On The Beach [Blu-ray]

Director: Stanley Kramer, Stephen Daldry Stanley Kramer

Overview

On The Beach is a grim, depressing story about the end of mankind from the fallout of nuclear war. Captain Towers (Gregory Peck) and his passengers have survived only because they were submerged in a submarine during the time. Scientist Osborne (Fred Astaire) says that Australia is the last safe place on earth, but it is only a matter of time before the fallout kills them all. When they land, the government is handing out suicide pills, and the characters plan their last moments. Moira (Ava Gardner) wants to party all the time, and a young couple tenderly rejoice their togetherness before death. When the group debates using the pills, they come to believe human race was doomed even before someone "pushed the button."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2014
UPC:	0738329136420
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	2:14:00
Sales rank:	7,021

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gregory Peck	Cmdr. Dwight Lionel Towers,Boy
Ava Gardner	Moira Davidson,Official
Fred Astaire	Julian Osborne
Anthony Perkins	Lt. Peter Holmes
Donna Anderson	Mary Holmes
John Tate	Adm. Bridie
Lola Brooks	Lt. Hosgood
John Meillon	Swain
Lou Vernon	Davidson
Guy Doleman	Farrel
Ken Wayne	Benson
Richard Meikle	Davis
Harp McGuire	Sundstrom
Jim Barrett	Chrysler
Basil Buller Murphy	Sir Douglas Froude
Keith Eden	Dr. Fletcher
John Royle	Senior Officer
Frank Gatliff	Radio Officer
Paddy Moran	Portman
John Casson	Salvation Army Captain
Kevin Brennan	Dr. King
C. Harding Brown	Dykers
Grant Taylor	Morgan
Peter Williams	Prof. Jorgenson
Harvey Adams	Sykes
Stuart Finch	Jones
Joe McCormick	Ackerman
Audine Leith	Betty
Jerry Ian Seals	Fogarty
Katherine Hill	Jennifer Holmes
Peter O'Shaughnessy	Jorgenson Associate
Rita Pauncefort	Elderly Woman at Holmes Party
Elwyn Peers	Jewellery Salesman
Gerry Duggan	Actor
Mayne Lynton	Cadogan
Collins Hilton	Stevens
Brian James	Warren
Ronald Fortt	Williams
Paddy Fitzallen	Trumpeter
Richard Webb	Actor
John Morgan	Actor
Paul Maloney	Actor
Colin Crane	Actor
Peter Ashton	Actor
Jack Boyer	Actor
Joe Jenkins	Actor
Mario Vecci	Actor
Hugh Wills	Actor
Lucian Endicott	Actor
Ken Baumgartner	Actor
Nicole Kidman	Actor
Julianne Moore	Actor
Meryl Streep	Actor
Stephen Dillane	Actor
Miranda Richardson	Actor
George Loftus	Actor
Charley Ramm	Actor
Sophie Wyburd	Actor
Lyndsey Marshal	Actor
Linda Bassett	Actor
Christian Coulson	Actor
Michael Culkin	Actor
Jack Rovello	Actor
Toni Collette	Actor
Margo Martindale	Actor
Ernest Gold	Composer

Technical Credits

James Barrett

John Paxton

Stanley Kramer	Producer,Director
Lee Zavitz	Special Effects
Stephen Daldry	Director
James Barrett	Screenwriter
John Paxton	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Released at the height of the Cold War (and when most nuclear-themed films were sci-fi horror films like Them!), On the Beach is a very flawed but intensely powerful film. Rarely one for subtlety when preparing one of his famous "message" pictures, director Stanley Kramer tends to overemphasize the horror that nuclear war represents, negating some of the impact. Indeed, it is when Kramer lets the simple facts speak for themselves -- the sight of people standing patiently in line waiting for pills that will release them from the impending doom, the chilling simplicity of the shot which shows us that the source of those faint radio signals promising life is nothing but the wind rolling a coke bottle onto a telegraph key -- that the film is at its most powerful. Also problematic (more so in the film than in the Nevil Shute novel) is the clichéd, almost soap operatic relationship between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and the somewhat melodramatic handling of other sections of the film. In spite of this, however, there's an overwhelming, desperate bleakness that perfectly captures the sense of hopelessness that is central to the story. The power of the film's message manages to overcome the lapses in its script and direction. The cast -- once one gets past some pretty unbelievable accents -- helps tremendously. Peck has rarely been more stalwart, Gardner delivers one of her finest performances, and Anthony Perkins is humane and vulnerable. Even decades after its release, Beach is a harrowing and devastating experience.