Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Jimmy L. John Frankenheimer directed some truly great films in the 1960s, including BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ (1962), THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962), SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964), and THE TRAIN (1964). THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN (1969) is a rare foray into comedy for the director, who'd found such success with dramas and thrillers.THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN is one of those sloppy experimental comedies from the 1960s. An anti-"war movie" (rather than an "anti-war" movie). Irreverent, satirical, but a bit messy and undercooked. It's certainly not a great film, but it has its merits. The stylistic conceit of incorporating vintage newsreel footage (with faux newsreel narration) into the story is an interesting touch. The patriotic newsreel montages create an ironical juxtaposition with the decidedly unheroic circumstances of the main characters. Maurice Jarre's bouncing score adds a quirky edge to the wartime setting and keeps things lively.The plot: A motley group of shipwrecked American sailors (led by a young Alan Alda) comes across a dilapidated British naval vessel and its eccentric and mysterious captain, played by David Niven. The lovely Faye Dunaway joins the crew as they pull out of the Philippines and head out to sea during the final days of WWII. Hijinks ensue.Mickey Rooney plays one of the sailors and suspects that everyone is a Jap spy. Despite a rather weak script, David Niven gives an enjoyable performance. I liked the casual way he'd report that Alda fell overboard.During the '60s filmmakers liked to experiment with unconventional storytelling. THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN is an atypical film from John Frankenheimer. The novelty of the newsreel footage gives the film a unique personality, but the madcap editing comes off as messy sometimes. There are some good creative ideas, but the finished movie lacks focus. The result is a little-known curiosity with some recognizable names attached. A mediocre movie, perhaps, and certainly not up to the director's standard, but I think the IMDb community is being too harsh on it (a 2.5 rating?!).

CitizenCaine The Extraordinary Seaman directed by John Frankenheimer is puzzling in the sense that how could a film directed by Frankenheimer, which includes performances by David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda, Mickey Rooney, and Jack Carter, and music by Maurice Jarre not be entertaining? After a string of successes from the beginning of his career in the 1950's with television drama through the 1960's with several film classics, Frankenheimer failed miserably with this film. Due to the short running time of 80 minutes compared to the usual much longer running times for his previous films, one wonders whether the film was taken out of Frankenheimer's hands at one point.Niven is an old sea captain who has a secret, later discovered by the over-acting Alda, who nearly sleepwalks through his role. Dunaway starts out promising as a woman who can help a crew or hinder it, but shortly after boarding ship, Dunaway's role becomes forgettable. Alda overacts his way through the film progressively more as the film unfolds, and his forced romance with Dunaway makes her seem uncomfortable in the film. Rooney and Carter, who can both be very funny when given something to work with, are completely wasted with little or nothing to do.The film purports to be an adventure/comedy but it's neither interesting nor funny, and the non-existent story just falls flat long before the revelation, which occurs an hour into the film. The denouement is a preposterous letdown. The most interesting parts of the film are the archival footage edited in to the film for what was probably intended to be comedic/ironic effect. However, the old clips took up almost a quarter of the film, which means there wasn't much to watch to begin with. A huge waste of talent considering those involved. 0 of ****.

Poseidon-3 What if they made a movie and no one could watch it? Perhaps it's not quite THAT bad, but it's close. Alda, Rooney, Carter and Tupou play four naval crewmen during WWII who become shipwrecked on a south sea island and who stumble upon a beached, old ship called the Curmudgeon. On board is mysterious and old-fashioned Niven, who guzzles scotch from a never-ending bottle and who wishes to get his rust bucket back in order and on to Australia. While looking for applicable supplies, the men are joined by gun-toting Dunaway, who winds up boarding the ship as well. The motley crew works on getting the ship seaworthy and heads off to Australia, but not before encountering the enemy and not before Alda discovers some "shocking" secrets about Niven. All through the film, old newsreels and classic footage from the 30's and 40's is inserted for comedic and/or ironic effect. Sometimes, the footage is more interesting or entertaining than any of the strained, dull or pointless new material that makes up the bulk of the film, though none of it is very arresting, in any case. Niven gives a laid back performance, to say the least. Alda is his typical self, which will appeal to some viewers more than others. Dunaway looks great, despite the lack of fashionable clothes or glamour and she also has a bit of spunk, at least at first. However, she's not given a lot to do and the part ends up as thankless. Rooney claims to have no memory of making the film at all according to his auto-bio and despite the reportedly trying conditions where it was filmed. Carter mostly hollers and eats baked beans. It's a bad film with very little to recommend it. If it were just a bit worse, it could count as campy or unintentionally funny, but it's just plain bad. Misguided, choppy and banal are other words that could be used to describe it. It's not the jewel of anyone's resume, but it's got to be one of the least notable films on Dunaway's, especially for this time period.

moonspinner55 Faye Dunaway may be many things, but 'fun' rarely comes to mind. She was seductively clever in Richard Lester's "Musketeers" pictures, she had a squirrelly fashion-queen presence in "The Thomas Crown Affair", and in these later years she has projected a looser, warmer presence (such as in "Barfly" or "Don Juan DeMarco"). But here she's an icy blonde shiver: too cool, too calculating, and too aloof. This film, barely released at all by MGM, involves a group of military personnel circa WWII who are stranded on an island in the Pacific, coming upon a mystical sea captain and his creaky barge. Separated--for no apparent reason--into SIX acts, and interspersed with actual newsreel footage from the period, one has to assume the final cut was taken out of director John Frankenheimer's hands and muddied up by outsiders. Most of the actors look positively baffled, except of course for Faye. She looks shockingly unruffled by the inane plot or the silly dialogue, so placid is her demeanor. "Fun away with Dunaway"?? Anything for publicity... NO STARS from ****