Country: US/GB
Technical: bw/2.35:1 175m
Director: Carl Foreman
Cast: Vince Edwards, Eli Wallach, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Jeanne Moreau, Rosanna Schiaffino, Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Elke Sommer, Senta Berger, Maurice Ronet, Peter Fonda, Albert Finney, James Mitchum, Michael Callan
Synopsis:
Interspersed with newsreel bulletins of the time, the progress of an American infantry squad through Italy, France and Germany is marked by bitterness and regret.
Review:
After the noble tragedy of Kwai, and the gung-ho of Navarone, Foreman's overt anti-war statement eschews scenes of combat in favour of cynicism and disillusionment. Forlorn attempts to find love, the killing of surrendering troops and shooting of a deserter culminate in the mercy killing of a soldier's pet dog that turns into a sporting contest; we end up with our sergeant disfigured and our gentle corporal redeeming misplaced jealousy in a knife fight with a Russian. Quirky touches such as Wallach and Moreau (excellent as always) sharing a bed during an air raid, and Finney guesting as a Soviet drunk, mix uneasily with the hollow propaganda of the news footage. Peppard impresses as the Bill Holden of the crew, but audiences more than likely had left the theatre, uncertain what to make of it all, by the time of the internecine knife duel on the streets of Berlin, aka Shepperton Studios.
Country: US/GB
Technical: bw/2.35:1 175m
Director: Carl Foreman
Cast: Vince Edwards, Eli Wallach, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Jeanne Moreau, Rosanna Schiaffino, Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Elke Sommer, Senta Berger, Maurice Ronet, Peter Fonda, Albert Finney, James Mitchum, Michael Callan
Synopsis:
Interspersed with newsreel bulletins of the time, the progress of an American infantry squad through Italy, France and Germany is marked by bitterness and regret.
Review:
After the noble tragedy of Kwai, and the gung-ho of Navarone, Foreman's overt anti-war statement eschews scenes of combat in favour of cynicism and disillusionment. Forlorn attempts to find love, the killing of surrendering troops and shooting of a deserter culminate in the mercy killing of a soldier's pet dog that turns into a sporting contest; we end up with our sergeant disfigured and our gentle corporal redeeming misplaced jealousy in a knife fight with a Russian. Quirky touches such as Wallach and Moreau (excellent as always) sharing a bed during an air raid, and Finney guesting as a Soviet drunk, mix uneasily with the hollow propaganda of the news footage. Peppard impresses as the Bill Holden of the crew, but audiences more than likely had left the theatre, uncertain what to make of it all, by the time of the internecine knife duel on the streets of Berlin, aka Shepperton Studios.
