Product Description

Movie DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10811 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-05-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 81 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
One of the first Hollywood films to deal openly with white racism toward Japanese Americans during World War II, this drama directed by 1950s action maestro John Sturges (The Great Escape) stars Spencer Tracy as a one-armed stranger named MacReedy, who arrives in the tiny town of Black Rock on a hot day in 1945. Seeking a hotel room and the whereabouts of an ethnic Japanese farmer named Komoko, MacReedy runs smack into a wall of hostility that escalates into serious threats. In time it becomes apparent that Komoko has been murdered by a local, racist chieftain, Reno Smith (Robert Ryan), who also plans on dispensing with MacReedy. Tracy's hero is forced to fight his way past Smith's goons (among them Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin) and sundry allies (Anne Francis) to keep alive, setting the stage for memorable suspense crisply orchestrated by Sturges. Casting is the film's principal strength, however: Tracy, the indispensable icon of integrity, and Ryan, the indispensable noir image of spiritual blight, are as creatively unlikely a pairing as Sturges's shotgun marriage of Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in The Magnificent Seven. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

All star cast in gripping thriller directed by John Sturges
"Bad Day at Black Rock" is a riveting suspense thriller with several memorable performances from a first rate cast. Spencer Tracy (in one of his best roles) excels as John J. MacReedy who is in Black Rock to take a medal to the father of one of his wartime colleagues now that the war is over. He encounters unexpected resentment and hostility from some of the residents, in particular from Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin who make a trio of formidable villains. When threats and intimidation have no effect on Tracy (who doggedly continues to pursue his investigations) the three then resort to violence. Also in the impressive cast are Anne Francis, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson and Russell Collins. With the help of Brennan and Francis and after surmounting many obstacles Tracy eventually gets the upper hand bringing the film to its exciting climax.

Some favourite lines from the film:

Spencer Tracy (to train conductor): "Oh, I'll only be here for 24 hours". Train conductor: "In a place like this that could be a lifetime!".

Russell Collins (to Spencer Tracy): "Important? It's the first time the streamliner has stopped here in four years".

Tracy (to Ernest Borgnine): "You're not only wrong - you're wrong at the top of your voice!".

Dean Jagger (to Tracy): "This ain't no information bureau".

John Ericson (to Tracy): "If you're in such a hurry you should have never got off here". Tracy: "I'm inclined to agree with you".

A brilliant and satisfying film expertly directed by John Sturges who later went on to make other classics including "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape". Sturges was fortunate in having such a remarkably good cast - Borgnine and Marvin in particular were excellent as Robert Ryan's menacing henchmen and Spencer Tracy was at his peak in one of his most powerful and demanding roles ever. He was in fact nominated as Best Actor for his performance in this film but was beaten by Ernest Borgnine for "Marty".

"Bad Day at Black Rock" is a tense and captivating film with the action taking place over a tight time period of just 24 hours.

A Tight, Well-Constructed Thriller About Justice
It's very satisfying to see a relatively small movie that was made efficiently by pros become so widely liked and respected. It's got just about everything...a gripping story that carries a message, vivid characters but a small cast, a dangerous setting, the plight of a brave loner on the side of justice who beats the odds. And it doesn't have dumb things...an extraneous love story, outraged citizens who meet in a church, excessive violence, time spent on flashbacks. It was a long wait for this one to come out on DVD, but it was worth it.

Among many elements I admire are the three character actors: Russell Collins as the weak, cowardly telegraph agent, Dean Jagger as the played-out sheriff (his humiliation at the hands of Robert Ryan is unpleasant), and, most of all, Walter Brennan as the doctor who tries to push things but isn't dumb enough to push too hard. I think this was one of Brennan's last, really good roles before he turned himself into the toothless old coot or cackling grampa of his later films. In his prime, he was a fine actor. And for vicious bullies I don't think anyone has topped Lee Marvin and Ernest Bognine in their roles. I'd even eat my catsup without any chili at all to avoid a confrontation with these guys.

I have a lot of respect for Robert Ryan but find it sad that, despite a number of opportunities, he never was able to break into the top rank of stardom. Maybe he didn't really want that. Maybe he was too willing to play bad guys. Maybe he lacked some element of charisma or just ambition. He was a fine actor and, from reports, a nice guy.

The DVD transfer is excellent

I think something kinda bad happened here
A nattily dressed one-armed man arrives in a small southwestern town and brings to light a dark, dirty secret the townspeople thought they had buried years ago.
The man is John Macreedy (Spencer Tracy), and what he's doing in Black Rock is slowly - very slowly - revealed. That presents a challenge for someone trying to write about the movie for someone who hasn't seen it. If ever a movie should be watched with an empty bucket of information it's BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. Suffice it to say that many of the townspeople are less than thrilled to see the man-in-black stranger, and his soon-to-be chief nemesis, Reno Smith (Robert Ryan) makes it his business to see that the town's dirty past stays buried, by whatever means possible.
There's a lot more character interaction than straight out action in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. If Ryan's Reno represents an absolute evil, he's abetted by the corrupt (Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin, in particular), the apathetic (town doc Walter Brennan), and the used-up (town sheriff Dean Jagger.) Things change, though, and the ground upon which personal relationships are based tends to shift. Those who could abide the town's evil secret find their position less tenable the longer Macreedy sticks around, and BAD DAY takes great delight in chronicling the changes. As usual, Ryan is just right as the thoughtful bad guy. It's hard to find a movie Ryan was ever miscast in. The Macreedy role plays to Tracy's strength - in particular his ability to project moral righteousness without sermonizing.
Besides a trailer, the dvd carries a commentary track by film historian Dana Polan. I jotted down three of his comments, more or less at random: "This movie asks the question `what is the western in the modern age?'" "The movie shows that towns are tight knit communities that contain secrets," and "This movie is about fallen characters who are learning how to find redemption." Polan's approach isn't among my favorites for a commentary track. Tying themes and motifs in a particular movie to major trends in films in general is a legitimate way to go about things, but it gets a little wearying after a while. Overall, though, a strong recommendation for this one.