Counterpoint [DVD]

I feel this is a rare film to be found amongst the many projects which Mr. Heston undertook. Perhaps not a Ben-Hur or an El Cid, and rather a role which one feels is out of character for our normally larger than life hero. However, and in spite of some critic comments on his performance as the conductor of an orchestra (I have been involved with amateur dramatics and operatics throughout my life), I found his conducting to be rather sympathetic to the players rather than the opposite, so his time spent with professional conductors in preparation for his role paid off in my humble opinion.

Added a lesser known film to my collection of Charlton Heston movies

This was a very good film. Thank You, David

Pleased to be able to get this old and for many much loved film. Good quality DVD of an old film.

Not your typical Charlton Heston film with the actor playing larger than life characters, Counterpoint is a fascinating foray into WW2 drama with Heston well cast as a conductor captured by the Nazis and forced to put on a concert for his captor superbly played by Maximilian Schell. Although not a typical action thriller, the film adds a level of dramatic tension to keep the average viewer interested throughout the film. Supporting cast is excellent and the script by Jim Lee, absorbing. Heston admitted that unlike chariot racing, fresco painting, jousting, or fencing, conducting was the toughest thing he ever had to learn. The actor, although a fan of classical music music admittedly could not read music, but spent over two months, 8 hours a day, with California conductor, Leo Damiani, preparing for the role. While not a great film, Counterpoint was overshadowed by Heston's critically acclaimed western, Will Penny, shot the following year. Heston fans will ultimately want to add this DVD to their collection; remastering is adequate and the sound quality enhanced, while the casual viewer will enjoy a stimulating and unconventional WW2 drama.

1

With a pitch that sounds like an especially absurd Geraldo Rivera show - American symphony orchestra captured by Nazis in medieval castle and forced to give Wagner concert! - Counterpoint may well be one of the oddest mainstream studio releases of the sixties. Charlton Heston (his first lines appropriately joking about the exodus) is the egomaniac conductor complete with Dracula cape on a USO tour of the frontline who gets captured during the Battle of the Bulge by a ruthless German lieutenant with orders to execute all prisoners ("Typical minor executive. I've been dealing with his type all my life") and finds himself given a brief respite when Maximilian Schell's equally egomaniacal but much more genially ruthless commanding officer turns out to be a fan and wants him to perform for him before he kills the orchestra. Cue a battle of wills between the intransigent conductor and the deviously pragmatic Nazi in a script that's full of bum notes and bad dialogue but which does improve as it goes along, particularly when using orchestra rehearsals as cover for the noise of escape attempts in the film's best moments.The `clash of moralities' the film aspires to is no better developed than the plot or the characterisation - it's the kind of film where Anton Diffring turns up as usual as yet another of his patented ruthless and humourless Nazi officers, the musicians are all bickering and selfish whingers you'd probably like to line up against a wall yourself and the script can't even be bothered to attempt to build any suspense around the identity of the inevitable informer in their ranks - but it does manage turn into something of a guilty pleasure long before Chuck's maestro picks up a submachine gun for the inevitable shoot `em up grand finale.No extras on Universal's Spanish PAL DVD, though it offers a decent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with English subtitles for the German language scenes.