Arch of Triumph

Product Description

Brand new, factory sealed, fully licensed DVD manufactured in Brazil. NTSC format. Playable on any North American DVD player. High quality full screen black and white image. Original English dialog with optional subtitles in Portuguese. Portuguese subtitles can be easily turned off. The following review appears in the Internet Movie Database: "Luminous, 29 August 2005 Author: hildacrane from United States This mixture of suspense, comedy, and romance might seem unlikely to work, but it does, due to director Borzage's vision of a love that magically transcends even the most dire of obstacles. This movie is in love with love and the improbable, and in some ways is a Cinderella story almost in reverse (including the removal of a lady's slippers on two occasions). Arthur and Boyer are lovely together. Some of their scenes, luminously lit and heightened by Alfred Newman's lyrical score, are heartbreaking: their beautiful voices are almost like cellos. (Newman wrote a number of such tender and yearning scores in the thirties, including those for "Stella Dallas" and "These Three.") There's also an interesting paralleling of the love/passion that Arthur's husband has for her and that Boyer's friend has for him, although one is destructive and the other nurturing." Cast:Charles Boyer as Paul Dumond, Jean Arthur as Irene Vail, Leo Carrillo as Cesare, Colin Clive as Bruce Vail, Ivan Lebedeff as Michael Browsky, Vail's Chauffeur, George Meeker as Mr. Norton, Lucien Prival as Private Detective, George Davis as Maestro, Dora Clement, Bobby Barber as Paul, a Waiter at Victor's, Phyllis Barry as Bit Part, Joseph E. Bernard as Headwaiter at Victor's.

Customer Reviews:

"I've never been happy before".......2006-06-01

Though it is almost forgotten today, "History is Made at Night" is one of the most beautiful and romantic films ever to grace a movie screen. Not made by one of the major studios and released through Mary Pickford's United Artist in 1937, this film has a fine screenplay from Gene Towne and Graham Baker, and some lovely words of dialog from Vincent Lawrence and David Hertz. A young and luminous Jean Arthur and the continental Charles Boyer utter those words in charming, funny, and poignant fashion.

Like this film, director Frank Borzage is almost forgotten today, but through an impressive body of work that includes films such as "Street Angel" and "Three Comrades," lives on in the minds of true film buffs. "History is Made at Night" is a tender and romantic masterpiece. It easily makes my top ten list of the most romantic films of all time. It is a story of two people who try to cram a lifetime of memories into one night, and then one moment, when tragedy looms on the horizon in the form of an iceberg.

Jean Arthur is Irene Vail, the wife of a cold and unhappy shipping magnate who holds on to her too tight, his jealousy finally driving her to divorce. Colin Clive is her bitter and obsessed husband Bruce, who hatches a plan in Paris to catch her in a compromising position before the divorce decree can become final. But Bruce's plan goes awry and their history will never be the same.

Charles Boyer is Paul Dumond, headwaiter at Chateau Bleu, and Leo Carillo is his very funny chef pal Cesare. Paul is tucking in a drunk customer he has taken to the room next to Irene's in Paris, and overhears the commotion as Irene is set up for a scandal that will tie her to a loveless marriage forever. He steps in through the balcony and rescues her, charading as a jewel thief and wisking her away into the moonlight. It is one of the great scenes ever, in a film full of them.

They share a cab and drive around Paris, ending up at Chateau Bleu, Irene unaware Paul is the headwaiter there. Paul charms his pal Cesare into an after hours meal and he and Irene spend the night there falling in love. It is a long, extended scene full of charm and humor, with some sadness as well. Paul uses a hand puppet to get Irene to open up about her unhappiness and they dance the tango. Carillo is warm and funny as Paul's pal for life who watches and cooks while Paul and the silly American girl from Kansas who dances with naked feet find happiness. It is a happiness Irene has never known, and one she would give her soul for.

They agree to meet the next day when the happy Paul is planning on proposing. Irene doesn't show up, however, and Paul calls her, knowing if she is going back to a loveless marriage then something is wrong. Irene tells him she can never come back to him and he must never try to find her. What Paul does not know is her husband Bruce killed the man he hired to come into Irene's room, in an effort to frame him for murder.

The friendship of Paul and Cesare adds a charming humor to the story, and there is a running joke regarding salad dressing. Their repore is marvelous as they travel to the big apple in an effort to make Irene come to Paul rather than searching for her. The two come up with a scheme to make a place called Victor's in New York the "in" spot everyone comes. Holding a special table for her, Irene finally shows, but it is with the abusive husband she does not love.

Irene is joyous, but Paul thinks she is laughing at him due to his lowly position. Their deep love quickly overcomes this misunderstanding and Irene leaves Bruce once more, planning to run off to Tahiti so she and Paul can truly be happy. But a dark cloud hangs over their dream as an innocent man is set to go on trial back in Paris. Paul is not the kind of man who could let another take the blame or Irene would not love him so. They book passage back to France on Bruce's newest ocean liner, the S.S. Princess Irene.

As the two lovers head towards their destiny, her bitter husband Bruce fumes to discover the French papers are sympathetic to Irene's sacrifice and Paul's gallantry. When it becomes clear Paul will never be convicted for the crime, Bruce dangerously orders the captain to break the transatlantic record in a deep fog and cold water, bringing about a tragedy reminiscent of the Titanic's fate.

Many drown and all left aboard are presumed dead. There is a heartwrenching scene as Paul tries to get Irene onboard the last lifeboat and she clings to him for the love she knows she can not live without. Bruce writes a confession for his crime now that he has nothing to live for and makes one last, violent gesture. But Paul and Irene are not dead yet, clinging to a staircase on deck and desperately trying to know everything they can about each other while they await their fate. They and a handful of survivors hold their breaths to see if the last bulkhead will hold, and keep the S.S. Princess Irene afloat long enough for a rescue.

There are some beautiful and poignant exchanges between Boyer and Arthur in a film that is sweet, funny and tender all at the same time, sometimes in the same moment. Perhaps no other director of his time could have pulled all the elements of this story together so well. Borzage was always looked to by his peers as the go-to guy for any story which required a tender and romantic touch other directors could not pull off.

Jean Arthur is wonderful as the woman clinging to a happiness she has never known and Boyer had one of his finest moments in American film portraying the affable and charming Paul. Borzage sets a very special mood for this touching story of a love that sails with no wind and a full moon. Not just a great romantic film, but one of the great films period, "History is Made at Night" is a forgotten film from a forgotten director, and both deserve to be remembered. All those who love romance will certainly never forget either once they have seen this most beautiful of films for the first time.

Average customer rating:

Lamb/Arch of Triumph

Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008G818
Release Date: 2002-10-29

Arch of Triumph - (Russian Import - PAL DVD)

Average customer rating:

Arch of Triumph - (Russian Import - PAL DVD)

Manufacturer: Film Prestige
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GDSTOU

Product Description

PAL, Full Screen, Region free DVD, Russian Import. Available audio tracks: DD 2.0 ENGLISH and DD 2.0 RUSSIAN (voice-over). NOTE: PAL is European video standard which WILL NOT play on regular R1 DVD player (multisystem PAL/NTSC compatible, region-free DVD player required). Please, get familiar with all details about DVD video standards to avoid any misunderstandings ____________________ SYNOPSIS: Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, Arch of Triumph is a complicated war romance directed by Lewis Milestone. Dr. Ravic (Charles Boyer) is a refugee physician practicing medicine illegally in Paris under a false name. He saves Joan Madou (Ingrid Bergman) from committing suicide after the sudden death of her lover. He gets her a job singing at the nightclub where his only friend, Boris Morosov (Louis Calhern), is the doorman. Joan falls in love with Ravic, but he is deported and she finds herself the mistress of wealthy Alex (Stephan Bekassy). Meanwhile, Ravic seeks revenge against a Nazi officer (Charles Laughton) and war is declared between France and Germany.

Average customer rating:

Arch of Triumph
Starring: Martin Benson , Joyce Blair , Alexander Davion , Lesley-Anne Down , and Frank Finlay
Director: Waris Hussein
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005YAHH
Release Date: 2001-01-30

Arch of Triumph starring Anthony Hopkins & The Cold Room Starring George Segal Double Feature

Average customer rating:

Very very poor transfer of decent content

Arch of Triumph starring Anthony Hopkins & The Cold Room Starring George Segal Double Feature

Manufacturer: PC Treasures, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000LKMX7W

Product Description

Double Feature on one DVD- Arch of Triumph- Starring Anthony Hopkins, Lesley Ann-Downe, Donald Pleasance. Runtime 96 mins. The Cold Room -Starring George Segal and Amanda Pays. Runtime 97 mins.

Customer Reviews:

Very very poor transfer of decent content.......2007-03-06

The films themselves are worth seeing, but NOT on this third rate edition. Both the video and audio transfers are really abysmal. My guess is that they stuffed two movies on the one DVD by using a really high level of compression. This is even more evident in the audio portion - there is a continual hollow metallic sound which is really annoying and also makes the dialog harder to follow.

Average customer rating:

Huge disappointment!

Arch of Triumph
Starring: Martin Benson , Joyce Blair , Alexander Davion , Lesley-Anne Down , and Frank Finlay
Director: Waris Hussein
Manufacturer: Madacy Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000777HXO
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Customer Reviews:

Huge disappointment!.......2005-03-06

The plot is slow and dull, even Anthony Hopkins can't bring it to life. Additionally the quality of the DVD is unbelievably poor. I can't believe any company would produce a DVD that looks and sounds as bad as this one.

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