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Amazon.co.uk Review
Set on a Pacific island in 1942, Too Late the Hero is a hard-as-nails "men on a mission" war movie: a group of British soldiers have to traverse the New Hebrides to destroy a Japanese radio transmitter, then get back to safety while being hunted all the way. Inevitably everything goes wrong, but director Robert (The Dirty Dozen) Aldrich turns the book of WWII movie clichés on its head and springs some unnerving surprises. Even the token American star, Cliff Robertson--echoing William Holden's grafted-on role in The Bridge on the River Kwai--proves less than obviously heroic, while an outstanding Michael Caine brings considerable depth to his usual cynical cockney. Henry Fonda gets heavily billed for a brief guest appearance, but there are star performances such fine British character actors as Denholm Elliot, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser and Lance Percival. This portrait of battle-worn men offers greater complexity than Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, while the jungle trek was more recently paralleled in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. Only the attitudes--more 1970 than 1942--detract from Aldrich's tellingly realistic vision, which with a thoughtfully ironic script and a succession of tense set pieces and brutal firefights, builds to a harrowing climax.
On the DVD: The picture is presented at approximately 1.7:1, reformatted from the original 2.2:1 70mm theatrical presentation. Despite approximately 25 per cent of the original image being missing, this loss is only really noticeable in a few scenes. Apart from the occasional fleck, the print is in superb condition, and despite the lack of anamorphic enhancement the picture is sharp, detailed and has excellent colour. The surround sound (not mono as listed on the packaging) is highly effective, with the tension being increased by a considerable amount of the music coming from the rear speakers. The special features are simply a few static pages of biographical and production notes. --Gary S. Dalkin
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I've always liked the movies of Robert Aldrich and I bought TOO LATE THE HERO as soon as it was released on the DVD standard. Anchor Bay presents unfortunately only a trailer as bonus feature but the copy is alright.
Cliff Robertson is the Aldrichian hero by essence ; he is not a coward but he prefers to enjoy the Pacific beaches rather than to take part in combats. He's a pessimistic hero in a pessimistic movie. The initial credits set extremely well the tone of the film with these at first flamboyant american, british and japanese flags that become little by little less colourful, less arrogant until they finally fade into the dusty reality.
A DVD zone Big Bob.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
I had forgotten how good this film was,having not seen it for some years until recently.a tight, tense and exciting film with rousing direction from Robert Aldrich.The film is brutal but honest in its depiction of soldiers in combat on both sides.As for the performances,they are superb Cliff Robertson was never better and Ronnie Fraser plays a memorable slimy villain,but the standouts are definitley Micheal Caine and Denholm Elliott who give the performances of their careers.....sit back and enjoy....great to see this in widescreen.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is one of those war movies that is seldom seen on TV or available to buy. I watched it again a few weeks ago with a friend on a poor quality off-air VHS tape and remembered why I taped it in the first place.
The conflict between the allies and the Japanese almost appears secondary in comparison with the internal conflicts between the members of the team sent out to attack a Japanese communications site. Michael Caine in one of his lesser known roles utters a classic line which my friend and I always remember "... chop your bloody head off!" (in a cockney accent).
Glad to see it finally coming to DVD, and in widescreen too.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Bloody suicide mission!
Too Late the Hero is directed by Robert Aldrich who also co-writes the screenplay with Lukas Heller and Robert Sherman. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Spike Owen
american bull
this film is just a movie made for americans, cliff robertson character has no combat experience, at first laid backed and undisciplined , first scene of him is lying on his back... Read more
Published 19 months ago by M. smith
Incredibly underrated
This must rank as one of the best all time war films. Not because of who is in it - although the performances from the likes of Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Denholm Elliott,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Tony Roberts
a cracker
well if youve looked this film up youll probably know how great it is.what is surprising is how good this dvd looks.the film looks rich in colour,the best ive ever seen it. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Pablo Leone
A cracking action movie with a disapproving edge
Robert Aldrich had already made his name with films such as "The Dirty Dozen" and "Attack!" by the time of this effort, which similarly explores the cynicism of war, maybe without... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Matthew Norton
too late the hero
I enjoyed the film, it was good to go back over some of the old actors who have entertained us for years some of whom have passed on, good to see some of the old films
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by Robert Jones
A very "60's" kind of movie
This movie has very little to do with WW2. The story is fiction and feel is very sixties. Michael Caine is having fun with his character but not enough to carry the entire... Read more
Published on 10 May 2008 by Gisli Jokull Gislason
A Strong War Film
At the beginning you think this is going to be a run of the mill war film. Michael Caine plays a typical (and initially annoying) Cockney character. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2008 by Scottish Dave
One of the all time great war film
When I first saw this movie years ago in the cinema, it had me on the edge of the seat, and it still does, and I know the plot!. Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2003 by Mr. De Jervis
The Best War Movie
This is a great war movie from director Robert Aldrich. The film sees a group of british soldiers led by an incompotent captain(Denholm Elliot) and a US Leitenant(who does not know... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2001
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