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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

High Road to China is an adventure/romance that features Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong. The screenplay was set in the 1920's wherein a hard-drinking biplane pilot was hired by a society heiress,Eve "Evie" Tozer to find her missing father,who apparently is somewhere in China. where he is helping a small village defend against a local war lord.The screenplay is based on the novel of the same title by Jon Cleary.This maybe similar to the Raiders Of The Lost Ark in terms of production and genre as it was obvious that was trying to capitalize on its popularity the year before this film was theatrically released.Too bad that was not a great as the Indiana Jones movie.Some parts dragged and others are a bore.Despite the talent involved like Selleck and Armstrong as well as the supporting cast like Wilford Brimley and with music coming John Barry of the James Bond and Somewhere In Time fame,it simply did not entertain the viewer to the fullest as it one would have expected.That is why it failed to stand the test of time and it isn't as popular as it is today.That is also one reason why there are no DVD copies available as this review is being written.

It's not a movie for everybody. Expect a high quality exciting movie, thriller, complicated characters, clever punch lines, thoughtful script, puzzling story line, deep going conversations, you're in the wrong place then. Expect an adventure, romance, times gone by, old fashioned styled, understandable characters, just plain nice movie for on the sofa with a bag of crisps and a drink. The movie is made to mimic earlier decades adventure romance movies. A fantastic story, foreign cultures, old flying machines, love hate relation ship with a very happy ending. A text book story without surprises. The characters are what they are and as such well played. Nothing complicated about any of them, within minutes you know most of what the characters are supposed to picture. But who cares? It just uncomplicated simple entertainment, what is wrong with that? It's a mystery to me why the score is so low for this movie. OK, it's definitely not for everybody so look at the story, don't like it, don't watch it, as you will find your opinion is right indeed so don't complain then, you were warned. No, like I said, uncomplicated entertaining, no brainer, this movie. I love it every few years when I watch it. Life is already complicated full of misery, doom, gloom, crisis. So, what is wrong with a simple story that transports you to a imaginary era to just be swept away into an other area. Love it love it love it ! Give us more.

The last of a great breed. This is truly one of the last of the great classic films, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Simply put, films like this are a thing of the past, as has been shown in the last twenty years. They appeal to too narrow an audience by today's corporate marketing genius's standards (heavy sarcasm), and because of the cross market appeal this film has, it's guaranteed to be a box-office bust (again, buy today's standards).Technically; the Kahn sequence seemed a touch slow and contrived, as well as the British army sequence and some of the other character oriented scenes, but still necessary. Regardless, the camera work, locations and art direction are top notch. Good stunts, excellent flying sequences, and, most importantly of all, there's no CGI to ruin the movie. Heck, there aren't even miniatures in this film! Everything you see in this film IS REAL. Aeroplanes, explosions, sets, locations, the whole shootin-match. :-) (so to speak).No awards will be won by any single actor, actress or crew member. But, as a whole, this is a spectacular film that I really want for my DVD collection. Regrettably the only version available to us in the United States is the one provided on Youtube.Romantic and adventurous settings, locations and story makes this one not to miss. Sellick and Armstrong definitely sync well together on screen.*RESCREENED JAN 10th, 2010* My new title; "Indiana Jones Grows Up"I got my DVD of this film a few days ago, and popped it into my region 2 player after work. All I can say is I'm truly glad I have this in my collection, and I think I appreciate the film now more than ever. What we have here is the bratty socialite connecting with the hero-has-been who's never grown up. She's a socialite aviatrix with womanly wiles, while he's the rugged man of the world, but prefers to stay in his immature mold and lost to the world. Both have lessons to teach one another, and it pays off. I find it a heart warming film that I think couples true of heart to another can share and enjoy.Regrettably my region 2 DVD is not letter boxed, and the transfer, though respectable, is not what it could have been. Still, it's the only game in town as far a DVD version of this film goes, and I'm okay with that. Though shame on the powers that be for not making this film a priority for market.Well, I don't have too much more to say other than I'm going to watch it again. :-)Enjoy.*EDIT JULY 10th, 2012* I got a brand new letterboxed and remastered DVD from Hen's Tooth Video. A fantastic transfer. Excellent quality. Many kudos to the people at Hen's Tooth. The film looks better than ever before. Pick up a copy today.

I agree with the previous comment. This is a great movie and should be released on DVD. My VHS tape is wearing thin. Tom Selleck for the women to watch, Bess Armstrong for the men to watch and Jack Weston for the comedy are all great. The aerial scenes alone are enough of a reason to watch the whole movie. There is action, adventure, suspense, romance and a great father and daughter reunion. I realize that at the time this movie was made, it was not considered to be an academy award movie nor did it garner any nominations. But, with all of the truly bad movies put out on DVD and sold for as low as five dollars a piece, I can not believe this movie is not worthy of at least a small release on DVD. It is far better than many movies made today that end up going straight to DVD.If you have a friend who has an old VHS copy that is still worth watching, you definitely need to check this out.