Castle Keep Movie Download In Hd

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During the Battle of the Bulge, an anachronistic count shelters a ragtag squad of Americans in his isolated castle hoping they will defend it against the advancing Germans.
Toward the end of World War II, a small company of American GI's occupy an ancient castle. Their commander has an affair with the countess in resident. One guy falls in love with a Volkswagon. A baker among them moves in with another baker's wife. A group of shell shocked holy rollers wander the bombed out streets. A GI art historian tries vainly to protect the castle and its masterpieces.
1969's "Castle Keep" is no standard World War II drama, although it starts out with the usual formula. During what appears to be the Battle of the Bulge (late 1944), a group of weary GIs led by a one-eyed monotone colonel (Burt Lancaster), stagger into a medieval castle that seems to have been preserved and isolated for centuries. There's also a small hamlet nearby and the townsfolk seem similarly stuck in the distant past. The castle itself contains numerous art works and its grounds are covered with classical sculptures and magnificent statues of all kinds. It's literally a work of art in itself. Aided and abetted by Lancaster's second-in-command (a cynical and disillusioned Patrick O'Neal) the GIs are as out of place in this medieval landscape as a collection of city slickers west of the Pecos. That fact doesn't stop the colonel from immediately taking a fancy to the lady of the house (Astrid Heeren) all to the utter chagrin of her much older husband, the Count of Maldorais (played by Jean-Pierre Aumont). The rank-and-file soldiers, including Peter Falk, Bruce Dern, Tony Bill, Al Freeman Jr., Scott Wilson and Michael Conrad, eventually move into the town and take up occupations as if they're back in the good old USA. If all this sounds a bit strange and out-of-place for a "war" movie, it is. Not to be outdone, however, the German army is on the advance and the castle and its accompanying town are directly in its path. Total destruction is on the way, and here lies the moral of this tale. In the ensuing and climactic battle, the castle and everything that it stands for (mainly humanity and the arts) is obliterated with few survivors. The town is crushed along with it and all its inhabitants killed. But because of the way the story is presented (i.e. with enough surrealism to rival Ingmar Bergman on his best day), viewers are never quite sure if the GIs have themselves been nothing but ghosts all along and that the whole exercise is merely symbolic of the destructive nature of war. "Castle Keep," filmed during the height of the Vietnam War, can certainly be classified as an "anti-war" movie, although its immediate subject matter and execution just doesn't fit with any of the other films of the genre. Of course, movies that are presented as World War II dramas are usually loaded with heroes fighting evil enemies (whether Germans or Japanese). Consequently, audiences were not enamored with the film's depiction and it flopped at the box office. Predictably, most critics of the day found "Castle Keep" to be too pretentious and over-the-top. Burt Lancaster's deliberate "one-note" performance probably didn't help it either. That's too bad because in retrospect the film has plenty to say and it was also an early indication of a major talent on the rise: Sydney Pollack. As for the others in the cast, Peter Falk and Al Freeman Jr. are standouts and Patrick O'Neal adds some much-needed gravitas to the proceedings. In the end, "Castle Keep" is another near-great film that could stand a critical reevaluation.
Castle Keep has Burt Lancaster as an American major with a squad of about a dozen picked men, drawing the assignment to defend a medieval castle that just happens to stand directly on the road to Bastogne. It's December of 1944 and the Nazis have been almost pushed back to Germany. The war could be over and this might be a chance to get a little R&R. Our squad certainly takes advantage of it. Most enjoy the pleasures of the local bordello, Sergeant Peter Falk takes up with the baker's wife and gets back to his civilian occupation as well. And Burt has an affair with the countess of the castle. What makes it even nicer is that the count, Jean-Pierre Aumont approves completely. He's impotent and it's important the name survive if not the genes. Captain Patrick O'Neal however is entranced with the art collection. But he's distressed to find he's not fighting in the American army, but among Philistines with this blue collar patrol. Basically these guys sit around, drink, kanoodle, find other occupations like baking for Falk and fixing up a Volkswagen for Scott Wilson. And endlessly talk. Then the Germans arrive and the action begins in this last stand film as the Battle of the Bulge gets started. This was director Sydney Pollack's second film with Burt Lancaster and he was something of a protégé for Lancaster. Lancaster liked the book this was based on and had worked with Pollack before in the much better The Scalphunters. To me this film was deadly dull until the shooting starts. I can't for the life of me see why some folks love it so.

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Castle Keep Movie Download In Hd

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