Seven Days in May [Blu-ray]

Only seven fateful days left to derail a takeover... this is about how and what happened... Great cast & acting. Original release 1964 Paramount Pictures, black & white film, 2000 Warner Home movies.

I recently re-watched this movie after buying the blu ray, and I was reminded of what a good, taut, suspenseful political thriller it is. But it's also interesting to see what a definite product of its time it was. This film was made hard on the heels of the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the very height of the Cold War. Today, that seems like ancient history to a lot of people -- perhaps even to some of the people who lived through it. For those of us born after the baby boomer generation, nuclear weapons have been a fact for our entire lives. It's easy to lose sight of what a new and horrifying development they were for people back in the mid-century era, and how large they loomed in everyone's consciousness. We've lived with their existence now for almost three quarters of a century, and perhaps that has made us complacent in a way that people back in the sixties were not, when the specter of nuclear annihilation had only been around for a few short years. So it's natural that the plot to this movie should revolve around the threat of nuclear weapons, and the idea of a disarmament treaty, especially given that the script was written by Rod Serling. Just think how many episodes of the original "Twilight Zone" were about a nuclear apocalypse, the threat of a nuclear apocalypse, or the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse (e.g. "The Shelter," "Two," "Third from the Sun," "One More Pallbearer," "The Old Man in the Cave," "Probe 7 Over and Out," "Time Enough At Last"), or remember the ending to the original "Planet of the Apes," (whose script was also written by Serling), with its famous twist ending, where Charlton Heston's stranded astronaut, Taylor, discovers he's been back on Earth the whole time -- an Earth where the apes displaced us because we pushed the button and blew ourselves back to the stone age. There was a real, pervading sense in those days, when nuclear weapons were new and gave us a capability that we'd never had before -- to wipe out human civilization, and perhaps the human species itself in one horrifying spasm -- that it was virtually INEVITABLE we'd destroy ourselves, given our warlike history. All it would take would be one catastrophic mistake -- and we are a species prone to making those. Three quarters of a century have given us a perspective they didn't have then. We know today that as terrifying as it was, Mutual Assured Destruction DID actually work! The Cold War ended, and as close as we got to the brink, we didn't go over it, because ultimately, we weren't suicidal and neither were the Soviets or the Red Chinese. This is not to say all danger is passed, but today the threat can realistically be assessed as significantly less grave than it was during the mid-twentieth century.But this movie was made back when the threat was quite new, and seemed quite dire, and as I said, the plot revolves around the struggle between two factions, one who believes deterrence is the only answer, and the other, which believes that only disarmament would end the danger. (Spoilers ahead!) Frederic March plays U.S. President Jordan Lyman, a believer in disarmament. He is absolutely convinced of the inevitability of nuclear war if both sides don't disarm, and signs a treaty to eliminate the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Burt Lancaster plays Air Force General James Matoon Scott, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a well-known and very popular war hero, who believes the opposite: that disarmament is inexcusably naïve; that the Soviets, who have a long history of breaking treaties, cannot be trusted to honor this one; that once America scraps its arsenal, but the Soviets keep theirs, then war would indeed be inevitable, but so also would total defeat. (I have to say personally, that I agree with the second premise: disarmament and disarmament treaties have a poor track record -- the democracies voluntarily disarmed between the two world wars, and signed disarmament treaties [e.g. the Washington Naval Treaty], but the dictatorships armed themselves and made war against enemies who looked weak and unwilling to fight. The ancient Romans got it right all those centuries ago: si vis pacem para bellum.) General Scott is so convinced of the sheer folly of Lyman's course, that he resolves to seize control of the government. Caught in the middle is Scott's aide, marine colonel "Jiggs" Casey, who fully agrees with Scott's assessment of the folly of disarmament, but is repelled at the thought of overthrowing the legitimately elected government of the United States and installing a military junta. Casey realizes, correctly, that it's a cure far worse than the disease. It would mean throwing away the rule of law, and the political stability and peaceful transfer of power that the U.S. has enjoyed for two centuries, and would entail the U.S. becoming just another banana republic, with all the corruption and political instability that would bring. It could lead to a government as repressive and authoritarian as that of the Soviets. So, despite his misgivings about Lyman's policy, Casey works to uncover and thwart the conspiracy before the coup d'état can take place.This is a great movie, with superb direction and pacing, outstanding performances from a stellar cast, and a great, suspenseful story, and finally, is a superb window to the dangers and concerns of the Cold War era. It comes highly recommended.

There is a plot to take over the government of the United States by the Joint Chiefs if Staff. The movie then moves through the events leading up to intended coup. The message of the film is that we really don’t think it can happen here.This is one of the best films addressing issues during the Cold War. Something of an all star cast for the time. There are no special effects, musical numbers or comedy. This is serious human drama where the fate of United States hangs in the balance. All of the actors give outstanding performances. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas Show why the are leading men of the time and are dominating in the film.But the people who give the film depth and make it unforgettable are Fredric March, Edmond O’Brien, Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, George Mcready, Andrew Dugan, and Whit Bissell. They are not famous with today’s moviegoers but their faces are recognizable. The performance of Fredric March as the President makes the movie. His acting seems so natural and effortless that we believe he is the President. He goes from quiet confidence at the beginning, to feeling all is lost, to alone confronting the traitors. It is obvious why he was nominated for Oscars in the past and won for best actor. This is one his last films.Edmond O’Brien, another Oscar winner, is brilliant as a hard drinking no nonsense senator from Georgia. He can be charming to his friends and fiery with rage to his enemies. He won’t back down to anyone threatening the President.This is an actors film. It was filmed in black and white in 1964. Many younger people won’t want to watch it because it’s not in color. That is unfortunate. Those of us who grew up before color television and were raised on black and white movies of the 1940’s and 1950’s may sometimes wish the old classics were in high definition color. But we look past that and enjoy the films that let us see great actors of long ago who were masters of their craft.

Interesting film in today's political climate.

Al di là del cast di altissimo livello e della regia impeccabile, è un film attualissimo. Il Pentagono negò l'autorizzazione per le riprese, invece John e Jaqueline Kennedy aprirono le porte del loro appartamento privato alla Casa Bianca e furono entusiasti della scelta di fare un film dall'omonimo romanzo uscito solo due anni prima. L'uscita del film fu anticipata proprio a seguito dell'assassinio di Kennedy.

Un de mes films cultes. Peut-être pas très connu, mais gagne absolument à être vu. Excellent scénario, acteurs magnifiques, et un sujet intemporel. Prises de vues en noir et blanc très réussies, simplement un très grand film.

I admit that I have to credit one of the most recent Washingtonian magazine issues (January 2017)for introducing me to the Seven Days In May film via mentioning the film in one of their articles. Seven Days in May stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Jiggs Casey. Colonel Jiggs Casey takes great pride and seriousness in his job. He even goes as far as to risk his own professional livelihood by telling President Jordan Lyman what he thinks is about to happen. This is serious because what Casey tells Lyman involves another supervisor General James Mattoon Scott (Burt Lancaster). This is significant because even in real-life telling a supervisor what you sense andor know can cause you great risk to your own job because there is no rule prohibiting them from telling another supervisor what you told them even with good intentions. President Lyman courteously understands the good intent behind what Colonel Jiggs Casey is doing and is careful to avoid telling Scott what Casey told him in confidence. Meanwhile, Casey also has the challenging task of gathering information from Eleanor Holbrook (Ava Gardner) who had been deeply in love with General James Mattoon Scott.

I've enjoyed this film since I first saw it decades ago and opted to replace my DVD with this Blu-ray edition. The disc is well produced, with excellent picture and sound quality. I am going to resist the urge to become a film critic here, since one could go on and on about how wonderful this film is; suffice to say; this is a classic, featuring a wealth of talent throughout a surprisingly expansive cast. The story is great, the production values of the film are excellent given the era and you would be hard-pressed to find many films with superior talent. This "Seven Days in May", Blu-ray edition, is well worth your time and your money. Highly Recommended, as is a big bowl of popcorn as you fire up your Blu-ray player!