Mouse That Roared [VHS]

Mouse That Roared [VHS]
by Jack Arnold

Mouse That Roared [VHS]
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Product details

Actor: David Kossoff, Jean Seberg, Leo McKern, Peter Sellers, William Hartnell
Director: Jack Arnold
Cinematographer: John Wilcox
Editor: Raymond Poulton
Producer: Jon Penington
Producer: Walter Shenson
Writer: Leonard Wibberley
Writer: Roger MacDougall
Writer: Stanley Mann
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; French (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 83 minutes
Release Date: 1994-06-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of Mouse That Roared [VHS]

Movie Review: Awesome classic
Summary: 5 Stars

This DVD is great quality. This is one of my all time favorite movies....surely a classic.

Movie Review: The mouse that roared
Summary: 5 Stars

A classic example of film making without need for many $$$$ spent on special effects and blowing things up--Great comedy of the old War mentality prevelant at that time.

Movie Review: Fun movie, but was Peter Sellers ever as funny as we remember him?
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a savvy Cold War "comedy"--an adaptation of a very sharp little book that probably ranks alongside "Strangelove" and "The Russians are Coming" as a satiric classic of that era. The premise itself dates well because it's the story of a small country trying to manage in a world of Superpowers. It's also a lesson in how small countries can cynically play Superpowers off one another in order to gain perks--a point that's missed by a lot of reviewers.

I dearly love this old chestnut but it's full of problems, nearly enough to earn it a three-star rating. Right off, the directing is uninspired. Second, rather than play it straight from the book and cast it more appropriately, the producers decided to gimmick the film by having Sellers play three separate roles, one of which--the elderly Duchess--isn't even in the original book (but it's probably there so Sellers can appear in drag). This multi-role idea was a mercifully brief trend in (largely) British comedies of the 50s and early 60s, the best (and best realized) British example probably being Alec Guinness's multiple performances in "Kind Hearts and Coronets." Sellers' singular (and late) working of this gimmick is in "Strangelove" of course, which is the best-known example of this multi-role acting for modern audiences--British or otherwise. "Strangelove," I'd argue, was such a success that it (along with the Pink Panther films, and a few other well directed efforts like "The Party") camouflaged Sellers' otherwise highly variable, often surprisingly disappointing, output. A good example of how lackluster Sellers could be is "Casino Royale" where Woody Allen and David Niven provide the solid laughs and Sellers, not atypically, performs as if his mere presence is hilarious, and it isn't.

"The Mouse that Roared"'s sequel--"The Mouse on the Moon"--is revealing too. Sellers is absent (he refused the part) yet the ever-undervalued Ron Moody does a far more memorable job with the role of Prime Minister--in fact his is one of my favorite comedy performances. Margaret Rutherford replaces Sellers as the senile Duchess, bringing a certain high-comedic weight to the dithering and bumbling--Rutherford, unlike Sellers, could often be innately funny onscreen. "The Mouse that Roared" is a classic, but "The Mouse on the Moon" is the better film (directed by Richard Lester) with a far meatier cast and superior production. It suffers only from a less novel, regrettably second-hand premise, and the presence of Bernard Cribbins who manages to be somewhat less interesting than Sellers in the same role in the first film. Cribbins' puzzle-headed "ordinary bloke" character, used here, probably played great in the UK but never traveled well. Terry Thomas also adds a lot to this film.

"The Mouse that Roared" is a fun film and essential viewing, but as the years slide by it's looking a tad shopworn and awkward. I would have preferred it without Sellers at all or with Sellers only playing the bland Tully Bascombe, and Moody and Rutherford in the other roles. "The Mouse that Roared"--in this increasingly multi-power world--is also a film begging for a really sharp remake.

Movie Review: Peter Sellers At His Best
Summary: 4 Stars

A great movie on a pretty darn good DVD.

Sellers is excellent in his many roles he plays. This cold war comedy really surprised me with its wit and cleverness.

Overall, if you enjoyed Sellers in Dr. Strangelove, this film is a must see.

Movie Review: Roaring back at the mouse
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a very silly movie, with a terribly contrived plot, however, watching Peter Sellers play 3 different roles was very entertaining! We watched it one night when my teens were uptight & just needed a good laugh. It was certainly that! Mindless drivel, and a fun time!
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Summary of Mouse That Roared [VHS]

The Mouse That Roared (1959) is mostly remembered as a tour-de-force by a peerless comic actor, Peter Sellers, playing all three of the principal roles. It's worth seeing for that reason alone, but the film is also one of the most memorable satires of nuclear geopolitics produced during the cold war and, along with another Sellers vehicle, Dr. Strangelove, provides an unbeatable illustration of the paranoia and helplessness engendered by that period.

The Mouse That Roared tells the story of the fictional European principality of Grand Fenwick. Finding itself on the wrong end of a trade dispute with the United States, and noting America's generosity in rebuilding the countries it had fought in World War II, Grand Fenwick's rulers hit upon the idea of declaring war on the U.S., losing, and then reaping a Marshall Plan-style handout. The plan, proposed by Grand Fenwick's prime minister (played by Peter Sellers), is approved by the monarch (also played by Peter Sellers), who dispatches an invasion force under the command of Grand Fenwick's hapless Field Marshal (also played by Peter Sellers). Due to a series of happenstances and misunderstandings, however, Grand Fenwick's plan goes terribly wrong... --Andrew Mueller

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