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Simply Perfect

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

I wasn't really looking forward to this, as I'm not a huge fan of military/war movies, not to mention it's three hours long. Thankfully, though, it's quite good, almost great. I think it could have moved a bit faster at times, but it's a compelling story with several exceptional set pieces and fine acting all around. Steve McQueen stars as a gunboat engineer assigned to a small ship, the USS San Pablo, sailing the Yangtze River in 1926. Revolution brews in China, but the handful of Westerners in the country don't have much to do with it. That doesn't last for long, as the communist factions gain more traction and the San Pablo becomes a scapegoat of some of the factions, who try to get the Americans to commit an act of war so their own civil war can fully blossom. The San Pablo has to play the situation very carefully. The movie is quite tense. It's not very action packed, but it does build to a fantastic battle sequence which has instantly become one of my all time favorites. McQueen was rarely better, and received his sole Oscar nomination for the role. Just as good in supporting roles are Mako (who was Oscar nominated, as well), Richard Attenborough (who was not but did win a Golden Globe) and Richard Crenna as the Captain. Candice Bergen, only 19 or 20 at the time, also co-stars as McQueen's love interest. She doesn't get a lot to do, but she's fine.

The Sand Pebbles, for all its sweep and pageantry, is at its core a story of the cost of human cruelty, bigotry and arrogance, and indifference to the pain inflicted by these. Just about everyone in the story is trapped--Captain Collins by his stiff-necked devotion to intangibles like honor and duty, even when this devotion drives him to ignore his innate decency, at great cost to himself and others. Po-Han, who just wants to learn how to be a ship's engineer, tortured by Communists who want to punish him for what they see as casting his lot with the enemy. Maily, viewed by the brutish sailors and the madam of the whorehouse as chattel, an inhuman commodity to be rented by the hour until she is worn out and discarded. She cannot be redeemed even by the brave, clumsy tenderness of Frenchy, who gives his life for the privilege of being with her. The missionaries, who have no argument with anyone, being forced to take sides in a stupid and unnecessary conflict. And of course, Jake Holman, the rebel with a soft heart he wishes to God he didn't have but which makes him a better man than many others. He has the wisdom to take people not in bunches but on a per-case basis--he doesn't assume that just because somebody is Chinese, he's evil or stupid or uncivilized. The comradely ease he develops with Po-Han, his unquestioning acceptance of the romance between Frenchy and Maily despite knowing the perils they face, his refusal to brutalize himself to endear himself to some of his more Cro-Magnon shipmates are what lead to his tragic and wasteful death. Much as I loved this movie, I don't think I could get through another viewing. But if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy. Just make sure you have plenty of Kleenex.

The Sand Pebbles is a larger-than-life film. Great acting, great cinematography, great soundtrack. The soundtrack was very moving...the subtle notes work in perfect harmony with the visuals. McQueen's very best acting performance...a simple man with integrity and compassion, tough and low-key. McQueen immersed himself in this character...he probably deserved the Oscar he didn't get. Richard Crenna was very convincing as the self- indulgent, incompetent,stubborn, power-obsessed captain. Reminds me of some bosses I've had to suffer through. The key to this movie is the magical way in which we are transported to a forgotten time and place. Attention to detail, intense acting. One flaw I noticed was in the scene at the bar/ cat house in which it just seemed like a phony, overly lit, cavernous sound stage. It seemed so phony and out of place. A dark, claustrophobic setting would have been much more effective.

There are films that every man should see more than once. This war film, which had eight Oscar nominations, fits nicely between From Here to Eternity and Apocalypse Now. There is so much to think about along with great action, that you will miss key moments on your first viewing. I guarantee it. There is a good argument that the nomination for Best Picture should have resulted in a win. This is Steve McQueen's only Oscar nomination and it should have definitely resulted in a win, as this is the definitive Steve McQueen film. He shows more strength and character in this film that most actors of today and established himself as a REAL MAN. Mako was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar. I have a hard time choosing between he and Richard Crenna for the best supporting performance. Both were way more worthy than any other nominees. All of the artistic notes in this film - cinematography, sound, music, art direction - were superb. William Reynolds did an outstanding job of editing this 179 minute film so that there was never a lag and the action was all smooth and essential. Four-time Oscar winner Robert Wise did an outstanding job of putting it all together to make a film that stands the test of time and, despite being set in 1920s China, is just as relevant to what is happening in the Middle East today.