VON RYAN’S EXPRESS [1965 / 2012] [Fox War Classics] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
Top War Suspense . . . The Best of Its Kind!
The World War II adventure starring Frank Sinatra has never been more thrilling, immersing you the action-packed suspense for the first time on Blu-ray. USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan [Frank Sinatra], an American POW trapped in Italy, must earn the trust of his fellow prisoners to lead a daring escape plan aboard a captured German train.
USAAF combat pilot Colonel Joseph L. Ryan is shot down and placed in a prison camp Initially, he’s more concerned with surviving than escaping, earning him the insulting nickname, “Von Ryan.” But in time, USAAF Colonel Joseph Ryan takes over from the commanding British officer Major Eric Fincham [Trevor Howard] and masterminds a daredevil race for freedom.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1966 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Effects and Sound Effects for Walter Rossi. 1966 Laurel Awards: Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Action Drama. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Action Performance for Frank Sinatra [5th place]. 1966 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Win: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing for the Feature Film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS.’
FILM FACT No.2: The novel was published in 1963. The novelist David Westheimer had been a POW during World War II. He witnessed the bombing of Bolzano in 1943 from a box car. The New York Times book reviewer said the novel "has everything for the screen but the camera directions. The studio assigned Saul David to produce and Mark Robson to direct. Mark Robson had intended to make The Centurions, but this was delayed when his chosen star, Anthony Quinn, was unavailable. Frank Sinatra had read the novel and wanted to buy the film rights himself; when he heard they had been lost to 20th Century Fox, Frank Sinatra offered his services for the lead role. Rumours of a personality clash between the star Frank Sinatra and the director Mark Robson, because Frank Sinatra just wanted to get on and shoot a scene, whereas Mark Robson would insist on several takes of one scene and caused Frank Sinatra to get very frustrated, but despite this, overall the film was shot with relatively little trouble. However, Frank Sinatra did insist that the ending of the film be altered, ending any chance of a sequel. Frank Sinatra also insisted the film be shot in Panavision rather than 20th Century Fox's CinemaScope. The idea for the film’s dramatic and powerful conclusion came from Frank Sinatra himself, who insisted that the original ending, based on the source novel, be changed.
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni, John Leyton, Edward Mulhare, Wolfgang Preiss, James Brolin, John Van Dreelen, Adolfo Celi, Vito Scotti, Richard Bakalyan, Michael Goodliffe, Michael St. Clair, Ivan Triesault, Ian Abercrombie (uncredited), William Berger (uncredited), Arthur Brauss (uncredited), William Conroy (uncredited), John Daheim (uncredited), Domenick Delgarde (uncredited), Horst Ebersberg (uncredited), Barry Ford (uncredited), Brian Gaffikin (uncredited), Donald F. Glut (uncredited), Gino Gottarelli (uncredited), Joe Gray (uncredited), Peter Hellman (uncredited), Robert 'Buzz' Henry (uncredited), Walter Linden (uncredited), Eric Micklewood (uncredited), John Mitory (uncredited), Ernesto Molinari (uncredited), Paul Muller (uncredited), Benito Prezia (uncredited), Christopher Riordan (uncredited), Michael Romanoff (uncredited), Bob Rosen (uncredited), James Sikking (uncredited), Al Silvani (uncredited), Lee Stanley (uncredited), Jacques Stany (uncredited), Brad Stevens (uncredited), Max Turilli (uncredited), Ron Veto (uncredited) and Al Wyatt Sr. (uncredited)
Director: Mark Robson
Producers: Mark Robson and Saul David
Screenplay: David Westheimer (novel) (screenplay) (uncredited), Joseph Landon (screenplay), Saul David (screenplay) (uncredited) and Wendell Mayes (screenplay)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: William H. Daniels, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision + CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Spanish [Castilian]: 1.0 DTS-HD Mono Audio
German: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Italian: 1.0 DTS-HD Mono Audio
Thai: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio
Running Time: 116 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ [1965] finds us in ITALY, August 1943. With the Allies poised to strike, the Germans seized control of Italy. So the war-weary Italian nation fought on, a prisoner of the German armies.
‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ followed on from the box-office success of ‘The Great Escape,’ this is a rattling exciting Second World War escape adventure, with a well-cast Frank Sinatra as Colonel Joseph L Ryan, a tough PoW whose character is unusually uncompromising, even for him, and the star delivers one of his best performances. Director Mark Robson uses his camera skilfully, and the support cast is exceptionally well chosen: co-star Trevor Howard is always excellent in confrontation roles, and the film is a nod to ‘The Great Escape’ film and finds John Leyton (who had a number one hit with “Johnny Remember Me” in 1961) as a British lieutenant. The eagle-eyed should note Hollywood restaurateur Michael Romanoff as an Italian noble. The film was a major commercial success in its day. ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ is pure entertainment, not history. Viewers who accept that premise will probably enjoy this action-packed adventure film with a simple theme: escape. The year is 1943. Germans are moving northward in Italy after allies land in the south. When Italian overseers abandon a prison camp, the English and American POWs escape, but are recaptured by Germans and placed on a train bound for a concentration camp.
USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan [Frank Sinatra] is shot down over enemy territory near Anzio in Italy and it is here that he meets Major Eric Fincham [Trevor Howard] who has been in charge of the captured troops in the camp. Pulling rank on Major Eric Fincham, USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan takes charge and initially seems to be far too amiable with the Italian officers. This leads to him being nicknamed “Von Ryan” by the disgruntled soldiers.
However, USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan has a plan to help everyone escape camp, and this culminates in a thrilling game of “cat and mouse” as the escaping men make their way across Italy on a commandeered train. So the courageous American USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan with a never-say-die attitude boldly sets out to lead a group of Allied prisoners in a daring mass escape bid and fleeing through occupied Italy to Switzerland.
Frank Sinatra was famous for turning up on set, only giving 1 or 2 takes for each shot, and then disappearing until the next day when he was needed. This in no way detracted from his performance though, as he delivers a solid characterisation of a confident, ballsy and intelligent officer who will do anything to get the required outcome that he is seeking. There is also another layer to USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan’s personality that Frank Sinatra perfectly underplays and comes to the fore in an ending of the film which still gives me goose bumps after all these years after my very first viewing of this film.
Trevor Howard is superb as Major Eric Fincham; initially is rightly pissed off with USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan and his American bravado, he slowly succumbs to appreciate this fellow soldier both professionally and personally. The tension is ramped high during third act and the escape attempt on the train. Scenes involving British soldiers masquerading as German officers is a well-worn trope in war films, but pulled off with aplomb in ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ film.
At the start, there is a bit of a tussle between Frank Sinatra the USAAF Colonel Joseph L. Ryan and the stiff-backed British type, a bearded professional soldier, Major Eric Fincham played by Trevor Howard. But this lasts only briefly because Frank Sinatra soon leans on him, and from here on Frank Sinatra is the top in the Rat Pack leading them onto shoot-’em-up boys on their freedom run and becomes a wild adventure with lots of shooting, lots of sneaking up on Nazis and choking them, lots of wreckage and rear-guard action and sacrificial heroics at the end. And the best thing about the film is the amazing European scenery. Director Mark Robson, ran a train fully loaded with actors and extras halfway across Italy while shooting it. As a consequence, director Mark Robson got some stunning pictures that have atmosphere and authenticity. But the scenery is not the only authentic thing, but it is also a totally believable Second World War film.
‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ is a film that should be in all collection lovers of films set in the Second World War scenario, and this Blu-ray release has some fantastic special features which surely make it a “must buy.” This is a true classic of cinema, and the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ holds a warm place in my heart, especially with this Second World War action adventure, that features Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Brad Dexter and James Brolin which is a great adrenaline Second World War film, that the director Mark Robson does with great panache and style. It has a very successful mixture of films like ‘The Train’ and ‘The Great Escape,’ dealing with a group of Allied prisoners-of-war who capture the train taking them from Italy to Berlin, and set off full steam for Switzerland.
‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ incorporates tense situations, which has the edge for sheer excitement. Frank Sinatra as the maverick Colonel Joseph L Ryan and Trevor Howard as Major Eric Fincham turn in thoroughly workman like performances and in support are the Italian actors Sergio Fantoni and Adolfo Celi, as Allied-sympathiser and Nazi-sympathiser respectively, are outstanding. Also actor Edward Mulhare gives a delicately wry portrayal of the padre forced to pose as a German officer – because he is the only one of the prisoners who can speak the German language fluently and pulls it off with great style and panache. But overall the action is everything and nowhere more so than in the edge-of-seat ending of the film.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox presents ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ in a stunning 1080p image and is equally enhanced with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio that really shows the film at its very best quality, despite being filmed in Color By DeLuxe. Shot predominately using the Panavision system and sometimes the film's image is heavily grainy, and especially with the scenes at night, but luckily this only happens now and again. On the plus side, there is no blatant DNR [Digital Noise Reduction] or edge enhancement here. There are some shots where fine detail is very impressive, but the colour presentation fares better, giving us a warm rich palette, and also giving a well-balanced skin tones on the actor’s faces, and also gives good contrast. But now and again we get a few scenes with white specks and in some scenes, and are also sometimes intermixed with the natural film grain. If you previously viewed this film with the inferior DVD release, you will notice an all-around massive improvement, and so overall I feel 20th Century Fox has done a really excellent job, especially with what was available with the original negative, but with modern technology, shame it was not used to give us a much more pristine print, but despite this, I enjoyed the majority of the print I viewed, so well done 20th Century Fox.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox bring us ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ with a very outstanding and an equally impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Sadly, the surround aspect of this film was not very noticeable, at best; the sound was more towards the front speakers, but now and again we do get some hint of a surround sound effect. In terms of actual sound quality, the film to my mind was very good and was sometimes very dramatic; but for a mid-1960s war film, the audio mix has a good sense of impact and good clarity. As to the film’s notable composed film score that felt very classic, especially as it was done by the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith and gave a great production value with martial rhythms and acute instrumentation all round, and it sounds even better than ever here. Also on the plus side, the dialogue is always very clean and easy to understand too. So once again, 20th Century Fox has done a brilliant job in the sound department of this Blu-ray disc.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Isolated Score Track with Audio Commentary by Music Producer/Film Historian Nick Redman, Screenwriter Lem Dobbs and Writer Jon Burlingame: Before I start this review of this audio commentary, I want to point out a very bad mistake regarding the wording with this item in the menu, because it says “Isolated Score Track,” well this is not quite right, because when as we get into the film and three guests start to speak about the film, because now and again you can actually hear the actors speak, so obviously someone involved with this Blu-ray disc, did not do their job in a very professional way, whereas I could of done a much better professional job like I am doing right now, so now here is my review of this audio commentary. Here, you can watch the film and listen at the same time to an audio commentary with music producer/film historian Nick Redman screenwriter Lem Dobbs and writer Jon Burlingame. Here we are welcomed to this audio commentary and first up is Nick Redman, who informs us he is a documentary and music producer, and informs us that he is sitting with his two pals, who are Lem Dobbs the screenwriter and World War Two film junky, who he says and thinks that is the right technical term, and last of all to be introduced is Jon Burlingame who informs us is a Musical Historian and teaches and teaches film-music history at the University of Southern California and writes regularly for Variety. Nick Redman informs us that they are doing the same type audio commentary like they did on the Blu-ray release for the film ‘The Sand Pebbles’ and with this audio commentary they will be commenting between the audio cues of Jerry Goldsmith’s music cues in the recording studio. Also with this particular audio commentary they will mention the slates and the count ins and again you get to hear Jerry Goldsmith talking to the musicians and announcing each time where the cue begins and also where Jerry Goldsmith wants the musicians to stop, and we then find out if it was a successful take. Nick Redman asks Jon Burlingame what we can learn about music for this film and Jon Burlingame is pleased 20th Century Fox have left in the Jerry Goldsmith audio music cues for this Blu-ray release, but especially as it is a Jerry Goldsmith composed film score, and a great opportunity to showcase this film from start to finish. They also comment that the film music is very important and illustrates an emotional response for the viewer, and also adds an additional layer, and it is on the onus on the part of the composer’s part to give the film some character and shading. They also comment about this 1965 film that sits dead centre in the genre of World War Two films and that the film became a big blockbuster success, and a temple of this type of war film, but initially they were reluctant to film it in colour, because they felt they wanted to film initially to look serious and very dramatic look in style for WWII, but eventually the executives changed their mind. But they also claim that the one sole person who started the run of these types of war films was the Scottish novelist Alistair MacLean, who of course wrote “The Guns of Navarone.” But they also point out the films that started these WWII films were the British films, like ‘The Wooden Horse’ [1950], ‘The Colditz Story’ [1955] and of course the most popular film ‘The Great Escape’ [1963] out of all of them. They talk in-depth about the screenwriter Wendell Mayes, who was very prolific in his output and was a massive favourite of the director Otto Preminger. Originally the main character Colonel Joseph L Ryan was British as stated in the novel and would have been played by Trevor Howard, but when the film was in its initial stages, they decided to make Frank Sinatra be that character Colonel Joseph L Ryan and we find out that the reason they called him with the nickname “Von Ryan” as they thought initially he was a collaborator for the Germans. As to the construction of the Italian Prison Camp, this as we have been informed was built on the backlot of 20th Century Fox at great expense, but we find out it would have been much cheaper to find an area in Italy to film these films, as parts of the locations were filmed in Italy, but it was the idea of Darryl Zanuck and was thought as a publicity stunt, after the debacle of the costly filming of ‘Cleopatra’ that nearly bankrupt the studio, and to show other studios that something was happening, that the film studio was not going down like the Titanic. We find out that Frank Sinatra hated being away on location, especially outside America, and especially hated being in Italy and refused to stay in a hotel in Rome, but demanded insisted that he have a villa just outside Rome and also demanded a private helicopter to take him back and forth to his villa. They also say that when Jerry Goldsmith creates his composed film score, he tries to give the flavour of the film if it is set in a certain country, like for instance the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS,’ where it is set in Italy and wanted to bring in the Mandolins and Tambourines instruments to give it that authenticity. We find out that Frank Sinatra was first reluctant to get involved with VON RYAN’S EXPRESS,’ but someone told him that the film would be very good for his career, as the film was not his usual vehicle at the time like the ‘Ocean 11’ franchise films, and the urban myth is that Frank Sinatra eventually contacted 20th Century Fox and said he wanted to be in the film and on top of all that, he insisted that he should die at the end of the film, which is totally the opposite of what happens in the novel. They talk about the scene on the train with Frank Sinatra and the female actress Raffaella Carrà together where she puts on the slick stockings and tries to seduce him, but refuses on moral grounds, but then Frank Sinatra later on and guns her down in cold blood, which for some unknown reason the commentator did not understand. They talk about the amount of music that Jerry Goldsmith composed for this film, which is very minimal, but if the film had been made in the 21st century, someone would compose the music so it is wall to wall throughout the film, but with the dramatic scenes in the film, when there is no music you do not miss it. When you get to the scene where the train is nearing Switzerland and are being attacked by three Messerschmitt Bf 109 German World War II fighter aircraft, this part of the film was shot in Cortina d'Ampezzo, is ski resort in northern Italy and was the site for the 1956 Winter Olympic Games, but then at great cost, shipped everyone to Elchuri, which is nearly 40 miles inland near Malaga in Spain, where the actual climax was filmed, where they have the massive shootout with the German troops. As we get near the final climax of the film, once again the commentators give great praise to the composer Jerry Goldsmith, the likes we will never encounter again, because he was so inventive with his film scores, also stars like Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard we will never encounter again of such star quality and this film is like a time capsule, of a period in film history, that again we will never encounter again, that we film enthusiasts really love and on that note the commentator wants to thank the other two guests for their input and delivering another lecture on how movies use to be made, and thanks us very much for participating in this audio commentary. So all in all, this audio commentary has been really fascinating and very informative and I really liked the breaks where the composed music came in, which I have not encountered before in an audio commentary and I wish more Blu-ray discs would do this and all in all this audio commentary definitely gets a five star rating from me.
Special Feature: Reliving the Adventure of ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ [2001] [1080p] [1.37:1] [14:00] Here we get to view some rare black-and-white behind-the-scene film that was shown in an Original Publicity Newsreel with the director Mark Robson directing a scene and we find out that Frank Sinatra did not get on with the director, but at the same time we are told that Frank Sinatra was also very difficult to work with and of course Mark Robson and Frank Sinatra had conflicting personalities. The film was an attempt by the ailing 20th Century Fox to reassert itself after the critical and financial disaster that was ‘Cleopatra,’ with a moderate budget the studio filming exteriors on location in Italy, and constructing an enormous prison camp set, especially on the backlot of 20th Century Fox and engineering some impressive large-scale action set pieces. It paid off, because not only was ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ a box office success that year, it holds up well even today, as a very entertaining war thriller from the golden era of WWII-themed moviemaking. Near the end of this special feature we get to view lots of rare publicity photos and a variety of film posters. Contributors include: Nick Redman [Music Producer and Film Historian], Leo Braudy [Film and Cultural Historian] and Frank J. McAdams [Author of The American War Films: History and Hollywood].
Special Feature: Hollywood and Its WAR FILMS [2007] [1080p] [1.37:1] [6:02] Here get to view a wonderful special feature in giving us a brief documentary about the history of the Hollywood war films that comes across as a bit of padding, but due to legal reasons, there are virtually no clips shown except from 20th Century Fox titles ‘Patton’ and ‘M*A*S*H.’ The participants, who consist of WWII experts and film historians discuss the making of the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ and the different people that was brought into get a screenplay that 20th Century Fox approved. We also get to view lots of black-and-white newsreels of the Second World War, especially with scenes of when peace was announced and we also get lots of colour newsreels of the demonstration against the Vietnam War. Contributors include: Donald Miller [Best-selling Author of The American War Film: History of Hollywood], and Frank J. McAdams [Author of The American War Films: History and Hollywood], Nick Redman [Music Producer and Film Historian] and Rudy Behlmer [Film Historian].
Special Feature: The Music of ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ [2007] [1080p] [1.37:1] [7:46] Here we get to view a plethora of specific film clips from the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS,’ highlighting the brilliant composed film score by Jerry Goldsmith and especially the more dramatic scenes in the film, but it was a shame that we get no sort of in-depth comments from Jerry Goldsmith himself, especially with his thoughts on how he decided composing the film score and to me Jerry Goldsmith can do no wrong and is in my mind the No.1 film music composer who is so flexible in his composed film music scores. But at the same time with the variety of dramatic composed film score music is to show off the different scenes you view and how the very talented Jerry Goldsmith decided to emphasise each scene of the film by the brilliant composed music and at the same time showing off the talent of this totally unique film composer, who is now very sadly missed. This special feature was especially more about promoting the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS.’
Special Feature: Bringing Movies to Life: The Legacy of Jerry Goldsmith [2007] [1080p] [1.37:1] [11:57] With this special feature we get an appreciation of Jerry Goldsmith's composed film music and his illustrious career, with many of the people interviewed in the previous special features and all of the contributors give great praise on the special way jerry Goldsmith was able to enhance the film with his composed music scores and how he liked to be different and also used different musical instruments in a totally unique way to produce very evocative film score. We also get to hear that when Jerry Goldsmith was a 12 year old, after viewing his first film in the local cinema, and vowed to be a film composer and throughout his illustrious career, he was the most requested film composer, because he could turn his hand to all types and style of a film to make a film look unique in style. We also get to view some rare black-and-white clips from the film ‘The Stripper’ which was the very first film Jerry Goldsmith was commissioned to write the film score and was the one film Jerry Goldsmith wish he had never composed for ‘The Stripper,’ and was a film that was a complete disaster and felt after that film would never work again, but eventually was asked to do the film score for the film ‘PATTON’ which of course was a massive box office hit. We find out that when Jerry Goldsmith wants to compose a film score, he would do it by gut instinct alone and would never tell anyone the reason he composed that particular film score. With the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ the music is spotted very sparsely, meaning the composed music is not used a lot, in fact there is only 28 minutes of underscore in the film and the last 30 minutes of the film is without any composed music, which is extremely unusual, and that is why Jerry Goldsmith was so respected, and was given 18 Oscar nominations and one win for ‘The Omen,’ and people have said in hindsight, that now they feel he should of won 5 Oscars. Despite in his later years he was diagnosed with cancer, he still carried on composing film scores to the very end of his life, and of course lots of directors always wanted jerry Goldsmith to compose the music for their films. Throughout this special feature you get to view lots of very rare black-and-white and colour publicity photographs relating to Jerry Goldsmith. On top of all that, Jerry Goldsmith felt he was the luckiest man around because he got to do what he really loved composing film scores, especially from the age of thirteen, and especially also working with some great directors, as well as working with very professional studio musicians. Contributors include: Nick Redman [Music Producer and Film Historian], John Burlingame [Film Music Historian] and Carrie Goldsmith [Daughter of Jerry Goldsmith].
Trailers [1965] [1080i] [1.37:1] [6:35] Here we get to view two Original Theatrical Trailers for the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ and the first one is in English voice over and the second one is in a Spanish voice over. These trailers really promote the film in a brilliant and dramatic way. As usual, you can either view each trailer separately or Play All.
TV Spots [1965] [1080i] [1.37:1] [00:41] Here we get to view two Black-and-White American Television Adverts for the film ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS.’ For some very strange reason at the end of the second trailer at around 0:33 it all goes silent, very strange.
Finally, ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ is a film I really liked and it is a typical Sunday afternoon classic viewing experience that meanders and mixes action, drama and humour with total ease. It also is subtle in direction, with Mark Robson focusing on truth and reality over fiction and bluster. The cast are uniformly are very good. The best of course is Trevor Howard as the chewed up and long in the tooth Major Eric Fincham. Frank Sinatra is as usual his cool, casual self but still the sort of guy we all want to be. Director Mark Robson uses his camera skilfully, and the support cast is exceptionally well chosen: co-star Trevor Howard is always excellent in confrontation roles, and a nod to ‘The Great Escape’ finds John Leyton (who had a number one hit with Johnny Remember Me in 1961) as a British lieutenant. The eagle-eyed of you should note that the Hollywood restaurateur Michael Romanoff was an Italian noble. The film was a major commercial success in its day. All in all ‘VON RYAN’S EXPRESS’ is at best a real belter of a film, that will keep you on the edge of your seat right to very last frame in the film. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
