AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

romanorum1 "A Farewell to Arms" is based upon the semi-autobiographical novel of Ernest Hemingway's experiences in World War I when he served as an ambulance driver for the Italians who fought the Austrians and Hungarians (1915-1918). Lt. ("Tenente") Frederic Henry (Rock Hudson) sustains a leg wound from a shell on the Alpine front and while recuperating in the military hospital meets English nurse Catherine Barkley (Jennifer Jones). Thus begins their love affair. Over time the nurse eventually gets pregnant. Meanwhile, with the urging of head nurse Van Campen (Mercedes McCambridge), Lt. Henry is deemed well enough to return to the battle front in time for the 1917 tragedy at Caporetto.In 1917 the exhausted Russians, obviously on the brink of defeat, were negotiating with the Germans and Austrians to pull out from the war. Thus many divisions were diverted from the Russian to the Italian front. And at Caporetto the Central Powers broke through the defensive line. The subsequent retreat was tragic, and this part is well-filmed. Because of the disaster the Italian command did take extraordinary measures to save their country (as explained in Hemingway's book). Dismayed, Lt. Henry decides to make a separate peace and deserts the army; he slips across Lake Como into Switzerland with his girlfriend. When childbirth time comes, Nurse Barkley enters the nearby hospital. While Henry is in the Swiss restaurant near the hospital, a customer remarks that the Italians had finally held the line at the Piave River. (In the book, Henry says that The Western front, though, was beginning to crack.) SPOILER ALERT: The worst possible situation happens to Miss Barkley. With the loss of both his stillborn child and of his lover, Henry is crushed. As in the book, the dejected Frederic Henry walks alone out of the hospital into the rain."A Farewell to Arms" was David O. Selznick's last movie as a producer, and it is a bit too long. But production values are very high, and the cinematography is wonderful. The on-location filming at the actual places of Alpine battle is excellent. There are interesting long shots of the Italians using great effort to move their supply trains over vast mountains. Their war was indeed a vertical one, unlike that of the Western, Russian, and Turkish fronts. A major negative of the movie seems to be insufficient chemistry between the two main leads. Furthermore, the acting of Jennifer Jones is uneven. Frankly, she was far too old for her part. In her defense, like Nurse Barkley in the novel, she is effective when she exemplifies her dilemmas and flightiness. By the way, she was producer Selznick's wife. Vittorio DeSica, a great director in his own right, received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. He is Major Alessandro Rinaldi, Lt. Henry's friend, whose mental state notably shifts from optimism and worldliness into pessimism and war-weariness. Over all, while AFTA is not a great film, it is still decent enough to watch. Those who enjoy prolonged battle scenes will be disappointed, though. We really do not see the Italian troops storming the Austrian positions. Bonus Information (The Aftermath): Ernest Hemingway really was wounded on the Italian front and had an affair with Agnes von Kurowsky, an American – not English – nurse. At age 26 she was older than Hemingway; she eventually became engaged to an Italian military officer but married someone else. She survived the war and lived a long life. On World War I's Italian front there were two battles after Caporetto, and both were Italian victories. The first was the Battle of the Piave River, which occurred in June 1918. The Germans were hoping for an Austrian triumph to knock out the Italians, but their offensive failed. The battle was decisive, as it foretold Austrian defeat and breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire a few months later. General Foch, Allied Commander-in-Chief on the Western front, wanted the Italians to conduct an immediate counter-offensive to knock Austria out of the war (and perhaps invade Germany through Bavaria), but Italian General Armando Diaz refused because of logistical problems. Then, in October of the same year, with the initiative of the Central Powers failing on all fronts, the Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto netted 400,000 Austrian and Hungarian prisoners, or an amazing reversal of Caporetto just a year after the 1917 disaster. And, as the military commander alluded to in the feature film, it was done by the Italians on their own as virtually all of the American troops went to France to help the beleaguered French and British against the desperate German offensives of 1918.

tomsview Many critics didn't like this movie when it was first released and still don't if reviews on IMDb are anything to go by. I think that many films, especially from the late 50's and early 60's, took a critical hammering at the time because they seemed old-fashioned in the light of the great changes in cinema that were just starting. But now, over 50 years later, a film such as "A Farewell to Arms" can be evaluated more dispassionately, and as the film is actually set 40 years before it was made, it is now relatively free of the baggage of 1957 and Selznick's interference – I feel that it has far more merit than some would allow. The film follows Hemingway's novel with Rock Hudson's Lt Frederick Henry wounded while serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during WW1. While recuperating, he falls in love with an English nurse, Catherine Barkley, played by Jennifer Jones. After returning to the front, he is caught up in the retreat of the Italian army, and almost executed as a traitor. With as much danger from his own side as from the enemy he decides to desert to Switzerland, taking the now pregnant Catherine with him. Although they reach safety, tragedy awaits. The final scenes of this film are harrowing and haunting; they also put to rest any doubts about Rock Hudson's acting ability. A major criticism of the film is that Jennifer Jones at 38 was too old for the part. From my reading of the novel, Catherine Barkley is an indeterminate age, but she would seem to be older than the reviewer who claims she was 21. After all, she tells Lt Henry that she had been engaged for 8 years to someone who was killed on the Somme – surely Hemingway wasn't suggesting that she had become engaged when she was 13 years old. The affair is based on fact, details of which didn't emerge until after Hemingway's death. Hemingway was an ambulance driver in Italy, was wounded and did fall in love with his nurse. Her name was Agnes von Kurowsky, and she was actually an American. If you Google her name, there are quite a few of photographs of her; it's easy to see why Ernest fell for her – she was gorgeous. But she was also 7 years older than the 19-year-old Hemingway. They didn't run away to Switzerland together, in fact Hemingway was invalided back to America and never saw her again. She sent him a letter from Italy, "…I am now and always will be too old, and that is the truth, and I can't get away from the fact that you are just a boy – a kid". He was dumped. It affected him deeply, and Agnes turns up in a number of his stories. "In Love and War", starring Sandra Bullock, is a well-made, but somewhat fictionalised account of the real story. So there you are, Jennifer Jones was 6 years older than Rock Hudson, probably not the ages the novel vaguely suggests, but I feel too much has been made of this aspect. Oh, just for the record, Jennifer Jones looks fantastic for an 'old lady' of 38.Technically there is much to admire – the scenes of the Italian army advancing and retreating are amazing, while Mario Nascimbene composed a lavish score with a recurring raindrop motif that is very effective within the context of the story. The novel was adapted into a play in 1930, which all the films have drawn material from. "A Farewell to Arms" was first filmed in 1932 starring Gary Cooper, and also appears in a slightly different form as one of the segments in "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man". But I feel that Selznick's 1957 film is the best version, and still has a lot to offer.

williwaw David Selznick loved Jennifer Jones and per John Huston in his book "put everything on the line for his adored Jennifer" I met Douglas Fairbanks Jr years ago at a party when he was in New York and Fairbanks remarked that of major producers he knew, David Selznick stood out because of Mr. Selznick's love of great literature. David Selznick's brilliant productions of Gone With The Wind, Rebecca, David Copperfield, et al reflect Selznick's great love of great novels. (David Selznick wanted to but could not get financing for War and Peace starring of course Ms.Jones) One wonders why David Selznick insisted on remaking A Farewell to Arms but push ahead he did. David Selznick made a releasing deal thru 20th (Likely because of Jennifer Jones' attachment and successes at 20th Century Fox -Song of Bernadette, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, et al) and hired John Huston to direct again possibly because of Jennifer's past history with John Huston (Beat The Devil, We Were Strangers). David Selznick micro managed his productions and fired John Huston whom he felt was titling the picture towards a war film versus a highly romantic film, i.e. favoring Rock Hudson over Jennifer Jones. Charles Vidor replaced Huston and also had clashes with David Selznick. In the mid 50's a gigantic production shot on location in Italy had to be a logistical challenge: Selznick also fired Arthur Fellows as line producer. Some of A Farewell To Arms scenes are brilliantly photographed and large in scope as is the trademark of a Selznick International picture.Jennifer Jones was a beautiful movie star. I would recommend a review of Ms. Jones career, as Ms. Jones is sadly forgotten but was a huge box office star and acclaimed screen actress of her day: Madame Bovary, Good Morning Miss Dove, Duel In The Sun, Ruby Gentry et al Some carp over Jennifer Jones' age in this film but Jennifer Jones looks fine in this picture (but ironically would look even much better years later in a fine and underrated film 20th's Tender Is The Night). My quibble with this film is the dialogue between Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson which seems so stilted and phony. Has anyone counted the number of times the word "darling" is used?Rock Hudson, then a gigantic box office star after George Stevens great film Giant and his run at Universal with hits such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, etc got first billing over the veteran Oscar Winning Jennifer Jones. Elaine Stritch is wonderfully sassy in a small but pivotal supporting role. We are likely never to see the likes of David Selznick again, a pioneer in film. Of all David Selznick's movies I liked Gone With The Wind best but also the splendid WWII Film Since You Went Away starring Ms. Jones and a superb Claudette Colbert I wish Selznick had done an original film like Since You Went Away rather than a remake of A Farewell To Arms. Mr. Hudson adored by his female co-stars such as Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, Kim Novak, Jane Wyman, et al never really had much to say about working with Jennifer Jones. Ms Jones until her death never commented much about anything ever about her career, her Leading Men, or about her stormy private life. A book on the back story filming of this movie would prove to be interesting. Reading Memo From David O Selznick and David Thomson's Showman would help understand David Selznick's obsession with Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms and Ms. Jones in particular. This was the final film personally produced by David O Selznick.

teleadm-persson Iv'e read that this is supposed to be an absolutely overwrought misguided big budget movie! and a big flop at the time, .....hmmm nah 2/3 of this movie is actually very good! And I admit I have never read Ernest Hemingways tragic love story!This movie actually have some of the most impressive co-ordinated battle scenes I've ever seen, that is not faked, cgi, or using back-projection. (LOng before The Longest Day 1962) (For some reason I've seen this movie in some War-movie boxes, and I agree it doesn't belong there, it's a wartime movie and not a war movie!) The hero is an ambulance driver so we are only in the outskirts of War, never in the battle-zones.Rock Hudson is very good, and he was a new hot star at that time, and this was at the time when he was making tearjerkers with Jane Wyman, a few years before he was seducing Doris Day.Jennifer Jones is very good too, she was married to producer David O Selznick, so she got many bad reviews just because of that at the time,and yes Love is a Many Splendoured Thing and Good Morning Miss Dove might have suited her better.Vittorio de Sica!! The great neo-realist director! Bicyckle thief, Umberto D and Miracle in Milan just to mention a few, actually had a huge career as an actor too, for the role in this movie he was actually Oscar nominated!Alberto Sordi! One of the great Italian comedians! In this film his talents is wasted as a dedicated and warmhearted priest.Mercedes MacCambridge! has a thankless small role as a snouty nurse.Oscar Homolka! an even more thankless role as a doctor who apparently reads everything opposite as what it is. When He says Everything is all right, someone is going to die!!There is too very short scenes that has etched into my mind, and both have to do when they all have to go on the run. This takes place during Italian alpine war against Austria during WW1. 1. A very tired mother carriyng a child, gets a chance to sit down on a lorry small space, she falls asleep and as tired as she is, her baby slips away and falls of the lorry, and the mother is too tired to notice it. 2. Down in a ditch lays a dead mother and a baby still climbs to her dead mother trying to suck milk from her breasts. Those are very tough scence to watch.Then comes the last 2/3 of the movie and our hero and heroine has fled to Switzerland, and for 30 minutes it becomes a tourist card movie for Switzerland (Though it apparently was Italian alps).After seeing all the hell that war makes and people fleeing, one might think that such sights might have etched into the soul of a man, something that might not be too easy to brusk off. But not in this movie! Once they have fled to Switzerland, everything is suddenly happy and jouyous, and you wait for an Oompa Bumpa band with Yoddelers to appear behind any tree.anyway the first 2/3 is very good!