The Red Badge of Courage

stephen crane's best work. audie murphy's best work. any serious student of the civil war will recognize this film as the best, most honest portrayal of civil war action. it captures the fear and dread of deadly combat like no other film on the american civil war. during bloody battles, if your side was not having a successful day, the usual way out was "skedaddling" or running like the wind. both sides did it. a great little film that all civil war students and scholars should own and view every so often.

This movie, directed by John Huston, is arguably the finest Civil War movie of all time. The performances by the young Audie Murphy,America's most decorated soldier and all the cast are as true to life as can be found anywhere. The narration and ultra-realism gives an almost docu-drama feel. This movie is so short,at 69 minutes, that it never had a chance at the box office, and instead was probably seen mostly by school kids and a few old movie buffs. The only other movie that is almost as short and so successfully tells a story is "The Petrified Forest". The Red Badge of Courage is on my best movies of all time list.

Deserves more credit than it currently receives. The directing alone is awesome, with the number of unique and different shots that Huston came up with really takes this Pic away from the norm. Some of the realism in the portrayals that would be lost on some American viewers include the scene where the General talks to the troops before the battle, asking them what they are going to eat for dinner. He goes from group to group asking the same questions - why? Remember (duh), no radios, no public address system. Commanders had to spread their message by repeating it over and over - inspiring a different group each time. A very enjoyable 69 minutes. Sad that the studio had to meddle with the original cut (what else is new?). F

This is really a very fine film and after seeing it on has to wonder why Audie Murphy never had more substantial roles in his career, as he was quite good in this film. As was mentioned in a previous post he was playing himself in the movie To Hell and Back and was essentially a B-Western actor the remainder of his career. This films shows that he was much more talented than one would ever know from watching the bulk of his films.

This version of Stephen Crane's epic is the only one that should be shown. The character, Henry Fleming, was truly Audie Murphy's alter ego. The individual portrayals of the Union soldier's was John Huston at his best. The battlefield scene that truly captured the essence of this movie was when Henry held the tattered Confederate flag over the body of the dead reb soldier. What could have been more poignant then that scene as one soldier salutes his enemy, who, in reality was his countryman. Also, another icon appeared, Bill Mauldin, the noted cartoonist of "Willie and Joe" from yet another war. I feel this movie, as abbreviated as it was, since L.B.Mayer had over one hour of the original version cut, is still a masterpiece.

John Huston's camera and sense of drama and tension make this one of the best soldier's-eye movies ever made. You really get a feel for the confusion Civil War recruits must have experienced - not during battle, but before and after, when orders appear to be arbitrary and nothing is ever explained. The cast is wonderful, including many who show up for less than 30 seconds, giving their all for their roles - Audie Murphy never had it so good with this material and backdrop. A truly literate action movie that has a soul and a vision.