I really didn't enjoy the film very much, even though it's a well made movie with some really exceptional aspects.
First off -- let me say I really enjoyed the very beginning of the movie, the first 2 minutes or so. I loved how he showed the young officer being killed from a distance before we know who he is or how important it was that he lives. It's a fascinating technique which I've only previously seen used in Westerns like "Johnny Guitar".
Now, the movie itself is a bit of a bore for me.... the whole movie they were holed up in an oasis as Arab snipers killed them one by one. As my girlfriend noted, it was interestingly similar to a later era horror film, with the audience perhaps taking part in a guessing game of "who will be the next to die?". It was effective for Ford to only show the effects of the Arab snipers, and not the snipers themselves, though he kind of ruined it by the film's end. There's also a very "horror-like" scene where they are almost rescued by a man in an airplane who is killed by the Arabs, a device that reminded me of "almost" rescue attempts in horror films such as "The Shining".
Speaking of horror, how bout that Boris Karloff? I thought he was pretty weak in this one really. There were times when his performance was good, in a silent movie kind of way. But IMHO he was too far over the top. It is a very cool image of him at the end, walking up that trench with his crucifix. But none of it is remotely believable, and I can't see much symbolic significance either.
McLaglen is really excellent, though. I liked how he was subdued and maintained the illusion of total control, right up until the moment that all of his men are dead and then he absolutely snaps.
An uneven film, I think, well directed by Ford and certainly very well photographed by Wenstrom, but it feels like an A movie trying to burst out of the seams of a B movie skeleton.
First off -- let me say I really enjoyed the very beginning of the movie, the first 2 minutes or so. I loved how he showed the young officer being killed from a distance before we know who he is or how important it was that he lives. It's a fascinating technique which I've only previously seen used in Westerns like "Johnny Guitar".
Now, the movie itself is a bit of a bore for me.... the whole movie they were holed up in an oasis as Arab snipers killed them one by one. As my girlfriend noted, it was interestingly similar to a later era horror film, with the audience perhaps taking part in a guessing game of "who will be the next to die?". It was effective for Ford to only show the effects of the Arab snipers, and not the snipers themselves, though he kind of ruined it by the film's end. There's also a very "horror-like" scene where they are almost rescued by a man in an airplane who is killed by the Arabs, a device that reminded me of "almost" rescue attempts in horror films such as "The Shining".
Speaking of horror, how bout that Boris Karloff? I thought he was pretty weak in this one really. There were times when his performance was good, in a silent movie kind of way. But IMHO he was too far over the top. It is a very cool image of him at the end, walking up that trench with his crucifix. But none of it is remotely believable, and I can't see much symbolic significance either.
McLaglen is really excellent, though. I liked how he was subdued and maintained the illusion of total control, right up until the moment that all of his men are dead and then he absolutely snaps.
An uneven film, I think, well directed by Ford and certainly very well photographed by Wenstrom, but it feels like an A movie trying to burst out of the seams of a B movie skeleton.