Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

But what is not usually gone into is the other side of the coin. China was not well governed for the bulk of the population. In fact, in the 1850s and 1860s there was a long and bloody Civil War (The Taiping Rebellion) that was to make an international figure out of the British General who finally put it down (Charles George "Chinese" Gordon). The reason for the rebellion was partly religious, but it was also partly economic - the peasantry was tired supporting the Manchu Court in Beijing (the Peking of the movie title). A succession of weak emperors were plaguing the country, who were manipulated by Tzu - Hsi (one of the most unscrupulous monarchs in history). Tzu - Hsi would basically control the Chinese Government from 1860 to 1908, when she died. Her idea of government responsibility is illustrated by a famous act of selfishness she performed. When China's navy was trounced in the Sino - Japanese War of 1894 (Japan had a modern navy), it was decided to use tax money to build up the Chinese navy to compete with Japan again. The Dowager Empress agreed - she took the money earmarked for battleships, and built a super battleship. Only it was made of marble, in the shape of a battleship, and was put on land as a summer palace. It is still standing as a tourist attraction.Humiliations were not only done by Europeans, Americans, and Japanese. If you recall the geography lesson scene in THE KING AND I, the children are unconvinced about the small size of Siam as opposed to China. The Crown Prince points out that China can't be that big - it's monarchy is considered weak, while Siam's is strong. Well, in this period, Siam (Thailand) also had managed to get some territory back from China - and to become rather important in the area of southeast Asia. This would not have been the case in the 17th or 18th Centuries.In 1900 the Chinese finally exploded. The people had been forming para- military groups in the late 1890s (in the wake of the defeat by Japan) which were ultra-Nationalist, fervently anti-foreign, and fervently in favor of Chinese religious beliefs over Christian. The Dowager Empress realized that it would be advantageous to her to let these energies be expanded towards the foreigners: it would keep these people looking too closely at her misrule. Without officially countenancing these groups (called "Boxers" because their translated

55 Days at Peking is directed by Nicholas Ray and Andrew Marton and collectively written by Philip Yordan, Bernard Gordon, Robert Hamer and Ben Barzman. It stars Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven and Flora Robson. Music is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography is by Jack Hildyard.1900, Peking, China. The Boxer Rebellion. 13 of 18 provinces are under foreign rule and the Chinese have had enough. With Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi secretly supporting the Boxer societies, the foreign powers come under attack and are forced to defend the legations' compound until reinforcements from the military arrive. The defence would last for 55 days.Lavish, full of pictorial scope, often stirring, yet it's saggy in the middle, too long, killed Nicholas Ray's career (and nearly himself since he collapsed on set) and apparently offensive to some with its imperialistic trumpeting. It has been called the magnificent failure, and in truth that's about as apt a tag line as you could get. For production value it's up with the best of them as producer Samuel Bronston oversees the building of the wonderful Peking sets (Veniero Colasanti & John Moore) at his Madrid base, and it is a joy to behold. Tiomkin's score pings around the locale with aural pleasure and when the action does come it considerably raises the pulses.Acting performances are mostly OK, especially when Niven and Heston share scenes as it's great to see a genuine screen presence playing off of classy elegance. Gardner, whilst not in any shape or form bad, gets one of those annoyingly dull romantic interest roles that a film of this type didn't need. It doesn't help that there is zero chemistry between Gardner and her "borderline" beau, Heston. It's no surprise to find that Heston thought Gardner was a pain during the shoot!As for the troubling thematics? Where the Chinese are portrayed as Christian slaughtering savages and the foreign imperialists as noble defenders of the right to take over China? Well the picture does come off as trying to excuse foreign imperialism in China, but it helps to note that this is merely a movie about one event in that part of history. With that in mind, anyone viewing it expecting anything other than the 55 day siege told from the legation's viewpoint is always going to be in for a let down! And right from the off we are shown and told with a tint of sarcasm that all these "foreign" countries want a piece of China as they raise their flags and trundle out their national anthems. The Peking Alamo? Well maybe? Best to go into it expecting your eyes and ears to be dazzled rather than your brain. 7/10

In 1900 Beijing (as Peking), wicked Chinese people are murdering Christians and white people. Many good citizens of the world gather to make the land safe for women, children and kind foreigners. Leading the charge is American epic hero Charlton Heston (as Matt Lewis), who rides in tall on his horse. Romance for Mr. Heston is provided by Russian Baroness Ava Gardner (as Natalie Ivanoff), looking like a movie star returning to the screen in full diva mode. But beautiful young Lynne Sue Moon (as Teresa) gives Heston his best moments. Ambassadors of good will from France, Germany and other concerned countries are also present; dependable David Niven (as Arthur Robinson) represents the British...The strengths in producer Samuel Bronston's "55 Days at Peking" are found in the wide-screen scenes, directed by Nicholas Ray and his replacements; their battle sequences are especially exciting. The story is laughable, though, with the three big stars essaying their typical characterizations. While not exactly Asian (casting no surprise), regal dowager Flora Robson (as Tzu-Hsi) and princely Robert Helpmann (as Tuan) are more impressive. In what looks like thousands and thousands of actors, what stands out the most are Kurt Kasznar's sideburns. If you last for the film's entire running time, you'll hear Andy Williams sing the film's ironic theme song "So Little Time" which peaked at #115 on the Billboard record charts...***** 55 Days at Peking (5/29/63) Nicholas Ray ~ Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson

This blockbuster would seem to have all the ingredients that should make for a good movie - sweep and grandeur, a top-notch cast, historical interest. But somehow it left me cold. The script is leaden, trite and formulaic. The battle scenes, despite a fantastic display of pyrotechnics later in the movie, are rather mundane and go on for too long, as if we don't get the point. The part of Baroness Ivanoff was obviously grafted onto the film to provide a vehicle for Ava Gardner whose contribution to the proceedings is minimal. I know Dmitri Tiomkin was a very popular film composer but his music always strikes me as nervously skittish and strangely disjunct; film music should never draw attention to itself and Tiomkin's always seems to be trying to. It's true that the production values are first rate; there is nothing like the color values of the old, extinct Technicolor process. But still it's a rather long haul to get through this well-meaning but ultimately disappointing effort. For a very much better take on China versus the West at this time, see "Sand Pebbles," a far superior film.