KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

JohnHowardReid Long before "Waltz of the Toreadors", I had always regarded John Guillermin as a major film-making talent. After a series of second features distinguished mainly by his enthusiasm for unpredictable camera angles, Guillermin was given his head by John Grierson on the Group 3 comedy, "Miss Robin Hood", with a startlingly undisciplined result. His undeniable vigor and inventiveness were then seen to best advantage in the children's film, "Adventure in the Hopfields", and to a lesser extent in "Town on Trial". In 1960, two years before "Waltz of the Toreadors", he directed another Peter Sellers' vehicle, "Never Let Go", which had the distinction of being banned in Australia. With "The Blue Max:, Guillermin may now truly be said to have come of age. Not only is the budget of "The Blue Max" greater than all his previous films combined, but he has managed to sustain his inventiveness right throughout the entire film. Indeed, each scene is more inventive than the last, and the film progresses to a really stunning climax, one of the finest exercises of sheer film-craft I have seen for years.Of course, the director has been greatly helped by his brilliant cinematographer, Douglas Slocombe, who has achieved some wonderful effects in lighting and color. Just one example of the sheer expertise behind the film is the way Slocombe's camera-work blends so perfectly with the aerial shots photographed by Skeets Kelly. If we had not been told, it would be impossible to separate the work of one man from the other. This, of course, is how it should be, but it is not often the case. Notice how poorly the photography blends together in "Red Line 7,000", for instance.Also, no doubt of great assistance to the director, was his talented cast. James Mason gives a superb performance as the conniving Count — one of the most magnetic portrayals he has drawn since Rommel of The Desert Fox. Peppard and Ursula Andress are excellent, and the German actors, Jeremy Kemp and Karl Michael Vogler, turn in such arresting performances they will almost assuredly find themselves in great demand for other roles in English-speaking films. Anton Diffring has for some time been a top star in Britain, where he has specialized in horror films such as "Circus of Horrors", and "The Man Who Could Cheat Death".Full credit for the choice and combination of such a wonderful team both behind and in front of the camera belongs to Elmo Williams, the brilliant former editor (he won an Academy Award for "High Noon") and lately second unit director, "The Vikings", "The Longest Day". For a while there, Williams was in charge of all 20th Century-Fox's European productions.

kellyeugene The movie deals with the struggles of Lt. Stachel, who wants to be accepted by the German officer class. The film does a good job, and illustrates the coming collapse of Imperial Germany. Even today (51 years on), the flying scenes are unsurpassed. The affair with the general's wife added a lot of intrigue, and illustrates what a complex character Stachel was.

cwg2005a In days of yore, "roadshow" films (ie, "Lawrence of Arabia," "Dr Zhivago," "My Fair Lady," "Blue Max") were long, expensive, expansive, and broke for intermissions. It was an event for a couple to dress up to go to the theatre to watch these films, something looked forward to. When I first saw "The Blue Max" it made me want more than anything to fly in a biplane; although I have been flying for awhile now, I have still not had that pleasure.But I did recently have the pleasure of re-viewing this film; it is Peppard's finest performance, and Mason, Andress and the rest are just as good. The flying scenes will enthrall, but the one drawback to the film is that one gets the impression that the romance story between Peppard and Ursula take up almost an equal amount of time -- all for a tepid pay-off of having Ursula cause a final misfortune out of her sense of pride.The photography is magnificent, the direction is active, the shots are well-planned, and the fight choreography is exciting.IF you've got the (almost) three hours and enjoy war films built on character development more than battle scenes, this is a film you will very much enjoy.

Shosanna Dreyfus How much you like this film will probably depend on how much WWI flying sequences and dogfights appeal to you, but I enjoyed it very much (although probably not as much as my friend Bridget von Hammersmark did since it's about her fellow Germans after all). The flying sequences are thrilling and I liked George Peppard very much in a role that is at times heroic and sympathetic and at other times shows ruthlessness, callousness or underhandedness. I liked the rivalry between Bruno Stachel (Peppard) and Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp) and also the theme of class and bourgeois politics that runs throughout the film. I liked scenes where Stachel has different viewpoints to the higher ups in the German military, because of his humbler beginnings and his more direct experience of life in the trenches. I also find it interesting in the aspect of how a supposed hero gets treated by his "superiors" when he is in danger of becoming a liability and embarrassment (I was reminded of some of the plots regarding Jack Bauer in 24 here). Ursual Andress reminded me a little of Bridget von Hammersmark here, but alas I found her character and chemistry with Peppard fairly dull, although at least she does contribute something to the story in the end (but mostly she's just an additional prize for the two pilots to compete over). Some more standard war movies probably wouldn't interest me very much, but this is one of the ones that had an extra element of excitement, ambiguity and character/human interest for me. I very much love the flying sequences and some good characterization and themes keep things on the ground moving too.