North West Frontier [1959] [DVD]

This dvd was good copy of the movie. Well pleased with this item. Thank you.

Kenneth More is in seriously stiff-upper-lip form as Captain Scott in this classic high adventure set in the days of British Indian rule.The natives are revolting. He is tasked to secure an Indian prince and his governess from the marauding hordes. The plan is to take a train from the nearest British garrison, but they are late and it leaves without them, crammed with people in a way that only Indians seem to know how. The garrison is laid seige, but Scott breaks out in a tiny locomotive with one carriage and a motley band of escaping civilians.Lauren Bacall holds her own as governess, despite being ludicrously out of place both in the country and the role. She was the essential American A-lister that was always thought necessary to secure transatlantic approval. Bacall provides More's love interest - in between cups of tea. Also on fine form is Wilfrid Hyde White as a dithery but kindly bachelor, a part he plays with unique charm and fidelity. There is Herbert Lom, a cynical journalist with a dark secret. They and others create a wonderful character ensemble that make fine work of an intelligent script, allowing for some insightful if antagonistic exchanges. There is also I S Johar, who is almost the voice of India, kindly, caring, hopeful and a little confused as an engine driver apt to turn the English language into exotic curry.That lot itself would make for a fine movie, but add in plenty of rollicking adventures with wonderful sweeping photography, and you have the stuff of something great. Although often a little toungue-in-cheek and coming with a `U' certificate, it still doesn't shy away from human wickedness. In time, they catch up to the earlier train that More intended to take. However, the rebels have got there first. It's a surprisingly grim spectacle and leaves the viewer in no doubt what capture must mean for our motley band.They just don't make movies like this any more. Indeed; they can't. All of the adults featured are middle-aged, mature, and level-headed; Hollywood's obsession with youth would turn a remake into little more than a brat-fight propped up by pyrotechnics and special-effects.Check it out. It's a great movie of real characters we can care about. As Wilfrid Hyde White says of the arch villain `You know I couldn't help liking him even if he did try to drill us full of holes'.The DVD supplied was, as usual, clear in sound and vision. I just thought the colours had faded a little with age, but not enough to impair viewing pleasure.

Great film, action packed and exciting with an excellent cast. More is ideally cast as he had the cheery truculence that characterised that type of Imperial Britisher (John Mills and Trevor Howard were pretty good at it too). The great IS Jahore is the Indian engine driver whose performance has caused great distress to some critics, describing it as a 'disgraceful caricature'.I think some of these critics close their eyes and minds to the truth - if certain things don't fit in with their conception of what is right then they are whitewashed out of history, just like Stalin etc would do. Whether you approve of it or not, the Raj did exist, and there were characters like this in abundance.This is a good film and should be enjoyed on its own merits. Would also be of interest to anybody studying Anglo/Indian history of that period. The film was set in 1905.Only one question - what was a Hindu prince doing up in Northwest India?

Its another iconic film,with great actors/actresses!

Loved this bluray version of a great old typical British story in colonised India pre independence. Maybe dated but it still a very enjoyable old fashioned adventure story and some very well known English actors

Kenneth More is the stalwart British army Captain Scott; perfect casting. Lauren Bacall is the independent minded governess to the young prince; the object of the collective escape attempt from marauding tribesmen. Herbert Lom is excellent in a role that, if revealed, would give the plot away. Wilfred Hyde White bumbles along as he always seems to do but with disarming charm. The real stars though are the engine and its driver, Gupta, played by I.S. Johar. His picturesque (not quite perfect) English is both funny and genuine, in the scheme of things. The American governess professes to speak her mind because that's what she has a mind for! The wife of the governor, in response to jibes about the British Empire, states in one beautiful delivery;"half the world is civilised only because we have made it so!"; a sublime riposte. The opening battle scenes are captured well in the broad sweep of the excellent cinemascope photography. Frankly, it's a really good adventure yarn set in the North West Frontier of a corner of the globe where, at its imperial high point, `the sun never set'.

This is a "ripping yarn" in the Kipling/Henty tradition, but strikingly nuanced for over fifty years ago. It presents the British Empire in the best light, yet it's sympathetic to independence movements, and even the villain is "redeemed", no simplistic fanatic. It concludes with a warning that echoes Kipling's sobering observation in "The White Man's Burden":By all ye will or whisper,By all ye leave or do,The silent sullen peoplesShall weigh your God and you.And of course there's Kenneth More--and Lauren Bacall! And a great score based on "The Eton Boating Song". Was this a deliberate choice, echoing Wellington's remark that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, and, in turn stemming from this remark, Henry Newbolt's poem "Vita Lampada", which celebrates the Empire?A real treat.

Classic

I remember seeing this movie on TV, as a kid when I lived in the sticks. It was in the 1960's so it was in B&W. I was very excited to see it available here in colour.

Well made with a brilliant cast, most watchable.

Northwest Frontier is a film not too many people are familar with. I had never seen the film myself before ordering it on DVD. As a fan of classic war & historical films, I can say that the film exceeded my expectations. The story is set in 1905. It involves an English captain (Kenneth More) who has to take a 5 year old Hindu prince to safety and away from the Muslim rebels who have killed the prince's father. More's only means of travel is a old locomotive through hostile territory. This movie is filled with great action sequences, capably helmed by director J. Lee Thompson (who also directed The Guns Of Navarone). What's great about films like this is that they were filmed on real locations, using actual props (such as a real train) and they have a texture and realism about them that modern films cannot match. There is no CGI, no dumb teenagers, and no smart-aleck one-liners in this film. This DVD is presented in anomorphic 2:35 widescreen and the print looks stunning for a fifty-year old film. Also stunning is Lauren Bacall, who plays the governess of the young prince.Her character was obviously added to the film to give it a romantic angle, but Bacall brings her typical independent attitude to the role to make it more than just a token female. Also deserving kudos is I. S Johar, who plays the Indian train engineer. Some veiwers may see the role as a stereotype, but Johar steals the film.Anyone interested in old-fashioned adventure and in films "that they just don't make anymore", should check out this underrated and well-made picture.

This is an entertaining movie, and a good DVD transfer. Second party seller delivered, as advertised.

Items as described. Fast shipping. I am very pleased and would recommend this seller.