Product Description

Two British war vets (Alec Guinness and Leo McKern) meet an American vet (John Randolph) when all three return to Normandy on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Old rivalries resurface, particularly when two of the men discover they are searching for the same lost love (Jeanne Moreau). A lonely woman (Lauren Bacall) with her own painful but mysterious memories joins the group, while the American vet’s petulant daughter (Geraldine Chaplin) and bumbling son-in-law (Edward Herrmann) struggle to keep up with the exploits of their elders. This disparate band of survivors eventually finds common ground in the memory of what they lost on that fateful day in 1944. As seen on Masterpiece Theatre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30966 in DVD
• Brand: Acorn
• Released on: 2005-11-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.com
A superb quintet of older actors give the simple story of A Foreign Field a rich and resonant texture. Amos (Alec Guiness, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Star Wars) and Cyril (Leo McKern, Rumpole of the Bailey) are two British World War II veterans who return to the beaches of Normandy, where they'd come ashore almost 50 years earlier. They run into an American veteran named Waldo (John Randolph, Prizzi's Honor) and a woman named Lisa (Lauren Bacall, The Big Sleep, Dogville) whose brother died on D-Day. Waldo and Cyril have both come seeking the same woman who comforted them when they were wounded--but when they find her (Jeanne Moreau, Jules and Jim, La Femme Nikita), she's not what they remember. Nothing dramatic happens in A Foreign Film--the characters bicker, become friends, and go to graveyards--but in the hands of this group of great talents, small emotional moments seem full and rewarding. This is a sweet and gentle movie that carefully avoids any saccharine sentiment. Also featuring Geraldine Chaplin (Nashville, Talk to Her) and Edward Herrmann (The Cat's Meow, The Paper Chase). --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

absolutely marvelous film - must buy
Was fortunate enough to have taped this when it was shown on PBS' Masterpiece theatre and have anxiously awaited for it to be released on dvd.
truly one of the best to watch over and over again...there are a few light-hearted moments but get your hankies or kleenex out.
the entire cast is simply superb.

Movie Perfection
It is truly a shame that this movie is largely unknown, because it is one of the finer movies I have ever watched. The acting is amazing, and the characters play off of each other brilliantly. I have told others about the movie, and have to warn them that if they are looking for lots of explosions, blood, and guts, that this is not the movie for them. Unfortunately, we have come to expect and even crave that in a war movie. What makes A Foreign Field so great is the fact that the noise and bloodshed are long over, and the movie focuses instead on the memories and core emotions that veterans and their loved ones feel when reflecting on a different time. It is a great movie to watch on Veteran's Day or Memorial Day every year.

Before "Private Ryan...."
A masterful work. The personalities, like spokes in some wheel of poetic prose, converge at the end into a turning hub -- which unites them all. This is a film which finds humanity in every aspect and levels the playing field in a way we all can understand. The UK-US counterpoint (and comedy!) was superb. The remembrance of ALL dead at Normandy inspired tears, no matter what language we speak. There we ALL are: almost jaybird-naked in ourselves! As a retired naval officer, I can only praise the makers of this fine film. Every generation viewing it may find great value in the visual experience. The WW2 heros (all of them) who see it will find comfort in the faithful completion of duty. Regardless of the white slab which commemorates participants in D-Day, "A Foreign Field" speaks for all.