Lack of good storyline.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

An apocalyptic movie without any special effects! Relies for its drama on how characters face the inevitable nuclear contamination, a silent invisible killer. Stars make everything work. Anthony Perkins especially good. Movie's final shots are very effective. (viewed 1/17)

Stanley Kramer and John Paxton adapt from Nevil Shute's novel. Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson star, with music by Ernest Gold and cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno.After a global nuclear war, the inhabitants of Australia realise that the radiation clouds are heading their way. A group of people try to come to terms with this fact.A well regarded film by the critics, and lauded by the makers at the time as an important and potent piece of cinema, On the Beach is still a film that's not for everyone.The star appeal holds weight, though much of the narrative is tired and weary, trite and cheesy. In fact Shute himself was less than happy with what Kramer made of his literary source, the director in his element with a message movie.If it was Kramer's intent to make the viewers also feel like what it's like waiting for death? Then he achieved it, while Gold's overuse of Waltzing Matilda in his musical score also ends up boring the senses. 4/10

This Fictional post-nuclear war movie makes you think, wonder and reflect throughout the film with out showing carnage. Director Stanley Kramer takes you along for the enviable end in a calming way. The relationships between characters has that magic chemistry essential in a human tragedy. Moira (Ava Gardner) and Captain Towers (Gregory Peck) give you the illusion that they were always together romantically despite our submarine Captain had a family back in New London, Conecticut prior to the apocalypse in the Northern hemisphere. Even the Admiral and Hosgood have this special bond during the film. The Empty Golden Gate Bridge is the reminder that all is not right with the world and the borrowed time remaining is coming to a close. Showing the empty streets of a major city stays in the mind.You the viewer come to the realization how precious life can be.This is enhanced by the reactions of the Submarine crew as they viewed post-war San Francisco threw a telescope. As the movie moves along you tend to forget that tomorrow's days grow short. Fred Astaire in a dramatic role as scientist/race car driver portrays his character with dignity despite a few drinks. The editing is also unique with angle and shadow. Sottle mini plots during the film. The high brow waiter in the club who tries to level the picture on the wall. The footsteps of town hall with the crowds thinning by films end. I've personally watched this film many times hoping for a different ending but there's still time Brother!

My buddy did not want to watch with me my DVD of the 1959 film On the Beach, because it is a depressing end of the world drama, as absolutely no one survives a third world war, yes, humanity is extinguished.Yet in essence, upon death, the world ends for many people every day. Before you pass on you may provide for remaining friends or family, and you feel consoled by anticipating their remembrance of you. Except you simultaneously realize that eventually they will all die too, and memories will fade among their descendants.Look at world history - countless civilizations have been eliminated although monuments and numerous artifacts are extant. The movie merely speeds up this process because all remaining life soon perishes, so no one is left to take notice of these losses.Succeeding motion pictures have depicted world wide cataclysms where select individuals endure. On the Beach distinguishes itself by sparing us violent death scenes, while recognizing our mutual fate is to finally give up the ghost. Rather than loot or savage others, most people faced their own demise privately by reflecting on the meaning of one's life. This is not defeatist: when dying from an incurable disease such as radioactive poisoning, you must prepare for departure.I found myself contemplating how lead actors Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner have in real life died, so fiction became fact since their personal world actually did expire. This is the root of the sorrow I felt, and why On the Beach is paradoxically an authentic characterization, despite we the living temporarily overcoming its premise of annihilation. Sorrow is also a cause for belief in a Supreme Being who we desperately wish to save us. In the film, worshipers and non-worshipers alike fall, paralleling what occurs in reality. But if you maintain faith in an afterlife, take comfort as your being on earth concludes.On the Beach provides an invaluable commentary on our tenuous existence in this sometimes wonderful but always deadly world that sooner or later will end for all of us.