The Winds of WarRating:
Release Date: 25 May, 2004 Retail Price: $79.99 OUR Price: $71.99 You SAVE: $8.00! Cast: |
The Winds of War Reviews
If only we had Jane Seymour instead of Ali McGraw
I am watching Winds of War AFTER War and Remembrance, which I think may be the greatest mini-series ever made. At the moment I'm only halfway through it, and find the story itself gripping, although not up to par with W&R.
But I can barely stand to watch Ali McGraw. Did she still think she was playing Love Story? What a one-dimensional, pouty, condescending, full-of-herself, unlikeable character she plays....it's hard to understand why Byron falls in love with her (and indeed Jan-Michael Vincent is not the greatest actor himself -- fortunately, both were replaced in War and Remembrance). This mini-series would be excellent if it weren't for her sophomoric acting constantly bringing it down to the level of a B- movie.
Many people have criticized the casting of Jane Seymour in War and Remembrance, and indeed Seymour plays the role so differently she is really an entirely different character. Gone is the feistiness which Ali McGraw displays -- and indeed Seymour could have been a little feistier in the part. But nevertheless, Seymour comes from her heart, is far more genuine than McGraw, and is also a superb actress.
For those of you who watch Winds of War, I recommend fast forwarding through the Ali McGraw scenes....... and getting the most out of the political story itself rather than seeking to warm up to the characters. And then move on to War and Remembrance - you will have superb characters, acting, story (with chilling realism, especially in the concentration camps) and gripping political drama there, without having to put up with one nauseating actress.
Almost excellent
Although some reviewers went for the age of Ali McGraw and Jon Michael Vincent, my problem was with the ages of Robert Mitchum and his British girl friend who was obviously at least 40 years younger. Didn't make sense. Mitchum looked quite old, fat and dowdy as the Naval attaché to the American embassy. I would have expected a man in much better condition. But, I thought Polly Bergen was excellent as his confused wife. David Dukes was very good as Leslie Sloat and John Hauseman, as usual, was very good as the historian author, But I didn't care for the Hitler in Winds, and I thought the Hitler in War and Remembrance was even worse. Both were way too campy.
On the other hand, the story, like the book was excellent, though I think a few of the parts could have been better cast. I guess I really liked it though because I've seen it many times since I first taped it off of TV, and then bought the videos. Now, I'm trying to decide whether to buy the DVD's. I probably will.
War and Remembrance changed some of the cast members. I would have preferred to have seen the same actors again. Sharon Stone appears for the first time as Janice Henry, Hart Bochner took over the role of Jan Michael Vincent, and Ali McGraw was replaced by Jane Seymore. Preferred the original cast there. Steven Berkoff took over the role of Hitler. John Gielgud took over the role of Aaron Jastrow. Actually, I didn't think any of the replacements were as good as the original cast, but I think about 6-8 years had past , so by then many of the characters were no longer avaiable or they were probably too old for the part.
Still the war story was very good, and I'm sure the whole thing was quite true to life, except perhaps Natalie's story which seemed too contrived. I don't think an American girl with a child would hang around Nazi Europe with a stubborn uncle. jmo.
If you haven't seen it, you should definitely watch it. I promise you won't be disappointed!
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