Film of the Day: 42
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Only five years after World War II, North Korea had invaded South Korea. North Korea was supported by the People's Republic of China and were being given military material aid by the Soviet Union. South Korea ended up getting help from the United Nations (most particularly the United States).
From 1910 up until the end of World War II, Japan ruled Korea. But when Japan surrendered in 1945, the Americans divided the nation. The South was under the Americans, and the North was under the Soviet Union (setting up a communist government).
However this was no friendly border. There were many raids which led to open fire and inevitably leading to war, and today in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. Thus began the Cold War.
Only a year after the war began and only two years after Samuel Fuller began directing (with already two films to his credit, I Shot Jesse James & The Baron of Arizona), Fuller gives us the best Korean war film (excluding The Manchurian Candidate) to date in this raw and gritty near masterpiece of a film.
Fuller, who he himself was a WWII vet gives us a great inside view on the soldiers which was one of the most honestly told war movies I have ever seen (not to mention for it's time). The main character is Sgt. Zack staring Gene Evans who delivers magnificent performance. He is a man of battle, knows the way of the war and knows what the usual outcome is. A realistic man and may seam heartless at first, yet truly has a heart.
Zack is the leader of a battalion of younger soldiers and he gives no illusions that this is a walk in the park. We also encounter a young South Korean kid who wishes to tag along for the ride after helping Zack in the beginning of the film. Unfortunately Zack cannot just leave him behind, so the kid joins him.
Director Sam Fuller has always given us such intriguing, controversial and brilliant work. He is credit ranges from Pickup on South Street, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, to his most personal film The Big Red One and the under-rated White Dog.
Unlike many war films, we really connect with the men here, we feel close to them and we understand their reactions and it even confronts racism. Fuller at one point wanted to quit, as the studios wanted John Wayne in the lead. Thankfully Fuller fought for Evans, and he shot the film in only ten days and thanks to the Criterion Collection, this film has now been digitally remastered. It is one of the most interesting and humane war films I have had the pleasure of watching.
Click here for a clip
.
From 1910 up until the end of World War II, Japan ruled Korea. But when Japan surrendered in 1945, the Americans divided the nation. The South was under the Americans, and the North was under the Soviet Union (setting up a communist government).
However this was no friendly border. There were many raids which led to open fire and inevitably leading to war, and today in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. Thus began the Cold War.
Only a year after the war began and only two years after Samuel Fuller began directing (with already two films to his credit, I Shot Jesse James & The Baron of Arizona), Fuller gives us the best Korean war film (excluding The Manchurian Candidate) to date in this raw and gritty near masterpiece of a film.
Fuller, who he himself was a WWII vet gives us a great inside view on the soldiers which was one of the most honestly told war movies I have ever seen (not to mention for it's time). The main character is Sgt. Zack staring Gene Evans who delivers magnificent performance. He is a man of battle, knows the way of the war and knows what the usual outcome is. A realistic man and may seam heartless at first, yet truly has a heart.
Zack is the leader of a battalion of younger soldiers and he gives no illusions that this is a walk in the park. We also encounter a young South Korean kid who wishes to tag along for the ride after helping Zack in the beginning of the film. Unfortunately Zack cannot just leave him behind, so the kid joins him.
Director Sam Fuller has always given us such intriguing, controversial and brilliant work. He is credit ranges from Pickup on South Street, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, to his most personal film The Big Red One and the under-rated White Dog.Unlike many war films, we really connect with the men here, we feel close to them and we understand their reactions and it even confronts racism. Fuller at one point wanted to quit, as the studios wanted John Wayne in the lead. Thankfully Fuller fought for Evans, and he shot the film in only ten days and thanks to the Criterion Collection, this film has now been digitally remastered. It is one of the most interesting and humane war films I have had the pleasure of watching.
Click here for a clip
.
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