Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Night of the Generals Blu-ray Movie Review

The (bumpy) ride of the Valkyries.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 16, 2015

Well, ya can’t win ‘em all. One of the trailers included on this new Blu-ray presentation of The Night of the Generals touts producer Sam Spiegel’s vaunted string of iconic films through the years, a string which includes such classic titles as The African Queen, On the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia would have been looming large in any case with The Night of the Generals, due not only to the fact that in 1967 when Generals was released Lawrence was the most recent Spiegel entry mentioned in the marketing campaign, but more importantly due to the fact that The Night of the Generals putatively reunited Lawrence of Arabia’s star duo of Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif. (Tom Courtenay, an alumnus of David Lean’s follow up to Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, is also on hand, further linking this film, albeit subliminally, with Lean’s oeuvre.) Unfortunately The Night of the Generals lacked not just David Lean’s finesse, but the literary genius of screenwriter Robert Bolt. With a screenplay by Joseph Kessel and Paul Dehn, culled from a brief snippet of a 1962 novel by Hans Hellmut Kirst, and with direction by the workmanlike if uninspired Anatole Litvak (Anastasia), The Night of the Generals is a patently odd combination of police procedural and wartime conspiracy thriller, one featuring the rare sight of Peter O’Toole overacting to such a degree that some may find the film downright comical at times.

Any film theory teacher worth his or her salt will tell you traditional film technique utilizes optical dissolves in order to delineate the passage of time. That’s why “hard cuts” in films by masters like Luis Bunuel which do indicate the passage of time can sometimes be so disconcerting. The Night of the Generals ping pongs back and forth between a 1940s narrative and a “current day” (meaning mid- sixties) unfolding of events where Litvak rather unexpectedly uses whip pans to segue from timeframe to timeframe. This approach, coupled with some patently odd cues by Maurice Jarre (more about him later, so Jarre fans should be working up their umbrage right now), leads to a somewhat choppy feel at times as what amounts to a murder mystery is unspooled. The film opens in the 1940s with the murder of a Polish prostitute who also happens to be an undercover German agent (there must have been a lot of those, don’t you think?). A frightened witness tells investigating officer Major Grau (Omar Sharif, looking kind of wan throughout this film) that while he couldn’t see the killer’s face, he was able to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator’s outfit, which clearly identified him as a German general.

Grau quickly uncovers the fact that three German generals do not have an alibi for the night of the murder. That trio is comprised of General Tanz (Peter O’Toole), General Kahlenberge (Donald Pleasance) and General von Seydlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray). Tanz has just arrived in Warsaw, but he’s already caught the attention of Mrs. von Seydlitz-Gabler (Coral Browne), who feels the Aryan archetype would make the perfect husband for her daughter Ulrike (Joanna Pettet). It’s relatively obvious from the get go that Tanz has absolutely no interest in this proposed romance, but unlike in Lawrence of Arabia, where Bolt and Lean were able to brilliantly elide Lawrence’s sexual ambiguity, The Night of the Generals first hints at and then outright depicts a psychological breach in the character which leaves O’Toole dependent upon some frankly silly performance choices like a stilting, almost comical, gait and a twitchy upper lip.

A couple of contemporary interstitial scenes detail the fact that Grau’s murder investigation was evidently never satisfactorily resolved during World War II, and a cohort of Grau’s, a French Inspector named Morand (Philippe Noiret), is still on the case. The wartime scenario restarts in Paris, at which point some whispered subterfuges between Kahlenberge and von Seydlitz-Gabler are in fact revealed to be part of the plot to assassinate Hitler (as depicted in Valkyrie). In the meantime, beautiful young Ulrike has taken up with Lance Corporal Hartmann (Tom Courtenay), a grunt who just wants out of the conflict but who finds himself bound to Tanz as an appointed caretaker slash chauffeur once Tanz arrives in the City of Lights. All of these various plot strands finally dovetail at around the hour and a half mark of this probably overlong film (well over two hours).

And in fact from about the 90 minute mark on, The Night of the Generals finally starts delivering on some of its interminable setup. A showdown scene between Tanz and Hartmann is a highlight, one where O’Toole’s tics are finally organically integrated into a believable feeling character. Grau’s tenacious poking and prodding seems to finally be paying benefits as well, but it runs headlong into the Valkyrie uprising. A florid denouement (in “current” times) offers an almost hilariously over the top (literally in fact) final shot of O’Toole that at least disproves that oft-quoted adage that old generals don’t die, they simply fade away.

The Night of the Generals finally works up a fair degree of tension, but it’s often ham handed along the way. Litvak’s direction is workmanlike but never inspired, but he does get nice performances from the large supporting cast (it bears mentioning that this is a film where Donald Pleasance is one of the more reserved performers). Undercutting the film’s impact, though, is a distracting and inartful score by Maurice Jarre (time for that aforementioned umbrage). I’ve gone on record previously stating that I often find Jarre’s scores peculiarly ill matched to their films, even if his melodic grandeur with his iconic themes for Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago is undeniable. Here, Jarre seems to be wanting to create something akin to a Mahler Ländler (albeit at times in 4/4), but his efforts only draw attention to themselves and away from the drama unfolding on screen. The best scores are subliminal affairs, supporting the action without becoming a focal point. Unfortunately The Night of the Generals at times turns out to be a death match between O’Toole’s hyperbolic displays and Jarre’s jarring music.

The Night of the Generals Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Night of the Generals is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Reportedly sourced off a new 4K scan and restoration supervised by Sony-Columbia's Grover Crisp, this is another transfer that I'd personally characterize as a solid triple if not an outright home run, much along the lines of the recent Blu-ray release of A Man for All Seasons. Elements are in excellent condition (or have been restored to appear so), and the film retains a really beautifully organic quality throughout the presentation, with a nicely resolved fine grain field. Sharpness and clarity are generally very commendable, though a couple of scenes (like the first romantic interlude with Hartmann and Ulrike) look at least relatively soft. The color timing here is my one (minor) qualm. Things just look slightly gray-blue a lot of the time, something that can push reds slightly toward the purple end of the spectrum and which gives flesh tones a kind of ashen pall.

The Night of the Generals Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Night of the Generals features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which presents the film's dialogue, effects (including a few bombastic war scenes) and Jarre's score with excellent fidelity if an obviously narrow soundstage (the uptick in amplitude and general forcefulness in the isolated score track is quite noticeable). Prioritization is first rate, and there are no issues of any kind afflicting this problem free track.

The Night of the Generals Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 4:03)


• Teaser (1080p; 1:26)


• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

The Night of the Generals Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've known some big fans of The Night of the Generals, many of whom I'm sure would insist I'm out of my mind for even deigning to question O'Toole's acting choices, Litvak's directorial acumen and/or Jarre's ability to effectively score a scene. To which I respond: get in line. At around the 90 minute mark, The Night of the Generals really clicks into high gear and starts delivering on a somewhat ponderous set up. Still, O'Toole has a rare bout of inglorious overacting (at least at times), and it's a bit of a stretch knitting together the murder "mystery" (not that it's much of a mystery, mind you) and the nefarious Valkyrie plot. Those with a bit of patience will find enough here to enjoy, and with excellent technical merits, The Night of the Generals comes Recommended.