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TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures (Desperate Journey / Edge of Darkness 1943 / Northern Pursuit / Uncertain Glory / Objective Burma) | 
| Directors: Lewis Milestone, Raoul Walsh
Actors: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Bob Peck, Joe Don Baker
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $38.49
as of 9/5/2010 08:10 PDT details
You Save: $11.49 (23%)
New (12) from $37.57
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 1134
Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Full Screen, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Discs: 5
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 542 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.6 x 1
MPN: 883929087013
UPC: 883929087013
EAN: 0883929087013
ASIN: B00005JO4D
Theatrical Release Date: April 24, 1943
Release Date: August 3, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/03/2010 Run time: 542 minutes
Amazon.com
Unlike so many boxed-set tributes to actors, this one's actually got a tight, logical theme: Errol Flynn Adventures offers five World War II pictures made at Warner Bros. during Flynn's reign as a top leading man. Four of the films were directed by one of Flynn's favored collaborators, the robust Raoul Walsh, and all of them have an urgent wartime commitment that puts them in a zone between entertainment and propaganda. That zone is a compelling place, and often emotionally potent. The earliest (1942) of the films is also the lightest in tone: Walsh's Desperate Journey has a joshing attitude that belies its title. Flynn plays the Aussie leader of a multinational bomber crew that crash-lands in Germany (where the Germans actually speak German) and must make its way across hostile territory to safety--a suspenseful setup that allows for some derring-do and wisecracking on the trip (although Flynn and Walsh are adept at shifting gears from comedy to heroism at a moment's notice). Ronald Reagan plays a flippant US flyboy and enjoys one of his best moments on screen with an engaging scene of double talk. Edge of Darkness, directed by Lewis Milestone, is an extraordinarily powerful 1943 film about a defiant band of resisters in a small seaside town in Nazi-occupied Norway. Serious and stirring, with messages aplenty about the importance of solidarity and sacrifice during wartime, the movie goes all the way and then some. Flynn tamps down his usual jocularity, folding himself into a remarkable ensemble (we're talking at least a dozen significant roles here) that includes Walter Huston, Ann Sheridan, Judith Anderson, and Ruth Gordon. By comparison, Northern Pursuit is tame, with Flynn in snowy Canada, escorting a Nazi (Helmut Dantine) to custody⦠or is he? The question mark is about the only interesting wrinkle in this far-fetched picture, although Flynn doesn't embarrass himself. Ah, but our man slips into fine form in 1944's Uncertain Glory, a crackerjack premise that allows Flynn to exude his more roguish charms. His character is a convicted killer scheduled for the guillotine, and he and his guardian (Paul Lukas) contemplate the possibility of the doomed man falsely turning himself in as a wanted saboteur; the Nazis are holding 100 locals hostage to slaughter if the real saboteur doesn't turn himself in, and after all, wouldn't a Nazi firing squad be preferable to the guillotine? Much larger in scope, and a demonstration of Walsh's talent for dynamic compositions and irresistible narrative flow, is Objective, Burma!, a tough battle epic in which the soldiers get realistically grimy. Flynn's platoon parachutes into Burma for a mission--but the real challenge is trekking back out again. Harrowing in both its suggestion of Japanese atrocities and its willingness to kill off characters you didn't expect to see die, this film must surely have been an influence on Saving Private Ryan. Flynn--who was 4F during the war, for various physical ailments--acquits himself nobly, proof that he was more than a swashbuckler. The only commentary track comes with Objective, Burma!, while the other discs are filled out with fun Warner Night at the Movies shorts and newsreels; you won't want to miss the surreal "Borrah Minnevitch and His Harmonica School." --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
 A cult war movie! May 16, 2005
Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela)
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
Impressive, absorbing and fundamental film during the Nazi take over in Norway. Lewis Milestone was a great director but when he decided to make a war movie something happened. He was provided by a special spell touch. It's happens the same when John Ford made a Western or Hitchcock a suspense picture. He was possessed by an inner call . There is a Spanish term previously used by Federico García Lorca when he meant that special phenomena. He talked about "to have hobgoblin". And precisely this is the appropriate term designed to L.M.
An efficient cast completes the whole work.
The Errol Flynn War Movies...Together, at Last! August 5, 2010
Benjamin J Burgraff (Las Vegas)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have been waiting for years for this collection! Next to John Wayne, Errol Flynn was probably the most iconic screen persona of the 'wartime hero', and the screen's greatest swashbuckler made an inspiring spokesperson of allied wartime heroism...until his infamous 1942 rape trial revealed a more flawed, less heroic carouser and womanizer. Warner studio boss Jack Warner would be shocked and pleased that ticket sales for Flynn films didn't decline after the revelations, but Flynn's public image (and personal self-esteem) never truly recovered. So, in a sense, these five films show Flynn at the pinnacle of fame and success, sliding into his tragic decline...
"Desperate Journey" (1942): Aussie co-pilot Flynn's disregard to his captain's orders to remain at high altitude on a bombing mission over Poland gets the plane shot down, the captain killed, and Flynn and crewmates Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, Arthur Kennedy, and Ronald Sinclair pursued across Europe by stereotypical Nazi villain Raymond Massey, and the most inept collection of German soldiers since "Hogan's Heroes"...This film is NOT to be taken seriously (in case you weren't sure), but to be enjoyed as one of the wildest, zaniest, most exciting adventure films of WWII. Director Raoul Walsh pulled out all the stops...and listen for Flynn's final line..."Now for Australia, and a crack at those Japs!", which had audiences in stitches, even in 1942! (4 1/2 stars, out of 5)
"Edge of Darkness" (1943): If "Desperate Journey" was unabashed silliness, "Edge" was a strong, brooding ensemble drama, filmed with director Lewis Milestone's compassion and understanding. Framed with a "Beau Geste"-style opening (in a ruined, deserted Norwegian village), the tale is told in flashback, as the Germans hold the village under an iron thumb. Some villagers profit by the Nazi presence, some plot their destruction, but Milestone makes it clear...to be neutral is no safe haven; either you fight, or you are no better than the profiteers. The cast is simply superb, especially Walter Huston, as the pacifist village doctor, Ruth Gordon as his oblivious wife, and Judith Anderson, as a woman fighting an attraction to a sympathetic German soldier. Flynn gives a restrained, self-assured performance as the resistance leader...sadly, Flynn's rape trial occurred during filming, overshadowing a profoundly moving film...(5 stars, out of 5)
"Northern Pursuit" (1943): Flynn's first post-trial film, this slow-moving adventure of Canadian Mountie Flynn infiltrating the spy ring supporting Nazi Helmut Dantine's deadly plans, lacks a spark of real enthusiasm from either Flynn or director Raoul Walsh. There are a few forced bits of 'humor' referring to the trial, and Flynn's character is already incorporating elements of the 'roue' that would redefine his screen persona, but as a whole, the film is indecisive as either action or drama, and a disappointment...(2 stars, out of 5)
"Uncertain Glory" (1944): The most bizarre, least successful of Flynn's war films, Career criminal Flynn (here playing 'Jean Picard') is sentenced to the guillotine, but an explosion allows him to escape...only to be recaptured by wise Inspector Paul Lukas. While returning Flynn to be beheaded, the pair learn of an act of sabotage (a destroyed bridge) that has so infuriated the Nazis that they announce they will execute 100 innocent French citizens, unless the saboteur steps forward. Flynn offers to accept the blame, preferring a firing squad to a guillotine, but the question is, will he turn himself in, or try to escape, especially as he falls in love...This reworking of "A Tale of Two Cities" (with a touch of "Les Miserables" tossed in) simply doesn't work, at all...Flynn's usual charm seems forced, the drama slides into melodrama, and by film's end, I really didn't care WHAT Flynn would do...(1 1/2 stars, out of 5).
"Objective, Burma!" (1945): A tremendous rebound, after "Uncertain Glory", this taut, exciting action/drama of a successful mission in occupied Burma going terribly wrong, should have been a worldwide hit, offering incredible battle sequences, and some of Raoul Walsh and Errol Flynn's best dramatic work together...but politics sank the film. The British government felt the American filmmakers snubbed their position as the major 'player' in the Burma campaign, implying the Americans "did it all", by themselves. This wasn't true (or even implied), and Warner's quickly added a preface to the movie, acknowledging British leadership and involvement...but the damage was done, and foreign distributers quickly yanked the film, as crowds booed Flynn and his squad off the screen. A great film never had a chance...Watch it, today, and you'll appreciate the film for the masterful work it actually was...(5 stars, out of 5).
What a collection...Enjoy!
Errol Flynn's rape trial and the filming of Edge of Darkness is no coincidence. August 9, 2010
Cleo (USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Scandinavian countries were outgunned and were taken over by the Germans. They became essentially gagged with a Quisling in office and the men forced to join the SS to make the Scandinavians accessory to German atrocities. While Jews were the target of choice for Nahtzee death camps, anyone who displeased the Germans could be sent. So the men were raped by their German SS buddies, the women became "girlfriends" and they couldn't say anything in their own defense for fear of their families being sent to the camps to "work." This was meant to leave a mark on all the countries of the world including so-called Axis partner, Italy. These countries were supposed to be emotionally tortured for being falsely lumped in by their tormentors. They were supposed to choke on their own vomit and bile. But it didn't happen and Hollywood had a lot to do with it. The excellence of these films protect the poor people who couldn't be saved even to this day.
priced to high August 11, 2010
James R. Pike
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Great collection of Flynn films, but once again Amazon is $8.00 higher than
Barnes & Noble. They need to give more price considerations to classic film fans.
 A set of World War II films starring Flynn May 8, 2010
calvinnme
33 out of 34 found this review helpful
Here are the specifications of the extra features. Note the return of the Warner Night at the Movies that was last seen on the Warner Homefront Collection in late 2008. Also note that Objective Burma is a new release but that there are several new features on this new version.
Desperate Journey (1942) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1942 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Oscar-Nominated Patriotic Short The Tanks Are Coming
Musical Shorts Borrah Minnevitch and His Harmonica School and The United States Army Air Force Band
Classic Cartoon The Dover Boys at Pimento University or the Rivals of Roquefort Hall
Trailers of Desperate Journey and 1942's Murder in the Big House
Edge of Darkness (1943)-directed by Lewis Milestone
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1943 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Musical Short The United States Service Bands
Classic Cartoons Hiss and Make Up and To Duck....or Not to Duck
Trailers of Edge of Darkness and 1943's The Hard Way
Northern Pursuit (1943) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1943 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Wartime Short The Rear Gunner
Musical Short All-Star Melody Masters
Drama Short Over the Wall
Classic Cartoon Hop and Go
Trailers of Northern Pursuit and 1943's The Constant Nymph
Uncertain Glory (1944) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES:
Warner Night at the Movies 1944 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Musical Short Unted States Coast Guard Band
Classic Cartoons Brother Brat and Russian Rhapsody
Trailers of Uncertain Glory and 1944's The Mask of Dimitrios
Objective, Burma! (1945) - directed by Raoul Walsh
BONUS FEATURES :
2 Classic Warner Brothers Wartime Shorts
1941's The Tanks are Coming With George Tobias, Richard Travis and Gig Young
1943's The Rear Gunner with Burgess Meredith and Ronald Reagan
Raoul Walsh Profile
Theatrical Trailer
Commentary by Historians Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Frank Thompson
Warner Night at the Movies 1945 Short Subjects Gallery:
Vintage Newsreel
Joe McDoakes Comedy Short So You Think You're Allergic
Classic Cartoon A Tale of Two Mice
Trailers of Objective, Burma! and 1945's Pride of the Marines
All of these films have a World War II theme and all five are very good with the exception of "Northern Pursuit" which is ridiculous and - worse for a Flynn film - painfully slow. There have been some disagreements on what I've seen for extra features on Objective Burma. Some show the commentary as present, some do not. Overall, I'd recommend this set as a buy, especially if you don't already own Objective Burma in some form.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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