On the Beach (1959)

Stars	User	Rating
2	Malcym	7 _77th
Respectable, dignified adaptation of Nevil Shute’s compulsive downer of a novel. Solid work by Peck, Gardner and Astaire - the latter a real change of pace in what I understand was his first dramatic performance, although Perkins seems uncomfortable in his role. Uneven, long but never dull and the final moments are powerfully rendered other than a clumsy final shot. Odd that it was Oscar-nominated for its score, which is largely a particularly mournful version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ playe
2	KasperL	80 _86th
Kramer's take on the end of the world is intoxicating and you'll be in turn thoroughly depressed and, depending on your tolerance level for sentimentality, averse to the more maudlin beats. For this subject matter, however, you really do need something contrapuntal... so those moments are (almost) justified. The Grand Prix parable was powerful. Fred Astaire, in a serious role, all but steals the film.
2	blackcat77	85 _85th
One of the most powerful movies I've ever seen -- so powerful that, as a child of the Cold War, it horrifies me to the point that I cannot watch it.
2	juntakinte99	55 _16th
At its heights it's almost a 50's Children of Men: using sci-fi to dramatize cultural anxieties. But it too often boils down to showing how nukes can destroy melodramatic romances. The writing is clunky, as the dialogue can be trite and the Men on a Mission plot doesn't start until late in the film. Clever photography & Peck's great performance aren't enough for a recommendation. Avoid. Instead watch The World, The Flesh, and the Devil, from the same year & see a better post-apocalyptic story.
1	CloseFriend	43 _16th
For a movie with such a simple and eminently workable concept, the screenplay picks the most circuitous, tiresome routes to take through it. The narratives of the two main couples switch off at random, with no thematic parallels and little of the tension maintained. I agree with its message, but the film plods with such tendentiousness and mawkishness that I just don't care.
1	Stain	80 _68th
One of Stanley Kramer's "important" films that actually works. Fred Astaire plays a serious role here, and he's damn good. It doesn't end like you'd think, either
1	Mentaculus	48 _23rd
Nearly nothing happens, then the ending tells us how much we suck. Manipulative in a conceited, overtly moralistic way.
1	Luna6ix	81 _77th
A great sci-fi story is bogged down by light preachiness and an overly optimistic message that falters on the side of cheesiness. If it ended about fifteen seconds earlier and in a more consistently bleak manner then I would have been truly stunned.
1	Honest_Thief	3 _31st
phony Hollywood characters wrestle with upcoming doom, which creates some dissonance and drags the pace down. The tonal contrast is likely meant as a whiplash, and reassurance for the 1959 xmas audience that it's all just a movie after all, but when the other shoe drops it doesn't so much shock as jolts you awake. Still, some imagery does stick and the palpable anxiety the characters live in gives way to some poignant moments.
1	Lilarcor	66 _28th
Interesting story, but the movie has too many drawn out scenes. The race scene is utterly ridiculous. Also, was there really a need for using the song "Waltzing Matilda" as much?
1	dunbar	75 _61st
Pretty depressing subject matter when it dawns on you what's happening. Although it's also a film that, while it offers some good performances and powerful scenes, can't quite figure out how to pace itself both physically and emotionally. It also suffers from a weird and previously unstudied after effect of nuclear fallout where all capability to produce and knowledge of music other than "waltzing maltida" has been lost. My oh my many a matilda got waltzed before the end.
1	jlewis	80 _41st
Does drag in places, and felt the story was over sentimental, but hard to tell if this was just the style of the era.

Average Percentile 55.04% from 316 Ratings