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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Glorious CinemaScope, less than glorious screenplay,
By
This review is from: Barbarian And The Geisha, The - Studio Classics [DVD] (DVD)
The Barbarian and the Geisha is a good looking and lavishly mounted drama about John Wayne's 19th Century American diplomat trying to establish relations with isolationist Japan. If that sounds like a pretty dry pitch, the film focuses not on the politics but his impossible romance with the Geisha girl sent to spy on him as he slowly wins over the locals by introducing cholera to their village and burning down their houses. Drastic, true, but it seems to work, which might explain the Duke's views on Vietnam. The production design and CinemaScope location photography are the real stars of the show, largely because of a dull script and a visible lack of interest from director John Huston, although there is one nicely playful scene involving a cannon.
The film boasts a good widescreen 2.55:1 transfer with fine colour, although for some reason the theatrical trailer is a 1.85:1 version. The disc also includes a brief newsreel extract and stills gallery.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Gulliver in Lilliput,
By Bob Salter "Captain Spindrift" (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Barbarian And The Geisha, The - Studio Classics [DVD] (DVD)
John Wayne has managed to star in a few of cinemas very odd films. He has starred as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror" and the centurion in "The Greatest Story ever told" and here as an American Consul General in 1850s Japan. Judging by the times Wayne has thrown bad guys through saloon windows, diplomacy is not his gift in films. He is a giant who strides about like Gulliver in Lilliput. Bizarrely we see him downed by a Japanese midget and indulging in some Japanese style dancing. It can be said categorically he is no dancer. All very unintentionally funny.
"The Barbarian and the Geisha" directed by John Huston is based on the true story of Townsend Harris as Americas first Consul General to Japan at a time they were still ruled by a Shogun and were hostile to all foreigners. He actually fell in love with a 17 year old Geisha girl who committed suicide later in life. Harris had to fight Cholera epidemics and the enmity of a people steeped in old traditions. It has the makings of a good story, so what went wrong? Aside from the odd casting this was not the film Huston envisioned. His vision was a very Japanese styled film heavy on photography, pacing, colour and narration. But due to studio editing what emerged was something completely different. Huston immediately denounced it and wanted his name removed. Shades of what was to come with Sam Peckinpah and "Major Dundee". But his name, perhaps unfairly remained. So what do we have left. Well in all honestly a fragmented oddity. Perhaps if Huston had had his way it would have been a much better film. As it is there are some pretty scenes filmed in Kyoto and at the Todai-Ji shrine in Nara, but little else aside from Waynes comedic moments. It is so odd it may one day like the Japanese Godzilla movies, attain some sort of cult status. It is worth a good 3 stars in my book on that basis alone. You may find it amusing like me.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Duke in a different kind of role,
By
This review is from: Barbarian And The Geisha, The - Studio Classics [DVD] (DVD)
The story of Townsend Harris (John Wayne), the first U.S. Consul General to the Japan of 1856, sent by President Franklin Pierce and whose presence was unwelcome and how he overcame Japanese resistance to opening its shores to foreigners. Directed by John Huston, who disowned the film after 20th Century Fox severely edited the film without his input, the film is a romanticized and fabricated view of the actual events though there is apparently some basis in fact to the titillating title. Japan is beautifully photographed in CinemaScope by Charles G. Clarke (CAROUSEL) and for the most part the Japanese speak Japanese instead of English (Sam Jaffe plays Wayne's interpreter) for some authenticity. While one can't help but admire Wayne for trying to stretch himself, he can't hide his awkwardness in the role. I kept thinking how good Gregory Peck would have been in the role. There are some nice moments though like the six foot plus Wayne being bounced around by a five foot Japanese performing Jiu-Jitsu on him or the husky Wayne joining in with some Japanese dancers. The lovely Eiko Ando, in her only film role, plays the geisha of the title. The shimmering score is by Hugo Friedhofer.
The Fox DVD (an import from England) is a colorful anamorphic wide screen transfer in its original CinemaScope ratio.
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