Customer Reviews

The Caine Mutiny (Widescreen)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I long ago voted this the best Bogey movie. His portrayal of Lt. Cmdr. Queeg is flawless. Accolades go to the entire cast, in particular Fred MacMurray and Jose Ferrer. The action takes place during the second world war but it is not about the war itself, it is about the Caine and her crew. It would be unfair to add more because those additions would be spoilers. The title itself is evidence of what takes place. One of those worth buying and keeping to watch again and again.......

The crew of the USS Caine resents Captain Queeg, who places the blame for a series of blunders and petty infractions on the crew. Such instances include cutting their own target tow-line while Queeg berates a crewman for having his shirt untucked, and later and most famously, interrogating the officers for the apparent stealing of some strawberries.

The mutiny results when, in a life-threatening storm, Queeg freezes up and does not give the order that would save the ship. At that point he is relieved of command by Van Johnson.

Later at the court-marshall Johnson is defended by Mel Ferrer and prosecuted by EG Marshall. But was Queeg torpedoed by the crew with insubordination and lack of respect, or did Queeg go off the deep end? Queeg's paranoia comes out in full force, complete with marbles.

Based on Herman Wouk's best-selling Pulitzer-winning novel, the movie arguably has Bogart's best performance which was one of seven oscar nominations. Look for Claude Akins and Lee Marvin in small roles. Only the unnecessary love-story between a new ensign and his girlfriend detracts from the otherwise intriguing story.

In early December some guy (or girl) named Pinntinajeur reviewed this DVD and complained about the price. Not less than month later that price was reduced by $10!!!! Way to go, Pinn! I'm not saying he/she was totally responsible but who knows, maybe he/she is.

The Caine Mutiny is a great film and featurea one of the best performance of Humphrey Bogart's life. That's high praise considering the quality evident in his body of work but he really delivers the goods in The Caine Mutiny. The film benefits from other strong perfomrances as well. Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and others all rise to the level of the unusally intelligent script. The result is a fancinating character study that I would recommend to anyone.

As good as the movie is, however, the transfer to DVD is about the worst I've ever seen. The moment the movie started, I was stunned by how much noise was evident. I wasn't looking for it or analyzing the picture, it jumped out because it was so extreme. Every face, every object, every thing was literally swimming with digital noise. And the sound is as bad or worse. No effort was made to re-master the soundtrack to even rudimentary surround sound making this the first movie I've seen in years to be presented in basic stereo. In addition, the sound is flat throughout, with even big explosions lacking punch.

The Caine Mutiny is a classic film and deserves much better treatment from the studio. As a movie, I would give it 5 stars but I deduct one for the extraordinarily poor picture and sound quality of the DVD.

I would have to say I would agree with the reviewer from 12/9/03: Why is this DVD so pricey? It has no extra features, it is an average film, turgid in spots, but--it does have Bogey. Hmmm...then why do truly GREAT Bogart films like Key Largo, Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, and High Sierra go for around $15.O0? Even the 2-disc deluxe sets of Casablanca and Treasure of the Sierra Madre go for less than this one. I say, blame it on the lawyers!!! I'm sure if we wait it out, the price will come down to earth. Bogey is really great in the film, and the military trial sequence is one of the best, better than "A Few Good Men" but not quite up to "Paths of Glory". So remain mutinous until this DVD is affordable for the common seaman.

............why is this movie so freakin' expensive???!!! It's old and there are basically no extra features. It's a really good movie and I would love to buy it, but I am not paying that much for it. I guess I'll have to wait a few years for the price to come down.

Most reviews of this movie focus mainly on the courtroom climax, but there is another "climax" that is more important. As the movie progresses, we watch the characters develop. At the end of the movie, at the "acquittal party," Ferrer's character takes the ship's officers to task and sums up the movie's most critical lesson, and one that every would-be leader should learn: "...that you don't work for a guy because you like the way he parts his hair. You work for him because he's got the job or you're no good!" This movie does a great job of showing characters who have a great diversity of gifts and flaws and then throws the men into the crucible of war. Under those conditions we learn what Ferrer tells us. To be a good leader, one must learn to follow first, and more often than not you can't choose your leaders. I believe this movie rates on the level of "Twelve O-Clock High" in potential for teaching leadership, and as a military historian and Air Force officer I recommend it highly.

One of the best movies ever made. I have watched this movie numerous times. It never grows old. Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg is worth watching the movie alone. When you throw in Van Johnson, Fred McMurray and Jose Ferrer with their outstanding performances they make the movie timeless.

I hadn't watched this film for many years, but recently bought and watched the DVD version. This movie is just as great now as it was when it came out in 1954.

This film packs a tremendous amount into about 125 minutes--a crisis of leadership, the testing of loyalty, and courtroom drama--all done superlatively well. This is the tale of ordinary men who are tested in wartime by the fact that they are serving a captain who is a spectacularly bad leader. As almost everyone knows, this is the story of the events surrounding what amounts to a kind of mutiny aboard a US Navy destroyer during World War 2 in the Pacific. The events leading up to this, and the aftermath, are a great story that ranks with "Mutiny on the Bounty" as a naval classic. The story moves at a fast pace, never drags, features excellent acting, and the script is a wonderful adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel of the same name.

The movie merited seven Academy Award nominations, and the book a Pulitzer Prize, all for a very good and simple reason: this is a great story about ordinary men who are placed in a difficult and all-too-possible situation. It is difficult to say whether the aboard-ship portion of the movie, or the segment dealing with the trial, is the better. Both are superb. Jose Ferrer was absolutely magnificent as Barney Greenwald, and of course Humphrey Bogart was peerless as Captain Queeg. Van Johnson does well as the uncomplicated but competent Meryk. The rest of the cast turn in fine performances as well.

Every movie afficianado will want to own this DVD and will enjoy this classic many times.

A great film that certainly ranks among the classics, even by Bogart's high standards. In this he is more of an ensemble player, but he is still outstanding in the role of Captain Queeg. Full of great performances, like Fred MacMurray, who surprisingly at his best when playing rats, like here and Double Indemnity and The Apartment. Van Johnson, although not a great personal favorite, is superb in this film. But Jose Ferrer comes in at the end and steals the picture. A film that ranks with the great ensemble acting movies, like Glengarry Glen Ross.