Watch The 7th Dawn For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

From my favorite movies..

The acting in this movie is really good.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

"The 7th Dawn" was released in 1964, the year that President Lyndon Johnson took the initial critical steps in escalating the war in Vietnam. In turn, the film was based on the 1959 novel "The Durian Tree" by Australian author Michael Keon. It is remarkable to think that the novel and the film both provided lessons that could have served as warnings about the tragic war that contributed to breaking the back of the American Century.The strength of the film is the ambiguous depiction of nationalist insurgents in Mayasia (formerly known as Malaya), who are rebelling against their British overlords in the aftermath of World War II. The film distorts the historical record by pointedly avoiding the labeling of the guerrilla fighters as "communists." The leader of the insurgents, a World War II hero who fought with the allies, is portrayed sympathetically until the very end of the film.The performances are uniformly excellent with the charismatic Capuchine and the luminous Susanna York in the leading women's parts. Tetsurô Tanba conveys the patriotic zeal of the leader of the insurgents. William Holden is serviceable as the apolitical American entrepreneur who is inevitably drawn into the conflict between the British and the Mayayans.The noted cinematographer Freddie Young captures a harrowing jungle sequence with a nearly unprecedented naturalism of detail. The beauty of the natural environment of Malaysia is juxtaposed with the violence of the British military in burning a village. This was the film artist who photographed "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia." The haunting musical score of Riz Ortolani is at the heart of a breath-taking opening credit sequence.Perhaps the content of this film has become less relevant with the passing of more than a half century. On the other hand, the recurring word that is used throughout the film to describe the insurgents is not communists, not guerrilla warriors, not rebel fighters, and not nationalists. The word that is used is "terrorists." For this reason, the film may continue to speak to us in a nuanced way about vital issues in the twenty-first century.

Based on a now forgotten novel entitled The Durian Tree (by Michael Keon), The 7th Dawn emerges an absorbing, involving and fairly interesting political adventure movie. At the time the film wasn't greeted with much enthusiasm by the critics but looking back there are several factors that make their negative outlook of the film seem somewhat inaccurate. For starters, the film takes a surprisingly damning stance against the way the British deal with terrorism and anarchy in far flung corners of the world. One would expect a cosier, more flattering representation but The 7th Dawn has the courage to be critical of the British handling of such situations. Add to that some strong performances, luscious cinematography (by Frederick Young), and a number of memorable scenes and you're looking at a film that has been largely under-rated down the years.At the end of WWII, freedom fighters in the Malayan jungle are finally able to leave their dens and hideouts in the undergrowth and get back to something resembling normality. One fighter, the American Ferris (William Holden), decides to buy a patch of land and turn it into a rubber plantation, taking his old lady guerrilla friend Dhana (Capucine) as his mistress. Meanwhile another guerrilla named Ng (Tetsuro Tamba) heads off to Moscow to learn about communism. Fast-forward several years and Ng returns to Malaya a whole-hearted communist to fight against his former allies, the British, for the country's independence. Ng's men wreak havoc against the rubber plantations in the country but leave Ferris's alone because of their old comradeship. The British approach Ferris and ask for his help in stopping Ng's campaign of terror. Initially reluctant, Ferris nevertheless attempts to make his old friend see reason but to little avail. Matters are complicated further when Candace Trumphey (Susannah York), daughter of the British governor, falls in love with Ferris. When Dhana is accused of sympathising with the communist terrorists and sentenced to execution, Candace foolishly offers herself as a hostage to the communist forces in the hope of saving her…. and the battle weary Ferris faces a race against time and the elements to save them both.The 7th Dawn has its share of faults for sure. Karl Tunberg's script wanders a lot and seems in need of a little tightening-up; York's character isn't always convincing and upsets the solid characterisation found elsewhere in the film; the final scene virtually plagiarises the ending of Casablanca. But there's still a good deal to enjoy in this exotic jungle romp – Holden is fine, Capucine plays a refreshingly strong female character, the action is exciting enough. One particularly powerful sequence features the British burning to the ground a village which has been unsuspectingly harbouring terrorists and their explosives; another shows hundreds of Malayan cyclists carrying out a protest ride against the British governor for ordering for a night-time bicycle curfew. Undeservedly forgotten and almost never screened nowadays, The 7th Dawn is a worthwhile watch if you can find it!

..the terrific opening titles by noted artist Maurice Binder. He is most famous, of course, for the BOND film titles. This movie is indeed overlooked, though I remember seeing it on more than a few occasions on TV. Nowadays older movies don't make it on the tube in the U.S.; at least on regular (commercial-laden) channels.I hope to acquire a copy of this movie someday, either tape or DVD. Format doesn't matter to me. The way old movie stars of this era (40's-50's-60's) are dropping like flies it's important to grab up as much of their work as possible. The up-and-coming generation of movie goers probably won't demand this kind of material unless they get a chance to view it.

This is one of those films that goes unnoticed for some reason, despite having an excellent story, superb cast and breathtaking scenery.Although it is "entertainment", art does imitate life and we see the brutal reality of how a dedicated (and duped) Marxist revolutionary lets deep, committed friendships fall to the wayside, in fact uses those very friendships, to further his political cause.The film came out about the time the war in Vietnam became an American War and this may be the reason it did not do as well as it should have at the box office.A young Suzanna York is stunning; Capucine is the classic beauty she remained until her untimely, and sad, suicide in 1987. Bill Holden was the perennial Bill Holden. The Asian commie rat was a typical Asian commie rat. Those guys still don't have a clue. China will eventually fall not from within but from without-they can't keep the internet out and once its citizens see the real world out there, communism is finished.Well worth watching whenever you can catch it.