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The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

Posted By: Efgrapha
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
DVD5 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC, 4:3 (720x480) VBR | 01:08:56 | 3.18 Gb
Audio: English AC3 1.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subs: English, French, Spanish
Genre: War, Drama, Historical

The backstory of The Red Badge of Courage involves the toppling of MGM's old Louis B. Mayer regime in favor of Dore Schary and his young Turks. It is also the tale of how an intended epic was ruthlessly whittled down to a lower-berth programmer. Since this story has already been related in detail in Lillian Ross' Picture (not to mention several John Huston biographies), the focus here will be what shows up on screen in Red Badge of Courage. Based on the novel by Stephen Crane, the film stars real-life war hero Audie Murphy as a Civil War soldier who must redeem himself in his own eyes after an act of cowardice. When he finally gets his opportunity, he realizes that he is no less frightened than before; it is simply that he has learned to push on in spite of that fear. A comparative newcomer to films, Murphy acquits himself magnificently in the difficult title role; equally impressive are political cartoonist Bill Mauldin as "The Loud Soldier," John Dierkes as "The Tall Soldier" and Royal Dano as "The Tattered Man." When Red Badge of Courage tested poorly in preview, the studio sliced it down to 69 minutes and added a narrator (James Whitmore) to clarify the more obscure plot passages. Further hurting the film was Bronislaus Kaper's overbaked musical score, which seemed more suited to a gung-ho John Wayne flick than a comparatively intimate tale of personal fortitude. Though the finished product plays like a Reader's Digest adaptation, a few brilliant passages remain, notably the sequence in which a commanding officer ingratiatingly lies to his troops for the sake of morale. Like Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, Red Badge of Courage is a truncated classic – but a classic, all the same.

Synopsis by Hal Erickson, Allmovie.com

What's truly amazing is how good the film is despite MGM slicing it up in the re-editing process (a power struggle developed between honchos Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary). According to the book "Picture" by Lilian Ross, which tells in great detail all the problems encountered by director-writer John Huston in making the film the way he wanted to, the studio was looking for a more positive and upbeat film. The Red Badge of Courage, due to Ross' book and John Huston's further comments in his own books, has been made a prime example of Hollywood's philistine attitude towards the arts. It's based on the 1894 novella by the 22-year-old Stephen Crane (who was never in a war), telling a classic war story about a frightened young soldier overcoming that fear after a battle and becoming a man.

The film stars real-life WW11 decorated hero Audie Murphy as Henry Fleming, a Civil War Union soldier from Ohio who must prove he's not a coward in his own eyes after he deserts his regiment during their first battle together (near the Rappahannock–Chancellorsville) in the spring of 1862. He's returned to his regiment by a Cheerful Soldier (Andy Devine), and regains his composure to fight while possessed without fear as he and his friend Tom Wilson (Bill Mauldin) lead a charge against the Rebs–with Henry carrying the flag.

Murphy is just marvelous in portraying the emotional roller coaster ride his character was going through. Many of the supporting characters also gave noteworthy performances, such as Arthur Hunnicutt as the grizzled soldier, Royal Dano as the Tattered Soldier, and Douglas Dick as the eager-beaver Lieutenant who envisions glory for himself in battle.

The film itself is visually gorgeous, as shot by Harold Rosson. It's shot like an art film–making an intimate personal statement about the harshness of war that despite being truncated still captures the essence of Crane's reflections. A narrator (James Whitmore) offers in a voice-over comments lifted straight out of the book as the men are pictured in the battlefield, which reminds one of those Matthew Brady Civil War pictures and gives the film a literary feel (though not in the more lyrical way Huston was gunning for). The film does a good job visually recreating the intensity and dangers of doing battle (though stopping short of covering the full impact of the bloody fighting). It also offers many realistic sensitive feeling moments like the death of the Tall Soldier (John Dierkes) and striking moments such as when the pragmatic general (Tim Durant) uses his wits to get the soldiers to feel confident so they will stay and fight.

Review by Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

IMDB 7,3/10 from 2 637 users
Wiki

Director: John Huston

Writers: Stephen Crane (novel), John Huston (screenplay)

Cast: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano, Andy Devine, Robert Easton and other

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) [Re-Up]


Special Features:

- Theatrical Trailer
- Cast & Crew

All thanks to original releaser