55 Days at Peking | 55 Days at Peking | A neglected part of history

55 Days at Peking | 55 Days at Peking | Good movie, so-so DVD

DVDs:

55 Days at Peking

	55 Days at Peking 55 Days at Peking Garry's Trading Co. [A HK-Based Distributor], 2003 average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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1963 blockbuster directed by Nicholas Ray & starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, & David Niven. An unforgettable tale of unparalleled fury, brought to life with the passion, romance & violence of a historic time! Asian NTSC/Region 0 DVD. Five scene selections. Garry's Trading. 2003.

A neglected part of history

Reviewers should quit nit-picking political correctness (see reviews of the VHS version). The motion picture is about an actual event, i.e., the defense of the foreign quarter (the embassies and such) during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Sure, there is literary license, and some events are shown differently than they actually occurred, but isn't that true of most motion pictures about historical events ("Braveheart," for example, drastically warped some points of history creating impossible relationships).

This film is spectacular, and has its moments, but all is not fun and games. The young son of the British ambassador is killed by a Chinese sniper, the German ambassador is killed (OK, so in reality he was shot, but allow the producer a little latitude), the countess is killed, and an American marine is killed leaving an orphan daughter.

Keep in mind when watching the motion picture that it was produced to make money. Dry historical accounts generally are not successful in that regard. The film may depart a little from actual history, but maybe not that much. The Boxers were an anti-foreign movement in China, and they did murder missionaries who were trying to spread western religions in China. If they would have left it at that, they might have survived, but attacking embassies was a diplomatic no-no. The western powers (Germany, Japan, Russia, England, the United States, etc.) used that as an excuse for armed intervention and demanding concessions.

Keep in mind that foreign traders were making money selling opium to Chinese, and you can understand some of the animosity. It would be like Columbian drug cartels using force of arms to demand their right to sell cocaine in the U.S. But putting the political correctness aside, it is a very good film about an event that happened. You might also watch "Khartoum" about the battle between Muslim religious fanatics and British colonialism.

Colonists are never popular, and we are still experiencing the ill effects of James I of England planting protestant colonies of Scots in Ulster.

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Good movie, so-so DVD

I am very fond of this movie, even though it is far from perfect. It is overblown and tries too hard to be an "epic", but at the same time drags in spots and edges into melodrama. Still, despite its faults, I enjoy watching it again everytime. It is entertaining, and I appreciate that in a movie. It also has a surprising amount of humor that is quite good.
The performances are fine, especially from David Niven, the setting is grand in scope and the action scenes work, mostly. The last big action scene does not do a good job of establishing the geography so we have a hard time determining who is fighting who and where.

While the movie is worth seeing, the DVD is disappointing. There are no extras and the video and audio quality are just adequate. It is obvious that this DVD was produced with the least cost and effort possible. The DVD is not so bad as to be unwatchable, but it could be better and does not do justice to the movie.

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Reasonably aligned with history and reality

Let me preface the evaluation with my own experience in this area. Not only did I major in Far Eastern History as a baccalaureate student, I did it in a Far Eastern University. Also, I teach in China at least four months per year at the graduate and doctoral levels, so I have some experiential objectivity on which to rely. Naturally, this does not mean that my evaluations carry any more weight that those of others.

As do others, when I review films for Amazon.com, I do have some entertainment biases, and one of those biases is that of "reality." This film does indeed present the Chinese (to a more limited degree) and US cases during the Boxer Rebellion, especially those involving dealing with the rampant colonialism that drove the crisis. The Chinese court intrigue that led to the instigation and pursuit of the rebellion is quite apparent in the film, as reflected in the dialogue between the Empress Dowager, Ci Xi, and "Prince Yuan," who is actually the famous Yuan Shi-Kai, who later became a powerful figure in China.

But while the film does noticably drag a bit in places, it is an exciting, well-acted and well-made story that will definitely pique the interests of viewers. Many viewers may even want to read up on the Boxer Rebellion and gain an understanding of what was at stake there. The climactic final scenes are a bit "over-the-top," in terms of the staging of the various foreign forces marching to the rescue, but is "symbolic" of the outcome.

Yes, I absolutely recommend the film to anyone who enjoys good acting, an exciting fact-based story, and a sense of history that is generally ignored.

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A classic. One to watch over and over.

Wore out my video of this movie and, though I taped it twice off of movie channels, I never got a good copy. Looked for it for quite a while on DVD before it became available. Action, adventure, romance, and even a happy ending of sorts. Definitely something for both guys and gals. Watch it with someone you love.

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