MacArthur
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Movie Reviews of MacArthur
Movie Review: MacArthur deserved a longer film
Summary: 4 Stars
Beautifully filmed, but MacArthur, an epic American general, should have been a 3-hour film instead of the 130 minutes they sliced it into. I kept sensing they had cut scenes. Fux pas: Gregory Peck (1) points to Lingayen Gulf in Luzon and vows to land at Leyte, (2) salutes President Truman at the 1950 Wake Island meeting when we all know MacArthur infuriated Truman by failing to salute, and (3) keeps saying "please" when he gives orders. I just can't imagine General MacArthur saying "please" as he barks the commands. But overall, a good film.Movie Review: I wanted to like this movie, but . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie, in short, is very inconsistent as far as movie quality goes. The 1970s production values are clear, but I don't hold that against the film; it's the overall "B-movie" feeling inherent in the production. I've seen older films that were beautifully done. This wasn't. In some respects it was excellent; in others, downright awful. Let me elaborate.
First, the acting. Some of the actors are just too affected. Gregory Peck as MacArthur, Marj Dusay as the general's wife, and Sandy Kenyon as Jonathan Wainwright (in a limited role) were among the few strong performances that were genuine, powerful and believable. Many of the other acting performances, such as those that portrayed President Roosevelt, and President Truman (the actor spoke much faster than Truman ever did) are affected and over the top so much as to be laughable and produced a cringe or seven. Other acting segments were horrendous as well. Time after time, I noticed scenes where I thought to myself "people just don't talk like that. Only actors trying too hard do."
But that wasn't always the case. It tended to be more prevalent in the camraderie scenes, with average troops. To be fair, those roles weren't filled by great thespians--they were just bit players. But the director didn't step in and prevent these abominations of film. And anytime a viewer gets that feeling, as I did, it's just bad moviemaking.
On to the positive. As mentioned earlier, Peck and a few others were excellent. But where I thought the film shines was in some of the more intimate, serious scenes. One example was the scene where, after MacArthur returns to the Philippines ("I have returned"), and visits the survivors of the Bataan Death March. It was a powerful, well done scene. So was the escape from Corregidor to Australia early in the movie, and the Korean War scenes near the end were quite good.
While bad acting does sometimes stick out like a sore thumb, it's not the only thing I judge a film by. So what else was good? Well, the photography was first rate. It's difficult to view a period piece and get the real feeling of actually being there. This film allows for that feeling. Overall the DVD quality was good, too.
Back to criticism. There were factual errors I noticed immediately. When Truman and MacArthur meet on Wake Island to discuss Korean War strategy, MacArthur is shown saluting Truman as the president descends the stairs. The problem? It never happened. It's actually one of the more blatant examples of MacArthur's real life hubris and a relatively well known incident. So why did the filmmakers put it in? Creative license? I think not--it was a glaring omission. Another major error was when the MacArthur character (Peck) was briefing the President (FDR) in Hawaii, in an otherwise good scene portraying his effort to convince FDR not to not bypass the Philippines prior to an invasion in Japan, points to a spot on the map that is actually closer to Manila or Subic in the West, but says "Leyte," a place that is actually on the complete opposite side of that country's territory--on the east. Splitting hairs? Possibly, but imagine seeing a movie where someone says "here in New York City" but points to San Fransisco! So I think this just illustrates my point about the carelessness of the filmmakers and therefore, the B-movie like feeling one often gets.
All in all however, I enjoyed the movie, distractions for poor quality notwithstanding. I've recently developed an interest in the Pacific War and MacArthur himself, and for that reason and that reason only, I found it a worthwhile two hours spent watching the movie. I may even watch it again. In other words, I recommend this only for people genuinely interested in the subject matter and who want to watch a dramatic re-enactment of the events. For others, however, perhaps people who want to be entertained by a WWII film, it's difficult to recommend.
The bottom line to me is, this is a good but flawed film about a great but flawed man in a very fascinating time in history.
Movie Review: Enjoyable, but a flawed portrait of MacArthur
Summary: 3 Stars
Gregory Peck does his customary stellar job in this very enjoyable movie about General Douglas MacArthur. The film spans the time frame from the onset of World War II and the fall of the Phillipines (of which MacArthur was military commander) through the relief of General MacArthur in the midst of the Korean War. The movie is notably true to history in all respects that I could determine, and deserves kudos for that.In my opinion the film is flawed because it goes out of its way to portray MacArthur in an unfavorable light. It ridicules his skillful use of public relations, and presents MacArthur as a demagogue and as a somewhat shallow, manipulative, and downright political General. The troops' dislike of MacArthur is overplayed--other great generals were not always popular with their men, but the fact is that MacArthur and his strategy of bypassing Japanese strong points ("island hopping") worked, and saved countless American and Allied lives. While there is perhaps some truth to the notion that MacArthur was obsessed with his image to the American people, the fact is that the country needed heros in the dark days following Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt knew it and served up Patton and MacArthur, and MacArthur knew it too. In the early days of American involvement in the war, guts and morale were about all the country had going for it.
The movie deserves praise for its portrayal of MacArthur's handling of the Korean War. I don't recall ever seeing a more insightful or accurate dramatic portrayal of what happened in this underexamined war, and the movie gives MacArthur credit for his boldness and genius, and at the same time, in a fair and evenhanded way, the film explains why President Truman saw fit to relieve MacArthur. This action was appropriate although unfortunate, and the film handles this episode fairly, in my opinion.
The movie "Patton" is probably the model for how a movie should portray the life story of a great American general. compared against "Patton" this film does not measure up. Nevertheless, this film is well worth seeing and owning despite its flaws.
Movie Review: One of the most impressive scenes was the accurate recreation of the Japanese surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri...
Summary: 3 Stars
The film transported everyone back to October 20, 1944 where we seemed to be part of the great Philippine 'I Shall Return' landing scene... It was on that Leyte shore where General MacArthur reaped his fame...
Above all, Gregory Peck triumphed in his portrayal of the great general... It is the stride, the set of the shoulders, the intensity... It's what both men have had in common: intensity, total absorption, devotion... With MacArthur it was for the military... With Peck it was for the challenge of acting... An Academy Award winner for "To Kill a Mockinbird", an Oscar nominee for "Keys to the Kingdom", "The Yearling", "Gentleman's Agreement", and "Twelve O'Clock High"--he has played everything from an apparently homicidal amnesiac to a crusading journalist; from a troubled gunfighter to an obsessed attorney; from biblical David to Captain Horatio Hornblower... He has brought to them all his own unique insight, his character, his sincerity, warmth and love, and especially, his humor...
There is a scene where 'MacArthur' stands on deck with the 'President of the Philippines.' We can hear the dialogue: "General, I hope the water isn't too deep," says the 'President,' "because my people will find out I can't swim." Then come Peck's sonorous voice: "And my people are going to find that I can't walk on water!"
As "MacArthur," Peck once again justified his reputation as a giant in the film industry... Through him we felt MacArthur's emotions: we knew his anger, his happiness and we understood the relationship with his whole family...
Movie Review: Somehow makes the Pacific War and Douglas MacArthur stiff and dull
Summary: 3 Stars
General Douglas MacArthur casts a long shadow over the entire Eastern Pacific region but this bio pic really does not do him justice. It feels like a the writers took a collection of his speeches, put them in order and filmed them, splicing some WWII and Korean war combat footage between them to build a narrative.
Gregory Peck does a fantastic job of looking noble and heroic, and gives great speeches but never really comes to life; through the whole film he is stiff and dull. We get glimpses of his humanity, and some of the final scenes as he is removed from command and watches General Eisenhower become president are well-done but for the rest of the film he is about as human as a presidential robot at Disney World.
The script raises some powerful questions about MacArthur's ego, whether his ideas of war still worked in the atomic age and civilian control of the military. But it passes over them with platitudes and never really challenges the viewer.
The mix of recreations and stock footage from WWII and Korea makes the whole film feel cheap. The stock footage is easy to spot and the recreations look like they were filmed in a studio backlot. Compared to Patton or A Bridge Too Far everything looks fake.
MacArthur has a powerful story to tell and that makes it worth watching, but it's a mediocre job at best.