The Sand Pebbles

Blu-ray Disc Features:

Audio:

• Mono - French, Spanish
• Dolby Digital 4.0 - English
• 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio - English
• Subtitles - English, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean - Optional

Additional Release Material:

• Alternate Scenes - Deleted "Road Show" Scenes (13)
• Audio Commentaries - Robert Wise - Director; Candice Bergen, Mako, Richard Crenna - Stars
• Behind the Scenes - "The Making of THE SAND PEBBLES"
• Documentaries - 1. Narrated by Richard Attenborough: "Changsha Bund and The Streets of Taipei" (audio)
                           2. Narrated by Richard Attenborough: "A Ship Called San Pablo" (audio)
• Featurettes - 1. "Steve McQueen Remembered"
                     2. "Bob Wise in Command"
                     3. "China 1926"
                     4. "A Ship Called San Pablo" (1966)
                     5. "The Secret of the San Pablo" (1966)
• Isolated Audio Track - Musical Score (w/ Commentary by Nick Redman - Music Producer; Jon Burnlingame - Film Music Historian; Lem Dobbs - Film Historian
• Trailers - 1. 20th Century Fox High Definition Previews
                2. Theatrical Trailer

Interactive Features:

• Trivia - Trivia Track

Product Description:

One of the most exciting and heart-wrenching epics ever made, THE SAND PEBBLES is a masterpiece of storytelling, with exceptional performances by a stellar cast. The complex tale begins simply enough in 1926 China, where a group of American soldiers are patrolling the Yangtze River on a gunboat called the San Pablo. The crew members, who call themselves Sand Pebbles, includes Jake Holman (Steve McQueen), a dispassionate but capable navy machinist, and his only friend, Frenchy (Richard Attenborough), a sailor in love with an English-educated Chinese girl, Maily (Marayat Andriane), who has been sold into prostitution. Strong feelings of nationalism have been sweeping through China, however, and when Chiang Kai-shek moves against the feudal warlords, the United States decides to treat the upheaval as a civil war, and the San Pablo is ordered to confine its function to protection of American civilians in the area. Included among them are Mr. Jameson (Larry Gates), a missionary, and Shirley Eckert (Candice Bergen), a schoolteacher with whom Jake falls in love. Soon Jake finds himself in the middle of an international military crisis when his native assistant, Po-han (Mako), is brutally tortured in an attempt to draw the San Pablo's fire, and the boat's inexperienced and prideful captain (Richard Crenna) wants to give his humiliated ship and disgraced crew a chance for glory. THE SAND PEBBLES--with its expert cinematography, moving score, and riveting locations--is a memorable viewing experience brought to life by the multitalented director Robert Wise.

Plot Synopsis:

An exceptional performance by Steve McQueen as a crew member of an American gunboat caught in a foreign struggle in post-World War I China highlights this thrilling tale. As tensions arise between the ready crew and their inexperienced captain, one of the sailors embarks on a doomed romance with an Asian woman. Academy Award Nominations: 8, including Best Picture, Best Actor--Steve McQueen.

Plot Keywords:

Action | Big Battles | Classic Fight Scenes | Drama | Recommended | Romance | Theatrical Release

Cast and Crew: