"Beach Red" is a film that I caught late on tele one night when I was very young, and one that I have never been able to forget. I finally got around to viewing it again, and in between my first and most recent viewing, I have seen possibly a hundred war films, so am now able to put it into perspective. I can safely say that the 1998's masterpieces "The Thin Red Line" and "Saving Private Ryan" owe a debt to Cornel Wilde's film, which he directed as well as starred in. "The Thin Red Line" was blatantly influenced by the style of this film, utilising the same techniques present in "Beach Red" which would have been very unusual for the time. I don't think there was ever a war film quite like it. These techniques include the reveries of home-life that the soldiers have in the moments between battle. The voice-overs of the marine's thoughts and fears as they go along makes me believe that Terence Malik was greatly influenced by this film. There is one scene that is such a blatant copy of a scene in "Beach Red" that I think it would cause a bit of outrage if "Beach Red" was the better known film. A marine shoots a Japanese soldier dead and cheers triumphantly "I got him!" Before recoiling in horror as we hear his conscience screaming its guilt. In "The Thin Red Line" it goes like, "The worst thing you can do. Even worse than rape." In "Beach Red" its a simple, but effective, "No!"
The battle scenes are brilliant. The film follows a platoon of marines before and after they land on an unnamed Japanese-held island in the Pacific during the Second World War. This anonymity adds to the surreal quality of the film. The action is non-stop for the first half-hour or so, as the marines battle their way from the beaches and into the jungle. There is no glory here. No triumphant, glamourous score that would have been the run-of-the-mill for war movies at this time. There's just the raw action and men diving scared into the dirt, having their limbs blown off, and getting killed. Some of the action will remind viewers of the superbly made opening minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". A jilted and shell-shocked soldier picks up his arm while under enemy fire, and just wanders around. What ends up inhibiting "Beach Red" is its low-budget and a serious lull that overcomes the film once the action subsides, and it becomes a tad overwrought and melodramatic. The acting is poor, and there is a distracting overtone of anti-Vietnam War sentiment, but nevertheless this is a strong war film that deserves a wider audience and some greater recognition.
The battle scenes are brilliant. The film follows a platoon of marines before and after they land on an unnamed Japanese-held island in the Pacific during the Second World War. This anonymity adds to the surreal quality of the film. The action is non-stop for the first half-hour or so, as the marines battle their way from the beaches and into the jungle. There is no glory here. No triumphant, glamourous score that would have been the run-of-the-mill for war movies at this time. There's just the raw action and men diving scared into the dirt, having their limbs blown off, and getting killed. Some of the action will remind viewers of the superbly made opening minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". A jilted and shell-shocked soldier picks up his arm while under enemy fire, and just wanders around. What ends up inhibiting "Beach Red" is its low-budget and a serious lull that overcomes the film once the action subsides, and it becomes a tad overwrought and melodramatic. The acting is poor, and there is a distracting overtone of anti-Vietnam War sentiment, but nevertheless this is a strong war film that deserves a wider audience and some greater recognition.