A Midnight Clear (1992)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 26
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 3
Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted, A Midnight Clear is a holiday war film in search of a wider audience.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 0
Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted, A Midnight Clear is a holiday war film in search of a wider audience.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 3,422
Movie Info
Based on a novel by William Wharton, A Midnight Clear is set in the Adriennes Forest in December of 1944. A group of American GIs, all of whom have been together a bit too long, cling to the vestiges of their peacetime interests to remain sane. None are brilliant soldiers, though Will Knot Ethan Hawke is the one who exhibits the strongest leadership qualities. Billeted at a chateau, the soldiers begin hearing strange noises emanating from a graveyard, the handiwork of a group of mischievous
Apr 24, 1992 Wide
Jun 4, 2002
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Cast
-
Peter Berg
Bud Miller -
Kevin Dillon
Mel Avakian -
Arye Gross
Stan Shutzer -
Ethan Hawke
Will Knott -
Gary Sinise
Vince "Mother" Wilkins -
Frank Whaley
"Father" Mundy -
Larry Joshua
Lieutenant Ware -
Dave Jensen
Sergeant Hunt -
Curt Lowens
German Soldier -
Rachel Griffin
Janice -
Kelly Gately
Young Hero German -
Andre Lamal
German -
John C. McGinley
Major Griffin -
Bill Osborn
American Sentry -
Timothy S. Shoemaker
Eddie
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All Critics (26) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (3) | DVD (4)
This fable about the futility of the war benefits not only from fine performances but an intelligent and literate offscreen narration that enhances the movie's conceptual integrity.
Top CriticThe performances are uniformly excellent as the film moves inexorably towards bloody confrontation and spiritual reckoning.
In A Midnight Clear, just about everything works.
...It's a good film, and Gordon is uncanny in the way he suggests the eerie forest mysteries that permeate all of the action.
...Gordon shows the kind of filmmaking talent that creates genuine excitement.
A Midnight Clear tells a wartime yarn that's quietly, often lyrically, winning.
It acknowledges war as a fact, but embraces pacifism.
This skilful adaptation of William Wharton's novel creates close relationships between each character. Strong performances and precise direction help maintain them to the surprise ending.
The pristine, snowbound setting gives the film a still, other-worldly quality, and makes for some arresting images, particularly that of a German and an American corpse frozen in a posthumous embrace.
An all-star cast makes it wholly worthwhile.
One of the most underrated films of the '90s
One of the best war movies you've (probably) never seen.
Delves into the strain of war on the human spirit and our dependency upon community in the face of senseless death.
While the antiwar message is familiar, it gains power from the deeply felt performances.
The film is much more anxious to attain a literary style than to be an accurate portrayal of how war is fought, but it makes its point.
The performances are uniformly good by a number of familiar young actors and the atmosphere is exceptional, conveying the chilling essence of the unknown that soldiers in combat face, as well as the climactic cold in this case.
There are whole segments in A Midnight Clear that have little or no use here and scream of padding, which is really too bad.
Audience Reviews for A Midnight Clear
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Movie: ID: 13520 Title: A Midnight Clear Release Date: 1992-04-24 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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