One of the rare american war movies with a certain sense of
reality: Richard Widmark as a platoon leader conquering the
pacific island of okinawa. From the long waiting time before the
attack on the battleship, to the landing operation on the shores of
okinawa, to the painful losses of his men, we follow these serious
looking americans. Their faces seem motionless and two of the
officers, including Widmark, have psychosomatic war syndroms.
The killing is no fun in this movie, the dying is no fun to watch. All in
all, not very entertaining, but a lesson in war, much more realistic
than later US-movies on the same topic.
reality: Richard Widmark as a platoon leader conquering the
pacific island of okinawa. From the long waiting time before the
attack on the battleship, to the landing operation on the shores of
okinawa, to the painful losses of his men, we follow these serious
looking americans. Their faces seem motionless and two of the
officers, including Widmark, have psychosomatic war syndroms.
The killing is no fun in this movie, the dying is no fun to watch. All in
all, not very entertaining, but a lesson in war, much more realistic
than later US-movies on the same topic.