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Movies / On DVD / On the Beach
On the Beach

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On the Beach (1959)

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Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:13

Rotten:5

Average Rating:6.4/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 19 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: After the entire Northern Hemisphere is destroyed by a nuclear war, a group of survivors in Australia prepare for their own inevitable demise. As a deadly cloud of radiation creeps toward the... After the entire Northern Hemisphere is destroyed by a nuclear war, a group of survivors in Australia prepare for their own inevitable demise. As a deadly cloud of radiation creeps toward the continent, some survivors cling to hopes that life as they know it has continued somewhere, hopes that are fed by the discovery of a mysterious, erratic radio signal emanating from San Diego. Others, such as Astaire's sardonic, race-car driving physicist and Gardner's world-weary, tippling party girl, throw their energies into squeezing the last drops from their lives. A grim, unflinching clarion call for sanity that inches along at a maddeningly deliberate and suspenseful pace. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute. Academy Award Nominations: 2, Best Editing (Frederic Knudtson) and Best Score (Ernest Gold). [More]

Starring: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins

Starring: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Lola Brooks, John Meillon, Lou Vernon, Ken Wayne, Richard Meikle, Harp McGuire, Jim Barrett, Basil Buller Murphy, Keith Eden, Guy Doleman, Grant Taylor, John Royle, Frank Gatliff

Director: Stanley Kramer

Director: Stanley Kramer
Screenwriter: John Paxton, Jim Barrett
Producer: Stanley Kramer
Composer: Ernest Gold

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 29, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for On the Beach

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1 - 19 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gloomy doomsday film that is more talky, melodramatic and numbing than imaginative.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/06/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A wasted opportunity.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/07/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A powerful, well-acted, deftly photographed film.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/07/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A tiresome, talky 1959 film.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
11/07/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
01/19/07
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

While heartbreaking and touching, it's hard to imagine that riots aren't rampant and that martial law isn't required, but hey, it's a movie, and quite a good -- if overlong -- one, at that.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/26/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Fine photography, but the script is a typically numbing affair, and the cast, aside from Peck and Meillon, seem totally out of their depth.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
08/30/05
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Kramer's apocalyptic drama is too verbose, replete with "message" speeches, but the text is intelligent, reflecting the Cold War mentality, and well-acted by Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire (in his first nonmusical role) and Anthony Perkins.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/07/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

As scary a horror film as any you will find.

comment Comment
03/31/05
Rory L. Aronsky
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat

A nuclear war what-if starring some heavy hitters.

comment Comment
10/16/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

O cenário apocalíptico continua assustador, mas o tom inadequadamente leve de algumas cenas e a péssima trilha sonora (indicada ao Oscar!) comprometem o resultado final.

comment Comment
01/13/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
09/05/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Typically overlong Kramer film, but still with some power.

comment Comment
09/04/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The great merit of this picture, aside from its entertaining qualities, is the fact that it carries a passionate conviction that man is worth saving, after all.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the most powerful anti-war films ever made.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Downbeat, depressing.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/01/00
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page
 
 
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