SoftInloveRox
Horrible, fascist and poorly acted
Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
rooprect
Of the top 6 reviews I currently see here, 3 are slamming Jennifer Jones for being too old, 1 is slamming producer David Selznick for being in the decline of his career, 1 is whining that it's not like the book, and 1 is slamming writer Hemingway for not doing any fighting in the war (Um... he was an ambulance driver).While this film may not deserve an Academy award for best picture, it certainly deserves a decent review on IMDb dedicated to the film itself. So here goes my attempt."A Farewell to Arms" is a lavish production of a love story set against the backdrop of World War I. In that respect it's in the same genre as other classic war romances "Gone with the Wind", "Casablanca" and "Platoon ". Haha just checking to see if you're paying attention. Everyone knows "Casablanca" was not set in a war but an occupation.Where "Farewell" differs from these other classics is in the distribution of war & romance. "Farewell" features far more battle scenes (4) compared to "Gone with the Wind" (zero) and "Casablanca" (zero). The result may be a bit disappointing in the romance department, and several reviewers (as well as the New York Times review on the film's release) have complained about the "lack of chemistry" between the two leads. I think this perception is simply due to the fact that less time is spent setting up the romance, putting more of a burden on the viewer to accept a relationship that simply happens. Viewers may also feel romantically cheated because this is not a traditional romance between two traditional individuals who dream of immediately getting married and having kids and a dog. But in fact this purposely informal, slightly dysfunctional romance is what ultimately made it interesting to me because it marked a change of formula in the age-old Hollywood romance.If you see this movie, pay close attention to Jennifer Jones' excellent portrayal of a reluctant lover who is perhaps suffering from too many demons to actually fall in love completely, the way she wants to. She is riddled with insecurities, conflicts and possibly guilt, making her like the the stereotypical guy who can't commit. Meanwhile Rock Hudson plays a character more like the stereotypical lovesick schoolgirl. If you enjoy stereotype reversals like this, you'll definitely find yourself interested in their "lack of chemistry".Was Jennifer Jones too old (late 30s) to play the role of Katherine as Hemingway had intended her (early 20s)? Probably. Did Jennifer get the part because she was married to producer Selznick? Absolutely. Does any of this make her a bad actress? No way. Short of Vivien Leigh, I think she was the best person to play the role as she did: the troubled lover whose cynical, morbid thoughts were always brewing not far away, despite her outwardly cheerful appearance. Actually I take back the thing about Vivien Leigh being better; the more I think about it, Jennifer was ideal for this sort of character.A subplot involving Vittorio de Sica's war-weary character descending into madness is sure to catch your attention. It was actually my favorite part of the movie, and I wish they had spent more time on this complex character shift as well as his interesting polite antagonism of the church (with a spectacular short speech he says to the priest near the end). But alas, with the romance and the battle scenes already vying for screen time, Vittorio's story only got 2 or 3 dedicated scenes. They were powerful nonetheless.Yes, as others mentioned, the ending seemed abrupt. But after thinking about it, I think it was perfectly in line with some of the interesting & unusual themes that the story set up. In short, this is not a straightforward soldier-meets-girl love story. The conflicts that are presented (particularly in Jennifer Jones' mysteriously troubled psyche) make this romance much more than meets the eye. If you enjoy wartime romances that are not always formulaic love stories (i.e. they may contain hidden dysfunctional surprises), check this one out.
berberian00-276-69085
At first glance we don't have a winning hand with actor Rock Hudson. At second glance, however, we might be prone to reconsider many of the instances that surround that remarkable man, the tallest all time Hollywood star (1.96 cm). He had the misfortune not to receive an Oscar and die early from undiagnosed AIDS-related disease - which I personally disbelieve (where are his skin lesions?), and would retreat for a more humble malady such as stress and ill cured circulation problems. Whatever, the dully attention should be paid to that man who was consistently at the top box office in 1950s and 1960s together with Gable, Cooper, Wayne, etc; his movie "A Farewell to Arms" (1957) which I consider his best performance remained also unappreciated.The cream about all things connected with Rock Hudson is his relationship with director Douglas Sirk. American born Hudson (Winnetka, Illinois) had the strange fate to be launched into career by an émigré from Germany whom personally Goebbels had recruited for UFA studio in the 1930s. Detlef Sierck failed to become a Nazi but his son did, he was killed in WWII. Sirk fled with his Jewish wife to America and afterwards in the 1950s became an icon for underground cinema. Sirk never refrained from his German passport - maybe because of that he didn't receive Oscar in America - and in 1960s returned to Munich to teach classes at Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film. He had many students from which Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945 – 1982) wrote a book about him. RWF was thought to have died of AIDS, by the way.To spend my matches honestly I should admit that instigation for these lines was given by couple of films that were distributed on DVD by Criterion Collection. These movies represented the duo Sirk - Hudson and there I found a half hour interview with Sirk himself taken by BBC journalist. Very useful stuff. Beside the fact that you see the director with no masks, further I got another dagger when I saw how much resemblance there was between the titular and no less than ... the great Charles Chaplin. The reader would excuse my comparison and I will talk no more except that I quickly revised my personal copy of Chaplin's "Autobiography" - a remarkable memoir and maybe the best written by someone who gave so much to film profession.Film industry is no battlefield. Despite the fact that many actors died as heroes while making divertissement for the crowd, the latter should reproach that they were millionaires. Funny thing how money both kills and gives life. Thank you!
Vintage Brando
I saw "A Farewell to Arms" a couple weeks ago on TCM. This movie has everything a good movie needs! The quality of the film is excellent and the scenery is beautiful. Jennifer Jones has always been a wonderful actress as far as I'm concerned and in this film you can see her acting at her best. Rock Hudson was at his peak during this time. He was also at his most handsome. One of the high points of the film was when at the ending the awesome acting he does because his darling lover is on her death bed. Ms. Jones and Mr. Hudson both do a very convincing job. I gave "A Farewell to Arms" a 9 out of 10 because the ending was way to sad! I would have wished at least their baby or Jennifer Jones to have survived and lived. But Rock Hudson ends up all by him self.
hnewstadt
This film should be called adventures in Cinemascope. It is like the screenwriter and director tooks the Cliff's Notes page 3 outline and decided that this would be a great vehicle for a film about the Italian Alps. Rock Hudson is pretty good here, but the dialogue bears no resemblance to Hemingway at all. This is a made up version of Hemingway. Hecht, the screenwriter, is a hack. Watch the 1932 version with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. That is great cinema and was made by someone who understood Hemingway and the war in Northern Italy. Gary Cooper is very, very good compared to his performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls where he is stiff as a board and thinks he is in a western.Anyway, if you are a Hemingway fan, do yourself a favor and do not watch this film. Your best bet is to get the unabridged audio CD and just listen to one of the greatest novels ever written.
