Castle Keep (1969) User Reviews (66)

CASTLE KEEP (Sydney Pollack, 1969) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 5 August 2007]

I had been wanting to check this one out for over 20 years (it used to be available as a VHS rental at the local outlet but I never got around to it) but especially after reading up on the film on the internet since its 2004 DVD release(s) where its unusual "artiness" a'-la Alain Resnais' LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD (1961) was played up. Now that I've watched CASTLE KEEP for myself, all I can say is that it's arguably the strangest mainstream war movie ever and decidedly not for all tastes!

The relatively large cast (for what turns out to be an introspective film) is uniformly excellent and is well up to the requirements of the brilliantly surreal, funny and literate script; Burt Lancaster, wearing an eye-patch throughout, has an unsympathetic role as the formidable leader of a group of misfit soldiers taking over a Belgian castle against unseen invading German troops. He is skillfully abetted by Peter Falk (as a soldier who abandons his post to indulge in his vocation as a baker), Jean-Pierre Aumont (as the "degenerate" owner of the titular castle), Patrick O'Neal (as a celebrated art historian all at sea on the battleground but well in his element surrounded by the castle's objets d' art), Scott Wilson (as a soldier who gets into quite a unique relationship – more on this later), Tony Bill (as the most spiritual of the men) and, the other side of the coin, Bruce Dern as a Bible-thumping conscientious objector who walks the Belgian rubbles with his ragged band of revivalist deserters-followers. The terrific cinematography of the awesome European locations – courtesy of Henri Decae – is complimented by a fine Michel Legrand score and, when they finally come, spectacular battle sequences.

But it's the odd, surreal touches – including Scott Wilson falling in love with a Volkswagen, the same car rising from the sea after it has been drowned by his envious companions and floating ashore all by itself, the moving sequence between Tony Bill and an unseen German soldier (subsequently needlessly shot by Peter Falk) where the latter teaches the former how to play the flute correctly, the unusually realistic talk of fornication, sexual organs, impotence, the ambiguous (perhaps ghostly) nature of the characters involved and the events being enacted, etc. – which really make this show stand out from the crowd of WWII spectaculars and stick in one's memory – not to mention endear it to its legion of fans (who have famously decried online its original abominable pan-and-scan DVD incarnation, forcing Sony to re-release it in the correct Widescreen aspect ratio a mere four months later). The theme of the relevance of art in times of war brings forth comparisons to John Frankenheimer's THE TRAIN (1964), also starring Burt Lancaster, whose third (and final) collaboration with director Sydney Pollack – after the previous year's THE SCALPHUNTERS and THE SWIMMER (where Pollack replaced original director Frank Perry but goes uncredited) – this proved to be…perhaps as a result of the critical beating the film received upon its original release!

A 20th century war in a 10th century castle.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 13 September 2019]

Burt Lancaster leads the able cast assembled here for a WWII tale of an eyepatch wearing Major and his team of quirky characters, who take over the isolated Belgian castle of a Count played by Jean-Pierre Aumont. They are determined to defend it from the Germans, even as the war is starting to move towards a conclusion. The Captain on the team, a man named Beckman (Patrick O'Neal), knows that he would rather the Nazis not get their hands on the vast treasures taking up space inside this castle.

"Castle Keep" is based on a novel by William Eastlake, and is directed by Sydney Pollack, the latter making one of his more intriguing films. It does come off as a bit pretentious and self-consciously "arty" at times, but at the same time does make some interesting parallels between art and war. Beckman, in fact, tries to drive this idea home to a rather disinterested bunch of soldiers, as he gives them a lecture on art history.

This picture does become more conventional as it goes along, delivering some genuinely intense battle scenes that are pretty exciting. Overall, it's still more of a war drama "for the thinking person", albeit with some memorable absurdist humour. (Scott Wilson plays a Private named Clearboy who becomes enamoured of a Volkswagen, and saves it from receiving a death sentence.)

Lancaster is efficient as always, in a rather unsympathetic role, but concedes the major acting showcases to under-rated actors such as O'Neal and Al Freeman Jr. (as the Private with literary aspirations), and the typically amusing Peter Falk as a Sergeant who temporarily puts fighting on hold to pursue his more valued vocation of baker. The excellent ensemble also includes the gorgeous Astrid Heeren as the Countess, Tony Bill as the serious-minded Lieutenant, James Patterson as the "Indian" soldier Elk, Bruce Dern as a conscientious objector who's found religion, and Michael Conrad as Sergeant DeVaca.

This viewer would agree that "Castle Keep" is not for all tastes. However, it does provide a striking and surreal alternative to the traditional war film.

Seven out of 10.

The Battle of the Castle

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 4 February 2010]

Clearly, Academy Award winning actor Burt Lancaster must have gotten along well with director Sidney Pollack because they made two films together: "The Scalphunters" (1968) and "Castle Keep" (1969), and Pollack contributed to the one in between, "The Swimmer," that Lancaster appeared in for director Frank Perry. A one-eyed U.S. Army commander, Major Abraham Falconer (Burt Lancaster of "Elmer Gantry), leads a squad of eight soldiers, consisting of three officers, two sergeants and three enlisted men soldiers into the Ardennes Forrest in 1944. They billet in a breathtaking 10th century castle in Belgium on the eve of the historic Battle of the Bulge. The dry humor comes through the dialogue that cleverly undercuts each situation or predicament that our protagonists encounter. If fantastic photography guaranteed that a movie would be artistically great, "Night of the Generals" lenser Henri Decaë would make this the rule rather than the exception. His widescreen cinematography is a consistent treat for the eyes, and the pictorial compositions are well-balanced and imaginative.

Director Sidney Pollack and scenarists Daniel Taradash of "From Here to Eternity"(1953) and David Rayfiel of "Valdez Is Coming" (1971) adapted the novel by David Eastlake. "Castle Keep" emerges as a surrealistic World War II action epic. Major Falconer and his men defend the castle tenaciously against an onslaught of German troops and armor. During the first half of this 107-minute movie, castle owner Count of Maldorais (Jean-Pierre Aumont of "The Siren of Atlantis") welcomes Major Falconer, Captain Beckman (Patrick O'Neal of "El Condor"), Lieutenant Amberjack (Tony Bill of "Ice Station Zebra"), Sergeant Rossi (Peter Falk of "Anzio"), Sergeant DaVaca (Michael Conrad of "Sol Madrid"), Corporal Clearboy (Scott Wilson of "In Cold Blood"), Private Allistair Piersall Benjamin (Al Freeman, Jr. of "The Lost Man"), and Elk (James Patterson of "Lilith") to the castle. He hopes they will defend it from the enemy. Principally, Maldorais wants them to save his works of art and hopes the virile Major will get his classically gorgeous wife, Therese (Astrid Heeren of "Silent Night, Deadly Night"), pregnant because the count is impotent and requires a male heir.

After the Americans settle in, Falconer warms up the master bedroom with Therese; the soldiers head into town to the Red Queen brothel, and Rossi befriends the widow of a baker (Olga Bisera of Women in Cell Block 7") and starts kneading dough. Captain Beckman presents lectures about the artworks in the castle. Not surprisingly, Beckman was a published art historian. Falconer rides into town and shows the prostitutes how to design Molotov cocktails and then throw them at German tanks when they enter town. The funniest scene involves Corporal Clearboy and the Volkswagen beetle that he finds on the premises. Late one night, two G.I.s decide to destroy the VW bug. They push it into the moat. The bug floats, so they shoot at it below the waterline to sink it. Corporal Clearboy awakens to the sounds of gunshots and scrambles for the stairs. A fellow soldier tells him to take the shortcut through another door. Clearboy opens the door and steps out onto air. The door opens on the moat and the corporal plunges into the moat. He swims to the VW, cranks it up, and cruises it up onto dry land. The second half concerns the castle defense and a brief but explosive battle with tanks blasting away at the architecture as well as the Americans concealed behind it.

Despite its pretentious, cool attitude toward warfare, "Castle Keep" qualifies as a traditional war movie, but it is far from conventional. The action boils down to a desperate siege with no hope in sight for relief. Indeed, some of the best World War II era films dealt with gallant last stands, such as "Wake Island," "Bataan," and "China." The Germans constitute a faceless enemy. Pollack keeps them at arm's length, so we have no reason to hate them. The Americans represent a cross-section of the United States, and they are basically good guys who love to loaf until they get a caught. Major Falconer is a straight-up guy who does not lord it over his men. Nevertheless, despite its handsome production values, sensational photography, this World War II movie rarely generates any suspense because it the Americans are not portrayed in a sympathetic light, and everything seems arbitrary. The performances are all good. Lancaster delivers a tight-lipped, no-nonsense performance as the disciplined commander with a purposeful manner. Pollack invests very little sentiment when the characters die. None of the Americans receive historic treatment. The sight of the castle burning is hypnotic. One of the most iconic character actors of the 1960 thru the 1980,perennial villain Bruce Dern is a ragged deserter who leads a religious sect. You can tell that "Castle Keep" is an anti-war movie because it refuses to glorify warfare. The problem with "Castle Keep" is that it doesn't have enough sarcasm to be a satire, and it lacks the outlandish exuberance in its combat sequences to be a warmongering classic. Interestingly, "Castle Keep" fails to measure up to its own-or perhaps Beckman's--definition of good art. According to Beckman, great art must disturb and awaken its audience. Sadly, "Castle Keep" doesn't disturb us enough to awakens us.

A terrific underrated fable

[JohnSeal · 7/10 · 24 February 2000]

I remember watching Castle Keep many times as a youngster. The film was a staple on local TV and showed up several times a year. I loved it then and recently saw it again, for the first time in 20 years, on TCM. The film has lost none of its lustre and in its widescreen format is even better than before. Cinematographer Henri Decae (The 400 Blows) creates a surreal fairytale atmosphere without sacrificing wartime realism in this tale of stranded GIs in the Ardennes at the end of World War II. The squad, led by an eye-patched Burt Lancaster, try to halt the German advance by hunkering down in a medieval castle that has been miraculously unaffected by the tribulations of the war. The film has echoes of Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast and it's stylistic contemporary, King of Hearts, but stands on it's own as a superb philosophical exploration of warfare and violence. If you enjoyed A Midnight Clear, you will enjoy Castle Keep.

One of the strangest WWII stories ever

[Skragg · 10 October 2004]

Thanks to this film, I can never entirely think of "Private Benjamin" as a comedy about a society girl in the army (not that this one doesn't have a lot of funny moments, of the very strange kind). "Hessian" is right - it's so strange, you almost have to either love or hate it, and I'm completely attached to it. With the kinds of actors in it, it's really hard to think of anyone as especially standing out, but (as attached as I've always been to Burt Lancaster) the answer would almost have to be Patrick O'Neal as Beckman. It took me a long while to think of it, but he's almost like the Eleanor character in The Haunting, because of the way he's taken over by the castle completely, and his "private war" with the major because of it. One of the best scenes was between him and Private Benjamin (played by Al Freeman Jr.), who was pictured as his "soulmate" in a way. Beckman admitted that he'd been a war hero (before the beginning of the story), but he wrote it off as being temporarily crazy. Benjamin said, "But you'd fight to save this castle." Beckman said, "Yes - but I don't know who. Which side."

One of the best funny lines was one of Peter Falk's - "Swim the moat? What the hell war is this?"

Avant-garde World War 2 flick full of amusing pretentiousness

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 14 March 2014]

Two World War 2 flicks involving a European castle came out in 1968-1969, "Where Eagles Dare" and "Castle Keep." If you're a fan of war films you've no doubt heard of "Where Eagles Dare," which is one of the greatest war action/adventure films ever made; but I wouldn't be too surprised if you've never heard of "Castle Keep" or only vaguely heard of it. There's good reason for this.

THE PLOT: The Germans are marching on a Belgium village in the Ardennes where a squad of American soldiers makes a stand at a 10th century castle.

"Castle Keep" has a lot going for it: a great cast, including Burt Lancaster, Peter Falk, Bruce Dern & more; fabulous Yugoslavian Winter locations & castle; thrilling action scenes; it's well-made on a technical level by renowned director Sydney Pollack; and it hardly comes across dated, even though it's fifty years old (as of this writing). Fans of the film describe it as "poetic" & "haunting" and it's obvious the filmmakers were shooting for something groundbreaking, meaningful, artistic and amusing.

Unfortunately "Castle Keep" is mostly uninteresting until well into the second half, which is when the great action scenes start. The characters have a lot of dialogue but you never get to know them or care about them. Maybe because the chatter comes across as unreal, artsy and inscrutable. Here's a sample: The Count comments to Theresa, his wife/neice, "They planned this war because there was something they hadn't yet smashed." She replies, "Who are we, Henri?" "We are the keepers."

The script is full of such "deep" nonsense. Which I suppose would be okay as long as the story itself is captivating, but it isn't.

Want another example of the "unreal" vibe? The soldiers go to the village with empty streets to kill time at the Red Queen, which isn't a pub if you know what I mean. When they enter, all the prostitutes are standing or lying around in various tantalizing poses in lingerie. I'm sure they were just hanging around like that waiting for five soldiers to walk in. Why Sure! You gotta see it to believe it. I busted out laughing!

Speaking of which, I busted out laughing quite a bit throughout, which shows that the movie works as a satire or low-key war comedy.

A reviewer offered the interpretation that one soldier, the writer, is simply remembering how it was, not how it really was, and that's why it comes across so dreamlike and bizarre. I find this a valid explanation. Others point out that it's an allegory about the futility of the Vietnam War which was raging at the time of release. Another interpretation is that the message is one of contrast: Life from death, and death where once life was.

Actually, the symbolism is too obvious: The castle represents art or anything celestial created by humanity whereas the countess represents inspiration and the writer imagination. War is the ongoing destructive force that destroys everything in its path: The village and the bakery (home and business), the church facility (religion and faith), militarists and civilians, conscientious objectors (that is, those who embrace the folly of ABSOLUTE pacifism, which is different from LIMITED pacifism, as represented by the Allies) and, lastly, art (painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and music). The only thing it cannot kill is inspiration and imagination, which will continue to reproduce art despite the ongoing specter of war.

Hey, I'm all for "message" films with deeper meanings as long as the film itself is interesting and done with tact; the original "Apocalypse Now" (AP) is a good example. Much of AP is surreal, but you know the characters and care about their fate; plus, surreal or not, AP never departed from reality. "Castle Keep," by contrast, contains parts that are SO contrived and unreal they're actually funny (note, for instance, when Rossi meets the baker's wife). The greatest sin in filmmaking is to be boring. The second is to be pretentious. Unfortunately "Castle Keep" commits both of these transgressions. But, thankfully, there are several amusing and thrilling moments. As far as the latter goes, the tower/plane sequence is great.

At the end of the day "Castle Keep" is an avant-garde film palatable to a chosen few. It was groundbreaking at the time but was doomed by its arty pretentiousness. I respect it and enjoy numerous aspects noted above, but I suppose it's somewhat of a failed experiment.

The film runs 1 hour, 47 minute.

GRADE: B-/C+

Disjointed, dream like, dissappointing ...........

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 20 September 2018]

"Castle Keep" is a film looking to find an audience in all the wrong places. Wrapping a 1960s free sex and love anti-war message around a World War 2 suicide mission is like trying to shovel crap against the tide. Seriously surreal, this failed film is nevertheless not without interest, because of the cast. The movie more belongs on an art gallery wall than in a theater, because the photography is stunning, with each shot vivid and memorable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the film. Because it is so disjointed, the whole experience is somehow lacking in impact. By the time the bang bang ending appears on the screen, most audiences will be so bewildered by what has preceded it they will hardly be awake. - MERK

A history teacher's nightmare!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 23 May 2012]

If you love surrealistic and existential films, you may enjoy "Castle Keep". There is lots of strange dialog and bizarre plot elements--such that it will probably confuse the average viewer--but the artsy may enjoy it. As for me, I am a retired history teacher and it just made me irritated, as the terminally stupid might just think this film is a documentary and people really talked and acted like this! The film is nominally about a group of American soldiers who are making a stand at a Belgian castle--waiting for the inevitable attack from the Germans around the time of the Battle of the Bulge (December, 1944). However, as they are waiting for this throughout most of the film, you see LOTS of little scenarios that seem very random--and have little, if anything, to do with the WWII era. There's the wife of the castle who sleeps with various men because her husband is impotent and he wants a son, there's an art historian(!) who gives lectures to men who have zero interest--but who LOVE to hang out at a brothel filled with 1960s-style prostitutes, a guy who is in love with a VW and predicts it's the car of the future, a guy who wants to do nothing but bake--so he hangs out in town and bakes bread, a group of religious freaks who are pretty much guaranteed to offend and folks talking about the meaning of life. It's all a lot of stupid nonsense if you ask me--especially since folks often dress and act like folks from the hippie 1960s (especially the ladies) and the music is very appropriate for a counter-culture 1960s film--thought this is supposed to be 1945! Some folks might think this is all clever--I think it's just dumb--and rather boring. The film only heats up near the end when the fighting starts, but that isn't enough and the film seems like a waste of some talented actors. Well worth skipping.

Unique film about war years ahead of its time!

[miran_kor · 9/10 · 10 October 2003]

Unusual (more realistic - and surrealistic - than in other films) point of view on horrors of war, good directing and a strong cast. I liked this film very much when I saw it about 25 years ago in the Cinématheque (long live Yugoslav and now Slovenian Kinoteka). Unfortunately, the copy wasn't as good as the film itself. There were some missing parts so I'd like to check out this one again.

What good movies Sydney Pollack made in his early days! I highly recommend his Slender Thread, The Scalphunters, They Shoot Horses..., Jeremiah Johnson and this one. Very unusual films for Hollywood standards, very brave, and as it seems timeless.

In an interview Mr. Pollack once said that he thinks Castle Keep was way ahead of its time. The audience wasn't ready to cope with such a look at war. I wonder if it is ready now? Castle Keep recommended to all non-formula film lovers around the world.

9/10

Nice film about a group of American soldiers led by Burt Lancaster fight against the German advance at a castle

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 1 June 2021]

An eccentric allegory dealing with a Major , Burt Lancaster, and his underlings , a captain : Patrick O'Neal, a lieutenant : Tony Bill and soldiers : Al Freeman Jr , Michael Conrad , Scott Wilson, James Patterson , Peter Falk . As Burt Lancaster as the one-eyed American Major billets his few remaining men at an Ardennes fortress filled with priceless art treasures .All of them take shelter at a French castle inhabitated by an aristocrat : Jean Pierre Aumont and his young wife : Astrid Heeren . At the finale , the Germans throw everything at the fortified location and its occupants .As there takes place an endgame in which the platoon fights to hold the medieval castle keep against the Nazi invaders.

An interesting but disjointed film with surrealist scenes , emotion , a love story , skirmishes throughout , and impressive final battle . Being based on William Eastlake's novel , critically culted in France , it results to be an acceptable movie , though a little bit boring and some scenes with no much sense. A pretty bizarre yarn that hovers between reality and fantasy , adding some breathtaking warlike battles at its end , including a really colossal holocaust . This is a failed attempt at likewise fusing European style with American wartime genre . But Sidney Pollack flops and it remains as a simple and at times confusing flick , in spite of its pretensions.

It contains a colorful and glimmer cinematography by Henry Decae , shot in Yugoslavia and France . As well as lush and sterling production design from art design by Max Douy . Equally , a sensitive and attractive musical score by Michael Legrand . The motion picture was professionally directed by Sidney Pollack, though it has some flaws , gaps and failures , it resulted in failling commercially at the box office everywhere. Deemed to be a moving curio and an ill-omened flick that was marred by its Euro art-house wake. Sidney Pollack was a good professional who acted/wrote/produced and directed several films , as he made the following ones : The property is condemned , Scalphunters , The Shoot Horses Don't They? , Jeremiah Johnson , The Way We Were , Yazuka , 3 Days of Condor, The Electric Horseman, Absence of Malice , Tootsie , Out of Africa , Havana , The Firm, Sabrina Random Hearts , The Interpreter , among others .

Should have been much better

[scheelj · 3/10 · 16 April 2012]

Skip it – This is the most disappointing World War 2 movie I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them. I would call it campy, even zany. It tries to be "artsy," similar to "Thin Red Line," only it doesn't work. Was the director on drugs? Burt Lancaster is a Major with an eye patch in the U.S. army commanding a squad of men charged with protecting a medieval castle. Sounds good so far right? That's what I thought. Well, his men don't even fire their guns till the very end. Ol' Burt is more concerned with having sex than fighting Nazis. Peter Falk co-stars as a soldier more concerned with baking bread. Seriously, he's a baker, and more importantly, he's not funny in this role. This is no action movie. This is a made-for-TV quality movie at best. I'm not a fan of most 70's war movies, and even though this was made in 1969 its close enough. 1.5 out of 5 action rating

Surreal, amusing, disturbing--and brilliant.

[Hermit C-2 · 10/10 · 5 December 1999]

War is hell and war is insane, we've been told many times before, but rather than a bitter, angry polemic, this film is a surreal, dark-humored allegory that is as light as a fairy tale at times but ends up being the movie 'Apocalypse Now' wanted to be. It's set in a time and place that lend themselves to unreality. Toward the end of World War II the Germans are defeated yet continue on with their destructive fighting. A motley group of war-weary Americans comes upon a 10th century castle somewhere in the wintry countryside of France. Their commander (Burt Lancaster) stubbornly decides to fortify the ancient treasurehouse and put up resistance to the enemy rather than passing it by, risking the castle's destruction along with a millennium's worth of acquired art.

It's impossible to imagine this movie being made even five years before it was, but by 1969 the Vietnam War had done a number on a lot of people's thinking and provided some different perspectives. A brilliant job is done by director Sydney Pollack along with writers David Rayfiel and Daniel Taradash of adapting a novel by William Eastlake into this funny, horrifying and strangely beautiful film.

pretentious dreck

[rupie · 2/10 · 8 December 2010]

I ordered this from Daedalus books. What can go wrong with a flick with Burt Lancaster, Peter Falk and Patrick O'Neal, and directed by Sydney Pollock? Plenty, as it turns out. Rather than a straightforward war story we have here a highly symbolic and quasi-surreal flick with a script that is both pretentious and portentous, filled with "heavy" lines that are supposed to freighted with meaning. The writer evidently is a Becket or Pirandello wannabe. However most of it just falls completely flat. It is beautifully shot and gorgeous to look at but is basically a tiresome bore. Ignore all the encomia from users. Matter of fact, ignore the movie.

An eery semi realistic war movie set in fairy tale background

[wiseman188 · 19 September 2003]

Saw the movie yesterday. I liked the fact that there was noshow and glamour about the soldiers, they are dirty and tired, they actually look like a war is going on. The whole castle theme adds an interesting poetic dimension to the story. The characters are brilliantly developped, as there seems to be a personal quest to each and everyone of the squad, the yougster wants to go to the red queen, the local whorehouse etc... The count or baron and his wife are by far the trippiest characters, i didn t understand their story but they are some kind of magical couple in theire fairy tale castle. The wife Therese is mesmerizing as she is of outstanding beauty (Astrid Heelen). The combat sequences do not look fake, the tanks, and bazookas are cool. As I said it actually looks and sounds like war, with blood and explosions... It is a great movie for those of you who, like me, enjoy those artsy, semi fantastic retro movies with a beautifull female character.

Castle Keep

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 13 February 2023]

Jean-Pierre Aumont offers us the ultimate in hope over expectation in this wartime drama. He is the "Count" who offers shelter to "Maj. Falconer" (Burt Lancaster) and his battle-weary squad of soldiers in his beautiful 10th century castle. They set up some defensive positions knowing that these ancient battlements will be no match for the Nazi war machine that they are soon to be facing. Perhaps naively, the "Count" and the "Falconer" hope that they will decide against desecrating and/or decimating his ancestral home. Well, the writing is on the wall (or, more accurately, bits of it) but meantime the Major has an affair with the "Countess" and the assembled soldiers get up to all sorts of mischief before being called up to deal with their foe. Peter Falk stands out as the sergeant "Rossi" - who likes his bread, and Bruce Dern pops up too as "Lt. Bix" who seems to have found God - a bit late in the day, maybe? The whole thing is vaguely surreal as some of the platoon care about the artworks (like Paul Schofield in "The Train" - another Lancaster film from 1964) whilst others are very much living for the moment, but as the inevitability of it all sinks in it becomes rather a sad siege story that resembled the three little piggies and the wolf - in the straw version of their house. This is a curious film that I think would have worked better in black and white, somehow colour sanitises it just a bit too much - but it is worth watching.

A true artifact of it's time

[palmtree-3 · 7/10 · 28 February 2005]

If you lived in the late 1960's, it is not difficult to tell when this movie was made. Syndney Pollack was one of the "in" Directors of the time. The theme music is closer associated to the time the film was made than the period which is supposed to represent. For this reason, your willing suspense of disbelief never enters the 1940's. Instead the Director and Producers cater to their contemporary viewing audience. This may be because the film was release in 1969 when the Vietnam war was on its downward slope in the eyes of public opinion. A movie about WWII would have to be more "hip" to be a commercial success. And when we get down to it, movies are made to bring in a profit!

I Capture(d) (By) The Castle

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 19 March 2013]

Most of the components have been covered already as have most of the performances of note, dialogue excerpts, analyses etc. So what's left to say? It's a fine film, haunting, surreal, fey, a marron glace concealed within a turd, a symphony within a calypso, or, if you prefer, a film that defies description. The cast are not actors one would necessarily expect to see in an ensemble; Burt Lancaster cheek by jowl with Peter Falk and Patrick O'Neal is not as automatic as, say, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Doublas or James Cagney and Pat O'Brien although Lancaster had, of course, acted with Scott Wilson previously. None of the females had any kind of track record to the best of my knowledge and none is asked to carry any important scenes. Once seen ...

Don't Waste Your Time

[gjeffhall · 2/10 · 26 April 2005]

I watched this movie because I like Burt Lancaster and I like war movies. Mr. Lancaster brings his usual quiet, dead-pan, face the facts characterization to this project. It also contains the talents of Peter Falk and Bruce Dern. All do admirably well with the parts they are given to play. However, this was 1-3/4 hours of pointless drivel. I think the underlying theme may have been the pointlessness or insanity of war, but even that was done so poorly I wonder. This was more a slap-dash of scenes that could have been parts of a better movie. As the movie ended, I was left thinking, "What a waste" on multiple levels. The story was pointless, never went anywhere. It was a waste of good acting; it was a waste of potential; and a waste of my time.

Missed, but once seen.... never forgotten

[geoff.brown1 · 9/10 · 31 December 2000]

I was introduced to this film a few years after it's making. It was, as many previous reviewers have mentioned, a far from stereotypical portrayal of war! As one who was born immediately after the war, and subsequently raised on the real horror of that event, I was captivated by the lack of "Hollywood" in the production. I will always remember the scenes in the bakery. Whatever the horror of the immediate environment the need to survive and maintain our basic needs transcends the bestiality of the moment. The person that introduced me to the film had had some correspondence with the Director. He was reportedly bemused by his enthusiasm! I think he'd made a masterpiece?

Personally I would suggest that the 'subtlety' of it's observation of it's subject matter in the era of `The Green Beret' will make it a viewing `must' for followers of the genre for decades to come!

"I'll Keep an Eye Out for the Germans"

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 13 August 2018]

"Castle Keep" is a strange sort of movie. The first three quarters are spent for the most part within the walls of an old Belgian castle before the final action.

A group of eight rag tag soldiers going nowhere in particular, come upon an estate located in a strategic area, whereupon there is a large castle. The castle is owned by the Count of Maldorais (Jean Pierre Aumont). The motley crew includes three officers two sergeants, a corporal and two privates. Where they came from is unknown.

Leading the group is a one-eyed Major Falconer (Burt Lancaster) who wastes no time in bedding the castle's Mistress Therese (Astrid Heeren) who is by the way, the wife/niece of the Count. Also in the group are Art loving Capt. Beckman (Patrick O'Neal), Sgt. Rossi, a baker (Peter Falk) who moves in with the local town baker's wife, Cpl. Clearboy (Scott Wilson) who falls in love with a Volkswagen, young Lt. Amberjack (Tony Bill), Sgt. Devaca (Michael Conrad), Pvt. Elk, an Indian (James Patterson) and Pvt. Benjamin (Al Freeman Jr.) an aspiring author who narrates the story.

Count Maldorais manages to convince the group to defend his castle and its treasures against an expected German attack. For most of the first three quarters of the movie, the men enjoy the luxuries of their environment even to the point of going to town to visit the ladies of "La Reine Rouge". In town, the men encounter a group of burnt out veterans led by Lt. Billy Bix (Bruce Dern) who see themselves as conscious objectors.

Major Falconer, in one of the most bizarre sequences, rides into town on a white horse to recruit retreating soldiers to help him defend the castle. He sees that they are shell-shocked and recruits Bix and his followers to lead the group to the castle, at which point all but Falconer are blown to smithereens.

So that leaves the original eight alone to defend against the advancing Germans. Falconer will defend at all costs including the destruction of the castle, Beckman wants to fall back and thus protect the castle. What ensues is a "Wild Bunch"/"Alamo" type of battle with the predictable results.

The final battle is well done but we have to wait through all of the nonsense preceding it before there's any action. Director Sydney Pollock, whom I admire, has done much better work.

You can keep this movie.

[hitchcockthelegend · 3/10 · 19 December 2013]

Castle Keep, directed by Sydney Pollack and adapted to screenplay by Daniel Taradash and David Rayfiel from the novel written by William Eastlake. Starring Burt Lancaster, Bruce Dern, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Peter Falk. Music is by Michel Legrand and cinematography by Henri Decae.

Ambitious for sure, intriguing even, but ultimately a misfiring piece of pretentious tosh! An endgame allegory that finds Lancaster in WWII leading the defence of a medieval castle and its art collection against the German hordes. The action when it comes is savage and colourful, and Lancaster's one eyed Major is good fun, it's just everything else is masquerading as a near hallucinogenic anti-war movie mixed with euro pontifications. There's some war is hell messages in the mix desperately trying to get out, either as satire or serious (it's really hard to tell), but this is ultimately faux-art and painful to sit through until the explosions mercifully grace the last quarter of picture. 3/10

Just sitting back, until the war comes around.

[lost-in-limbo · 10/10 · 12 August 2007]

Travelling through Ardennes forest, American Major Falconer leads his small rag-tag platoon to the medieval castle that belongs to the Count of Maldorais, so they can use it as a stronghold against the German soldiers. Waiting for this possible strike, they go about amusing themselves by relaxing or taking in the sights. The Major is bedding the Counts wife, Captain Beckman studying and admiring the count's artwork, Sergeant Rossi living his dream of having wife, child and baking. Private Benjamin storming up ideas of a possible novel, while Corporal Clearboy falls head over heels for a Volkswagen. But their lifestyles are shattered when finally the Germans advanced through the forest and upon the castle.

You want a very offbeat and ambitious war drama; look no further then Sidney Pollacks' dreamlike majestic oddity "Castle Keep". However it tends to be one of those cult films you'll love or be totally put off by its artsy approach. I'm the former. I was totally spellbound by its quirky, bleak and theatrical sense of style interwoven within its lyrically verbose script and moody, self-conscious characters. Adapted from William Eastlake's novel, this is pretty much a calm conversational piece that likes to philosophically reflect on itself with a haunting and decisive charge, before it changes pace (and somewhat direction) to actually lead up to a loud, chaotic, brutal and taut action climax in the dying stages of the film.

Pollacks' smooth n' breezy execution leads the way to a slow plodding pace, where it's a clash of personalities and a lot little trivia set in motion. War is pointless and simply made up of absurdity, and that's how Daniel Taradash and David Rayfiel's thoughtfully satiric screenplay lets the story unfold, because honestly it treads water and doesn't sway far from its base work. Seeping off it are random, unexpected sub-plots (like fairy-tale strokes) with Private Benjamin's crisp narration (which it's his story were watching) seem to have a metaphysical current. The rich humour within is uniquely pulled-off, by holding an uncanny, absurd and odd feel. Beautifully crafted and ultra-stylish with many bold and surreal flourishes. One of those few includes the sequence in the rose garden and the wonderfully amusing set-up of the Volkswagen. It was like looking at a painting, just admiring the art in front of you. Then move onto the next frame for another poetic image. But the life is sapped out of it, with more so a deadpan quality making its way into Pollacks' slick direction.

Henri Decae's fluidly illustrative cinematography was picture-perfect with atmospheric lighting, and Michel Legrand's harmoniously spiralling and intrusively baroque music score only adds to its disorienting make-up and cooks up a tuneful awe. Streaming through it was a bold, psychedelic edge due to the times. The beautifully lush backdrop of the wilderness, and grand appearance of the extravagant castle are vibrantly captured to provide another hypnotic dimension to the well-looking production. The performances are astounding. Burt Lancaster's stoically dominating portrayal, with a smart slight tongue is excellently delivered and Peter Falk's no-nonsense, grounded to reality performance is superb as the baker at heart Sergeant Rossi. Don't you just love the smell of fresh bread. Patrick O'Neal is credibly solid as the toey, art-loving Captain Beckham, and Jean-Pierre Aumont as the sly Count of Maldorais. Astrid Heeren is seductively silky as the count's wife/niece Therese. The rest of the support Scott Wilson, Tony Bill, James Patterson, Al Freeman Jr. and Michael Conrad were exceptionally good. Also Bruce Dern is a delight to watch as the fruity, preaching American deserter who has taken up on god's side, as he tries to convince others to do so.

Uneven, but still a one-of-a-kind experience. Almost just like a dream.

A Castle Keep to keep?

[simonprince-63266 · 7/10 · 8 July 2020]

I haven't seen this film for many years and I have been wanting to see it again as I couldn't understand it the first time round? Does this film have a hidden sub plot or like MASH, references to the Vietnam War? I didn't understand it first time round. And I still don't understand it? Like another commentator stated. It's not really a film but a collection of art pictures! If anyone does understand this film then please let me know?

Beyond the Realm of Believability

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 12 July 2013]

During World War II a small squad of 8 American soldiers led by "Major Abraham Falconer" (Burt Lancaster) relocate to a castle in Belgium. They rest there for a while but then find themselves in the direct path of the advancing German army during the famous counter-offensive known as the "Battle of the Bulge". Rather than retreat and rejoin the main American army, Major Falconer decides to make a stand with his few men within the castle. Now, obviously the entire idea is ridiculous. But the director (Sydney Pollack) was trying to make a point about the insanity of war. The end result is a film that tries to be artistic and stylish for its time but, in my opinion, goes beyond the realm of believability. I say that because some of the scenarios are too far-fetched to be believed. For example, at one point a handful of prostitutes totally destroy a German tank with a few small Molotov cocktails. If that doesn't strain reality to the breaking point, then another scenario a few minutes later features two American soldiers completely capturing another tank by firing a bazooka at it. Never mind that a bazooka round would simply bounce off of the tank. Apparently the "message" was too important to be bothered by any sense of realism. Unfortunately, it gets even crazier when they decide to defend the castle. Only in Hollywood. Be that as it may, Burt Lancaster put on a decent performance and Astrid Heeren (as "Therese") was absolutely gorgeous. But other than that, I found it difficult to get past the absurdity of it all.

A Great Little Movie

[deetya · 2 July 2010]

my father rented this movie when I was 7. I couldn't understand this weird movie, and only enjoyed the battle scenes.

Seeing it again after I became more mature ;-), I was hit by the quirky, black-humor, sardonic, sarcastic nature of it all. This movie is the best antidote for those Chuck Norris-type of movies :-)

Burt Lancaster is brilliant as the straight-arrow Maj. Falconer, stubbornly insisting on holding back the German advance. Like all stone-headed commander, he insists that he is right on everything, even when he is not. Patrick O'Neal as Beckman, who sees himself as a civilized person, tries his best to infuse the men with some culture and steer his CO to a more civilized course of action, but of course good ol' Falconer insist on seeing things in black and white.

The rest of the men, war weary to the bone, fall back to "fighting their own private wars" to paraphrase Falconer. For example, Peter Falk plays Rossi, the baker-soldier, obsessed with bread; baking it, eating it, having wine to eat with it, sleeping with the baker's wife, etc. Wilson plays the soldier who falls in love with an *ahem* Another soldier played by Tony Bill focuses on his music, helped by none other by a German, who, of course, was shot to death by a fellow G.I. And who can forget Bruce Dern, in his best "loony" role yet.

The Count and his young wife provided the foundation for all this non-standard war time atmosphere.

The battle scenes are also excellent. Watching them, you wouldn't think that this is a thinking film, and not just some brainless action movie.