Objective Burma
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Movie Reviews of Objective Burma
Movie Review: We got run out of Burma...
Summary: 5 Stars
... and it's as humiliating as hell. - Gen Joseph Stilwell
By 1945, the year Raoul Walsh's OBJECTIVE, BURMA was released, the Allied armies would be well on their way to reclaiming Burma. The movie chronicles an operation undertaken on the eve of a massive invasion of the country. A Japanese radar station near the front line needs to be taken out of commission. The air force doesn't know exactly where the camouflaged installation is, so a small group of paratroopers, lead by Lieutenant Errol Flynn, are to be air dropped somewhere near where they believe the radar station is, destroy it, and force march themselves to a rendezvous point, where U.S. transports plane will be waiting to return them to base. Inevitably things don't go as planned, and Flynn and his small squad suddenly find themselves trapped in hostile territory. They become a `lost battalion,' deep in enemy territory, their condition and chance of rescue diminishing rapidly.
Some of the best movies about World War II were made between 1945 and 1950. A certain war weariness on the home front, returning veterans, and, of all things, newsreels from the battlefield conspired to force out much of the jingoism and almost all of the martial enthusiasm that were prominent components of movies made just a couple of years earlier. Realism counts in action movies based on real events, and OBJECTIVE, BURMA is about as realistic as they come. Not convincing in terms of special effects or convincing gore - later generations of films would concentrate on stuff like that. Rather, Walsh leaves this one relatively blood free. There are scenes of violence and carnage that would tax the ingenuity of today's CGI wizards, but in those scenes Walsh simply, and cannily, pulls a tight close up on Flynn and let his subtly expressive face reflect the horror and disgust, pity and sadness we'd feel if we saw what he sees.
This is a movie that works on every level. The photography, by James Wong Howe, is spectacular. Another future Oscar winner, Franz Waxman, scored this movie. More than the music, though, I was impressed by the ambient sounds of the jungle this movie was filled with. More than most thrillers this one had me on the edge of my seat throughout. It feels like it was filmed in a Burmese jungle although, after a trip to my favorite internet movie site, it appears the jungle scenes were shot in the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. The highest recommendation for this great war movie.
Also on the disk are a couple of fun shorts filmed during the war.
The Tanks are Coming - George Tobias, who also has a substantial role in OBJECTIVE BURMA, stars as a "cabbie from the Bronx" in this 1941 two-reel recruitment film. There's a lot of documentary to this one. We travel along with Tobias to Fort Knox, Kentucky, to partake in a detailed look at the training of `America's first armored force.' Tobias participates in calisthenics, training in gas masks, gets to fire 37mm tank guns mounted on wobbly plates, and watch as a passel of `blitz buggies' directly imperil his carefully hidden taxi cab which, I believe, he named Betsy. A nifty little Techni-Color short that was nominated for an Academy Award. Nifty doesn't mean classic, great, or even Oscar-worthy, but patriotism was running pretty high when the Oscars were held for this one (2/26/1942) and `Tanks' lost out in its category (Best Short Subject, Two-Reel) to `Main Street on the March!' , yet another short about America gearing up for war.
Rear Gunner - Burgess Meredith stars as the title character in this 1943 b/w two-reeler. Meredith is a recruit from Kansas with a clever speech impediment who begins the film, it appears, oiling the hinges on plane fuselages. Meredith's character, we're told, is one of those fellows who are `short on height, long on ambition' the armed services were constantly on the lookout for. Best of all he was good at "hittin' down crows" back ta home. Turns out he's a dead-eye killer on the skeet range, too, which lands him in gunnery school and a chance to become one of the Air Force's modern knights of fire. Pretty soon the movie has him, along with squad commander Ronald Reagan and a crew of lesser stars, heading for a place called Over There. Unlike `The Tanks are Coming,' `Rear Gunner' shows its star in (heroic) action. "Berlin and Tokyo beware!"
Movie Review: muted grace
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, so it does give an impression that only Americans fought the Japanese in Burma. (The British most certainly fought there, too, especially since Burma was THEIR colony, part of the Indian Empire.) I personally don't mind that at all, after all, this was a story about ONE company of paratroopers taking out ONE Japanese radar station. They did not even represent the entire American presence in that front. So I have no problem with that.But when you consider the time this movie was made, you cannot help but admire the no-nonsense, straightforward manner it was told. Not an ounce of excess fat (OK, maybe a little, but forgivable). This movie simply means business. The language is spot on. The other reviewer's remark about salt tablets was right on the mark. (Who would have thought salt, which terrifies some people today, was so vital to some people, once upon a time?) Equipment checks, last minute reminders, "hook up", "stand in the door", the burying of parachutes, tactics, the positioning and pulling out of machineguns, you'll have to make a great leap forward, to "Band of Brothers" in the 21st century, to find something this sound, this honest. I don't know how technically authentic it was, but I know it just feels so authentic.
No superheroes. Even the lead character, Capt. Nelson, is your average (G.I.) Joe. The only thing that makes him special is his ability to focus on the mission and to put the welfare of his men above all things. Yes, during the scene where they were ambushed after supplies were dropped, you wish Nelson had been more active in saving those stricken men. But when you really think about it, what he actually did, saving those who can still be saved, avoiding an engagement when they were poorly positioned and low on ammunition (they did not get the supplies, remember), is what YOU would have done. No blind, heroic charges against entrenched enemies. No unnecessary displays of gung-ho. Even without all those, you still feel their peril.
(And thankfully, no silly encounters with snakes, scorpions or - God Almighty - rhinos as in most "jungle" war movies. I don't know where the crocodiles in the Editorial review came from, though. Never saw one.)
Obviously, the audio will not match that of modern war movies, such as "Saving Private Ryan", the current standard. Some of the props are poorly done, such as the TNT, which look like wooden blocks painted over. On the other hand, you get a war movie that is nothing short of a breath of fresh air in a world choked by the smoke of "Windtalkers", one that does not rely on special effects to hold you in its grip. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Not Politically Correct, But Loads of Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
This film has always been one of my favorite WWII flicks and I finally got around to ordering a copy from Amazon, which I just received. I'm definitely glad I did!
The photography is excellent and the DVD video and sound quality, while not top shelf, were better than I expected. The film is 1.33:1 ratio, but by playing it on "full screen" setting the picture completely filled my 16:9 ratio Panasonic's screen and the people and surroundings didn't seem unduly squat or compressed.
The score for this film is also very good and creates the perfect balance of tension and bravado and blends perfectly with the action on screen. And boy oh boy is there action. Furious and frantic from start to finish, however the pace does slow often enough to flesh out the characters and allow you to care about them. There were several times I paused the film to take stock of the remaining men, to confirm who had died and who fought on. These men were well enough defined to easily have been my father or uncle, or somebody else I knew growing up. They were brave and heroic, yet frightened and confused, typical All-American John Doe's each and everyone.
The one element that might not be to the liking of every film buff is the jingoistic attitude and blatant racial slurs filling the movie. The enemy combatants are constantly referred to as being "Japs" and "Monkeys" and to quote one of the American soldiers after he has witnessed an atrocity committed against one of his own, "We ought to wipe em out. Wipe em off the face of the earth!" Certainly not the attitude an enlightened individual should strive for, but understandable in light of world events unfolding when this movie was made. And let's not forget that racial prejudice and intolerance was rampant on both sides of the ocean back then; fortunately much of the world has learned to curb such appetites in the years following the dark and desperate days of our Father's and Grandfather's youth.
Objective Burma is one of the better films of its genre and perhaps Errol Flynn's finest performance.
Highly Recommended.
Movie Review: Burmese Days
Summary: 5 Stars
If I was an Englishman I might give this movie only 1 or 2 stars, because for them it would be like if we were watching a movie about the Normandy invasion of D-Day in which no Americans were ever seen to participate and the whole invasion was accomplished by UK sailors and soldiers. We'd be a little upset too and who could blame us? So, cut the British public some slack, they had every reason to shun this movie when it popped up in general release in England during the height of the war, when many British families were still mourning the loss of their sons, brother and fathers in the jungles of Burma (or still waiting anxiously for news of their boys captured by the enemy and languishing in prisons or on death marches). It was not a good time for anyone.
That said, OBJECTIVE BURMA is a super thrilling movie filled with tension, fraught with suspense, and packed to overflowing with good performances by a whole troop of Warner Brothers' contract players. Raoul Walsh was a very different sort of director than Michael Curtiz, who had filmed most of Errol Flynn's classics of the 1930s. At this juncture, Walsh was just taking over from Curtiz as Flynn's #1 director of choice, for he clashed often and mightily with the abrasive Curtiz. In this film Flynn is no swashbuckler but instead plays a more seasoned, rueful part, with great steel and more than a few tears. You can practically feel the gnats in the air, stinging your neck, feel the jungle heat and sweat. Flynn's portrayal is always center stage, as the man who has to hold the whole company together even in peril, as they're lost behind enemy lines without any contact to the outside world. It's amazingly realistic and at times, thrilling.
Indeed it's so realistic I'm surprised Army censors didn't put more cuts in it, as it certainly makes fighting the Japanese sound like a bleak prospect; while you're watching the picture you're almost convinced Japanese superiority and sheer mass of artillery and personnel will win the war. It's a great show and so cleverly constructed you don't even want to leave your seat and get popcorn.
Movie Review: Errol on DVD !
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally--the great Errol Flynn is becoming available on DVD. One can only hope that Warner Bros. will be releasing more classic Flynn titles in the near future. Except for late in his career, when Errol's excessive lifestyle took its toll, we are looking at one of the most exciting stars to ever grace the "silver screen".As other reviews will tell you, this is a truly memorable World War II drama about American soldiers successfully accomplishing a dangerous mission against the Japanese in the jungles of Burma, only to face the daunting task of returning to home base alive. The film is exciting, touching, sad and uplifting--and if ever there was an actor that men might follow even through the gates of hell, it is Errol Flynn. I agree that this is one of his best performances. At first, we get the famous Flynn bravado, but as the story progresses, we see more desperate human qualities and ultimately a world-weary resignation. The scene where he discovers that one of his men has been tortured to death does not really show the victim--it doesn't have to--the horror and disbelief on Flynn's face says it all.
The film is long--but even when there is no action taking place, the combination of suspense and sharply-drawn characters keeps a firm grip on your attention. You can feel that oppressive heat--the dense jungle--the biting insects--and the constant threat of a ruthless enemy. In many ways the atmosphere foreshadows another nasty war for Americans, in another Asian jungle, some twenty years later.
The DVD is excellent--the picture is very clear and stable for a 58-year old film.
I know that this movie was vilified in the UK for ignoring the huge role played by British troops in this theatre of the war. I don't pass historical judgments--I simply review the film. As such, "Objective Burma" is a powerful statement, and an excellent vehicle for a truly great star.