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Custer of the West [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

General George Armstrong Custer has been portrayed as everything from a vain but ultimately honourable hero (Errol Flynn in They Died with Their Boots On) to an insane, pompous incompetent (Richard Mulligan in the biting Little Big Man), but few have attempted an ambitious look at the man in all his contradictions. Robert Siodmak's Custer of the West, his final American production, attempts the task with fine results, portraying the career soldier as a pragmatist, a disciplinarian with a bullying streak, a loner and ultimately an Old World romantic in the modern age. Robert Shaw gives the role a regal bearing (though his continental accent keeps drifting in) and a sense of dignity, depicting a man who ironically identifies more with the Indians than with the US Army. Jeffrey Hunter and Ty Hardin co-star as his battling junior officers and Robert Ryan is memorable in a brief appearance as a gold-mining deserter. Shooting in handsome widescreen and vivid Technicolor, Siodmak makes his outdoor settings come alive and nimbly handles the many action scenes, most notably a chase that sends an escaping soldier whooshing down a log water chute like a Disney ride. Siodmak's sweeping visuals deliver both grand images and ironic counterpoint, but ultimately Custer of the West eschews the heroism of Hollywood adventures for a portrait of the corrupt state of the American military and one man's hopeless fight against it. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com


DVD done on the cheap
Review date: 2002-10-21 Rating: 2 out of 10

So utterly, utterly disappointing. A big widescreen roadshow picture that has been given the cheapest mediocre transfer to DVD possible.
Washed out colours, scratchy original film; tinny, harsh sound. Was it in stereo; quality so poor it's difficult to detect.
And a dreadful pan-and-scan transfer that destroys all the original wide screen vistas.
These big films of the '60s &'70s deserve to be appraised on a good transfer to DVD.

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Reviews


Reasonable rendition, but nothing special
Review date: 2001-11-29 Rating: 6 out of 10

Trying to get into the mind of the man who was hoping to be behind one of the biggets single massacres in north american history could not have been an easy thing for Robert Shaw, who plays General Custer his time leading up to his death at the Battle of little Bighorn. Instead of waiting for backup, the arrogant bully, as he is (most probably) accurately portrayed in this film decides to go on and wipe the collection of what was left of the native Americans off the face of the earth, but finds a little more than he was bargaining for....
Reasonably well acted and directed, a shame the indian side of this same story has not been shown in nearly as many ways as that of the arrogant General Custer.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Lawrence Tierney
Ty Hardin
Mary Ure
Jeffrey Hunter
Robert Shaw

Creators:
Robert Shaw (Primary Contributor)
Mary Ure (Primary Contributor)
Cecilio Paniagua (Cinematographer)
Maurice Rootes (Editor)
Irving Lerner (Producer)
Louis Dolivet (Producer)
Philip Yordan (Producer)
Bernard Gordon (Writer)
Julian Zimet (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM
Manufacturer: MGM
EAN: 9780792860471
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0792860470
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-05-25
Universal product code (UPC): 027616905802
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 143 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1968-01-24
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)

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