Many reviews here mention the seeming tragedy that this film has been 'forgotten' or 'underappreciated' by the public...and I have to say...'it's forgotten for a reason'...and the reason is, it's just not that good. As another reviewer mentioned, there is much discussion in the film about frivolous things like homemade pie, the token southern guy with the twang/accent and various minutia from the home front. And....that's about 90% of this colossal bore. It's one thing to develop the characters, it's another to devote the entire film to said 'development' (which, I have to say, was ineffective anyway. Who really cares about the guy constantly chattering with his false teeth? This is supposed to be funny? Try tedious and juvenile).
"Battleground" trades as a war film (read the film's title again), but it's as much a war film as "Macbeth" is a murder mystery. It's not a war film. It's more like "A day in the life" drama that happens to be set in Bastogne in December '44. And they picked a rather sappy group of schleps to profile, unfortunately. I found almost none of these characters interesting in the least; no heroes, no villains, almost no one with whom I can relate, or even sympathize; just a bunch of lackluster stiffs. The character played by Ricardo Montalban was really the only one I found to be genuine, personable or relatable.
The film won an Oscar for B&W cinematography, which was quite good I have to say. But did anyone else notice the 'snow' often looked more like white sand than it did snow? As this was filmed on a sound stage, I'm sure it was sand. Anyone who has walked in both snow and sand knows the difference in textures, and this was not snow. Also, if it is so bitterly cold, where is the condensation when the men breathe? It was not there, for the scenes either indoors or out, which gives the film another serious hit on the 'realism' front.
The film is not all bad, it has some moments. It reminded me of "Destination Tokyo," another 'war film' heavy on character development at the expense of plot that bordered on criminal. And like "Tokyo," it's not terrible but it's certainly not memorable. I can safely put it on the 'don't care to ever see this again' list. 6/10.
"Battleground" trades as a war film (read the film's title again), but it's as much a war film as "Macbeth" is a murder mystery. It's not a war film. It's more like "A day in the life" drama that happens to be set in Bastogne in December '44. And they picked a rather sappy group of schleps to profile, unfortunately. I found almost none of these characters interesting in the least; no heroes, no villains, almost no one with whom I can relate, or even sympathize; just a bunch of lackluster stiffs. The character played by Ricardo Montalban was really the only one I found to be genuine, personable or relatable.
The film won an Oscar for B&W cinematography, which was quite good I have to say. But did anyone else notice the 'snow' often looked more like white sand than it did snow? As this was filmed on a sound stage, I'm sure it was sand. Anyone who has walked in both snow and sand knows the difference in textures, and this was not snow. Also, if it is so bitterly cold, where is the condensation when the men breathe? It was not there, for the scenes either indoors or out, which gives the film another serious hit on the 'realism' front.
The film is not all bad, it has some moments. It reminded me of "Destination Tokyo," another 'war film' heavy on character development at the expense of plot that bordered on criminal. And like "Tokyo," it's not terrible but it's certainly not memorable. I can safely put it on the 'don't care to ever see this again' list. 6/10.