The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

Several pieces of Hemingway fiction fold together for this pastiche movie, in which a writer (Gregory Peck) lies on the slope of Africa's famous mountain and thinks back on his life while awaiting medical attention. "Africa" in this case is a back-screen projection; fortunately, the majority of the film is told through flashbacks set in France, Spain, and other parts of the Dark Continent. Peck's relationships with various women (played by Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, and Hildegard Knef) are at the center of his recollections, but the overall thesis is a very Hemingway-esque summary of the responsibility of a writer to get at the truth. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

Snows of Kilimanjaro

This movie took a lot more acting than a lot of Gregory Peck's movies, but it is not my favorite. December 30, 2008

THE STUDIO VERSION......AT LAST

AT LAST THE 20TH CENTURY FOX VERSION TO REPLACE ALL THOSE PUBLIC DOMAIN, INCOMPLETE SLOPPY VERSIONS..........GREGORY PECK. SUSAN HAYWARD, AVA GARDNER......DARRYL F. ZANUCK'S 20TH CENTURY FOX.....ONE OF THE BEST DVDS..........HIGHLY RECOMMENED........IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT I WOULD SAY YOU ARE IN FOR QUITE A CINEMATIC TREAT..........GARY JASINKONIS......EAST NORTHPORT, NEW YORK.........SUSAN HAYWARD FOREVER...........
December 24, 2008

The Sun Also Rises

I ordered three movies: The Sun Also Rises, The Snows of kilimanjaro and A Farewell to Arms. The movies are great. Amazon sent the movies in two shipments. The first shipment contained The Sun Also Rises and the Snows of Kilimanjaro, and the second shipment included A Farewell to Arms. Amazon charged me shipment costs twice. Why? The statement that came with the first shipment stated that the other item will be shiped at no additional shipping cost. That was a lie. What you going to do about that? This is not first time it happened. Next time if I order anything, please send ship them in one package. February 9, 2008

top Hemingway adaptation

THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO was producer Darryl F. Zanuck's prestige production for 1952. Based around several of Ernest Hemingway's stories, it gave Gregory Peck the chance to play one of his most intriguing roles and also showcased Ava Gardner in one of her best performances.

Acclaimed author Harry Street (Gregory Peck) lies severely wounded and dazed on the African plains with his patient wife Helen (Susan Hayward), awaiting a rescue flight. Floating in and out of conciousness, he recalls his early life and the women who shared it with him. Themes of fate and thwarted love are constant in Hemingway's works; in THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO, those themes are explored with an almost poetic reverence.

Ava Gardner plays Harry's steadfast but ultimately doomed first love Cynthia Green; Hildegard Neff is his grasping, possessive mistress, the Countess Liz. Susan Hayward provides a wonderful gravity as his eventual wife Helen. Gregory Peck plays Harry in the great tradition of his deeply-flawed heroes.

Despite it's success with audiences and critics (plus two Academy Award nominations), Ernest Hemingway disliked the movie because he felt it poached from too many of his collective works to pad out the story, most notably "Fiesta" and "A Farewell to Arms".

Previously only available in horrid Public Domain prints, THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO is now thankfully back in the catalogue with a legitimate studio release from Fox. It might be a very wise idea for people to upgrade, the picture quality is superb and the overall package is very nice. August 18, 2007

A Classic

A fan of Gregory Peck, will enjoy this movie. Unfortunately the quality of my DVD,made watching this movie to fuzzy to enjoy. Thereby I recommend asking about clarity before purchasing. May 7, 2007

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