The Young Lions

The Young Lions sticks to its aim of showing us the human experience of war... Though it more often than not does this in a way which also filled the studio's quota of love scenes. For a war picture, in fact, there are more love scenes than war scenes! In the first hour, you'd think you were in the wrong movie! BRANDO FANS ALERT: This is one of his better performances, even one of his best i'd say. Be warned: the picture is sort of episodic, and bounces between the germans and the americans every twenty minutes, developing parallel narratives. It can seem fairly uneven, for that reason. How did Monty and Dean manage to be friends before the war and be drafted into the exact same platoon? Magic. 8/10.

A movie that truly puts character above all else, this film examines three men and the common threads - more often than anything, the women - that bring them together. Bold statements on individuals' approach and reasons for war are nestled into realistic and moving dialogue. While an anti-war film, it is a fair and even-handed approach to the subject matter that lets you see things through the characters' eyes and lives, and lets an audience make up their own mind on things. This is not to say it is a strictly intellectual film, but the action is not as visceral as recent war films. Because of the directors' involvement with the HUAC, this movie was ignored in 1958 and fell into relative obscurity, but deserves to be rediscovered. I read the book after the film, and found the two together to be an incredibly stimulating lesson in film, literature, and life. See this movie.

An interesting vision of young men in war. The idealist, the shy and the playboy get to war. All will be changed by the horror of the conflict, not only with enemy troops, but within their ranks. Lt. Christian Diestl's (Marlon Brando) sense of honor and gentle behavior clashes with the cruel, senseless attitude of his superior, Capt. Hardenberg, realistically played by Maximilian Schell. Private Ackerman (Montgomery Clift) a shy unassuming Jewish boy becomes a courageous soldier, opposing both enemy soldiers and the bigotry of their comrades. Private Withacre, a playboy who tries to avoid duty (Dean Martin), finally ends up resigning a safe post to join the fighting in Normandy, and becoming a soldier. The usual Black and White shooting enhances the cruelty of WWII. If you find it, don't miss this performance by great actors.