Movie Reviews for The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage

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Movie Reviews of The Red Badge of Courage

Movie Review: Enjoyable civil war story but could have been better.
Summary: 3 Stars

Somehow this truncated movie leaves a lot hanging in the air. Not that the story is not complete, but more so because there are elements which seems to have been removed. Audie Murphy's acting is unexpected. He showed a lot of emotion and humanity very much unlike in those subsequent B westerns of his which paralleled the Clint Eastwood westerns.

Movie Review: Demerits for the entire company
Summary: 2 Stars

Stephen Crane's "Red Badge of Courage " is a sublime psychological study of fear in the face of war, and the way one young man deals with fear -- through flight, bravado, exaggeration and finally, self-confrontation and calm determination. Though the action takes place in one of the most extroverted of possible historical settings -- the American Civil War -- the real warfare takes place in Fleming's psyche. Unfortunately, John Huston was not equal to the task of applying a visual narrative that could convincingly depict the roiling chaos going on in protagonist Henry Fleming's soul. About all he could manage was to put Henry in a few conventional situations and have him knit his brow and bite his lips to communicate his inner turmoil. Audie Murphy, the decorated WWII vet, and Bill Mauldin, the respected war cartoonist and creator of Willie and Joe, were cast in the lead roles. They are likeable and sometimes rise to the level of having a real relationship. But ultimately, their real-world experience doesn't do much to prop up the threadbare narrative. The stilted delivery and wooden acting of much of the cast is a real impediment to enjoying this film. On the plus side, it's daring to portray the baseless bravado and fear experienced by the ordinary soldier. But the profusion of standard Hollywood types, the overwrought and self-important narration, and the unnecessary re-arrangement of Crane's plot combine to muddle the story arc and render the film ineffective.

Although it too suffers from the set piece mentality -- in which characters are pitted mechanically against one crisis after another -- Huston's next film, African Queen, stands out as such a classic. Reason: the sterling acting abilities of Bogart and Hepburn pulled the film through in a way that (sadly) Murphy, Mauldin and others cannot.

The DVD extras are skimpy -- comprising the theatrical trailer and a static listing of the cast. But one extra is fascinating. After comparing RBOC to "Gone with the Wind," (not!) the trailer makes the most lunkheaded claim I have ever seen in film. To paraphrase: "In years to come, The Red Badge of Courage will be as memorable as The Birth of a Nation!" Comparing one's work to a film that glorified the KKK is a feat so bizarre that it stands as a monument to the social blindness of the film's marketers and their era.

Huston's "Red Badge of Courage" is disappointing, plodding and barely worthwhile as a way to visualize the events of the book. The best one can say about it is that it could have been worse. Until a better adaptation is produced, RBOC is a work that should be experienced in one form only: the printed page.

Movie Review: Try Again!
Summary: 2 Stars

This looks like a low budget version of a great American story. It would make a good candidate for a re-make (although I doubt if will ever happen).

Movie Review: Awful
Summary: 1 Stars

It's a toss up as to which version of Crane's Civil War story is the worst adaptation, this one or the one with Richard "John Boy" Thomas. Both have all the appeal of moldy hardtack and rocks in your brogans.The basic story is intact, but it tumbled down hill from there. Sticking Audie Murphy in films just because he was a war hero didn't always work. He was only a fair to middling actor and trundling Bill Mauldin out was a major mistake. Mauldin should have stayed at the drawing board. Historical accuracy doesn't exist in either version. Uniforms, weapons, etc are all typical Hollywood, and while this doesn't entirely detract from the story, it does dampen the effect.Maybe a director will re-make this one. It certainly seems like re-makes are all the rage, but when you run out of ideas, fall back on what works.