds and calls upon Wayne to lead one of the initial invasion forces. Henry Fonda makes a brief but commanding appearance as the fleet admiral. Burgess Meredith is a former writer turned witty commander, Dana Andrews a showy but indecisive admiral, and Stanley Holloway a genial Australian scout working with the American invasion forces. Tom Tryon and Paula Prentiss play newlyweds torn apart by the war, and also appearing are Franchot Tone, Carroll O'Conner, Slim Pickens, George Kennedy, Bruce Cabot, and Larry Hagman, among many, many more. Loyal Griggs's handsome black-and-white photography is topped only by Saul Bass's impressive closing credits sequence, a rising cascade of crashing waves and rough surf reportedly paced to mirror the dramatic rhythm of the film. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

One of the few CLASSIC WWII in the Pacific Movies
It always seems that WWI movies covered the European Theater more, as far as Blockbusters are concerned... "Longest Day", "Bridge to Far", "Patton", "Guns of Navarone", "Saving Private Ryan". Sure the Pacific had the multitude of John Wayne Movies, but true epics either dealt with Pearl Harbor or Midway, nothing else existed it seems.

Then I see "In Harms Way" . This movie is a true classic, with a superb cast including Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Dana Andrews, Patricia Neal (may be one of her best), Henry Fonda, Burgess Merredith and many more.

This a "true grit" battle of the Pacific tale which we need more of. Its description of sea battles both before and after are classic, and the movies lenght is not noticed since you are continually involved in it.

Yes, the movie is in black and white, but it seems its supposed to be. The filming and actions sequences for its day are outstanding, and watch you bass speakers or you will lose some china! Seeing this movie on REGULAR TV is not a good idea. They cut more than 20 minutes from it, ruin its continuity, and it is NOT the same movie. networks would rather sell than eep the movie intact.

WATCH THE FULL LENGTH VERSION! Is like seeing a new movie! A give this movie a standing thumbs up. This is one of the Dukes BEST.

A Great War Movie Despite Ho-Hum Special Effects
Why do I like this movie so much? It's an good story with a good cast, an OK love story and ... special effects. I like "The Duke", Partricia Neal and Kirk Douglas, but so? The answer is that I think that "In Harm's Way" captures the spirit of the American Navy in World War II in a near perfect way; it shows flawed men and women trying to do their best under appalling conditions. It also shows the backstabbing and deceit that occasionally marked the rivalry between some commanders. Some parts drag a bit, but the overall effect, for me, is a movie that I have (and will) watch over and over. Despite its age, it spins a good yarn; the characters are believeable and interesting. Wayne has delivered many fine performances (think "The Quiet Man", "The Searchers" and John Ford's cavalry trilogy) and his portrayal of Admiral Rockwell Torrey is one of them. In his committment to the Navy, his growing love for Nurse Maggir Haynes, and his conflict with his son, Wayne is at his top form. Neal, in her post stroke first appearance is equally good. OK, the use of poor models to represent naval ships is off-putting, but it's the characters and the story that captures the viewer. The DVD is all that could be asked for short of a re-make of the film. It remains one of my favorites.

In Harm's Way a Winner!
So many movies have been made about the land war in WWII. What about the US Navy? The only ones of any merit were made during the war or in its aftermath and most were unbalanced, showing the Japanese as the "yellow peril," etc. I was raised on these movies and some of our best directors cranked them out (John Ford and many others) and few stand up well the test of time. Quite by accident I caught up to this fine film on TV and then on this fine double video. The performances by the actors are excellent. John Wayne shows facets of his character that I never saw before, a vulnerabilty rarely seen other than the classic western "The Searchers," probably his best career performance. Kirk Douglas delivers a great performance of a naval officer with an underlining violence of character, which proves fatal to him. A fine supporting cast headed up by Patricia O'Neil, Burgess Meredith, Tom Tryon and others fills out the story, spread on a broad canvas by Otto Preminger. I was flat out surprised by this excellent work, full of details, character developement, and action. This really is'nt an action picture, with high heroics and flag waving. By subduing these elements, a temptation for any director to boost box office, Preminger achieves effects not seen in most big-budget productions. The story is somewhat slow but rarely boring. The B&W photography posed no problem for me,for most of the war movies I saw as a child were filmed in B&W and it somewhat adds to the documentary look of the movie. Almost all war movies use "stock" footage of ships and battles and this movie is no different. The use of models in the climactic battle is not very convincing; I read that Kirk Douglas said that he liked the movie but seeing all those models with no crewmen standing on deck bothered him, detracked from the power of the film. Jerry Goldsmith's score is rousing without being bombastic, similar to his great "Patton" score, another movie with some action but has great emphasis on character. I would recommend this to all of John Wayne's fans. Watch carefully; the Duke is showing some real acting talent here, restrained for an officer named "Rockwell." With so many epics going for the blood and guts approach, "In Harm's Way" comes sailing past with a more balanced picture, that the war was harsh, fought by men, lower to upper ranks, but just men of flesh and blood, caught up in the defining event of the twentieth century.