A Countess From Hong Kong: Amazon.ca: Charles Chaplin, Balbina, Marlon Brando, Patrick Cargill, Geraldine Chaplin, Anthony Chin, Carol Cleveland, Tippi Hedren, Dilys Laye, Sophia Loren, Michael Medwin, Bill Nagy, John Paul, Margaret Rutherford, Angela Scoular, Marianne Stone, Burnell Tucker, Sydney Chaplin, Leonard Trolley, Arthur Gross: DVD

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Charlie Chaplin's last film is the cinematic equivalent of Willie Mays staying too long in baseball--a sad farewell from someone who has clearly lost his touch. Marlon Brando (who famously did not get along with Chaplin and initiated, with this film, his curious habit of undermining his directors' best intentions) plays an American millionaire leaving Hong Kong to assume an ambassadorship. He discovers Sophia Loren--playing a daughter of Russian aristocrats and a former gangster moll--concealed in his closet onboard the outbound ship, hoping to gain passage to the States. Brando, looking none too pleased, agrees to help her, with not terribly comic or romantic results. Chaplin's one modestly clever touch is to have the camera rock gently and slowly back and forth, ostensibly emulating the movement of the luxury liner. The humor falls flat, Brando and Loren have no chemistry, and the story isn't terribly engaging. The former Little Tramp appears, mercifully briefly, as a seasick steward who opens and closes a door, swooning in between. Appropriately enough, in silence. --David Kronke

On the DVD

Original theatrical trailer

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars "All in all not bad for a director 77 years young ... Charlie Chaplin", Jul 26 2009

By	J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Universal Pictures presents "COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG" (15 March 1967) (108 mins/Color) (Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- Marlon Brando is an out of sorts politician, Sophia Loren gives a tug at your heart performance and almost carries the film by herself --- She is absolutely stunning and shines even when she wears Brando's character's pajamas --- Must make mention of the haunting beautiful score composed by Chaplin himself --- Take note there is a plus with cameos from Margaret Rutherford (British films of the 50s Miss Marple) and Angela Scoular as the society girl just about steals the entire film, also great comedy scenes from Patrick Cargill as the butler, Tippi Hedren as Martha gives a so-so outing --- Sydney Chaplin might have been a better choice for the lead, but didn't have the star power Brando had during the 60's.

Under the production staff of:
Charles Chaplin - Director, Producer & Original Screenplay
Charles Chaplin - Original Music
Jerome Epstein - Producer
Arthur Ibbetson - Cinematographer
Gordon Hales - Film Editor

BIOS:
1. Marlon Brando
Date of Birth: 3 April 1924 - Omaha, Nebraska
Date of Death: 1 July 2004 - Los Angeles, California

2. Sophia Loren
Date of Birth: 20 September 1934 - Rome, Lazio, Italy
Date of Death: Still Living

3. Sydney Chaplin
Date of Birth: 30 March 1926 - Beverly Hills, California
Date of Death: 3 March 2009 - Rancho Mirage, California

4. Tippi Hedren
Date of Birth: 19 January 1930 - New Ulm, Minnesota
Date of Death: Still Living

5. Charles Chaplin - Director
Date of Birth: 16 April 1889 - Walworth, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 25 December 1977 - Vevey, Switzerland

the cast includes
Marlon Brando ... Ogden Mears
Sophia Loren ... Natascha
Sydney Chaplin ... Harvey
Tippi Hedren ... Martha
Patrick Cargill ... Hudson
Michael Medwin ... John Felix
Oliver Johnston ... Clark
John Paul ... The Captain
Angela Scoular ... The Society Girl
Margaret Rutherford ... Miss Gaulswallow
Peter Bartlett ... Steward
Bill Nagy ... Crawford
Dilys Laye ... Saleswoman
Angela Pringle ... Baroness
Jenny Bridges ... Countess
Charles Chaplin ... An old steward

Check out the Marlon Brando 4-Movie Collection (The Ugly American / The Appaloosa / A Countess from Hong Kong / The Night of the Following Day)
also available on this Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/Collection-American-Appaloosa-Countess-Following/dp/B0007RTBA6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1248618787&sr=1-2

This is probably a good case of miscasting between Brando and Loren, there is no spark to their performances when together --- Another character to the film is This is My Song one of Charlie Chaplin's famous tunes from this film --- 'This Is My Song' reached number one after a week in 1967 when sung by Petula Clark --- She recorded the tune in French, Italian, and German --- Don't regard this film as Chaplin's best work, but it is far from being a bad film --- All in all not bad for a director 77 years young!

Total Time: 108 min on DVD ~ Universal Pictures ~ (02/04/2003)

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars time for a reevaluation, Jul 15 2004

By	ageofanxiety "ageofanxiety" (usa) - See all my reviews

after the recent passing of brando i picked up a magazine celebrating his career. it listed this as one of his 10 best films and said this film was beautiful and vastly underrated.
couldnt agree more.
the misfire was in misrepresentation of it as an out and out comedy. of course chaplins films were rarely 'just comedies'.
countess of course relates to the earlier 'woman of paris' and this is indeed a throwback to 1920s sensabilities.
critics have for years pounced on this film (and brando was one of those critics, but then brando pounced on a lot of his own films and his method acting didnt simply gel with chaplins direction)but brando is indeed good as is the film itself.
its a nice small charmer. you'll enjoy it.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars a little old-fashioned for 1960s standards, May 9 2003

By	Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG was director/comedian Charlie Chaplin's final film. In this film he is the director, writer and composer.

The story concerns a beguiling Russian countess named Natascha (Sophia Loren - HOUSEBOAT), a young woman forced into prostitution in Hong Kong, when she happens to meet an American politician named Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando - A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, SUPERMAN). She stows away in his stateroom aboard a ship headed back to the States, where she belives she can escape her miserable life.

The usual battle-of-the-sexes ensues, when Natascha and Ogden are forced to spend the entire voyage together, bickering and fighting over their different opinions and tastes. But its soon evident that they are in love. Things become complicated when Ogden's icy wife (Tippi Hedren - THE BIRDS, MARNIE) joins the ship at Hawaii, while Natascha finds herself marrying Ogden's valet in order to gain an American passport!

This is a film that feels a little old-fashioned for the 1960s, but it is a rather charming and engaging romantic comedy. Perhaps the film is best-known for launching the hit single "(Love) This is My Song", made famous by Petula Clark. The movie also stars Sydney Chaplin, Patrick Cargill and Margaret Rutherford in a rather-clever cameo.

The DVD includes the trailer. (Single-sided, single-layer disc).

This DVD is part of a new series of classic releases from Universal that also include "Pillow Talk", "Send Me No Flowers", "The Thrill of It All!" and a twofer of "Man's Favorite Sport?/Strange Bedfellows".

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 10 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Another review
I see there's several reviews already for this film, but here goes my two cents worth. Even though this is Chaplin's last film, it's his first and only film in color and... Read more

Published on April 27 2003 by gende

2.0 out of 5 stars Goodbye Charlie
This is the final motion picture written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. He was 78 years old when it was released and had been in political exile from the United States for the... Read more

Published on Mar 7 2003 by Charles Lean

4.0 out of 5 stars Under-rated
"Countess" was Chaplin's final film and sadly I think it has been labelled as being awful. This is not the case. Read more

Published on May 17 2001 by T. Schoon

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorite movies!
This is a great romantic comedy and should be taken for just that. Though Marlon Brando does a great job he was an odd choice for this role, so his fans would probably not enjoy... Read more

Published on Aug 10 2000 by drosenz