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Reviewed by Steve Rogers
Film:	B
Video Quality:	B
Audio Quality:	C-
Special Features:	C-
DVD Review:	B-

It's hard to imagine a war movie being made today labeled fun or exciting, but when Von Ryan's Express was released in 1965 it fit that bill perfectly. As is made evident in the commentaries on Fox's new Cinema Classics edition of this Frank Sinatra WWII classic, many war movies of that era filled the same need for movie fans four decades ago that the Indiana Jones and Star Wars flicks do for today's movie fans: offering up fast-paced, action-packed adventure, with no real trouble telling the good guys from the bad.

Sinatra stars here as Colonel Joseph Ryan, an American flyer downed behind enemy lines in Italy and interned in an Italian POW camp. Italy soon surrenders and the Allied prisoners flee the camp only to be recaptured by the Germans and herded onto a cargo train of boxcars bound for the Fatherland. But Ryan miraculously engineers a takeover of the moving train and, aided by a solid supporting cast (including the redoubtable Trevor Howard as a contrary but loyal English officer), attempts to maneuver the commandeering crew through a series of potentially disastrous obstacles as they race for Switzerland and freedom.

Von Ryan eventually became a huge hit for 20th Century Fox at a time when they desperately needed one, and while it was Sinatra's show all the way, the true star of the movie was of course that hijacked train, barreling its way north through Italy with a hoard of Nazis in pursuit. The script is taut, the pacing brisk and the action a poppin' as the train and the movie pick up steam and head for the memorable finale atop a Swiss mountainside. Corny and a bit hackneyed? Probably. Dull and lifeless? Not a chance.

Video Quality

The Cinema Classics edition boasts an excellent transfer with vivid reproduction of the colorful landscapes and generally fine image detail. There were however some noticeable artifacts in the picture along with some minor grain, primarily in the opening scenes, but overall the CinemaScope image looked striking in the disc's widescreen format.

Audio Quality

The disc offers two audio options, Dolby mono or 2-channel stereo. While neither was really going to enhance the film, the stereo track was of course preferable. There was very little in the way of separation effects across the front, but the fuller quality of the stereo version rendered the skimpy mono track all but useless.

Special Features

The special features for a two-disc edition like this were scant at best, but what they lacked in quantity was partially compensated for by backstory info contained in some of the commentary. The isolated score track available here and two of the brief featurettes focus primarily on composer Jerry Goldsmith, and while noteworthy and informative, don't really provide an in-depth look at the legacy of the film. The other featurettes, "Reliving the Adventure of Von Ryan's Express" and "Hollywood's And Its War Films" were perfunctory, but did contain interesting anecdotes about Sinatra's behavior and role during the film's production. Of course everyone takes a shot at the Chairman for being the egocentric boor that he tended to be on film sets. But there's a telling factoid that notes it was Sinatra who vetoed the film's original ending (which honed closer to David Westheimer's novel, but would have seriously diluted the film's impact). Sinatra insisted on using the superior and much more dramatic ending that was eventually used. There are also trailers, TV spots, a stills gallery and lobby cards.

Summary

Von Ryan's Express is a rousing tale of wartime exploits that hooks you from the opening shot of Frank Sinatra swigging wine with sympathetic Italian soldiers and doesn't let go for the rest of the film. Fox's Cinema Classics version of this Sixties classic is a mixed bag though. The movie has never looked better with an almost flawless transfer, but a punched up audio surround track would have really added some gusto to the proceedings. The special features are too paltry to justify a two-disc edition, topping out at less than 45 minutes on Disc 2. Here's hoping that Fox will dig a little deeper into the archives for special feature material on upcoming re-releases of classic films.