- Actors: Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin, Giorgia Moll, Bruce Cabot
- Directors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Writers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Graham Greene
- Producers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Michal Waszynski, Vinh Noan
- Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Subtitled, Full Screen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Fox Video
- Release Date: April 19 2005
- Run Time: 120 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B00079ZAD6
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #31,161 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
My Favourite Audie Murphy Film
Jan 24 2011
Format:DVD
The Quiet American is a film based on a novel by Graham Greene, written basically as an anti-war movie that was also critical of America's increasing involvement in Vietnam. The plot uses a love triangle between a beautiful young Vietnamese woman and the two protagonists, a young idealistic American named Pyle who sees a Third Force politically for Vietnam, and a cynical British journalist in his 50's. When the book was first published, it was seen by many as being ant-American, however the film version dilutes the geo-political intrigue of the Pyle character, and focusing more on the love triangle aspect of the film.
Nevertheless, this is a very good movie despite its changes from the book. This is because the performances of Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave are superb. In fact, I would argue that The Quiet America is definitely Murphy's most interesting performance, and possibly the best film he ever did. I know it is my favourite film starring Audie Murphy. His character is charismatic, complex, and contradictory, worldly and yet very naïve. It is a shame he did not do more of these kinds of roles, rather than the usual western, as entertaining as they were.
However, in many ways one could say that this is Michael Redgrave's film. His performance in this film makes one realize just how good an actor he was, right up there with the greatest British actors of his time. It is disappointing that they used an Italian actress, Giorgia Moll, rather than a Vietnamese woman for the third member of the love triangle, but her performance is adequate enough.
Joseph Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay and directed this fine film. Considered one of the great writer/directors in Hollywood history, this film only solidifies his reputation. A film I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who loves movies,
and a good companion to anyone who is going to or has viewed the remake starring Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine, which is more faithful to the Graham Greene novel.
Nevertheless, this is a very good movie despite its changes from the book. This is because the performances of Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave are superb. In fact, I would argue that The Quiet America is definitely Murphy's most interesting performance, and possibly the best film he ever did. I know it is my favourite film starring Audie Murphy. His character is charismatic, complex, and contradictory, worldly and yet very naïve. It is a shame he did not do more of these kinds of roles, rather than the usual western, as entertaining as they were.
However, in many ways one could say that this is Michael Redgrave's film. His performance in this film makes one realize just how good an actor he was, right up there with the greatest British actors of his time. It is disappointing that they used an Italian actress, Giorgia Moll, rather than a Vietnamese woman for the third member of the love triangle, but her performance is adequate enough.
Joseph Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay and directed this fine film. Considered one of the great writer/directors in Hollywood history, this film only solidifies his reputation. A film I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who loves movies,
and a good companion to anyone who is going to or has viewed the remake starring Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine, which is more faithful to the Graham Greene novel.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
13 reviews
51 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Worth seeing only as a time-capsule, not as a film
April 24 2005
Format:DVD
This 1958 film of Graham Greene's novel is interesting today mostly as an historical artifact. It is not a particularly outstanding example of the art of cinema, just a dated melodrama in which the location exteriors in Saigon lead to interior dialogue scenes that are stagy and leaden and obviously take place on unconvincing studio sets. It is admittedly fascinating to see some of the exact same Saigon locations that were used in the 2002 film, and Michael Redgrave does bring a weight and soul to the role of Fowler.
Sadly, however, the film brutalizes his character. Where Greene's novel was about a world-weary Brit, confronted with a blindly idealistic American willing to sacrifice innocent lives in the name of his goals, the film inverts everything. Pyle is a virtual saint and Fowler merely the gullible old man who plays a part in Pyle's downfall not out of a desire to protect the innocent, but simply to rid himself of a romantic rival. It is not difficult to see why Graham Greene was incensed by the film and disowned it.
Fascinatingly, director/screenwriter Joe Mankiewicz manages to make this total change largely by the addition of one scene at the end. His film basically follows Greene's novel, up until [SPOILER WARNING!] an atrocious final scene in which we learn that Fowler has been hoodwinked all along by the Communists, and has destroyed a noble American who was genuinely bringing freedom and hope to Indochina. A prescient warning about America's doomed involvement in Vietnam becomes a piece of jingoistic propaganda to support the war.
The 2002 film, in comparison, is amazingly faithful to the novel. I don't always hold that as the measure of a film's success, but with a master storyteller like Greene, why mess with perfection. Do not choose this film if you want accomplished filmmaking, or an accurate interpretation of Graham Greene's intentions, for that pick up Phillip Noyce's 2002 film. Watch this only afterwards, to see how a few small changes can undermine an entire narrative.
Sadly, however, the film brutalizes his character. Where Greene's novel was about a world-weary Brit, confronted with a blindly idealistic American willing to sacrifice innocent lives in the name of his goals, the film inverts everything. Pyle is a virtual saint and Fowler merely the gullible old man who plays a part in Pyle's downfall not out of a desire to protect the innocent, but simply to rid himself of a romantic rival. It is not difficult to see why Graham Greene was incensed by the film and disowned it.
Fascinatingly, director/screenwriter Joe Mankiewicz manages to make this total change largely by the addition of one scene at the end. His film basically follows Greene's novel, up until [SPOILER WARNING!] an atrocious final scene in which we learn that Fowler has been hoodwinked all along by the Communists, and has destroyed a noble American who was genuinely bringing freedom and hope to Indochina. A prescient warning about America's doomed involvement in Vietnam becomes a piece of jingoistic propaganda to support the war.
The 2002 film, in comparison, is amazingly faithful to the novel. I don't always hold that as the measure of a film's success, but with a master storyteller like Greene, why mess with perfection. Do not choose this film if you want accomplished filmmaking, or an accurate interpretation of Graham Greene's intentions, for that pick up Phillip Noyce's 2002 film. Watch this only afterwards, to see how a few small changes can undermine an entire narrative.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
The better version?
Mar 30 2010
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The debate over whether this or the more recent Michael Caine version of "The Quiet American" is better tends to revolve around the ending. The 1958 version is certainly less faithful to the ambiguous Greene novel - nevertheless, the ending the director, Mankiewicz, wrote is perfectly consonant with the rest of the film and has a dramatic truth of its own. The politics of the subject matter should not be allowed to obscure this. Rather than being dismissed as dated and politically incorrect, what recommends the earlier version are its strong cinematic elements - filmed on location in Saigon - and a strong cast, particularly Michael Redgrave's performance. Some viewers may question the acting abilities of Audie Murphy, but his is a rather clever piece of casting. The script is rather too wordy, though rarely dull, and the improbability of a reporter who never reports and carries a camera but never uses it also weakens the story - but the look and mood of this production merit high marks.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Cold War garbage
Dec 2 2011
Format:DVD
This propaganda film was a deliberate rewriting of Greene's great novel. It was designed to build support for more active U.S. involvement of the Ngo Dinh Diem dictatorship. Colonel Edward Lansdale of the C.I.A. had an active engagement in changing the plot from that of the novel, making Fowler into the villain of the story. All this is documented in the Viking Penguin critical edition of the novel, which includes a number of eye-opening documents.
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