hyped garbage

Fresh and Exciting

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

MEN IN WAR is a fine black-and-white Korean War movie from director Anthony Mann, who was best known for his series of quality westerns teaming him with star James Stewart throughout the 1950s. In many respects, MEN IN WAR is even better than Mann's westerns, because it tells an excellent pared-down story that exemplifies quality acting from the entire cast and oodles of suspense.The 'men on a mission' journey narrative is really nothing special but that doesn't matter when the quality of the film-making is so good. In essence, MEN IN WAR portrays a dwindling group of soldiers attempting to overcome various obstacles in their bid to return to their own lines. They face the threats of snipers, bombing, and treachery, while at all times must cope with their own moral integrity.Not only are the characters well-written, but they're well-acted too. Robert Ryan is an ever-present delight as the hard-bitten lieutenant but the real star of the show is Aldo Ray whose tough yet caring character becomes the film's brutish heart. Ray is magnificent in undoubtedly a career-best performance. Supporting players like Vic Morrow, L.Q. Jones, and Nehemiah Persoff round out the cast, with special mention to Robert Keith's shell-shocked colonel.

See it – There haven't been many movies made about the Korean War. While "Pork Chop Hill" is an easy choice for number one, this Anthony Mann-directed psychological war movie may be number two. Starring Robert Ryan, the story focuses on a group of GI's transporting ammunition who get cut off from the rest of their regiment when their vehicle breaks down. As they make their way on foot to deliver the ammunition to the rally point, they encounter snipers, mines, and all the usual hardships of the footsoldier. Eventually they meet up with a hardened veteran whose experience may be just what they need to make it back alive and accomplish their mission. When a well-defended enemy hill is the only thing standing in their way, the men decide that despite being outnumbered, they have plenty of ammo to attempt an assault.

For me this movie goes back a long way!! I saw it when it was first released in 1957, in "Ann Arbor"!! I was 10 years old! "Ann Arbor", at that time showed only "1st" run movies!! Even back then, I felt that something was wrong with, the scene with "James Edwards" I was 10 years old, and I felt that I would have never done, what "Killian"(the part played by "Edwards"), would have done! I also saw this scene in saving "Private Ryan", with "Ken Vesel", remember?? Even in the "tv" series "combat", you see it again!! What it is,is a "reluctance", "inability" or,"outright refusal" to portray "black" soldiers in a positive, competent light!! But then again, "who was writing the scripts"!! If you know what I mean??!! I enjoyed the movie none the less, then and now!! I saw this movie at the "Michigan" theater, when it was first released in "Ann Arbor"!! Just as an aside!!

What a disappointment! How many things were wrong with this movie? The music was completely inappropriate; it was distracting, "classical" and orchestrally inventive, it leapt out from the screen and grabbed your attention rather than being quiet and complementary. Soft moods, such as when soldier finds flowers, were given musical flourishes that were grossly overdone, painfully "romantic," completely out of place for a war movie like this. The plot line had little to offer; the soldiers set off for a distant hill, and along the way one little incident happens, then another, then another; nothing knits them all together or makes them feel organic, they occur as separate little islands, modular as Lego blocks. The dialogue is often awkward ("You didn't shave today."). The tension between the two leading characters is forced and unconvincing. The devotion of Aldo Ray to his officer was not believable, certainly not before the scene in which he confesses his father fixation and not really afterwards.As for the battle scenes, especially near the end, the North Koreans appeared so inept as to be implausible. As the G.I.s sneaked up on them, rather openly really, the North Koreans seemed to have no lookouts, they couldn't hear the clanking of the American equipment, they were caught completely off guard. Part of this sense might be attributed to bad camera work, as it was very difficult for us to gauge exactly how far up the hill the Koreans were from the Americans.The ending - oh no! the American heroes are about to die - but wait! what's that? Oh, my goodness, thank the lord, in the distance we hear American heavy equipment coming to the rescue. O, glory, O glory! Hallelujah!If TCM hadn't presented this as a serious war movie, and comments here at IMDb hadn't been so positive, I would have dismissed this as just another bad B movie. That's all it is. I wouldn't have felt I had to point out its obvious flaws in such detail.