War Hunt (1962) features a fabulous cast of future stars like Robert Redford, Tom Skerritt, Gavin MacLeod, Sydney Pollack, John Saxon, Charles Aidman... Francis Ford Coppola even makes an appearance. Even though some of the actors are just getting their careers started, the talent is obvious.
Redford's performance is tremendous. His character is moral but not judgmental. He's a bit naïve when he arrives as a replacement and he's afraid but he's able to do the right thing because his admission of that fear allows him to face it. The letters he writes about the war and his personal experiences are an effective device that provide valuable insight into the plot, other characters, his own motivation...
Some brilliant cinematography is another feature that makes this movie memorable. It also benefits from appreciable irony and situational paradox (fatality when it's least expected; troops ordered to hold down the noise while their CO is conversing decide to set their loads down and take a break, much to the chagrin of the CO) as well as provocative dialogue.
Pvt. Roy Loomis, to a woman who's suggested she can "fix his problem": "My problem is I can't even believe I'm here."
Endore, when asked how he knows the enemy is coming: "I read their mail!"
There is less combat than many people might expect from a "war" movie, but this film packs more psychological intrigue than action. There is not only the tension created by Endore's instability and the mystery of his solitary recon missions-which double as personal hunting trips-but there are also the nightmares of a child, Chinese radio propaganda, and the inexorable fears of battlefront soldiers involved in a dubious mission in a vaguely defined war.
Redford's performance is tremendous. His character is moral but not judgmental. He's a bit naïve when he arrives as a replacement and he's afraid but he's able to do the right thing because his admission of that fear allows him to face it. The letters he writes about the war and his personal experiences are an effective device that provide valuable insight into the plot, other characters, his own motivation...
Some brilliant cinematography is another feature that makes this movie memorable. It also benefits from appreciable irony and situational paradox (fatality when it's least expected; troops ordered to hold down the noise while their CO is conversing decide to set their loads down and take a break, much to the chagrin of the CO) as well as provocative dialogue.
Pvt. Roy Loomis, to a woman who's suggested she can "fix his problem": "My problem is I can't even believe I'm here."
Endore, when asked how he knows the enemy is coming: "I read their mail!"
There is less combat than many people might expect from a "war" movie, but this film packs more psychological intrigue than action. There is not only the tension created by Endore's instability and the mystery of his solitary recon missions-which double as personal hunting trips-but there are also the nightmares of a child, Chinese radio propaganda, and the inexorable fears of battlefront soldiers involved in a dubious mission in a vaguely defined war.