I first viewed the film "On the Beach" in its original 1959 version when I was about 10 years old - it was quite a big thing then, shown for a long term engagement in "Cinamascope" at the Cineramma Theater in San Diego, CA. The story and film frightened me, but made a big impact - and it has always stuck with me - I never forgot it. Now I have just finished viewing the 2000 version of "On the Beach" with Rachel Ward, Armand Assante and Bryan Brown. I was mesmerized - especially good was the second half, when the central characters are coming to terms with the reality of the end of the world and their own forth-coming deaths. The ending scenes with father Lt. Peter Holmes and his wife Mary and little daughter were so touching and broke my heart (and the tears flowed freely). Although the characters of the submarine commander Dwight (Armand Assante) and the single party-hearty Moira (Rachel Ward) were interesting, I never grew to really care about them, at least not Moira. Rachel Ward just didn't come through for me enough to make Moira genuine and someone you could care about. Armand Assante did a good job as the tough commander who revealed an inner core of love and caring. Bryan Brown as the cold unfeeling Dr. Julian Osborne was all right, and Brown managed to give him some sense of emotions at the end. The cast of the submarine crew were all excellent. All in all, I was greatly moved (once again) by this new version of "On the Beach" - and I think the makers of this film did an outstanding job.
In 1959, the film "On the Beach" was relevant and very frightening to us Americans living at that time. Several of my neighbors were building "fallout shelters" and we regularly had "nuclear strike drills" at school with scary sirens blaring (diving under a desk! "Tuck & Cover" our teacher told us as we tucked ourselves into a ball under our desks and covered our heads with our arms - as if that would save us?). Those were frightening times.
Perhaps today, almost 50 years after the first film was made, it is not as likely that we humans will totally annihilate ourselves, families and children with nuclear weapons, at least I hope not. But we sill have that capability - and with the current "clash of civilizations" (and religious beliefs) between Islam and the West, ultimately destroying ourselves may be even more likely now than in it was 1959. Watching the 2000 version of "On the Beach" is a stark reminder of how it all may turn out if we are stupid enough to do so.
I highly recommend this film.
In 1959, the film "On the Beach" was relevant and very frightening to us Americans living at that time. Several of my neighbors were building "fallout shelters" and we regularly had "nuclear strike drills" at school with scary sirens blaring (diving under a desk! "Tuck & Cover" our teacher told us as we tucked ourselves into a ball under our desks and covered our heads with our arms - as if that would save us?). Those were frightening times.
Perhaps today, almost 50 years after the first film was made, it is not as likely that we humans will totally annihilate ourselves, families and children with nuclear weapons, at least I hope not. But we sill have that capability - and with the current "clash of civilizations" (and religious beliefs) between Islam and the West, ultimately destroying ourselves may be even more likely now than in it was 1959. Watching the 2000 version of "On the Beach" is a stark reminder of how it all may turn out if we are stupid enough to do so.
I highly recommend this film.