Fixed Bayonets
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Movie Reviews of Fixed Bayonets
Movie Review: We spend too much time in Richard Basehart's head
Summary: 3 Stars
An okay movie that felt more like the original made for TV dramas of the late 1950s than a full blown movie. Appears to have been shot mostly on a sound stage, and the feel is of early video tape rather than film.
The story involves an Infantry platoon in Korea left behind to secure the withdrawal of the rest of their regiment. They are to hold a position and create a diversion while the regiment withdraws, then to withdraw themselves. The pivotal character is a corporal who does not wish to have command responsibility, but will have it thrust on him. (I think this was a theme borrowed from Henry Fonda's role in "The Imortal Sergeant"). As he agonizes over the emerging reality that he is going to be put in charge by the slow elimination of those above him, Richard Basehart's character conducts entirely too much internal monologue, which we get to share in.
The small unit Infantry tactics, weaponary, and interactions all feel quite authentic, and this is not a bad little movie, just not one I'd put on my "A" list.
Movie Review: Companion Movie to a Good Book
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently read "The Last Stand of Fox Company" about a significant battle in the Korean War. I was very impressed with the book and the difficult elements that the soldiers had to put up with. When I saw that "Fixed Bayonets" was on TV recently, I made a point to watch it. The circumstances of the film were very similar to those of the book and I appreciated the way I was able to compare my mental images with the visual ones in "Fixed Bayonets". In the process of supplementing a good book, I rediscovered a good movie. The focus of the film was the challenge of one man to overcome his weaknesses in an unforgiving environment. This isn't a great film but it is certainly worth watching. For those that don't know much about the Korean War, this is a good place to start learning.Movie Review: Grossly implausible and unrealistic
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm probably going to get ripped for writing a negative review since everyone else seems to be a diehard fan of old war movies, but I have to provide a dissenting view. I found the premise of the movie to be absurd, and the battlefield tactics were so ridiculous that I was totally distracted from the story.
The premise is that a 15,000-man division in the Korean War has to make a strategic retreat, and they leave 48 men at a critical pass to cover their retreat. Not only is the number ridiculously small, but they are left with no air support, no artillery support, and not even radio contact with the main force. Hello? this is Korea, not the Civil War. As absurd as the American strategic situation is, the Communists are even more irrational. Their movements are dictated solely for the convenience of the plot. If this were indeed the route for the advancing army, they would quickly overrun the pass with a major attack. Instead they send random skirmishers in a totally disjointed operation, attacking whenever the plot calls for an American casualty or a threat. At the ridiculous climax, one tank shows up after about two days of skirmishing, and it's covered by a grand total of one infantryman.
Even if the premise were scaled back to something reasonable for a platoon, like guarding a supply dump, the Communists' tactics don't make any sense. They appear to mass forces but then send out only a handful of men at a time to attack. Early on they drive the Americans into a cave with light artillery fire, where they are trapped like rats in a barrel, but the Communists call off the attack after shooting one bullet into the cave.
Then the crowning absurdity is that after worrying about frostbite all through the movie, they wade across a river with water up to their chests with no effect, as if they were Union troops crossing a stream in Virginia in August.
The main reason I gave this movie two stars instead of one was that the main character is, surprisingly enough, not a cardboard hero but a real human struggling with cowardice and lack of confidence. This "Red Badge Of Courage" theme is fairly compelling in this mess of a movie. I also give points for a 360-degree pan. I didn't know this had ever been done before the 1970's. Some of the characters are written as walking cliches, but at some points the interactions among the men are well-written and well-acted. These mild positives, however, are totally outweighed by the mountain of absurdities this movie serves up.
Houyhnhnm
Movie Review: A dissappointment!
Summary: 1 Stars
Frankly I'm quite dissapointed in this film. It's in black and white, which actually is no problem for me since I enjoy classic war films. The dissappointmnet is that the whole movie seems to be shot in a studio!!! and a very small studio! Really dissapointed. Also nothing really special about the story.