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Edge of Darkness (1943)
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Product Description
In 1930, director Lewis Milestone won an Academy Award * for his eloquent anti-war masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front. But with Edge of Darkness, made in 1943 during the dark days of the German blitzkrieg, Milestone displays no such pacifist sentiments. Indeed, this remarkable drama, set in a small Norwegian village, pays tribute to the heroic spirit of common people taking up arms against the Nazi invaders. Errol Flynn delivers a fine, understated performance as a common fisherman who leads the town's resistance efforts. Ann Sheridan's strong character reflects the strength of all womankind. And featured in the superb ensemble cast are Walter Huston, Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.5 Ounces
- Director : Lewis Milestone
- Media Format : NTSC
- Run time : 1 hour and 59 minutes
- Release date : July 24, 2018
- Actors : Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Judith Anderson
- Dubbed: : French
- Studio : Warner Archive Collection
- ASIN : B07FGT8HWF
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #22,279 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #295 in Military & War (Movies & TV)
- #4,100 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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In the opening scene, a Nazi patrol plane passes over a Norwegian village that is flying the Norwegian flag in defiance of the German occupiers. German troops are dispatched there and discover the village is strewn with Nazi and Norwegian dead and the troops’ commander, Capt. Koenig (Helmut Dantine), is in his office with a bullet hole in his head. In an extended flashback, we see the bitter conflict between the villagers and the Nazi invaders, particularly reactions to the stranglehold of the oppressors.
Among the villagers is a fisherman, Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn), who is also a leader of the Norwegian resistance; his sweetheart, Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan); her doctor father (Walter Huston), who is reluctant to join the cause; her clueless mother (Ruth Gordon); elderly school teacher Sixtus Andersen (Morris Carnovsky); Kaspar Torgersen (Charles Dingle), the town’s fish cannery owner and a Nazi sympathizer; war widow Gerd Bjarnesen (Judith Anderson); and Johann Stensgard (John Beal), Karen’s brother, who has already betrayed his countrymen once and can’t be trusted. The Norwegians secretly plot under the noses of the Nazis. Even as they endure oppression, they summon the discipline to wait for the right moment to strike.
This is not your typical Errol Flynn swashbuckler. Robert Rossen’s screenplay showcases each of the main characters, so that the movie is an ensemble rather than a star-driven picture. Flynn’s trademark derring-do is virtually absent from the early part of the film, though he has some heroic moments in the film’s third act. The movie is paced slowly in the first 45 minutes, with dialogue and exposition dominating. Numerous subplots support the main narrative. Director Milestone saves most of the action for the last 20 minutes, pulling out all the stops with excitingly staged set pieces.
Though many of the characters are fairly stereotypical, Carnovsky’s school teacher and Huston’s Dr. Stensgard stand out. Carnovsky has an excellent scene in which he confronts Capt. Koenig with a philosophical approach — his way of resisting. The teacher’s refusal to let the Germans use his home for a barracks infuriates the captain, who decides to make an example of him. Dr. Stensgard is conflicted about the morality of the resistance, though he continues to have the respect of his fellow villagers. He never appears weak for his lack of commitment, but genuinely concerned for the consequences that may be loosed on the villagers.
“Edge of Darkness” was one of several films released around the same time that dealt specifically with the Norwegian resistance to German occupation during World War II. Others are “They Raid By Night” (1942), “Commandos Strike at Dawn” (1942), and “First Comes Courage” (1943).
Bonus materials on the unrated Blu-ray release from Warner Archive include the following:
The short subject “Gun to Gun”
The cartoon “To Duck… or Not To Duck”
Theatrical trailer
Made during the grim days of the German blitzkrieg, “Edge of Darkness”pays tribute to the heroic spirit of common people taking up arms against the Nazi invaders. With Errol Flynn tamping down his swashbuckler image to provide an understated performance, and a first-class supporting cast, the film is not a typical war picture. It takes its time documenting the indignities to which the villagers are subjected before it lets loose with a solid action denouement.
In 1943 Flynn's best days were behind him. Captain Blood (1935) , Major Vickers (1936), Robin Hood (1938), the Earl of Essex (1939), George Armstrong Custer (1941), and Gentleman Jim Corbett (1942) were done and gone. He was near the apex and a steep decline was ahead of him. Apart from "Objective Burma" (1945), he would make one undistinguished film after another until 1957 when he made "The Sun Also Rises" and "Too Much Too Soon". In 1958 he made my favorite later day Flynn film - "The Roots of Heaven" - and he died shortly after that.
But here in 1943 Flynn was trying to reinvent himself, as something less than a swashbuckler. This was pretty hard to do with a statutory rape charge against him as the film was released, but everyone agrees that Flynn did a good job as the Norweigan resistance fighter. He foreshadows here some of the excellent work he would be capable of more a decade later.
Ann Sheridan co-stars in the second of 3 films she made with Flynn. She was one of the biggest box office stars of the late 30s and 40s and a top pinup girl in WW 2 when she was called "The Oomph Girl". She appeared in such box office hits as "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), "They Made me a Criminal" (1939), "Dodge City" (1939) with Flynn, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942), and "King's Row" (1942). Known for her sex appeal, there is a solid actress underneath and she shows it here.
Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Charles Dingle, Henry Brandon, and Ruth Gordon also appear.
Walter Huston was also in "The North Star" (1943), a film about the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine. Huston was churning out films in the 1930s, sometimes as many as 8 in a year. His performances were relatively undistinguished, even if some of the films (e.g., "Gabriel Over the White House") were hits. Huston got better as he got older, and he was nominated for an Oscar in 1937 ("Dodsworth") and 1942 ("Devil and Daniel Webster" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy") and won in 1949 for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", just before he died in 1950. Huston plays a physician in this film, just as he did in "North Star"
Judith Anderson was nominated for an Oscar for her role in "Rebecca" (1940) and 8 times for an Emmy, winning twice ("MacBeth" in 1961 and MacBeth in 1951). In 1960 she was awarded the title "Dame" by Britain's Queen, and is usually called Dame Judith Anderson. Anderson made only a dozen films as she specialized in theatre.
Ruth Gordon is best known for her role in films like "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "Harold and Maude" (1971) for which she received Golden Globe awards. When she won the Oscar for "Rosemary's Baby" at the age of 72 she said - "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is, for a young actress like myself..." I loved her most in "Where's Poppa" (1970). Gordon plays it relatively straight in this film as Huston's wife.
Robust Charles Dingle plays the owner of a fish factory, a Nazi sympathizer. Dingle appeared in more than 50 films, such as "The Little Foxes" (1941) and "Duel in the Sun" (1946). He transitioned to TV in the 50s where he was active till his death in 1956.
Handsome Henry Brandon plays a British agent disguised as a German officer. He started off playing the villainous Silas Barnaby in "Babes in Toyland" (1934) and for most of his career continued in this vein. He's most famous for playing Scar in "The Searchers" (1956), one of 26 portrayals of an Indian he did in his career. He occasionally played the hero, as he does in this film and he also appeared with co-star Judith Anderson in a 1949 revival of Medea.
Lewis Milestone directs. Milestone worked in silent films ("The Racket" ,1928) and early sound (Hell's Angels" ,1930). He made more than 50 films, was nominated three times and won twice ("Two Arabian Knights" in 1927, "All Quiet on the Western Front" in 1930). Among his many films are such diverse projects as "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "Ocean's Eleven" (1960), "Pork Chop Hill" (1959), "The North Star" (1943), and "Of Mice and Men" (1939).
Franz Waxman provides the score. Waxman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times and won twice ("A Place in the Sun" and "Sunset Blvd"). He was a favorite of Hitchcock who used him in 4 films and earned 2 of his Oscar nominations ("Rebecca" and "Suspicion"). At times Waxman's music could be overbearing (e.g., "Objective Burma"), but when he was good he was great. Waxman is good in this film, using the music to heighten the tension without distracting from the action.
Sid Hickox handles the camera. Hickox filmed hundreds of films for Warners and transitioned to TV in the 50s where he worked on "I Love Lucy" and "The Andy Griffith Show". Though never nominated for any award, his camerawork was good, and he was responsible for films such as "God is my Co-Pilot" (1945), "White Heat" (1949), and my Hickox favorite, "Dark Passage" (1947). His work in this film is exceptional. There are unusual (but effective) camera angles, good tracking shots, shots through binoculars, etc. And he is particularly filming the model sets.
This is a worthwhile film to watch. The performances are uniformly good, Flynn's maturation is evident as are his acting skills, and the camerawork is more than interesting. The special effects and use of models is exceptional for the times.
Errol Flynn leads in an understated but solid performance as an ordinary and underachieving fisherman who is forced by circumstances to mature and become the leader of the local resistance. Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon turn in strong supporting roles as the brave town doctor and his wife. Ann Sheridan plays Flynn's love-interest, who runs afoul of the occupying troops and exacts a terrible revenge.
This movie is noteworthy for its fully developed characters and its subtle but unmistakable theme of grace under pressure by its very human characters. The occupied and the occupiers are painted in subtle shades of gray and not the black and white depiction that might have been expected in a war-time movie.
This movie is highly recommended as an above average example of the World War Two genre.
Top reviews from other countries
Una vez más la empresa IMPULSO pone en el mercado , este importante producto del año 1943, con su calidad. Al parecer el film se estrenó en España . Supongo que estaría cortado en algunas escenas ya que la historia ensalza el valor de las gentes obligadas a luchar.contra tiranías opresivas
Denn diesmal sind es keine Helden von Beruf, keine trainierten Soldaten, die den Nazis gegenüberstehen, sondern es sind die Bewohner eines von den Deutschen besetzten norwegischen Fischerdorfes, Frauen und Männer aus allen Berufen. "Edge of Darkness" feiert das aus der Not geborene Heldentum der Durchschnittsmenschen, den oft widerwilligen, mit Angst gepaarten Mut der Bauern, Fischer und Ladenbesitzer. Der Film tut das sehr ernsthaft, aber auch überaus kunstvoll, transportiert nicht nur eine propagandistische Botschaft, sondern erzählt auch eine packende, bewegende und enorm spannende Geschichte.
Die Eingangssequenz erinnert so stark an den Beginn von "Beau Geste", dass die Ähnlichkeit den Machern von "Edge of Darkness" bewusst gewesen sein muss (was ja keine Schande ist - eine gute Idee darf man schon mal kopieren, wenn man wieder etwas Gutes daraus macht): der Pilot eines deutschen Flugzeugs entdeckt, dass über dem Küstenstädtchen Trollness statt der deutschen die norwegische Flagge weht. Die per Schiff herbeieilenden Truppen finden eine Totenstadt: in den Straßen türmen sich die Leichen, deutsche Soldaten und norwegische Dorfbewohner durcheinander. Nur ein Verrückter, der behauptet, das alles gehöre ihm, irrt durch die Trümmer, ansonsten keine lebende Seele, auch nicht im Hauptquartier der Garnison. Während der Anführer der Entsatztruppe im Büro des toten Stadtkommandanten seinen Bericht diktiert, entfaltet sich als Rückblende die Handlung.
Und nun lernen wir sie kennen, die deutschen Besatzer und vor allem die unterdrückten Norweger, unter denen sich der Widerstand zu regen beginnt. Im Zentrum des sich nach und nach entfaltenden Beziehungsgeflechts steht die Familie des Arztes Dr. Martin Stensgard: der Doktor selbst (Walter Huston), von Zweifeln über den richtigen Kurs in dieser bedrängten Zeit geplagt; seine naive Frau, die vor den Greueln die Augen verschließen möchte (Ruth Gordon); der Schwager, ein Kollaborateur ohne Skrupel (herrlich widerlich: Charles Dingle); der Sohn, ein Kollaborateur aus Schwäche (John Beal); und schließlich die Tochter Karen (Ann Sheridan), eine leidenschaftliche Freiheitskämpferin, die mit dem Anführer der örtlichen Widerstandsgruppe, dem Fischer Gunnar Brogge, befreundet ist.
Dieser Gunnar Brogge wird von Errol Flynn gespielt, und zwar grandios. Dass Flynn auch mit einer Fischermütze auf dem Kopf eine gute Figur macht, wird niemanden überraschen, wohl aber die angenehme Zurückhaltung, mit der er seine Figur gestaltet. Flynn verkneift sich in den Liebesszenen mit Ann Sheridan jedes Don-Juan-Grinsen und selbst in den Kampfszenen jede Swashbuckler-Attitüde; stattdessen gibt er ein in jeder Sekunde überzeugendes Porträt eines entschlossenen und idealistischen Anführers, der aber genausowenig ein vollkommener Held ist wie alle seine Mitstreiter. Flynn und Sheridan sind natürlich die Stars und die wichtigsten Sympathieträger, dominieren das Geschehen aber keineswegs. Vielmehr ist "Edge of Darkness" ein Ensemblestück, in dem Huston vielleicht die interessanteste Rolle hat, aber eine ganze Reihe glänzender Darsteller (und kein Studio hatte damals eine solche Galerie von Charakterköpfen anzubieten wie Warners!) gleichermaßen zur Geltung kommt: Judith Anderson als Wirtin, neben Flynn und Sheridan die Seele des Widerstands; Morris Carnovsky als pensionierter Lehrer, der dem neurotischen Hauptmann Koenig (brillant gespielt von Helmut Dantine) eine Lektion in Zivilcourage erteilt; Nancy Coleman als Soldatenliebchen - jeder hat seine große Szene, jeder trägt das Seine bei, wie es zur Botschaft des Films passt: es kommt auf jeden an. Dabei gibt es so manche bittere Lektion zu lernen, und die schwerste von allen für Gunnar/Flynn: die Gemeinschaft kann nur Erfolg haben, wenn jeder seine eigenen Interessen, und selbst den begründetsten Wunsch nach persönlicher Rache, zurückstellen kann. (Ich schäme mich nicht zu sagen, dass mir in dieser Szene die Tränen gekommen sind, was mir sonst nicht so schnell passiert.)
Erstaunlicherweise bricht die Intensität auch dann nicht ab, als es zum unvermeidlichen, blutigen Endkampf kommt. Vielmehr ist es Regisseur Lewis Milestone (und Kameramann Sid Hickox) gelungen, diese finale Auseinandersetzung so zwingend zu choreographieren, dass wiederum die Gemeinschaft als der eigentliche Held erscheint. Hierbei wird die Regie kongenial durch die Musik von Franz Waxman unterstützt, die zu weiten Teilen auf dem Lutherchoral "Ein feste Burg" beruht und die grimmige Entschlossenheit der Freiheitskämpfer in Töne fasst.
- Kurz gesagt: Hier passt alles, und der Zuschauer versteht den wunderbaren kleinen Schlussdialog genau. "Ich kann allein gehen", sagt Stensgard/Huston, als er auf der Flucht in die Berge strauchelt und ihm aufgeholfen wird. "Aber du musst es nicht", antwortet Gunnar/Flynn.
Die (Schwarzweiß-) Bildqualität ist für einen Film dieses Alters in Ordnung, der (englische) Ton klingt dagegen reichlich historisch, mit deutlichem Grundrauschen, ohne dass dadurch jedoch die Verständlichkeit gefährdet wäre. Deutschen Ton gibt es leider nicht, auch keine deutschen Untertitel.