We just got our hot little hands on the new special 2-disc DVD edition of Von Ryan's Express and it's mana from heaven for anyone who loves great war movies. All credit to Fox for pulling out all the stops on yet another film that is not generally regarded as a classic by the critical establishment, but has endeared itself to movie fans for decades. Throw away the old "no frills" edition from years ago and add this one to your libary today!
First, the merits of the film itself. Fox was still bleeding red ink in 1964 from the Cleopatra debacle and their sound stages and studio lots were virtually vacant. The studio was desperate to make films on middle-range budgets that could turn solid, if not spectacular profits. The studio acquired the rights to David Westheimer's best-seller Von Ryan's Express and cast Frank Sinatra in the lead role at the actor's request. Sinatra was eager to break away from the fluff of the Rat Pack films and to stretch as an actor. The story finds Sinatra's Ryan as the superior officer in an Allied P.O.W. camp in occupied Italy in the last part of WWII. He devises an audacious plot to get the entire contingent of prisoners to Switzerland aboard a hijacked German military train - but he makes a number of misjudgments that have severe consequences and cause him to be hated by the men he is leading. The film is one of the last quality roles Sinatra would take before virtually giving up movie making. He simply never enjoyed the process and his experience on Von Ryan was no exception. He butted heads with director Mark Robson during production. For Sinatra, one take was usually sufficient, two takes was understable if really necessary but a third take was out of the question. Even when Sinatra tried his best, as he did in this film, the lure of the party circuit would make him leave the set as soon as his scenes were completed. Nevertheless, this film would be one of the biggest hits of his career.
Von Ryan's Express is one of the best war films of its era partly because the characters are hard-bitten, vulnerable to making mistakes and not particularly likeable. It's the ultimate macho movie. It boasts excellent production values and impressive locations in Italy and Spain, but the most interesting aspect is the fact that Fox constructed a huge prison camp set on the studio lot just for P.R. purposes to show they were back in the movie making business. The cast is also first rate with Sinatra working well with one of the screen's best second bananas, the great Trevor Howard. There are other wonderful performances from character actors like Edward Mulhare, Brad Dexter and Adolfo Celi. Sinatra insisted on altering the screenplay and creating the film's shattering final moments which precluded a planned sequel. (Though Von Ryan would return in a follow-up novel in 1980).
Now on to the DVD itself. The transfer itself is terrific and the set is packed with many fascinating extras including:
- A featurette on the making of the film that combines vintage promotional footage with new observations
- Commentary track by film and music historians Nick Redman, Jon Burlingame and Lem Dobbs, all of whom share interesting insights
- A brief documentary about the history of the Hollywood war film that comes across as a bit of padding because, due to legal reasons, there are virtually no clips shown except from Fox titles Patton and M*A*S*H
- Wonderful and informative tributes to the work of composer Jerry Goldsmith who was under contract to Fox for years and produced some of the best scores of all time. Ironically, his score for Von Ryan is not considered one of his most memorable (there is less than a half hour of music in the entire film), but it stands as a reflection of the terrible state of today's movie business that mid-range Goldsmith trumps the work of virtually every contemporary film composer.
- The disc also features some rare b&w TV spots with typical 1960's over-the-top narration, original U.S. and Spanish theatrical trailers and a highly enjoyable still gallery that presents fascinating behind the scenes photos and marketing materials.
- Fox has also resurrected the tradition of placing informative collector's booklets inside the package
- We also can't help mentioning how appreciative classic movie fans are that Fox has been using the original movie poster artwork for their retro releases. The packaging of this title proves once again how superior the old marketing campaigns were to today's scan-and-paste packaging designs.
Once again, Fox includes a nice bonus extra that you won't notice until you open the package: an envelope containing nice photos designed to look like old-fashioned lobby cards - an excellent touch!
Fox has released a wave of other special editions from the 1960s that we'll be reviewing in the next week. Meanwhile make sure that Von Ryan's Express is one train you don't miss- Lee Pfeiffer
BUY VON RYAN'S EXPRESS SPECIAL EDITION DISCOUNTED AT AMAZON