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Weekly Archive > DVD
of the Day > 06/29/07
The So-So Escape
by dennis sampson
Von Ryan's Express (Special Edition)
Wendell Mayes & Joseph Landon
Based on the novel by David Westheimer
 
 
Don’t look for historical realism or wartime angst in Von Ryan’s Express—this is a movie that requires an absence of thought in order to be appreciated. The film, about a WWII American Air Force pilot named Colonel Ryan (Frank Sinatra) who becomes a POW and leads an escape from his Italian captors into Switzerland, is the quintessential example of Hollywood escapism. More like a series of well-crafted chase scenes strung together than a fully cohesive narrative, Wendell Mayes’ and Joseph Landon’s rote storyline isn’t helped by the clichéd dialogue and cardboard characters. It’s like a 1965 videogame, where the only reason characters speak is so they can advance things to the next big set piece. That’s not to say the film is without merits. The evading of dive-bombing planes, a tension-filled sequence involving reactivating a (nearly) defunct train, even a less kinetic scene involving the prisoners’ clever disguises are among a number of impressive action pieces. Although offered in a two-disc set, the supplementals are chiefly focused on the film’s production background and offer very little in deference to the screenplay.
Von Ryan’s Express (Special Edition)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Rated PG; 117 min.
$19.98
Buy it now
Dennis Sampson is a commercial production coordinator and unproduced screenwriter. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his better half, Susan, and their dog Tripp.
Primeval courtesy Buena Vista Home Entertainment
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