Search - Biography - Ernest Hemingway: Wrestling with Life (A&E DVD Archives) on DVD

Real hemingway.

L. Franzten | USA | 10/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This video is a masterpiece. I love Hemingway and here the man is captured in all his in your face-tortured-life loving-woman loving glory. The language in this video is hardly disturbing which makes me think the person who wrote a review for this video claiming it was full of curse words did not actually see it. If anything this video will instill in the viewer a need to read more about the man and his work. A rare video. I've seen it a half dozen times and it never loses it hold on me. For any Hemingway fan this is a must."

For educational purposes

R. J. MacDonnell | 04/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The review belows states that this video is full of cuss words. Unless you're a nun, I don't see why you didn't show 14 year old students this video. I think they can handle words like ''damn'' and ''hell''.
This video is great. It captures the spirit of Hemmingway perfectly; a boy trying to find his masculinity. Perfect for teenage boys, to help them avoid mistakes Hemmingway may have made and realize who they are."

Biography: Ernest Hemingway - Wrestling with Life (DVD)

R. J. MacDonnell | 08/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A worthwhile and well constructed precise of Hemingway's life, most valuable for its insights from Hemingway's sons and archival moving film footage, including some sound bites of Hemingway speaking. The video relies (necessarily) on a fair amount of still photography, much of which will be familar to Hemingway aficionados, nevertheless, the presentation is compelling."

Good stuff, but a bit dated

Drew Rolfe | Petaluma, CA | 05/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a new teacher looking for material to accompany my lessons, I bought this to show to my 11th grade American Lit students. I ended up returning it only because after renting it from the library, I decided I preferred to own the more recent documentary on Hemingway's life, "Rivers to the Stream."

"Wrestling with Life" is narrated by a very stiff and serious Mariel who looks like she's about 18. It also goes a bit too extensively into his childhood and his antipathy towards his mother. But keep in mind I bought this to view with my 11th graders so I was also watching it through their highly crticial and easily distractable eyes. Had it been the only one available, it would have done the job. But the newer DVD is much richer in my opinion. (I found the negative reviews of "Rivers to the Stream" completely unfounded;I had no problem with female narration of his short stories.)"