Released in 1967, "Beach Red" details a US Marine assault on a Japanese-held Pacific island during WWII, possibly Saipan (June-July 1944) or Guam (July-August 1944). Cornel Wilde stars as the captain in charge of a platoon; Rip Torn plays a sergeant who's allowed the war to fill him with hate; Burr DeBenning, Patrick Wolfe and Jaime Sánchez co-star as genuine young Americans struggling between fulfilling their duty and simply wanting to survive.
I call the film "Groundbreaking" because of the obvious influence it had on two popular war flicks made thirty years later – "Saving Private Ryan" and, especially, "The Thin Red Line." The first half hour chronicles the brutal beach landing, which is very reminiscent of the former film while the next 20 minutes show the troops infiltrating the interior a la the latter. After the first 12 minutes intro, the next 45-50 minutes are all action. The interior monologues of the characters, the flashbacks to life back at home and the contrast between war and the innocence & beauty of nature were all borrowed by Terrance Malick for "The Thin Red Line." That said, "Beach Red" itself borrows from previous films, like 1957's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and the original "The Thin Red Line" from 1964, amongst others. Unfortunately, "Beach Red" lacks the budget of the renowned "River Kwai," but it ain't no cheap flick either.
The film typically gets mixed reviews with some people calling it a masterpiece and others a 1-Star piece of sheet. The former focus on the film's positives while the latter zero-in on its shortcomings, which revolve around its relative low-budget and datedness. I was able to overlook these deficiencies in favor of the movie's realistic, pensive and brutal tone and all-around ambitiousness. The single musical theme is a melancholic and moving folk song by Antonino Buenaventura sung by Cornel's wife Jean Wallace. Wilde impressively wrote and directed the movie. It's an action-packed war flick, but also artistic, reflective and haunting. Neanderthalic gung-ho types love the former, but are turned-off by the latter, which explains the mixed reviews.
The movie runs 105 minutes and was shot in the Philippines and Japan.
GRADE: B+
I call the film "Groundbreaking" because of the obvious influence it had on two popular war flicks made thirty years later – "Saving Private Ryan" and, especially, "The Thin Red Line." The first half hour chronicles the brutal beach landing, which is very reminiscent of the former film while the next 20 minutes show the troops infiltrating the interior a la the latter. After the first 12 minutes intro, the next 45-50 minutes are all action. The interior monologues of the characters, the flashbacks to life back at home and the contrast between war and the innocence & beauty of nature were all borrowed by Terrance Malick for "The Thin Red Line." That said, "Beach Red" itself borrows from previous films, like 1957's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and the original "The Thin Red Line" from 1964, amongst others. Unfortunately, "Beach Red" lacks the budget of the renowned "River Kwai," but it ain't no cheap flick either.
The film typically gets mixed reviews with some people calling it a masterpiece and others a 1-Star piece of sheet. The former focus on the film's positives while the latter zero-in on its shortcomings, which revolve around its relative low-budget and datedness. I was able to overlook these deficiencies in favor of the movie's realistic, pensive and brutal tone and all-around ambitiousness. The single musical theme is a melancholic and moving folk song by Antonino Buenaventura sung by Cornel's wife Jean Wallace. Wilde impressively wrote and directed the movie. It's an action-packed war flick, but also artistic, reflective and haunting. Neanderthalic gung-ho types love the former, but are turned-off by the latter, which explains the mixed reviews.
The movie runs 105 minutes and was shot in the Philippines and Japan.
GRADE: B+