Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

zetes I can't speak to this film's worth as an adaptation of the Hemingway novel, as I've never read it, but it's an excellent film. Borzage lost little of his talent when he moved to sound. This is a rare film from the era where the camera moves almost constantly, and there are many clever filmmaking conceits throughout (most notably the long POV sequence after Gary Cooper is first paralyzed). Cooper stars as an American fighting for Italy in WWI. He falls for nurse Helen Hayes, though they are not allowed to marry. That can't keep them apart, though, and when he goes back to fight she goes off to Switzerland - secretly pregnant. The two have vowed to write each other, but a conspiracy keeps their correspondences from reaching each other. This is pure melodrama, and by the end it turns into an unabashed weepy, but it's beautiful throughout, quite romantic and downright sexy at times. Both Cooper and Hayes are fantastic. Adolph Menjou as Cooper's best friend and Mary Philips as Hayes' do well in the major supporting roles.

GusF Based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical 1929 novel of the same name, this seemed like the perfect film to watch after the Hemingway biopic "In Love and War" (1996) but it is not a very good one. I read the relevant novel seven or eight years ago so my memories of it are admittedly not terribly fresh but this is not a great adaptation. The film is slowly paced, disjointed and often boring in spite of its short running time. The ending is far too melodramatic for my liking. The script largely trades the novel's cynicism and fatalism for sentimentality and romanticism. Hemingway hated the film but, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have had a problem with these changes if they had been handled well. Sadly, they weren't as the script is not exactly strong.That said, there is an underlying sense of fatalism when it comes to the treatment of the First World War and the manner in which it impacted on its participants. The scenes dealing with the war are considerably better executed than the romantic ones. The film is interesting in its depiction of premarital sex, particularly since it would have been toned down considerably if it had been made after the Hays Code came into effect in 1934. Hemingway would have probably hated it even more if, say, it had been made in 1937. The novel's language was toned down as well but that was hardly surprising given that Hemingway used several words that would not be commonly heard in films until decades after his death.Gary Cooper became a better actor as he got older but he is not a great leading man in this instance. His performance as Lt. Frederic Henry is very variable. In contrast, Helen Hayes is excellent as his beloved Catherine Barkley, a war weary and somewhat emotionally damaged English nurse. I've never seen her in anything young before so that was interesting. However, she and Cooper have next to no chemistry so their romance is tepid at best, which is obviously never a good thing in a romantic film! The film also features strong performances from Adolphe Menjou as Henry's unreliable "war brother" Captain Rinaldi, Mary Phillips as Catherine's best friend and fellow nurse Helen Ferguson and Jack La Rue as an Italian priest who has difficulty comprehending the scale of death and destruction that the war has caused. Cooper later became close friends with Hemingway and chose him to star in the film adaptation of his 1940 novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls".Overall, this is not a very good film when it comes to the romantic elements but much better when it comes to its more limited war elements.

rickhavoc1 Be warned! The ending of this movie is enough to make a grown man CRY! At least if he's not as wooden as one of the other people who posted a comment here claims Gary Cooper is. That's just a crock of BULLS%#&. I sometimes think of this as the ultimate "f%#&-your-buddy" movie. But not all love stories have happy endings. Coop did a bang-up job portraying Lt. Frederick Henry, an American who volunteers with the Italian Army as an ambulance driver, who falls in love with a British nurse named Catherine Barkley, (Helen Hayes, who also was wonderful). Lt. Henry's "friend", Major Rinaldi (Adolphe Menjou), is a surgeon who's also attracted to Nurse Barkley. He interferes with the romance, justifying it to himself by saying it's just a wartime fling. There's also a drumhead "kangaroo court" scene that's a classic of injustice. The romantic scenes are tender and sweet, with Coop and Hayes having great screen chemistry together. I just can't watch it too often, as my life is unhappy enough without watching movies with sad endings.

Petri Pelkonen There's World War I going and Lieutenant Frederick Henry is fighting for his life.The war becomes secondary when he meets and falls in love with nurse Catherine Barkley.Having big emotions for another person during the war is dangerous since there's the chance of losing that person.They're both afraid.He may not admit that, but they're both afraid.Frank Borzage's A Farewell to Arms (1932) is based on Ernest Hemingway's novel.It won two Academy Awards from best cinematography (Charles Lang) and best sound, recording (Franklin Hansen).It would have deserved awards for acting, as well.The charismatic Gary Cooper and the admirable Helen Hayes do a fantastic job as the leading couple.Then there's also the great Adolphe Menjou as Major Rinaldi.The dialogue is brilliant.Lots of lovely words are spoken about love.I know there are many people who would say a movie from 75 years back is too old for them.I'd say that's their lost.A Farewell to Arms offers great feelings from the first meeting till the tragic ending.