Search - Courage of Lassie on DVD

A Beautiful Film

04/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is simple and spans alot of territory for one beautiful dog. However, it is refreshing to see this type of movie with such a message of gentle caring, and loyalty between an animal and it's owner.Films aren't made like this anymore, and while this it is not academy award material, I enjoyed every minute. I can't wait to share it with my elementary school aged, Grandchildren."

STRANGE SEQUEL NOT NEARLY AS ENGAGING AS ORIGINAL!

Nix Pix | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | 08/23/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

""The Courage of Lassie" MGM's 1946 sequel of sorts to its blockbuster, "Lassie Come Home" is by far the most depressingly humiliating cinema excursion for those old enough or young at heart enough to recall the tender poignancy of the original film. Minus Roddy McDowell, the film stars Elizabeth Taylor this time as Kathie Merrick - an angelic nymph living in serene surrealism until Lassie comes hobbling out of the forest with a gun shot wound. Seems Lassie took on for the team by a hunting youth played by none other that Little Rascals Alfalfa, Carl Switzer (billed here only as `first youth'...oh, well - it's a living!) Kathie restores the dog to health, inexplicably names her "Bill" (presumably because gender is something that Liz just didn't get at that early age) then sets Bill on a course of one perilous and implausible mishap upon the next. Bill gets hit by a truck, serves as part of the U.S. war effort in the Philippines, is considered an outcast of society, then a war hero, then gets shot yet again in a sort of war time bedtime story that would have made the likes of Ernest Hemmingway gush. Though this film too was a resounding hit upon its initial release there's very little in the way of the original's magical charm to insight loyalty or repeat viewings once you've sat through it once. The war nonsense is too intense for a family picture and, at times, laughable in a "I can't believe they did that" sort of way.

Warner's DVD is even more of a disappointment than "Lassie Come Home". The worn film negative exhibits a very dated picture with inconsistently rendered colors that, at times, are vibrant - if garish - and other times, quite pale and uninspiring. Age related artifacts abound throughout and there is a considerable amount of edge enhancement and pixelization. Overall, fine details are very nicely realized. However, contrast and black levels are not very solid. The audio is mono but respectably cleaned up and presented with a fidelity that outweighs the visual characteristics. There are NO extras.
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Delightful and Relevant Film!

CelticWomanFanPiano | 09/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is plain and simply described as . . . fantastic! It centers around the dog "Bill" who is portrayed by Lassie. And let me say, if there were an Academy Award for animal actors, Lassie would be the champion. What fabulous acting! Lassie outshines many human actors in terms of expression and convincing acting. I don't know how they were able to film it. Elizabeth Taylor is simply beautiful in this movie, young, but already a phenomenal beauty. She portrays the girl who first rescues Bill and trains him to be a sheepdog. He gets run over and through a series of events becomes a war dog. Who then suffers from post-traumatic war syndrome. Even though, we all know it is a movie with a happy ending, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat when Bill's trial is on. As Bill turns into quite a primitive animal after his war experience, but I don't want to reveal the entire plot. Suffice it to say, it is a lovely family film (although I do wonder about the anti-Church attendance message) and it is relevant to today with the exploration into post-traumatic war syndrome that affects returning soldiers. Anyone watching this movie, will cheer for Bill all the way through. And will admire Elizabeth Taylor's role as the caring young girl. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. And whole-heartedly recommend it!"

Liz is again the overwrought, ecstatic child...

Roberto Frangie | Leon, Gto. Mexico | 12/24/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In "Courage of Lassie," the dog gets top billing, but a pretty teenager (Liz Taylor) has plenty of crying and hugging to do as a supremely devoted mistress...

Another heart-warming story, filmed in the wilderness of Washington State, the movie (which begins with a long, curious, wild-life sequence) mixes farm-family folksiness with an unusual dog story: Lassie goes to a training school for war dogs, is shipped to the front and performs heroically... Returned to America, the dog suffers a nervous collapse, becoming a menace to society...

As the willful farm girl who finds a dog, loses a dog, and regains a dog, Liz Taylor is again the overwrought, ecstatic child, lavishing her attention on Lassie...

Because her greatest fame came later, as a young woman, most people forget what a skillful child actress she was... Less burdened than at any later time by her beauty and fame, she is at her least self-conscious in these early performances... Untouched, she reveals in these animal stories her natural flair for tears and hugs--the paraphernalia of an emotional female...

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