“We’re all doing time. Even the screws. ” – Joe Roberts
Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Jul 2017)
Brief Synopsis – In a military prison during World War II, a former Sergeant-Major must deal with the cruelty of the guards while trying to make changes on the system from within.
My Take on it – I have always appreciated Sidney Lumet as a director and this film is another of his powerful ones.
Sean Connery was a great choice as the lead here because they need someone who can play a character who once had certain feelings towards the military way and after being incarcerated, only some of those feelings are changed mostly due to the way he is being treated by the guards.
His sense of duty to his country and his knowledge that he has always tried to do the right thing helps him try and overcome the sadistic treatment of the guards.
The prisoners and guards constantly try and battle a psychological war against one another to try and prove who has more power and it’s interesting to watch it all unfold.
The story itself is quite well written and we get a clear impression of how prisoners were treated in those kind of prisons at that time that a war is being waged not so very far away.
We get a clear picture of the fact that both sides are right and wrong in their actions and no one should ever suspect that everyone involved is a pure angel when it comes to decision making during wartime from a military standpoint.
Bottom Line – Connery does a great job here because we get to see and feel how his character on the one hand understands and appreciates the military way, but still must deal with the unfair way that he personally is being treated. It was great watching the standoffs between the prisoners and the guards as both sides try to show that they have more power and are in control. The story is written well and it gives us a great impression of what a military prison during wartime might actually feel like. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The temperatures rarely fell below 115 degrees and despite the 2,000 gallons of pure water that were shipped in for the crew, almost everyone succumbed to dysentery during the shoot. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy
_______________________________________
Check out my *updated* movie stats here
To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link
To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)
Here is a link to my movie index A-Z
MovieRob 
Pingback: Temporal Top Ten – 1965 |