Post by drystyx on Oct 7, 2018 19:37:49 GMT
ANZIO is one of the forgotten plums, the hidden gem of war films.
That's because it is totally an allegory about Christianity in dealing with the war with the Devil.
A metaphor is first itself, then the symbol it represents.
The surface of ANZIO is a World War II battle. There are essentially two things going on, both around our protagonist, a war correspondent played by Robert Mitchum.
First, there is the war itself. He finds himself in the usual company of a sergeant played by Earl Holliman Jr., and a "ranger", a sort of super fighter, special unit bona fide killer played by Peter Falk.
Second, there is the dialog he has with the general played by Arthur Kennedy. Mitchum asks Kennedy why men go to war. Kennedy answers the usual ways, but Mitchum rejects these answers as futile and non-explanatory. He tells Kennedy that if he ever finds the answer, Kennedy will be the first he will tell.
So, we know Mitchum will find the answer in a dangerous mission, and he will survive to tell the general later. We also pretty much know the answer.
Mitchum, Holliman, Falk, and about five others, survive an ambush, and go on a dangerous flight back to their base. During this time, Mitchum finds he has to tote a gun at the very end, and do his part of bloodshed. Falk, as expected in his dangerous role, is killed, and Mitchum does the job Falk set out to do.
Mitchum returns with Holliman and one other soldier, and he finds the general has had his own problems. While the general is packing his bags to be sent to wherever his demotion sends him, he is told the 'answer" by Mitchum.
The answer is that men want to kill. (He doesn't exactly say "women" wouldn't kill, because the point is that the human being is demon possessed.
The desire to control others, to the point of ending life, and lets be honest, this also means to the point of putting people in wheelchairs, comas, and the like, whatever way to control the destiny of others, to determine to be gods over others, is a show of how inferior we are at playing God when we succumb to the rules and ideologies of the world.
The humans who have the most authority are the least qualified to play God. That's also inferred in the film, though not overt.
The film is clearly an expression of the demonic influence humans are subject to. At the end, the general is appalled by Mitchum's revelation, but Mitchum says the Christian response, that if we admit it to ourselves and deal with it, maybe we can do something about it. Until then, we're simply naïve fools with no reward.
That's because it is totally an allegory about Christianity in dealing with the war with the Devil.
A metaphor is first itself, then the symbol it represents.
The surface of ANZIO is a World War II battle. There are essentially two things going on, both around our protagonist, a war correspondent played by Robert Mitchum.
First, there is the war itself. He finds himself in the usual company of a sergeant played by Earl Holliman Jr., and a "ranger", a sort of super fighter, special unit bona fide killer played by Peter Falk.
Second, there is the dialog he has with the general played by Arthur Kennedy. Mitchum asks Kennedy why men go to war. Kennedy answers the usual ways, but Mitchum rejects these answers as futile and non-explanatory. He tells Kennedy that if he ever finds the answer, Kennedy will be the first he will tell.
So, we know Mitchum will find the answer in a dangerous mission, and he will survive to tell the general later. We also pretty much know the answer.
Mitchum, Holliman, Falk, and about five others, survive an ambush, and go on a dangerous flight back to their base. During this time, Mitchum finds he has to tote a gun at the very end, and do his part of bloodshed. Falk, as expected in his dangerous role, is killed, and Mitchum does the job Falk set out to do.
Mitchum returns with Holliman and one other soldier, and he finds the general has had his own problems. While the general is packing his bags to be sent to wherever his demotion sends him, he is told the 'answer" by Mitchum.
The answer is that men want to kill. (He doesn't exactly say "women" wouldn't kill, because the point is that the human being is demon possessed.
The desire to control others, to the point of ending life, and lets be honest, this also means to the point of putting people in wheelchairs, comas, and the like, whatever way to control the destiny of others, to determine to be gods over others, is a show of how inferior we are at playing God when we succumb to the rules and ideologies of the world.
The humans who have the most authority are the least qualified to play God. That's also inferred in the film, though not overt.
The film is clearly an expression of the demonic influence humans are subject to. At the end, the general is appalled by Mitchum's revelation, but Mitchum says the Christian response, that if we admit it to ourselves and deal with it, maybe we can do something about it. Until then, we're simply naïve fools with no reward.
