Cheap The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (DVD) (Ingrid Bergman, Robert Donat) (Mark Robson) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

OUTSTANDING EFFORT FROM FOX: BUT WHERE ARE THE EXTRAS?!?!
"The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" is the fictional account of Gladys Aylward (Ingrid Bergman), a woman of no formal education whose only great desire in life is to become a Christian missionary in China. After much set back and rejection, Gladys makes it to a tiny Mandarin province, presided over by Yang Cheng (Robert Donat). Eager to rid his province of this English woman, Cheng gives Gladys a seemingly impossible task to perform as his foot inspector. However, when Gladys shows remarkable foresight and resilience in her duties, a strange and compelling bond and friendship between the two ensue. This would be Robert Donat's final film. He was greatly ailing from cancer during its production and his on screen farewell with Bergman seems to hits a sublimely poignant note. As the threat of warring factions begins to grow, Gladys succumbs to a romance with Lin Yan (Curt Jurgens) who advises Gladys to get out before its too late. She does but not without rescuing a small army of children to the British missionary post where she is, at long last, welcomed with open arms. This is a lush and lavishly produced romantic epic that really holds its own. Bergman excels as the somewhat backward Gladys who finds within herself a reason to live and thereafter, achieves great things through vigilance and determination.
This is a film I remember first seeing on late night television some ten years ago. Of course then it was not in widescreen and its color negative had been ravaged by time and neglect. FOX Home Video has done an OUTSTANDING JOB on this reissue. The film is presented in its proper Cinemascope aspect ratio and looks years younger. Colors are rich, well balanced and incredible vivid. Black levels are strong. Edge enhancement, aliasing and pixelization or rarely seen. Contrast levels are strong. There is an incredible amount of fine detail rendered throughout, even during the darkest scenes. WOW! After such a stunning video presentation the audio falls a little short of expectations. It's NOT 5.1 but Stereo Surround and, at times, suffers from a muffled characteristic. But again, it is a complete improvement over the state that this film has usually been seen in.
Here's my only beef with this disc - NO EXTRAS - save an audio commentary and movietones trailer. Come on, Fox! A film worthy enough of being in your "Studio Series" deserves at least a making-of featurette or biography on Ingrid Bergman!

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following God's call
This is a magnificent film in every aspect; the acting is brilliant, the landscapes beautiful, the drama intense. Based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a house maid in England who was "not qualified" to be sent to China as a missionary, so went there on her own, saving every shilling earned for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian railroad. Taking place in the pre-WWII era, it's an adventure story of great spiritual courage, the chaos of war, and a romance between two independent people who never thought they would find love.

Ingrid Bergman is luminous as Gladys. It is one of her very best performances, and my personal favorite. Robert Donat, who passed away before the film was released, is also marvelous as the Mandarin of Yang Cheng, and Curt Jurgens as Captain Lin Nan is handsome and believable as the man who falls in love with Gladys. In a small but pivotal part, Athene Seyler is terrific as Jennie Lawson, the elderly missionary who helps Gladys in her early years, and Peter Chong is a delight as Yang the cook.
It is odd that the only Oscar nomination went to director Mark Robson; perhaps Bergman was overlooked because she had received a "Best Actress" for "Anastasia" two years earlier, but Bergman fans will give this film their own five-star award.

The fabulous location filming by Freddie Young was done in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, a remarkable substitute for Shaanxi Province, in the heart of China. The village reproductions are very well done, and look incredibly similar to films I have seen shot in China. The lovely score by Malcolm Arnold adds much to the film, and Alan Burgess, whose book "The Small Woman" is the basis of the story, wrote the script, which is witty, wise and wonderful, with Isobel Lennart.
Many times I've laughed out loud , and many times I've cried watching this film; it's good for several viewings, as it is epic in scope, and the script has an intelligence that makes it a rare gem. total running time is 158 minutes.

In the film, Chinese tradition has five "Happiness" wishes: Wealth, longevity, good health, virtue, and a peaceful old age and death. "Each person must decide in their heart what the sixth happiness is".

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Break out the Kleenex...
...for this manipulative, mawkish tear-jerker. The story feels superficial (you never get a feeling for Aylward's sense of spirituality, only the very ocassional bit of tacked-on religiosity), and it's all grossly sentimental. All those feel-good moments with singing kids and long hugs actually detract from the important message about selfless service by making self-sacrifice seem all too easy and romantic, even in the face of brutal Japanese invasion.

The casting choices will try your suspsension of disbelief, to say the least: a Swede as an Englishwoman, a hulking German as a half-Dutch/half-Chinese colonel, and an Englishman as a Chinese mandarin. That said, this is still a fun film if you take it for what it is. It boasts an unusual story and exotic setting, and Bergman is as radiant as ever (even if she overacts in a couple scenes). Donat and Jurgens are uqually winning, in their own way.

Hardly Bergman's best film, but certainly worth a watch if you're a fan.