May, 1953. The last days of the Korean war. Naive and idealistic Private Roy Loomis (a sound and sympathetic performance by Robert Redford in his film debut) gets sent to the front lines as a replacement in a platoon. Loomis meets crazed and reclusive soldier Raymond Endore (splendidly played with frightening remoteness by John Saxon), an aloof loner who sneaks behind enemy lines on a nightly regular basis and butchers rival soldiers. The officers in command know about Endore's activities, but let it slide because he obtains valuable information during his nocturnal excursions. Loomis decides to stand up to Endore in order to save orphan boy Charlie (a touching portrayal by Tommy Matsuda) from Endore's possibly dangerous influence. Director Denis Sanders, working from a tight, literate, and incisive script by Stanford Whitmore, presents a compellingly gritty, realistic and unglamorous depiction of the darker aspects of war, specifically showing how war allows stone psychos like Endore the readily available opportunity to engage in brutal exploits that would never be acceptable and permissible in the everyday peaceful civilian world. This film astutely nails the horror and humanity of warfare: The one big combat sequence is genuinely harrowing while Endore's relationship with Charlie is truly moving. Endore makes for a fascinatingly complex character; the sight of Endore with mud painted on his face is very chilling, his acts of cold-blooded murder are likewise upsetting, yet his concern for Charle's well being is still nonetheless poignant. Fine supporting contributions by Charles Aidman as the tough Captain Wallace Pratt, Sydney Pollack as the hard-nosed Sergeant Owen Van Horn, Gavin MacLeod as the disillusioned Private Crotty, and Tom Skerritt as the easygoing Sergeant Stan Showalter. Ted D. McCord's stark and striking cinematography makes artful use of fades and dissolves. Bud Shank's melodic and melancholy score also does the trick. A real sleeper.
Review of War Hunt
