Battle Hymn
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Movie Reviews of Battle Hymn
Movie Review: A HYMN TO HIM AND HER - MORE LOVE THAN WAR!
Summary: 3 Stars
"Battle Hymn" is the story of a minister (Rock Hudson) who returns to train Korean soldiers to fight after he feels he has lost his calling. Of course he finds redemption and his true faith when he becomes involved with a group of Korean orphans and a young Korean/Indian woman that cares for them. Despite several brilliantly staged action sequences this film is not so much a war saga as it is a tale of introspection and finding courage in religion to carry on. The reason is simple; the film's director is Douglas Sirk - known for his soppy, sloppy and gushy melodramas that ooz treacle over substance, like "Imitation of Life" and "Written on the Wind". The blend of both adventure and drama is seamless. "Battle Hymn" is an intelligently-crafted and inspiring without being stoic or preachy.THE TRANSFER: Overall the picture quality is nicely rendered but the ravages of time have not been kind in a few spots. Age related artifacts are present throughout - sometimes glaringly so. Black levels are often weak and fine detail is lost in the darkest scenes. Digital anomalies are not an issue for a generally smooth visual presentation. The audio is nicely presented - if somewhat dated.
EXTRAS: None.
BOTTOM LINE: "Battle Hymn" is finely wrought melodrama tinged with the prerequisite of combat that all war films have in common. The DVD is admirably realized but is not reference quality. Still, it's definitely worth a look.
Movie Review: Rock Hudson in Korean War Melodrama
Summary: 3 Stars
This story of a preacher who leaves the ministry to alleviate his conscience by joining the Korean War effort and ends up helping Koren orphans reteams producer Ross Hunter, director Douglas Sirk and star Rock Hudson. However, this war melodrama is not as good or entertaining as their previous collaborations, the grand-scale soap operas "Magnificent Obsession" and "All That Heaven Allows". Probably because its based on the true story of a war hero, Sirk doesn't push genre conventions as he did on his better-known melodramas. Still, Battle Hymn is a very good film, with more emphasis on human relationships, especially "white male guilt" (a favorite theme of Sirk), than war. There is also the suggestion of interracial desire between Rock Hudson and Indian-born actress Anna Kashfi (who would become better known as Mrs. Marlon Brando), who plays a beautiful and noble foreign woman who helps Hudson take care of hundreds of orphans (while his white wife waits back home pregnant). Her attraction for Hudson, of course, is very nobly repressed throughout the film.Movie Review: For Rock Hudson fans
Summary: 3 Stars
"Battle Hymn" is roughly based on an actual event -- the rescue of a bunch of orphans during the Korean War, who were saved from the advancing North Koreans when they were packed into U.S. cargo planes and flown to safety.
Rock Hudson is not given much of an opportunity to display his acting ability (of which he possessed more than he was given credit for during his lifetime), but he does a workmanlike job with the lines he's given. He portrays an actual U.S. Air Force officer who was in civilian life a clergyman. Hess was involved in the famous "Kiddy Car Airlift" -- although, according to detractors, possibly not to the extent shown in the movie.
The story itself is rewarding and for die-hard Hudson fans who would be happy merely to watch him declaim the telephone book, it's probably worthwhile.
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