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from page 92

All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930) — Banned in some nations
because of its anti-war message, Lewis
Milestone's film is the most famous
about World War I, full of moving
scenes (and some strained dialogue by
Maxwell Anderson). Lew Ayres, cast
as the young German soldier who
comes to see the truth, was so marked
by the film that he was a genuine
pacifist during World War II.

Attack! (1956) — Gripping from the
start, as a dead man's helmet rolls down
a hill. Robert Aldrich's WWII film is
about a devoted sergeant (Jack Palance,
never more skull-weird) who snaps when
a miserably incompetent superior (Eddie
Albert) puts his men in hell. Lee Marvin
is a harder weasel, William Smithers a
sensitive officer, and the scene of the
oncoming tank is a gut-freezer.

The Battle of San Pietro (1943) —
The Army tried to bury or cut this
film about the terrible losses suffered
in Italy, but John Huston. dug in his
heels, like the men who dug in and
often died. This poetic but never
pleading documentary, with Huston
narrating, is as soberly fair a view of
war as movies have yet achieved.

The Enemy Below (1957) — A Ger-
man sub and American destroyer play
cat-and-mouse, but which is which?
Sturdy direction by Dick Powell, good
script, action not pushed too far, and
deeply nuanced performances as the
crafty, mutually respecting captains by
Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens.

Gettysburg (1993) — A grand TV-
made movie that skimps on carnage
— chief producer Ted Turner wanted
not to sicken. And the music is
worked to death. But here is the
sweep and much of the depth of the
great battle, with moving manliness
on both sides, from Jeff Daniels, Sam
Elliott, Martin Sheen (as Gen. Lee),
Richard Jordan, Tom Berenger, Kevin
Conway and others.

Ed Zwick's rousing,
Glory (1989)
yet not slick film about the famed
black regiment from Massachusetts
that charged into the jaws of hell
down South. It won Denzel Washing-
ton an Oscar, though Matt Broderick
is as fine as the young commander. So
is Morgan Freeman. Seldom has sacri-
fice seemed more precious.

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1/15
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94 Detroit Jewish News

248-865-0000

The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) —
One of the few good films about mus-

ket warfare, this tale of 18th-century

conflict on the frontier was directed
with command of texture and terror by
Michael Mann. Daniel Day-Lewis is
very American and very buff as the
buckskinned hero, Madeleine Stowe is
his flint-eyed beauty, and in scenes of
slaughter Wes Studi may be the most
frightening (yet still human) Indian
warrior put on film.

Men in War (1957) — Anthony
Mann's film about U.S. troops lost in
Korea packs terrific tension; it's the
build-up to action that really stings
here. Aldo Ray had his best role as the
war lover who adores his battle-
shocked officer (Robert Keith), and
Robert Ryan is the haggard survivor
trying to make sense of it (could any-
one bite a line like Ryan?).

Paths of Glory (1957) — Stanley
Kubrick's absorbing, drill-paced film
about the trench war nightmare and a
scandal of injustice in the French army
of World War I. Kirk Douglas, who
produced, is very fine as the officer
who fails to save his men, Adolphe
Menjou and George Macready are the
most kissable (yet "correct") of gener-
als, and weird Timothy Carey has a
great moment with a cockroach.

Pork Chop Hill (1959) — Gregory
Peck and his men have to take and
hold that damn hill in Korea. Futility
muddles courage, the warfare is specific
and deadly, and a lot of young talent
grunts into view (Harry Guardino, Rip
Torn, George Peppard, Woody Strode,
Robert Blake, Harry Dean Stanton,
Martin Landau, Gavin McLeod); old
pro Lewis Milestone directed.

Twelve O'Clock High (1949) — Peck
again, in a dramatic apex as Gen. Sav-
age, young head of a bomber wing in
England, finally cracking under the
strain of sending men over Germany.
Who can forget the early scene of the
old airfield, the song of memory, the
haunted face of Dean Jagger (who got
an Oscar). Henry King directed with
keen feeling for the strife and unity of
the airmen and their ground support.

Zulu (1964) — The many images of
British redcoats in South Africa mowing
down black men who charge with spears
verges on racism, but respect for the
Zulu braves comes through, the settings
are close to historical truth, and the des-
perate courage is intense. With Stanley
Baker as the stalwart leader, young
Michael Caine with a posh accent and a
steel posture, and Churchillian narration
by Richard Burton. LI

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