The Sand Pebbles (Two-Disc Special Edition) |  | Director: Robert Wise
Actors: Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen, Richard Crenna, Emmanuelle Arsan
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $10.81
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Rating:  100 reviews
Sales Rank: 10,498
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 182 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: D2244058D
UPC: 024543440581
EAN: 0024543440581
ASIN: B000O78L00
Theatrical Release Date: December 20, 1966
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Following the success of The Sound of Music, director Robert Wise chose to film Robert McKenna's prize-winning 1962 novel, The Sand Pebbles--an ambitious choice for a director at the peak of his career. Shot in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the film combines historical sweep and intimate human drama in several parallel stories, all revolving around U.S. Navy machinist's mate Jake Holman (Steve McQueen). Holman is a skillful but fiercely independent sailor who joins the "sand pebble" crew of the U.S.S. San Pablo, a Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River on the eve of the Chinese revolution in 1926. The San Pablo's inexperienced captain (Richard Crenna) obsessively defends the Navy's mission--however unnecessary or unwanted--to protect American missionaries and businessmen, blind to the more dangerous implications of American involvement with China's opposing political factions. Holman is a defiant voice of humanity in this clash between outmoded values and inevitable change; his final line of dialogue ("What the hell happened?") is a tragic summation of misguided policy, expressing the film's criticism of the Vietnam War. Rather than preach, however, Wise lets McKenna's potent drama emerge from finely-drawn relationships--between Holman and a young American teacher (19-year-old Candice Bergen, in her second film); between Holman and the Chinese "coolie" (Mako) whose heartbreaking fate transcends all issues of racial or political difference; and between crewmate "Frenchy" Burgoyne (Richard Attenborough) and the Chinese woman he's sworn to love and protect at all costs. Combined with the film's colorful supporting cast, adventurous scope, and climactic battle scenes, these personal dynamics bring substance and spirit to a complex story of good intentions gone awry. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat U.S.S. San Pablo assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the "rice-bowl" system which runs the ship and the uneasy sybiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.System Requirements:Running Time: 179 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 024543440581 Manufacturer No: 2244058
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
 sAND Pebbles review February 9, 2010
Edmund W. Peaslee Jr. (PLANO,TX, USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Adventure story involving aN American gunboat in China, which is finally sent to rescue some missionaries, Lots of action, but film is marred by some racist language.
 McQueen at his best January 27, 2010
Jimfl47 (Orlando, FL)
Even though this movie is not rated as high as The Great Escape or Papillon it is one of McQueen's best. It is based on a true story and is a must for any movie collector or people fond of McQueen to own or see this movie.
McQueen's Greatest??? November 11, 2009
G. Robinson (Raleigh, NC)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
It's hard to pick McQueen's best. In The Sandpebbles he shows us his ability express the greatest range of emotions. The scene with him weeping in the boiler room after he has to shoot Po-Han makes me cry every time I see it and it has even more power with his back turned to us. And who ever looked like the quintessential sailor in his dress whites? I was in the Navy when I was a kid and the whites were always our favorite, we just felt so cool. I am a stickler for details and I can't figure out what happened to the uniforms in the last third of the movie as the ship spends the winter in port. The rank insignia (crows as we used to call them) should all be on the left sleeve. They appear randomly placed on the uniforms and sometimes not at all. Also the forward gun had no recoil even though you see the mechanism.I know there was a Navy Machinist Mate who consulted on the movie. What happened, did they fire him? Just a details only a nerd would notice. Watching McQueen portray a character that grows and develops as the film progresses is a miracle. What a pity the current generation has to do without someone like him. The only one that comes close may be Russel Crowe but he talks a lot more and relies less on his ability to act without speaking. Something I think McQueen brought to an unbelievable level. Tom Cruise still has a little "growing up" to do. I know its futile to find a replacement but how about some to try to at least stand in his shoes.
I read the book and aside from combining two missionary characters I would say it's one of te most accurate translations form print to screen I've ever seen. Check out the book because there are a few more really interesting characters and some nifty descriptions of Jake actually movng the engines so things run smoother.
The music score is fantastic also and I love the "Introduction" and "Intermission." Ridley Scott brought this feature back in Kingdom of Heaven. I like it because it seems to assume a certain intelligence on the part of the audience. the score is quite beautiful but it is constructed in such a way that you know some really bad things are going to happen. Candice Bergan's first movie opposite McQueen? She was only 19. Must have been pretty intimidating. I don't like her personally and her voice-over commentary is too full of political garbage for me to take it seriously. I don't care what her views are, I want to know more about the movie and how it was made. Attenborough is great as usual. The whole cast is able to bring off the small ship Navy swagger I loved so much on the destroyer I was on. Great movie, you can't go wrong.
The Sand Pebbles September 23, 2009
Surfer_Mike
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
A genuine classic in HD. Too bad HD is no longer available thus eliminating fair competition with Blu Ray
The Sand Pebbles September 20, 2009
E. C. Anderson (San Diego, CA, USA)
A classic. McQueen's engineer, Jake Holman, is forced to deal with the complications imposed on US Navy gunboat life by the martinet Captain Collins (Richard Crenna), the troubles of cross-cultural romance as experienced by his friend Frenchy (Richard Attenborough), his own cross-class romantic issues with mission teacher Shirley Eckert (Candice Bergen), and the difficulties involved with reforming the existing engine room coolie hierarchy while training Po-Han (Mako) to be the new engine room "boss," all set against the turbulent rise of communism in mid-1920's China. Strong, likable characters with great moments of personal growth. A solid story that is as believable as it is remarkable.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
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