Post by drystyx on Jun 21, 2021 0:50:04 GMT
aka "The Long and the Short and the Tall" 1961, JUNGLE FIGHTERS remains one of the most gripping war dramas ever made, and darts back and forth between number 1 and 2 on my all time list of greatest films ever. It is the greatest war film ever.
It is a case of "misadventure" so to speak, of how things get out of hand.
It's a story of "chaos". The writer was no stranger to wartime action, especially that of the Brits in WW2. This is first hand knowledge, and it shows.
Seven soldiers from the British Isles in World War II are on a work detail. Some of them aren't as fully trained in combat as the three leaders played by Richard Todd, Richard Harris, and Donald Frasier, who are first, second, and third in command, in that order.
Those three are veterans. The other four are misfits. The group also represent a hodge podge of the British Isles. One is a Scotsman, and one is Welsh. I've never been sure if one was also Irish.
The catalyst character, however, is one of the four misfits, played by Laurence Harvey, who becomes an unlikely "anti hero". Another big name actor, David McCallum, plays a bullied radio man who is afraid of his own shadow. Now, why would anyone be afraid in a war? Well, his motivation is sure easy to understand.
They're conducting an experiment with using sound to confuse the enemy, not realizing that the front lines have changed. They capture an equally misfit Japanese soldier, one who looks older than Moses, and who is also afraid.
The leader, a sergeant played by Todd, who is also no stranger to wartime action, reminds me of Van Heflin in GUNMAN'S WALK. He comes across as level headed, but he lost a patrol of three men before this action, and his decisions doom even more men here. While he doesn't seem like a villain, just like Heflin in "Gunman", he is the true villain here.
Richard Harris seems to be the villain, due to his bullying. Frasier plays the most level headed one of the three veterans. The entire patrol comes across as very three dimensional, believable, identifiable characters.
JUNGLE FIGHTERS doesn't have a lot of action and bloodshed for most of the film, but you'd never know it. You're gripped by the characters, just like SEVEN SAMURAI. The film flows naturally, and no punches are pulled. The cards fall where they fall, and ironically, the cards fall in a way that leads almost every character to a most ironic fate. If you like irony, this is the King of Ironic films.
This is a classic. It was always meant to be one, and it still is one, despite the attempts of jealous rivals in the movie business to sweep the real classics under the rug.
10/10
It is a case of "misadventure" so to speak, of how things get out of hand.
It's a story of "chaos". The writer was no stranger to wartime action, especially that of the Brits in WW2. This is first hand knowledge, and it shows.
Seven soldiers from the British Isles in World War II are on a work detail. Some of them aren't as fully trained in combat as the three leaders played by Richard Todd, Richard Harris, and Donald Frasier, who are first, second, and third in command, in that order.
Those three are veterans. The other four are misfits. The group also represent a hodge podge of the British Isles. One is a Scotsman, and one is Welsh. I've never been sure if one was also Irish.
The catalyst character, however, is one of the four misfits, played by Laurence Harvey, who becomes an unlikely "anti hero". Another big name actor, David McCallum, plays a bullied radio man who is afraid of his own shadow. Now, why would anyone be afraid in a war? Well, his motivation is sure easy to understand.
They're conducting an experiment with using sound to confuse the enemy, not realizing that the front lines have changed. They capture an equally misfit Japanese soldier, one who looks older than Moses, and who is also afraid.
The leader, a sergeant played by Todd, who is also no stranger to wartime action, reminds me of Van Heflin in GUNMAN'S WALK. He comes across as level headed, but he lost a patrol of three men before this action, and his decisions doom even more men here. While he doesn't seem like a villain, just like Heflin in "Gunman", he is the true villain here.
Richard Harris seems to be the villain, due to his bullying. Frasier plays the most level headed one of the three veterans. The entire patrol comes across as very three dimensional, believable, identifiable characters.
JUNGLE FIGHTERS doesn't have a lot of action and bloodshed for most of the film, but you'd never know it. You're gripped by the characters, just like SEVEN SAMURAI. The film flows naturally, and no punches are pulled. The cards fall where they fall, and ironically, the cards fall in a way that leads almost every character to a most ironic fate. If you like irony, this is the King of Ironic films.
This is a classic. It was always meant to be one, and it still is one, despite the attempts of jealous rivals in the movie business to sweep the real classics under the rug.
10/10
