Castle Keep

1 star because I don't have any other choice (please Amazon, make it possible to give a 'Zero star' rating!)


Unfortunately...   July 15, 2004
... Columbia-Tristar had an opportunity (really, an obligation to its movie-going and disc-buying audience) to remedy 30+ years of pan&scan broadcast/tape versions of CASTLE KEEP -- which was originally exhibited in 2.35:1 Panavision, contrary to what another reviewer here remembers -- and have instead elected to preserve a p&s presentation for the DVD release of this excellent and important Vietnam-era film (set during WWII). Whose bright idea was this? A one-star disc -- if I could give it no stars, I would -- for a five-star film? Thanks, Columbia-Tristar, but no thanks. I'll pass.


A lousy Pan & Scan transfer and a waste of money!   July 11, 2004
J. Steffen (Decatur, GA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

"Castle Keep" is an interesting early film by Sydney Pollack that, I'm sorry to say, is absolutely ruined by Columbia's foolish decision to release it pan & scan rather than in the correct aspect ratio. The film's beautiful widescreen cinematography is one of its greatest assets, but on the DVD parts of the film are actually hard to make sense of because half of the image is cut off. (...). With so many other great films out there to see, I recommend that you don't waste your time with this one until Columbia releases a better version. Too bad.


Pity no one wants it on DVD.... It's a masterpiece!   March 26, 2004
Patrick Selitrenny (Switzerland a.k.a. Helvetia Felix)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I review this movie, basing myself on a VHS copy I recorded from Cinemax some years ago. The only copy I own and which I cherish jealously.
I can only compare it to such other masterpieces as "When Trumpets Fade" and "On a Midnight Clear", to which it should be rightfully added, if one is a true movie "connaisseur".
Burt Lancaster's hour of excellence without a doubt, although let's never forget his performances in other movies such as "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Swimmer", "The Gypsy Moths", "Go Tell the Spartans" or "From Here to Eternity".
But let's not forget the strong performances delivered by Peter Falk (as a private who prefers to bake fresh bread, rather than fight a dirty war) and Bruce Dern (as a sort of conscience objector of the times).
The landscape, the scenery, are magic to say the least.
Filmed in plain winter in a fairytale-like village and countryside, it contrasts with the harsh reality of World War II.
In fact, most of the film is about peace, not about war.
These soldiers, all want a spot in which to be at peace, and thought they have found it, are then suddenly, brought back to reality through the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes.
Most of the movie, is a consideration on what a folly war is in the face of so simple realities of everyday life, such as indeed, baking bread, early in the morning and smelling its fresh and "clean" scent.
This is why it is so more shocking when the German counteroffensive hits home, waking everybody up, including us, the audience to this beautiful account.
It is so strident and so brutal, that everything that was so beautiful and peaceful turns to living hell.
This movie is meant for thinkers, for people who look for something to make them think.
It is as strong as any true anti-war movie I've ever seen and forces the viewer to reconsider the glorification of war.
Even though the Castle is the centerpiece of this movie, it is highly symbolic for the comfort we all feel when at home.
When it finally gets shelled by the German 88mm guns, it brings home the sadest of images, the destruction of a home, not that of a fortress.
All so often do we forget that in war, who ultimately suffers, are innocent civilians, which should not be supposed to take part in the combats and strivings of armies and yet are continuously touched by the horror and the cruelty of such events.
No war, not even the most just one, justifies or excuses what innocent "bystanders" have to endure, while two contenders, in the name of so-called "principles", are willing to push them through.
It is the curse of our modern age, and despite the fact that civilians were ultimately always "targets" of war, we still haven't learned the lesson, and as such we cannot speak of ourselves as a civilization, but rather as very convenient hypocrits, who think they are civilized.
When it suits us, we all become wild barbarians.
Let's face it. This movie brings it home to us.
It tells us who and what we are.
Whether right or wrong, does not matter.
What matters is that when in the right frame of mind and when the occasion justifies it, we all are guilty of "willing" a war.
This is why "Castle Keep" is not just a novel or a movie, but rather a mirror placed right in front of us, forcing us to think and think hard.
This is also why I miss it greatly on DVD.
When I first watched it theatrically, I was amazed at the beauty of the images and at the poetical values in them, which alas on the VHS format, is getting totally wasted.
If I remember it well, it was not filmed in CinemaScope, nor Large Screen Panavision, but rather in the rather conventional Academy standard of 1.85:1.
Nevertheless, this is a movie that really needs a well-cared transposition to DVD with a fairly sharp picture resolution, to render the beauty of its images fully plastic again.
Don't expect a Digital Dolby 5.1 sound out of this picture.
I remember that even in the movie theatre, it was shown in a Monaural version.
Still, I would suggest to transpose it with a maximum of sound accuracy, since I remember that despite this being a Mono copy, it was highly crisp and every sound and every dialogue was extremely clear!
Pity they don't make them anymore like this, but then again, where would you find actors of a caliber such as Burt Lancaster, Bruce Dern, Peter Falk or even, Patrick O'Neal?
Granted, we have Russell Crowe, but could he stand the comparison with a giant such as Mr. Lancaster?
I sincerely doubt it, although I am a great admirer of Mr. Crowe's line of roles.
Nevertheless, I still vouch for the "old ones".
They were less academic, although impregnated with it, but rather more human on screen.
Today's stars have forgotten what it is to be human on stage, as well as on the silver screen.
Some are perfect actors, but lack the "human factor" component, that actors such as Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger and yes, even John Wayne and Clint Eastwood had brought through the screen to us.
Today, they are unapproachable superheroes. Back then, they were full-blooded and feeling human beings in which we, the audience, could truly recognize ourselves.

I can truly recommend this movie, even in VHS format.
You will probably lose some of the beauty of the scenery, but the story is truly there, clearly defined and masterfully told by a cultor of good writing and good moviemaking.

And if someone out there has some taste left, he or she, should pick it up from the dust, where it probably lies, and make every effort necessary to bring it back to its glorious life.

I am convinced that even younger generations nowadays would love it...