Search - The Sand Pebbles on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1966 DVD Release: 05/15/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 59 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Adventure, Drama, Historical Film, Romantic Adventure, Historical Epic See Also: The Sand Pebbles, The Sand Pebbles [Blu-ray]

Steve McQueen received his only Academy Award nomination for his performance in this epic-scale war drama, based on the novel by Richard McKenna. In 1926, as China teeters on the edge of political revolution in the midst of a civil war, the USS San Pablo, is ordered to patrol the Yangtze River to represent and protect American interests. While the San Pablo may be an American ship, much of the labor is actually performed by Chinese locals willing to work for American money, while stern but inexperienced commanding officer Captain Collins (Richard Crenna) frequently drills his charges, unsure what else to do. A machinist's mate with just under a decade of navy service behind him, Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) is assigned to the San Pablo and immediately makes enemies among the crew -- he prefers to do his own work rather than farm it out to others, and the one Chinese man who works by his side, Po Han (Mako), is treated as an apprentice rather than a servant. Holman also falls in love with an idealistic American missionary (Candice Bergen), while his shipmate Frenchy (Richard Attenborough) falls for a Chinese girl and - with marriage plans in mind - kidnaps her to prevent her from being auctioned off. As Holman's methods and attitudes continue to anger his comrades, they find themselves increasingly at odds with the Chinese, especially after Frenchy's girlfriend becomes pregnant and Po Han is captured by revolutionary forces and branded a traitor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Steve McQueen - Jake Holman
Richard Attenborough - Frenchy Burgoyne
Richard Crenna - Lt. Collins
Candice Bergen - Shirley Eckert
Marayat Andriane - Maily

The Sand Pebbles was arguably Robert Wise's greatest movie, and it featured the best performance of Steve McQueen's entire career, in the best script he ever had to work with (which earned him his only Oscar nomination). In contrast to Wise's other movies -- most of which have yet to show up on DVD -- it's also gotten deluxe, almost exalted treatment in the digital format. The picture quality of this disc puts Fox's fine early-'90s laserdisc (which was twice as expensive) to shame. The colors are deep and rich, the detail excruciatingly fine, and even the night scenes (which look like real night scenes) offer a wealth of detail. The soundtrack (in stereo) is rich and robust as well, and very finely balanced between the intimate and the expansive scenes. The disc also contains a pair of radio documentaries and three radio spots promoting the movie, as well as the theatrical trailer. But the most alluring bonus is the commentary track, which features Robert Wise, Candice Bergen, Mako, and, for reasons not entirely clear, an uncredited Richard Crenna, who accounts for almost as much of the commentary as the director. Alas, one wishes that Wise could have recorded his commentary a decade ago, because he sounds like he is on his last legs -- his memory isn't what it ought to be, and his talk is littered with admissions of his failure to recall the information to which he is alluding. There is some good and interesting material in his talk, but overall his portion of the commentary is an opportunity missed by bad timing; the others prove far more edifying in their recollections. All of these supplements are accessible on a menu that opens up automatically on start-up, with the bonus materials on their own menu frame. The movie, which contains the original overture and intermission music, has been given 36 chapters, which are perfect in their selection and names. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide