In Love With This Movie
Added 9/27/2009
Caught this on Showtime a few months ago and recorded it. Wanting my own pristine DVD, I ordered this. It is great on Hi Def, though it wasn't made for that, showing many more details than the recording off SHO. My only small complaint is that since it was originally a mini-series, they show the credits in the middle, but that's a very small price to pay for an extraordinary film. Though it was made on a tight budget the acting, direction and soundtrack are brilliant and to me, far superior to the original 1960? version. For me it's definitely a *feel-good*, exhilarating movie even though the subject matter is tragic and still very timely today. The more I watch this, the more I have to watch this. For an all-Australian production, with the exception of Armand Assante as the only American, most of the actors playing Americans do very well with the accent. The ones that don't do American accents so well make this film even more endearing.
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There Is Still Time
Added 8/29/2009
For those who come to the 2000 version of ON THE BEACH after having read the novel by Nevil Shute and seeing the earlier version with Gregory Peck as the lead will find the remake closer to the book than the original film. Shute's novel of a post-nuclear Australia awaiting slow death by radiation is a desensitizing experience. Not only is the topic one to give the reader pause but his literary style in its deadening prose emphasizes that we had better start thinking about the unthinkable before it is too late. The 1959 film focuses on the stiff upper lip quality that America likes to think is hardwired into the British DNA as the Australians go about their Last Day business with o so coolness. Here, director Russell Mulcachy depicts a Down Under that is probably more realistic than either the novel or the first film. As most Australians realize that the radiation that has wiped out the entire Northern latitudes is inexorably drifting southward civil order and hence morality begins to dissipate. We see scenes of citizens heading toward Melbourne in human tidal waves, overcoming the ability of the government to feed and clothe them. We see scenes of looting, rioting, and civil disorder. We even see a heart-rending scene in which one man deliberately drives his car filled with his children over a cliff. What we do not see is much about the WHY of all this. There are a few minutes of flashbacks to indicate that hostilities began when China blockaded Taiwan, forcing the United States to intervene. The majority of ON THE BEACH deals with how three lives interact. Armand Assante is an American nuclear sub commander who has orders to deliver Bryan Brown to the central government. Rachel Ward (Brown's real life wife) is his jilted ex-fiance who begins a romance with Assante who still mourns the loss of his own family. The film suggests that it is better for the government to hide a bitter truth even when it knows that the public is quite well aware of that truth. The 1959 film begins and ends with a street corner fanatic preaching under a banner that reads "There is Still Time." This banner is present too but only once at the beginning, thus muting the impact that there may not be time. A number of viewers have complained that the ending simply cuts the film off without any satisfying resolution, but that may be the point. Nuclear armaggeddon is so soul-crunching in its finality that viewer satisfaction is probably the last thing that director Mulcahy wanted to leave that viewer with.
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Equal To The Original
Added 8/6/2009
I've seen both films, and personally, I prefer this one. It seams more realistic to me with the flow of the story (already jumping into the mission and using flashbacks to tell the back story help out the flow, in my personal opinion). Whereas the original film has the depth and more disturbing message behind the story, this is more entertaining just for watching it at face value. Both are equal as far as its emotional content, but this is my choice of the two.
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Stick with the original
Added 6/1/2009
While interesting, this version is over the top in areas that simply don't contribute to the story. Captain Towers in unbelievable as a nuclear navy sub commander. Julian Osborne is unbelievable as a government scientist. Moira Davidson is unbelievable as anything other than a complete bitch. The only characters that improved with this telling are Peter and Mary.
As noted in previous reviews, the tech flaws include a blinking corpse. In addition, when Bill Gates or Dell comes up with a solar battery powered laptop--someone let me know, OK?
Kramers original is still the best. You could hardly go wrong with a cast and script like that.
If you're a die hard "End Of The World" film geek like me, then this is a must own. Just don't spend more than US10 on it.
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Has its strengths and weaknesses.
Added 3/23/2009
Comparing it with the theatrical movie with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire etc, it has its strengths - one being Australian actors in the Australian roles, and who perform well. Assante is very good in the Peck role while Bryan Brown is a little 'over-cooked' in the Astaire role, but Rachel Ward (Mrs Brown) is excellent. Impact of story is powerful, and it has a slightly more 'satisfying' last scene than the 1959 movie. As a mini-series, twice as long as the original which gives more time for story development, although it is rather slow and overly-'wordy' in places. Overall a 'solid' product.
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