"The Quiet American" DVD Review

Pros

• Compelling mix of the political and the personal
• Great performance by Michael Caine
• Visually arresting, Vietnam location shooting

Cons

• Pacing sometimes too fast to sustain emotion
• Sometimes pulls its punches
• Musical score sometimes works against period feel

Description

• DVD containing movie "The Quiet American" (2002), starring Michael Caine
• Film adapted from 1955 novel by Graham Greene
• Actors in movie include Brendan Fraser and beautiful Vietnamese actress Do Tri Hai Yen
• DVD provides commentary track by director, Caine, Fraser, and 6 others
• DVD has Sundance Channel's "Anatomy of a Scene" and other extras
• Excellent picture quality
• Excellent sound quality

Guide Review - "The Quiet American" DVD Review

Because of its compelling mix of the political and the personal, along with Michael Caine's superb performance, "The Quiet American" drew me in completely. Several powerful films have been inspired by Graham Greene's fiction, and this movie is yet another. In 1950s Vietnam, British journalist Thomas Fowler (Caine) is reporting on the French Indochina War. When a young American (Fraser) competes with him for the affections of a beautiful Vietnamese woman (Do), Fowler's life begins to unravel. But his problems are inextricably bound up with the political situation. For me, the high production values helped make the story come alive. I thought the fine cinematography and location shooting in Vietnam gave the film a realistic feel.

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