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Truth be told, I bought this movie for its vintage car race footage, having seen only a portion of it on a late night TV show, it tweeked my curiosity. Based on a novel by Nevil Shute(a race car enthusiast as well as a reknown author), the movie was made in the 1959, and is set around the aftermath of a global nuclear holocaust. Gregory Peck is the captain of an American Navy submarine that has put in to Australia, the only remaining country unscathed by the carnage, but a nuclear "cloud" is slowly covering the earth, and everyone knows their days are numbered. As a result of this impending threat, various characters in the movie are playing out their last days in different ways. One of the other main characters, Fred Astaire wants to win the Australian Gran Prix in his Ferrari and does so, in a race (mostly filmed at Riverside raceway in California)that includes a Mercedes gullwing, a Corvette, Lotus, and other "now vintage" racers. Most crash-out due to Astaire's overly-aggressive driving. Fred Astaire retreats to his garage with his winning Ferrari and proceeds to drill holes in the bonnet and afix the larger "Winner" plaque to it! This Ferrari is now worth millions of dollars, and knowing that today, it's absolutely crazy to see him drilling holes in this beauty, not to mention bearing witness to the vintage racer carnage that took place on the track! (In one scene, you can actually see the towbar on the front of the Corvette as it's "towed" off a cliff by the race car in front of it.) This movie is second-only to the original Italian job for the destruction of now-vintage sports cars. The overall tone of the movie is a real "downer," as it's inevitable that everyone is done for. Apparently in the atomic 50's, when this movie came out, it was a real stunner, but today it reads as an interesting study in the mind-set of those times. As a 1950's atomic holocaust movie, it still holds up, but buy it for the vintage cars...Read full review
A must see for everyone who craves life, however miniscule it has become. The book we read in High School. The world was in chaos in the 1960's. Has it gotten safer since? You have to wonder. What can I say about the caliber of actors we had then? I haven't seen the 2000 mini-series. The timing couldn't have been better, for the world would get a preview of the new century unfolding, beginning with 911. Gloom and doom? Maybe not. For as they faced their ultimate demise, they learned that love trumps everything else. Item of curiosity: At the end of the B&W masterpiece, a sign reads 1964. The movie was made in 1959. ??? Smile and giggle on Facebook everyone. The world hasn't ended after all. Really?
I love that Ava Gardner & Gregory Peck are both in this movie...I love the fishing camp scene with Waltzing Mathilda...the love scene was not as believeable as I wish it were, & I gather this was the best Gregory Peck could act this scene. Every time I've seen it, I've wished he could've been more into it...he does "act" like he feels it, but kissing a woman hard isn't the same thing as kissing her good. Ava Gardner was far more believeable in the scene...guess we know why SHE drank now. Nonetheless, I have ALWAYS loved this movie, maybe only because I saw it the first time when I "believed" that an atomic halocaust could actually be this clean. When it was made, reality wasn't one of the commondities we felt were important...now I wonder where they would've put all the rotting bodies. Thank you, tsunami. Thank you, New Orleans.Read full review
This 50's movie derived from Nevil Shute's book of the same name addresses nuclear holocaust in the cold war. Only southern Australia people are left alive and their time is coming quickly. A great read and a great movie that are very timely indeed in our current situation... Right, Mr. Putin?
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This should be required for most global citizens to watch. It is a about the end of the world following a global nuclear war in 1959. It is a warning that this dark, depressing scenario where the human race ends most life on the planet. With the proiferation of nuclear weaopns in today's world this could actually happen - possibly sometime in the near future.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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