Customer Reviews

Tunes of Glory

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4 star:		(1)
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No need to say much about the film itself: it is superb as others have agreed, with a phenomenally compelling performance from Sir Alec Guinness, with Sir John Mills (who won Best Actor prize at the 1960 Venice Film Festival) and the rest of the cast giving great support.

The Criterion DVD offers a really fine transfer: colours are rich, and there is a total absence of any artefacts, nicks or blemishes in the print. Sharpness is also very good, there is a hint of occasional grain but this is in the original celluloid I think - and anyway is nothing to worry about.

One slight caveat which has been commented upon by various review sites (so is not just a flaw in my DVD copy) is near the end of the film the appearance on the transfer of an opaque vertical line close to the right edge of the image, about a centimetre wide on my 28" screen. This is not really as distracting as it sounds and was presumably unfixable by Criterion from the source print. It starts near the end of the snooker room scene and stays for about 5 minutes - disappearing during Guinness's tour-de-force final scene where he addresses the assembled officers in a bravura display of fine acting - which leads to the unforgettable (and very moving) climax of the film. Certainly no-one should be put off by this slight flaw as it didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the film.

Soundwise this film offers a straight mono track - which with a 5 channel set-up will unusually use only the centre speaker. Manually adjusting my amp I was able to switch to the two fronts (minus the centre) which gives a slightly wider soundstage. In any event the dialogue is clear (subtitles will help with some of the more inpenetrable lines) and Malcolm Arnold'd bagpipe-based score comes through well.

The extras are slight but OK: the audio-only interview with the aged John Mills in 2002 is not too revealing but he is a lovely man, as comes across well here. The filmed interview with Guinness is better but covers his whole career rather than this film - and he doesn't give too much away of the real man. The trailer is interesting - because it is so appallingly (and hilariously) bad, with a dreadful voiceover and bizarre captions.

Get this DVD for the fine transfer of a brilliant film, which at the end of the day is the prime reason for any DVD package.

Based on Richard Aldus' novel of the same title, James Kennaway wrote the screenplay for this film, directed by Ronald Neame, in which Guinness plays what he claimed was one of his favorite roles, Lt. Col. Jock Sinclair. (Two years before, Neame and Guinness had teamed up on The Horse's Mouth which I also highly recommend.) There is really not much action in this film which focuses primarily on two lead characters: Sinclair and his newly assigned commanding officer, Col. Basil Barrow (Mills). Tensions and then conflicts between them develop almost immediately because they are so different. Barrow is English and somewhat aloof, well-educated, and a product of what could be viewed as the British "military aristocracy"; in striking contrast, Sinclair is a proud Scot of modest background and education who has worked his way up through the ranks to his current position as an officer...and deeply resents just about everything Barrow represents to his (Sinclair's) tender sensibilities. Sinclair views Barrow as a "toy soldier" but has enough street smarts to realize that he must thoroughly undermine Barrow's authority before he can obtain it for himself.

Hence the importance of fellow officer Maj. Charlie Scott, brilliantly portrayed by Dennis Price. (His is by far the strongest performance in the earlier Kind Hearts and Coronets in which Guinness also appeared, playing no less than eight different parts.) Scott has the social graces and political skills which Sinclair obviously lacks. However, Scott is one of those whom Dante would assign to the seventh and worst ring in Hell because, in a moral crisis, Scott will always preserve his neutrality. A sub plot involves Morag Sinclair (Susannah Price) and her romantic involvement with a young soldier who seems highly reputable. Of course, her father thoroughly disapproves. (Those who have seen The Sweet Smell of Success are urged to think of J.J. Hunseker's response to daughter Susan's interest in Steve Dallas.) The castle setting is almost smothering as Sinclair manipulates circumstances with skills worthy of Iago. Barrow becomes an object of pity as his authority gradually evaporates...and with it any sense of his self-worth.

For many who see this film for the first time, Guinness will seem upsettingly "out of character" in the role of Sinclair. There are some qualities in him to admire as an officer but almost nothing to admire in him as a human being. We can only imagine how much venom has accumulated in his system over the years, throughout his difficult career, because of real or imagined slights. He now finds himself reporting to a commanding officer who bears no specific animosity toward him but who nonetheless energizes him as a lamb would a lion.

Guinness savored his performance, as do we. After seeing it again, it is easier to understand why.

The sociable and veteran Major Jock Sinclair (Alec Guinness) has been the acting as Commanding Officer for the Highland Regiment since World War II where he once began as a piper. However, Jock is about to be replaced by a new Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Basil Barrow (John MIlls), and the mere thought of being swapped with another officer upsets Jock. Colonel Barrow is an aloof and pedant officer with deep scares from the war where he spent most of his time in a prison camp. When Colonel Barrow takes over he immediately begins to set his changes into action, which upsets the lenient Jock who does not like Colonel Barrow or his new strict changes that he has brought to the Highland Regiment. These changes instigate Jock to begin a private psychological warfare toward Colonel Barrow where he plays on the fact that the other officers are not used to changes.

Tunes of Glory is an astonishing story as it displays the rough surface of the Highland military, but at the same time presents the affectionate side of grown men that have returned from war. On top of this the audience gets to see two outstanding performances by Alec Guinness and John Mills that are supported by a terrific cast. In the end the audience will have experienced a wonderful film that leaves them with thoughts and stirred feelings.

This smart film shows us one true tour de force between John Mills and Alec Guiness.
Besides all the technical aspects that support this work, the dramatic nucleus deserves be remarked.
Yet this film was made in 1960 ; this script turns around one the essentials lines that support the question about what an effective leader must be.
Look inside what Guiness means; he has set up his mood leadership in a crowd of soldiers accostumed to his irreverent behavior.
He shares what they like; he drinks and he's vulgar too; in other words he flies with them , even ridiculizes the essential role of the authority. This a style yet employed for many managements specially in organizations composed by people of medium professional rank ; this leader stans up about the warm scent of the charisma; that behavior lets to Guiness smell and know the hidden weakness of every man under his power.
This approach is suddenly disturbed when an officer (John Mills) comes for him to replace. Obviously; that fact generates an inmediat reaction state in all the officers. Guiness knows his days are gone and yet he fights with his rules ; you disagree with his psycolghical handles; but you think that Mills a distingued officer, will be capable to end with this screwy state of things.
The obstacle are countless: some are direct and the rest you can imagine: that invisible match to establish the real rules of game , will turn in an unexpected twist ending.
The script is very carefully made ; just remember just two years before Stanley Kubrick had filmed Paths of Glory. This is important due the bitter atmosphere about every item related with the authority excess was not accepted in any society status.
Add to this, the Korea Cold War from the fifties ; the russian invassion over Hungary ; the growing nuclear tension around the nuclear weapons and the visible increase of peace movements all around the world in multiple facets as Litherature; poetry ; painting (Jason Pollock) ; music (rock & roll); cinema (New Wave birth) and challenging films as Baby doll, On the waterfront or Anatomy of a crime ; the raising movements for protecting the nature ; at this decade (fifties) the society was opened for new discoveries and sensations search (remember that the pill was discovered in the middle of the fifties) ; and this mood made the loss of certain principles you assumed as permanent.
And this movie walks in that direction. Watch this one; because its values and intentions goes far beyond a mere entertainment , the movie inquires you ; it challenges you and invites you to react.
Another superb achievement.

One of my favorite films has finally made it to DVD. One of the true gems of the postwar British cinema, by a director who often gets short shrift alongside his illustrious contemporaries, Ronald Neame. Everything about the picture's been said - some of the best screen acting of all time in this one. The disc does it justice. The delicate color balance is magnificently rendered,
and the sound is equally well-presented. The real kicker, tho',
is in the extras. The Neame interview is a delight, as is the Guinness one. The Mills one is marred slightly by the rather fatuous questions he is aked, but still quite fine. In short, Criterion hits another one out of the park. Pour yersailf a
wee dram, sit down, and enjoy a bona-fide classic.

This is a most excellent movie. Both Alec Guineness and John Mills put in great performances as two troubled commanding officers squaring off for command of a post war Scottish regiment. The acting is supurb all around. What I find most interesting is the depiction of regimental life. Few movies have ever provided such a vivid and lush view of being an officer in the Britsih army in the post war period. One can see that the comfortable and cozy regimental lifestyle continued for many years until recently where cut-backs and reductions in the army have no doubt curtailed much of what we see here.

Still, this movie shows how regimental tradition is so important in the British army, and in Scottish regiments in particular. The pipes are a part of every day life with their various duty tunes played throughout the day as shown in the film. The dancing scene where the officers are all brought out on parade early in the morning was not unknown, and shows that social comportment was a much greater factor in the past than it is today. We never get to know which Highland regiment is being portrayed in this movie. The location is most likely Stirling Castle which would make it the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, yet there is a lot of evidence to indicate the contrary. It seems that the regiment portrayed is an amalgam of all the Highland units in the British army, and does not indicate any one in particular. To have highlighted one regiment over all the others would have been unfair and so perhaps was a conscious decision made by the producers of the movie.

Americans will find the regimental life shown here somewhat different than what is normally associated with army life. These british regiments have every bit as much esprit de corps as anything that can be found in the US army. In fact, regiments matter little in the US army. Divisions and Services are the important thing, not the regiment. Perhaps it was no suprise when the great desk general Colin Powell asked the pipe major of the Argylls recently what accounted for such great morale in the British army: The only response he got was "the regiment sir!" Powell could only nodd his head! Anyway, this movie is great to watch not only for the fine acting, but for its sets and portrayal of army life in a bygone era.

Tunes of Glory is one of the finest British films ever made. The story is unusual, for films about army life normally focus on wartime experiences. This film deals with the problems of peace in post-war Edinburgh. The conflict is no longer against a common enemy. Rather these soldiers split into factions and fight amongst themselves. The fight however is no longer clear and upfront, but subtle, insidious and at times downright nasty and cruel. The heart of this conflict is a battle of wills between Alec Guinness and John Mills. Guinness considers himself unjustly passed over for command and sets out to make the new commander's life a misery. Mills gives a wonderful performance as the commander desperately trying to gain the loyalty and respect of his men. He is a disciplinarian, but shows the psychological scars of his wartime experience in a Japanese prison camp. This part was originally assigned to Alec Guinness and it is clear that he could have performed it in a similar manner to his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Perhaps for the reason that he didn't want to repeat himself, Guinness decided to swap roles with Mills. The result is a remarkably convincing performance by Guinness. He makes a very good hard-drinking Scotsman with his red hair and his faultless accent. Susannah York also sounds as if she comes from Edinburgh and it is a pleasure to see her in her first important role. She looks stunning, but also shows that she could hold her own with the best of British actors. All of the fine performances in Tunes of Glory give the film a great emotional depth, leading up to a stunning and moving dénouement. It is the best portrayal of barracks life I have seen

Fantastic portrayal of the life of a lifelong soldier. Sir Alec delivers a superb performance as Sinclair, the much loved acting commander. Although he dismisses his being replaced as nothing of import, we see the devestating effect this has on Sinclair as the story progresses. Guiness brings forth all the emotion of a man struggling with the need for recognition and honor with his sense of duty. We also see the Scots struggle to retain their own sense of self against British assimilation. When a Brit tries to teach the Scots how to properly dance a Scottish dance, you know something's wrong.

Watching this film for the first time on tv, i remember how unique it was. The vulnerability of the regimental british soldier is displayed in peacetime. How sober an exploration. I can understand why Sir Guinness believes this display his greatest acting endeavor. He revealed his absolute genius in a remarkable film: Tunes of Glory.

While the best cinematic dramas invariably contain character conflict of one sort or another, no movie I've experienced to date presents such conflict in such a searing and emotionally violent manner.

Based on the vaguely autobiographical novel by James Peebles Ewing Kennaway (Scottish Novelist & Screenwriter, 1928-1968), TUNES OF GLORY recounts an epic "life-and-death" battle of psyches waged between two regimental colonels --both fighting for the hearts and minds (and ultimately the command) of a Scottish Highland Regiment.

Those viewers not familiar with the British Actor John Mills are in for a real treat. And Guiness' performance in this role will cause you to forever forget the two-dimensional character 'Obi Wan Kenobi'. This is the real Alec Guiness at work (reputed to be his favorite of all his screen roles).

It is a stark, gripping story, with a superb supporting cast, a stunning visual locale, and one of the spookiest climaxes in modern cinema. An absolute MUST SEE!!