Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- passionate
- melancholic
- sincere
- classic cinema night
- romantic drama evening
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an emotionally powerful and artfully photographed Hemingway adaptation, despite sentimentality, uneven pacing, and occasionally stagy dialogue.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Lt. Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley pursue a relationship while serving amid the Italian Front and World War I.
The film combines wartime danger, separation, pregnancy, and loss within an intensely emotional love story.
Its wartime relationship, sexual morality, pregnancy, and desertion themes reflect the Pre-Code Hollywood context.
Frederic's commitment to Catherine clashes with his role as an ambulance driver and the demands of wartime command.
Films like A Farewell to Arms, and why
Waterloo Bridge
A tragic wartime romance shaped by separation, duty, and emotional sacrifice.
Random Harvest
A classic Hollywood romance set against the upheaval and losses of war.
Gone with the Wind
A sweeping doomed love story pairing melodrama with historical conflict.
Movie Details
- Director
- Frank Borzage
- Release Date
- 1932-12-08
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (166)
Cast
- Helen Hayes
- Gary Cooper
- Adolphe Menjou
- Mary Philips
- Jack La Rue
- Blanche Friderici
- Mary Forbes
- Gilbert Emery
- Henry Armetta
- Herman Bing
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus, Pure Flix, FlixFling, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is A Farewell to Arms about?
- An ambulance lieutenant and a wartime nurse stake everything on a forbidden love threatened by military duty, separation, and the devastations of World War I.
- What is A Farewell to Arms like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Farewell to Arms as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is A Farewell to Arms violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Farewell to Arms as mild.
- What did critics think of A Farewell to Arms?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an emotionally powerful and artfully photographed Hemingway adaptation, despite sentimentality, uneven pacing, and occasionally stagy dialogue.
- Which films are like A Farewell to Arms?
- Films with a similar feel include Waterloo Bridge, Random Harvest, and Gone with the Wind.
- How long is A Farewell to Arms?
- A Farewell to Arms runs 89 minutes.
- Where can I watch A Farewell to Arms?
- In United States, A Farewell to Arms streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus, Pure Flix, FlixFling, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel.
