SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO (DVD0 DVD

The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Ernest Hemingway could never come to terms with Hollywood's preoccupation with The Happy Ending: he accepted the money for the screen rights to his short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro, but he could never bring himself to watch it. Gregory Peck plays a character based, in decidedly unflattering fashion, on Hemingway crony F. Scott Fitzgerald. While hunting in the African mountains in the company of his faithful lady friend Susan Hayward, Peck is seriously wounded; in fact, it doesn't look as though he'll survive the night. In the few hours he has left, Peck reflects upon what he considers a wasted life. Having aspired to be the Great American Novelist, Peck has only turned out money-making drivel. The only time that he truly felt as though he'd made a contribution to the world was when he fought on the Loyalist side in Spain (this element isn't in the short story, but is drawn from Hemingway's own experiences). As for his lost romance with his late wife Ava Gardner, Peck still cannot figure out what went wrong. The Hemingway original ended with the Peck character dying from his wounds; producer Darryl F. Zanuck wouldn't hear of this, preferring that Peck survive with the resolve to write something of lasting value. The Technicolor location photography of Leon Shamroy and the rumbling musical score of Bernard Herrmann are the main attractions of The Snows of Kilimanjaro. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Gregory Peck as Harry Street Susan Hayward as Helen Ava Gardner as Cynthia Green Hildegarde Neff as Countess Liz Leo G. Carroll as Uncle Bill Torin Thatcher as Johnson Ava Norring as Beatrice Helene Stanley as Connie Marcel Dalio as Emile Vincente Gomez as Guitarist Leonard Carey as Dr. Simmons Paul Thompson as Witch Doctor Emmett E. Smith as Molo Victor Wood as Charles Bert Freed as American Soldier Janine Grandel as Annette John Dodsworth as Compton Charley Bates as Harry at Age 17 Lisa Ferraday as Vendeuse Maya Van Horn as Princess Ivan Lebedeff as Marquis

Crew Lyle Wheeler - Art Director Antonio Triana - Choreography Charles LeMaire - Costume Designer Henry King - Director Barbara McLean - Editor Bernard Herrmann - Composer (Music Score) Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score) Ben Nye, Sr. - Makeup Paul S. Fox - Production Designer Thomas K. Little - Production Designer John De Cuir - Production Designer Leon Shamroy - Cinematographer Darryl F. Zanuck - Producer Thomas K. Little - Set Designer Paul S. Fox - Set Designer Ray Kellogg - Special Effects Casey Robinson - Screenwriter Ernest Hemingway - Short Story Author

The Snows of Kilimanjaro
A tremendous hit when first released, The Snows of Kilimanjaro has not aged well over the years. Almost any screen adaptation of an Ernest Hemingway tale is faced with a difficulty: Hemingway's strong suit is his style, which is heightened and artificial. It works beautifully on the page, but translated into actual dialogue, it comes across as both flighty and stiff, and quite unnatural. Casey Robinson's screenplay does a decent job of bringing things halfway back to earth, but it ends up in a bit of a no-man's land, not really Hemingway, but not quite the real world either. Visually, however, Kilimanjaro is a feast, with Leon Shamroy's camera capturing the full beauty of its often-stunning locations and also finding emotion -- warmth, joy, and tension -- in the "character" scenes. The art direction is lovely, and the trio of stars is very, very easy on the eyes, especially the delectable Ava Gardner. Gardner and Gregory Peck create the appropriate romantic chemistry, and audiences will be drawn in by their performances, but Susan Hayward is unfortunately wasted in a role that gives her too little to do. Despite the flaws in its screenplay (and in Henry King's direction, which is uneven), there's still enough here to engage most fans of omance movies. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

Henry King: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) John De Cuir: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (nominated) Leon Shamroy: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Cinematography (nominated) Lyle Wheeler: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (nominated) Paul S. Fox: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (nominated) Thomas K. Little: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (nominated)

National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DD: Generic Dolby Digital (unspecified format) Additional Features: Interactive menu Scene selector Dolby digital Trivia quiz Biography MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 117 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 3. Gun [5:56] 4. First Love [14:31] 5. Pregnant [10:47] 6. Mourning [7:45] 7. Break-Up [13:22] 8. Searching [7:18] 9. Finding [13:11] 10. Last Wife [9:09] 11. Shaman [7:38] 12. Doctor [9:02]