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The director
Philip Noyce was born in the Australian outback in 1950. He has directed a series of well-known films, including Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Bone Collector and Rabbit-Proof Fence. The latter, based on a true story of three aboriginal girls abducted from their ... Read review
An impressive film from director Philip Noyce,The Quiet Americanproves that elegant and ... more
intelligent film-making can be emotionally powerful. Michael Caine plays Thomas Fowler, a British journalist in 1950s Vietnam with a lovely Vietnamese mistress name...
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An impressive film from director Philip Noyce,The Quiet Americanproves that elegant and ... more
intelligent film-making can be emotionally powerful. Michael Caine plays Thomas Fowler, a British journalist in 1950s Vietnam with a lovely Vietnamese mistress name...
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The acclaimed performances of Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Bedazzled) and two-time Academy ... more
Award winner Michael Caine (Best Supporting Actor, The Cider house Rules, 1999, Hannah and her sisters, 1986) power a stylish political thriller where love and war...
The quiet American is set in the early 1950's in Vietnam during the end of the first ... more
Indochina war. It tells the story of a young American idealist Alden Pyle (Audie Murphy) who comes to Saigon and meets British journalist Thomas Fowler (Michael Regrave) and becomes involved with the 'Third Force' to bring an end to the war between the French and Communist forces.
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Advantages: Good acting from Michael Caine Disadvantages: Slow-moving
...it was much better than the press it received. I was also interested in the setting for the film, 1950s Saigon, and the expatriate life that Caine portrays. I was slightly disappointed with the film - it was beautifully filmed and Caine does a superb job, but I felt he was let down by the other actors and the various threads of the storyline, which seemed to be cut short.
The director
Philip Noyce was born in the Australian ... ...Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Bone Collector and Rabbit-Proof Fence. The latter, based on a true story of three aboriginal girls abducted from their homes as part of Australian official policy, has won much recognition.
The story
Thomas Fowler is a journalist in 1950s Vietnam, where he combines having a young and beautiful mistress, Phuong, with doing as little work as possible. Threatened by his bosses in London, he ... more
Introduction Based on a book by Graham Greene, this is a film that I've been meaning to see for a while, so was delighted when I finally got hold of a copy. It didn't make a huge splash when it came out, but reviews I read made out that it was much better than the press it received. I was also interested in the setting for the film, 1950s Saigon, and the expatriate life that Caine portrays. I was slightly disappointed with the film - it was beautifully filmed and Caine does a superb job, but I felt he was let down by the other actors and the various threads of the storyline, which seemed to be cut short.
The director Philip Noyce was born in the Australian outback in 1950. He has directed a series of well-known films, including Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Bone Collector and Rabbit-Proof Fence. The latter, based on a true story of three aboriginal girls abducted from their homes as part of Australian official policy, has won much recognition.
The story Thomas Fowler is a journalist in 1950s Vietnam, where he combines having a young and beautiful mistress, Phuong, with doing as little work as possible. Threatened by his bosses in London, he starts to make a foray into a deeper understanding of Vietnamese politics by going to the most war-torn area of Vietnam at the time. Around the same time, he meets an American journalist, Alden Pyle, who saves Fowler's life at one point.
The two men become quite close, until Fowler realises that Pyle is in love with Phuong. Eventually, Phuong realises that Fowler will never be able to divorce his Catholic wife back in the UK, and leaves him to set up home with Pyle. Then one day, Fowler realises that Pyle is not who he claims to be. Further investigation makes him realise the danger of Pyle's real job and his threat to Phuong.
The actors Michael Caine is really good as Thomas Fowler. His character develops throughout the film, as we realise that he is not quite as lazy as we first thought. His relationship with Alden Pyle is well portrayed, as is the jealously that he feels when he realises that he has lost Phuong. His relationship with Phuong is less easy to understand. He seems to be in love with her, but it is clear that she is with him because he saved her from a career as a dancer/prostitute and not because she really loves him. She desperately wants the stability of marriage to a foreigner so that she can live well. Yet Fowler doesn't seem to realise this - or at least if he does, he ignores it. Michael Caine was nominated for an Oscar for this role - he didn't get it, but he definitely deserved it. One of his best performances for a long time.
Phuong, played by Do Thai Hai Yen, is certainly beautiful and she looks great on the camera. I didn't feel that her character developed very far though - this is possibly the director's fault - but she seemed to be there to provide eye candy and little else. I was disappointed.
Brendan Fraser as Alden Pyle was also slightly disappointing. I didn't expect too much from him having seen him in The Mummy and although he did an adequate job, I didn't feel any real passion from him - his apparent love for Phuong just didn't come over as being very realistic.
Conclusion The highlight for me was Michael Caine's acting and for this alone, it is worth seeing this film. The other actors are superfluous and do little more than an okay job. The cinematography is also good and I really enjoyed seeing what 1950s Saigon was supposed to look like. The storyline did let the film down though. It was quite slow to begin with and didn't really grip me, then when it did begin to speed up and get interesting, the film suddenly seemed to end without really finishing off the story and I felt I was left hanging. I haven't read the book, although I understand that the film is closely based on the book, but either Graham Greene didn't write as well as he usually does, or it was just not translated over onto the screen. Recommended because of Caine, but don't expect too much from the other actors.
The DVD is available from Amazon for £5.97 or cheaper if you look in the used and new section.
Advantages: Excellent film with wonderful perfomances Disadvantages: may require some background knowledge of the Indochinese war
...her own Political Agenda. In the post 9/11 Bush run country, the Acadamy was never going to praise this film to the levels to which I feel it deserves, indeed just giving a Nomination to Sir Michael Caine as Best Actor was fairly remarkable.
For those who aren't aware, the Quiet American is a film based on a novel by Graham Greene. Michael Caine plays Thomas Fowler, a late middle-aged journalist for The Times, who is covering the final stages of ... ...take over and the French, tired from a decade of war in indochina, almost seem not to care. Fowler lives with a beautiful young vietnamese woman, Phuong, in Hanoi. While he loves Phuong, he is not able to marry her as he already has a wife back in England, who, being catholic, will not grant him a divorce.
He meets a young American, Alden Pyle (played by Brendan Fraser). Foweler takes a shine to Pyle as unlike most americans, he is not brash and ...
MrWeeble 01.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Quiet American (DVD)
Advantages: read my opinion Disadvantages: read my opinion
Based on the Graham Green novel of the same name, this is a story of a love triangle set in the period leading up to the involvement of the USA in the Vietnam War. The love triangle is between a veteran British journalist (Michael Caine), a young naive American (Brendan Fraser), and Caine's Vietnamese mistress. This is a poweful story of love and betrayal in the 1950s and is easily one of the best adaptations of a Graham Green novel. It is also distinctive ... ...the flag wavers that it produced. This was reflected by the fact that the movie was not a commercial success, but has been strong in the VHS and DVD area. The movie features strong performances by Caine and Fraser, Caine was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for his role in this film. However it is not only the spectatcular acting which one should concentrate on, but also the lavish scenery and wonderful soundtrack, which are a fitting accompaniment ...
mr_christa 03.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Quiet American (DVD)
Advantages: Beautiful, Enlightening, Lovely Disadvantages: Slow and not for action freaks
The quiet American tells the story of the final years of the French rule of Vietnam and the rise of American influence at the same time. The story is told from the point of view of an ageing Times correspondent (Michael Cane) and a young American aid worker (Brendan Frasier) who both fall in love with the same woman who cane wishes to marry but his wife, with whom he is separated refuses to grant him a divorce as she is Catholic. Frasier's appearance ... ...To see this side of the story of Vietnam is particular interesting and if you have an interest in history you will find this very rewarding. You are able to watch as power shifts and the Americans help this by secretly supporting a new faction in the hope it'll bring stability to the country
Don't expect it to be action packed though, don't get me wrong there are a number of well shot action sequences but they merely form a background to the story ...
JCoquillon 09.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Quiet American (DVD)
Based on the novel by Graham Greene, this story of love and war is set in Saigon, 1952. Thomas Fowler, a journalist for the Times enjoys his life in Vietnam living with a beautiful local woman called Phuong. Fowler's peace is shattered with the arrival of Alden Pyle, a doctor who also falls in love with Phuong...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
08/09/2003
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
BED 888834
Barcode
5017188888349
Screenwriter
Christopher Hampton, Graham Greene, Robert Schenkkan
Audio Commentary - 1. Phillip Noyce - Director, Featurette - 1. ANATOMY OF A SCENE, 2. BEHIND THE SCENES, Vietnam Study Guide, Book Reviews
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Superbly controlled, passionate....Caine makes his towering performance look casual..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.76, 29/11/2002)
"...An elegant film, elegantly shot by Chris Doyle....Noyce restores and sharpens the political outlines of the period..." (Film Comment, p.74-6, 01/01/2003)
"...Caine gives the kind of seemingly effortless performance it needs an entire career to prepare for....Caine's performance is intricate without seeming to be, a nuanced marvel of the actor's craft..." (Los Angeles Times, p.C8, 22/11/2002)
"...Fowler may be the richest character of Mr. Caine's screen career....This great English actor gives a performance of astonishing understatement whose tone wavers delicately between irony and sadness..." (New York Times, p.E14, 22/11/2002)
"...THE QUIET AMERICAN is a towering achievement with a soul-baring performance by Michael Caine....Caine has never been better..." (Rolling Stone, p.106, 12/12/2002)
"...There are compelling performances....Caine brings a touching sense of vulnerability..." (Sight and Sound, p.58, 01/12/2002)
"...This is intelligent grown-up entertainment on both a political and a humanistic level..." (USA Today, p.5E, 22/11/2002)
DVD Description
Set in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1952 during the French Indochina war, THE QUIET AMERICAN is based on the mystery story by Graham Greene, and directed by Phillip Noyce. A middle-aged British reporter for the London Times, Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine), has been working in Vietnam, covering politics and enjoying the local culture. He lives with a beautiful young woman, Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), a taxi dancer who he rescued from that undesirable profession. He cannot marry her, because he is already married to a Catholic woman in London who does not believe in divorce. But he truly loves her. When a young American doctor, Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), falls in love with Phuong, threatening to take her from Fowler, everything changes. Not only is Fowler's romantic life put in danger, but he begins to uncover disturbing information about the U.S.'s involvement in the war. An intriguing and atmospheric love story as well as a riveting mystery, THE QUIET AMERICAN features top-notch performances from Caine and Fraser, who maintain an eager intensity throughout the film. Combining the mysterious beauty of Saigon with the strangeness of the war, the film is suspenseful and effective.
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