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Castle Keep is a american film of genre Drama directed by Sydney Pollack released in USA on 23 july 1969 with Burt Lancaster

Castle Keep (1969)

Castle Keep
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Released in USA 23 july 1969
Length 1h45
Directed by
OriginUSA
Genres Drama,    War,    Comedy,    Action,    Historical,    Romance
Rating60% 3.046693.046693.046693.046693.04669

Castle Keep is a "firmly pro- and anti-war" 1969 American war film combining surrealism with tragic realism. It was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk. The movie appeared in the summer of 1969, a few months before the arrival of Pollack's smash hit They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.

The film is based on a novel by William Eastlake published in 1965. Eastlake enlisted in the US Army in 1942. He served in the Infantry for four and a half years, and was wounded while leading a platoon during the Battle of the Bulge.

Synopsis

The film opens with long, beautiful shots of ancient European art and sculptures being blown to pieces amidst the sounds of war and dissonant screams; a lone narrator begins his tale of "eight American soldiers" as the scene abruptly flashes back to a few weeks beforehand. Prior to the Battle of the Bulge, a ragtag squad of American soldiers (strongly implied to be some sort of convalescent or disciplinary outfit), led by one-eyed Major Falconer (Burt Lancaster) and including Sgt. Rossi (Peter Falk), art expert Captain Beckman (Patrick O'Neal), and the highly intelligent narrator and sole African- American, Pvt. Allistair Benjamin (Al Freeman, Jr.), takes shelter in an ancient Belgian castle, the Maldorais, containing many priceless and irreplaceable art treasures. Although Falconer begins an affair with the young and beautiful Countess, he is surprised to find the Count (Jean-Pierre Aumont) encouraging him; in fact, the impotent nobleman hopes the Major will impregnate the Countess so that his line may continue. Meanwhile, Beckman begins to butt heads with Falconer over both the value of the art (in the context of either saving or destroying it in the event of a German assault) as well as Beckman's own unrequited attraction to the Countess, who seems to symbolize the beauty and majesty of the European art he studied before the war. The enlisted men seek their own pleasures in the brothel of the nearby town, the psychedelic "Red Queen" run by a mystical madam, whilst Beckman marvels at the castle's artworks, many of which are stored beneath the castle for safekeeping. Sgt. Rossi, a baker before the war, falls in love with a baker's widow and decides to go AWOL, resuming his pre-war life; another soldier falls in love with a Volkswagen Beetle; his affection for the foreign vehicle borders on paraphilia and becomes a long running and anachronistic gag throughout the entire movie.

Actors

Burt Lancaster

(Maj. Abraham Falconer)
Bruce Dern

(Lt. Billy Byron Bix)
Patrick O'Neal

(Capt. Lionel Beckman)
Jean-Pierre Aumont

(The Count of Maldorais)
Peter Falk

(Sgt. Rossi)
Trailer of Castle Keep

Bluray, DVD

Streaming / VOD

Source : Wikidata

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