Description
The war is over. Nobody won. Only the inhabitants of Australia and the men of the US submarine Sawfish have escaped the nuclear destruction and radiation. Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition,another (Ava Gardner) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close... From acclaimed director Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones, Inheritthe Wind) and screenwriter John Paxton comes this spectacular movie landmarka film masterpiece with a message that will resonate as long as the world has the power to self-destruct at its own fingertips.

Amazon.com essential video
Stanley Kramer's 1959 antiwar movie looks like everything Kramer did: subtle as a car wreck but undeniably affecting. Gregory Peck plays a submarine commander looking for survivors in Australia after a nuclear holocaust. Ava Gardner is among them and, somewhat improbably under the circumstances, becomes his love interest. Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins are among the characters awaiting death from the gradual spread of radiation from the north. One might scoff at Kramer's implicit finger-wagging about nuclear politics in this mad, mad, mad, mad world, but it is hard to stop watching this compelling drama all the same. --Tom Keogh

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 84 reviews)

Ahead of its time!

I saw On the Beach, as a young boy in 1959, and have never forgotten it, nor it's impacting, hard hitting, unforgettable images! Nobody really knew what to expect from the movie. The movie didn't upset me, but rather, caused me to better understand all that was going on in the world and with the Cold War. (It was a time where "air raid drills" were commonplace in my elementary school . . . all students, single file into the hallways, kneeling down against the wall, hands over head, elbows on the floor . . . and one of us assigned to open the classroom's windows . . . less resistance for the bomb's draft!!!)

I believe this movie was the first nationally seen "visual statement" about nuclear war. The movie is produced beautifully, with outstanding character portrayals by incredible actors. A beautiful, but profoundly sad love story. Classic black and white . . . tremendous photography . . . very moving and provocative. I clearly remember the submarine, the abandoned city streets, the window shade's cord, attached to the signaling devise, sending an aimless, lonely, sustained and incoherent message. It would take the combined efforts of Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly to describe the character's feelings of despair, desperation, hopelessness and profound sadness as they looked at a future of imminent death.

I remember how incredibly silent the movie theater was, when the film ended and everyone filed out . . . not a word spoken. We were watching it at the post theater, and perhaps, the adult audience, was better able to identify with what they'd seen, than the civilian population. This movie is a must see . . . an all time classic!
November 01, 2008

On the Beach

Absolutely loved this movie....want the book too!!!
Cried alot of course....but then I like 3 hankie movies!!!!
October 23, 2008

NOSTALGA I WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS MADE

I have always enjoyed watching "On The Beach" It's a good story well filmed and acted. It's sad to think all the main stars are no longer with us. The film was shot mainly around Melbourne Australia, and it was a big deal to have Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins in our City back in 1958. Stanly Kramer shot the interiors of the sub at the Melbourne Showground on a specially built set, mainly of wood, but looked so like the steel interior of an atomic submarine. Ava Gardner made the comment that you could not find a better city than Melboune for a story about the end of the world. Sydney siders loved that comment, Melbournians, not so amused. I believe she was taken out of context at the time.Recommend this movie to people who live in Melbourne to see the differences in their city now, especially Frankston Train Station

September 19, 2008

A Place in Time When People Seemed to Care More

I remember my parents taking me to this film--at a drive-in, no less. This was the era of "The Blob" and other teen-crazie epics. ON THE BEACH is a serious, thought-provoking film--and it found a deep--if silent--response not only in mature people, but with teens as well.

It reached a deep level of the heart with a generation of folks who seemed to care more about went on in the world around them.

On the casting level, it was brilliant. The teaming of Eva Gardner & Gregory Peck may seem odd at first glance, but the chemistry was undeniable. The earthy beauty of Eva matched with the intellectual integrity of Gregory.

Wow.

Fred Astaire, remembered for his rather fatuous but technically brilliant dance routines, turns in a flawless delivery as Eva's one time lover and now cynical, lonely race car enthusiast.

The scenario is the end of the world, a world doomed by a nuclear war that no one assumes responsibility for. Nobody is quite sure how it all began, but they do know how it will end. Australia is the only land mass left where humans (or any other animals) are still alive--and its days are numbered.

There are so many poignant scenes: Masses of people, families, obediently lining up for their State-issued cyanide capsules.

The Salvation Army singing for redemption...and one by one even their numbers begin to diminish.

The young mother clutching at denial, while her loving husband (Anthony Perkins in a great performance) is forced to make the final decisions on his own.

Toward the conclusion of the film, Gregory Peck is forced to leave his new (and last) love alone in Australia when his crew votes to return "home" (USA) to die.

The final image is poignant in its simplicity:

Eva Gardner walking alone on the cliff as Peck's submarine sails off. At least she has rediscovered her dignity in her final relationship.

There is a more recent remake of this film that I haven't seen. It may be very good, but after viewing the original version again, I don't have any impulse to see it. I want to leave this memory & experience intact.

September 03, 2008

No English Captions

I was disappointed to discover that it only has French and Spanish sub-titles, I still buy a lot of DVD's because they have sub-titles, something which for the most part is not available on my APPLE-TV.
For an old hearing impaired pilot this is a problem.
The product info area should tell which languages are Captioned.
August 22, 2008

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