The Blue Max

Director: John Guillermin

Overview

"John Guillerman's The Blue Max (1966) appeared on laserdisc twice, once from Japan in a dual audio version (the Japanese get actors who sound like the actors in whose place they're dubbing, and the results are interesting) and then in a letterboxed Ameri

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2008
UPC:	0024543071952
Original Release:	1966
Rating:	NR
Source:	20TH CENTURY FOX
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:30:00
Sales rank:	12,550

Special Features

Closed Caption; [None Specified]

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

George Peppard	Actor
Ursula Andress	Actor
James Mason	Actor
Jeremy Kemp	Willi von Klugermann
Carl Schell	Richthofen
Karl Michael Vogler	Heidemann
Loni von Friedl	Elfi Heidemann
Anton Diffring	Holbach
Peter Woodthorpe	Rupp
Harry Towb	Kettering
Derek Newark	Ziegel
Derren Nesbitt	Fabian
Frederick Ledebur	Field Marshal Von Lenndorf
Roger Ostime	Crown Prince
Hugo Schuster	Hans
Tim Parkes	Pilot,Pilot
Ian Kingsley	Pilot
Ray Browne	Pilot
Alex Scott	The Orator
Ursula Parker	Countess Kaeti von Klugermann
Warren Crosby	Actor
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer

Technical Credits

David Pursall

Jack Seddon

Gerald Hanley

Ben Barzman

Basilio Franchina

David Pursall	Screenwriter
Jack Seddon	Screenwriter
Gerald Hanley	Screenwriter
Maurice Ayers	Special Effects
Ron Ballanger	Special Effects
Karl Baumgartner	Special Effects
Christian Ferry	Producer
Elmo Williams	Executive Producer
Ben Barzman	Screenwriter
Basilio Franchina	Screenwriter
Chris Greenham	Sound Effects

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. The Western Front
2. Main Titles
3. Behind German Lines
4. The New Replacement
5. The Squadron
6. A Pretty Medal
7. First Mission
8. Dogfight
9. An Unconfirmed Kill
10. Stachel's New Partner
11. A Confirmed Kill
12. The Official Story
13. Something of the Cobra
14. General Von Klugermann
15. The General's Approval
16. 7000 Guns
17. The Wrong Room
18. Battleground
19. Shot Down
20. A Small Celebration
21. Von Richthofen
22. The General's Expert
23. The Wounded Hero
24. Countess Von Klugermann's Guest
25. Similar Tastes
26. Intermission
27. Entr'acte
28. At a Standstill
29. Two Against Five
30. The Bridge
31. The Better Man
32. A Hero's Funeral
33. Indiscreet
34. An Army in Retreat
35. Air Strike
36. Allied Attack
37. Twenty's Not Enough
38. Ordered to Berlin
39. Good Military Reasons
40. Kaeti's Offer
41. The Blue Max
42. A Change in Plan
43. The Hero's Last Flight
44. End Titles

Menu

Side #1 --
Play
Language Selection
Language
English Dolby Surround
French Mono
Spanish Mono
Subtitles
English
Spanish
None
Scene Selection
Special Features
Theatrical Trailer
Spanish Theatrical Trailer
Portuguese Theatrical Trailer
Fox War Classics
13 Rue Madeleine
The Desert Fox
The Enemy Below
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
Sink the Bismarck

Editorial Reviews

Anyone looking for simply stunning aerial action sequences need look no further than The Blue Max, in which such sequences are among the finest ever captured on film. Director John Guillermin and cinematographers Skeets Kelly and Douglas Slocombe are out to dazzle (albeit in the service of the story which they are telling), and dazzle they certainly do. They fill the wide screen with action and movement, whether of the exteriors of the planes as they perform their daring maneuvers or from the vantage point of inside the cockpit (giving an extra special thrill to the viewer). Tracking shots go in unexpected places, and even the backgrounds feature surprising and telling details. This trio was going for thrills, and they deliver in spades. Happily, Guillermin doesn't limit his visual prowess to the aviation sequences, but finds clever ways to utilize the CinemaScope even when only two figures are sharing the frame. If these "grounded" scenes had the dramatic power of the airborne ones, Max would rank in the absolute top ranks of adventure films. Unfortunately, the actual story that holds the aerial sequences is confusing and poorly told, a situation that is not helped by lead George Peppard's wooden acting. The rest of the cast, notably the excellent James Mason and the beautiful Ursula Andress, turn in solid performances, which helps matters considerably. Even with its flaws, Max is well worth seeing for those amazing flight sequences.