Aug 10, 2016akirakato rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a 1966 American war drama directed by Robert Wise, loosely based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Richard McKenna.
It tells the story of Jake Holman (played by Steve McQueen), who is an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist's mate, first class aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China.
It also depicts the era's racism and colonialism on a small scale, through the sailors' relations with the coolies who run their gunboat and the bargirls who serve them off-duty, as well as on a large scale, with the West's gunboat diplomacy domination of China.
Marayat Andriane (later known as a writer of erotic fiction "Emmanuelle" under the nom de plume Emmanuelle Arsan) plays Maily, a Shanghai-bargirl who becomes the wife of Frenchy (played by Richard Attenborough).
After more than 40 years, 20th Century Fox found 14 minutes of footage that had been cut from the film's initial roadshow version shown at New York's Rivoli Theater.
This DVD has this restored version.
The sequences are spread throughout the film and add texture to the story, though they do not alter it in any significant way.
Although it is a long film, it interests you with action-packed exotica and some historical events.
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