Search - A Farewell To Arms on DVD

A Memorable Film in Need of Restoration & Re-Release

Gary F. Taylor | Biloxi, MS USA | 02/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 1932 film version of Ernest Hemmingway's A FAREWELL TO ARMS will never challenge the likes of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT--but while it fails to capture the horrors of World War I it is remarkably effective at capturing the novel's sparse and unyielding prose. A good deal of the credit goes to writers Garrett and Glaizer and director Borzage--but the real interest here is not so much in the cinematic interpretation of the Hemmingway novel as it is in the cast, which is remarkable.

Actress Helen Hayes was already among the leading lights of the New York stage when she was lured to Hollywood for a handful of films in the early 1930s--and it is easy to see what all the fuss was about. Plaintive beauty aside, unlike most stage and screen actors of the era she is completely unaffected in her performance and proves more than powerful enough to overcome the more melodramatic moments of the script. She is costarred with Gary Cooper in one of his earliest leading roles, and while the pairing is unexpected, it is also unexpectedly good: they have tremendous screen chemistry, and in spite of the film's dated approach they easily draw you into this story of an ill-fated wartime romance between a nurse and an ambulance driver.

The film is also well supplied with a solid supporting cast that includes Adolphe Menjou, Jack La Rue, and Mary Philips, and while clearly filmed on a slim budget--something most obvious in the battlefront sequences--the camera work is remarkably good. Unfortunately, all this counts for nothing unless you can find a print of the film that you can stand to watch. It is sad but true: the 1932 A FAREWELL TO ARMS seems to have fallen into public domain, and the result is a host of DVD and VHS releases that range from the merely adequate to the incredibly dire.

I have encountered a number of these releases over the years, and I feel safe in saying that the best DVD presently available is the Delta release; the VHS honors go to the out-of-print Burbank Studio "Hollywood Favorites" version. But this is only in comparison with the unspeakably vile Madacy and Front Row versions, which should be avoided at all cost. Simply stated, there does not seem to be a truly first rate version available to the home market, and you may be better off looking for a late-late showing a local television channel.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer"

Love in the chaos of war

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 06/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel about an ambulance driver and a nurse in WWI, this is a beautifully filmed and acted tragic romance, between tiny Helen Hayes, and tall, lanky Gary Cooper, who was 31 at the time and so handsome.
The chaos that surrounds the relationship makes all the participants (including Cooper's best friend, played by Adolphe Manjou) act in ways that are misguided, causing more misfortune, and furthering the anguish of the plot; the chemistry between the stars is wonderful and believable though, and despite its bleakness it is still a tender love story.There are hellish scenes of war, set to Wagnerian musical themes, and there is an ominous mood that prevails in every scene, even when Cooper and Menjou are out on a drunken spree.
The restoration of this film is excellent, doing justice to Charles Lang's Oscar winning cinematography; the film also won for Best Sound, as well as being nominated for Best Picture.
There have been more recent versions of this story; the 1957 "A Farewell to Arms" with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson (which I have not seen), and the 1996 film "In Love and War" with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell which also has a similar theme, because it was based on Hemingway's youthful WWI romance with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky; that film suffers because of a weak connection between its actors however, and despite its age, this is a much better film.
Total running time 80 minutes."

A Luscious Romance

John | 04/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1932 version of A FAREWELL TO ARMS was one which Hemingway very vociferously hated. From his perspective, since it placed the romance between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley over his depiction of the brutality of war, he was right. However, director Frank Borzage was after something else -- a luscious, doomed wartime romance. And in this, he succeeds, brilliantly. Aided in no small part by the beautiful teaming of Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. Hemingway later became very good friends with Cooper, whom he hand-picked to star in FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. They were in the process of forming a company to make ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES and THE NICK ADAMS STORIES -- Cooper to topline both -- when they died a mere seven weeks apart in 1961."

Classic version of a very romantic Hemingway work

David Kaminsky | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 06/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an early filmed version of one of Hemingway's earliest, most successful, and most romantic works. Gary Cooper is a rugged and handsome Frederic, and the performance beautifully captures the brooding protagonist's disillusion with the war in Italy. Helen Hayes is an electrifying Katherine, in one of her most delicately-shaded performances. Adolphe Menjeu is also wonderful, and it is his character which serves as a catalyst for the movements of the main characters. For a French actor, he makes a very lively, convincing Italian. The lighting and cinematography are evocative of German expressionism, especially during the battle sequences, and the use of music is spare and tasteful. Some of the scenes are a little jerky and poorly-lit on DVD, particularly some of the romantic scenes, but the story is captivating and the performances keep it from descending into melodrama. There is an urgency in Katherine's final cry to be held which is tremendously touching and believable."