SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

evanston_dad A muscular, no nonsense combat movie set during the Korean War.Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray play two officers who engage in a pissing contest during an attempt to lead a platoon of soldiers through enemy terrain to safety. Both actors are terrific, as are the ones who make up the supporting cast, and the film has an authentic and unapologetic look and feel to it that help it to stand out from the other histrionic war movies of the period that focus on highlighting heroism and bravery. This one is about guys who are just trying to survive, and who are going to be scarred one way or another by their experience, whether those scars are physical or emotional."Men in War" is a really good film, and it has the added distinction of being about the Korean War, a conflict that American cinema hasn't examined nearly as much as others.Grade: A

Martin Bradley Another movie long considered 'lost', and now mercifully restored, Anthony Mann's "Men in War" is a war film worthy to take its place beside Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line", (you can see its influence on Malick's masterpiece); in other words, this is a near-masterpiece and certainly one of Mann's greatest films. The war in question is the Korean and another American patrol find themselves caught out in the open, like so many before them in so many other war films, as they try to survive and like Robert Aldrich's brilliant "Attack" is as much about the conflict between an officer and a sergeant as it is about the external conflict with the enemy. The principle protagonists are Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray whose contempt for each other is only matched by their contempt for the enemy. Both actors are outstanding and others in the exceptional cast include Robert Keith, Vic Morrow, Nehemiah Persoff, James Edwards and L Q Jones. You might call it an anti-war film since few films about men in conflict have painted such a dark picture of the costs of war and what it can do to men in the field. Indeed, this has even been called an 'art-house' war film which is probably just another way of saying that it's different and very intelligent. It's also stunningly well photographed in black and white by Ernest Haller and boasts another very good score by Elmer Bernstein. How it ever came to be 'lost' in the first place is something of a mystery, (did audiences simply find it too bleak?). Let's just be thankful, then, that it's been 'found' again.

RanchoTuVu Tough Korean War film about a platoon of US soldiers led by Robert Ryan who have to fight their way up an occupied hill in order to escape the encircling enemy. It looks like it was made in a dry canyon somewhere in Southern California, but, in spite of that, the excellent B&W photography help make this as gritty a Korean War film as you're likely to see. The film's emphasis on the characters is perhaps laid on a bit too much. Everyone seems to be a bit on the philosophically existentialist side, bringing the audience men in war rather than try to overly focus on battle scenes. In any event, the taking of the hill nicely combines both action and character along with staggering losses. Recommended for Ryan's part as the lieutenant who keeps the men as a viable fighting force up to the end.

chuck-reilly Anthony Mann's low budget "Men in War" (1957) is notable for his not receiving any help from the Pentagon during filming. Seems the top brass at the Pentagon didn't approve of the script and its depiction of US soldiers without the slightest bit of discipline. Instead, Director Manns simply concentrated on the scenery and tightened the characterizations of his story. There's not much in the way of pyrotechnics or explosions in this film, but it's still worth a viewing mainly because of the performances of Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray. The plot centers on an infantry patrol that's cut off from their main element and deep inside enemy territory during the Korean War (circa 1950). Ryan is the only officer left and his platoon consists of battle-weary troopers Vic Morrow, Nehemiah Persoff, and L.Q. Jones. Nearly out on their feet from exhaustion, Ryan and his men encounter a speedy jeep with an out-of-control sergeant (Ray) and a near-comatose colonel (Robert Keith looking like a zombie). Ray's only concern is to get "his" colonel back to the rear but Ryan reluctantly recruits him (and the jeep) into the fight despite Ray's lousy attitude and erratic behavior. Ray turns out to be a cracker-jack soldier and spectacularly good with his automatic rifle, killing snipers and potential POWs with reckless abandon. He and Ryan have a parting-of-the-ways after Ray's continued insubordination, but their separation is brief. Meanwhile the North Koreans begin picking off Ryan's men one-by-one and soon there's only a skeleton force available to attempt a final albeit needless assault. Why Ryan allows his dwindling number of soldiers to try this suicide mission belies any tactical reasoning, but it does bring the film to a shattering conclusion. The comatose colonel miraculously wakes up in time to grab a rifle and join in the festivities. His bold actions shame old Aldo into rejoining the fight. When the dust clears only three men are left standing. Reinforcements arrive (late as usual) as the men contemplate their survival and the deaths of their comrades-in-arms.With his limited budget, director Anthony Mann does his best with the resources available. Having a heavyweight cast like Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Nehemiah Persoff etc. certainly helps his cause. Mann would later receive almost unlimited funds for epics such as "El Cid" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire." "Men in War" is not on the level of those films but it's a well-done movie with its own timely message of the futility and ravages of war.