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Movies / On DVD / Bitter Victory
Bitter Victory

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Bitter Victory (1957)

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Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:12

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.4/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Nicholas Ray's (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) masterpiece of anti-war sentiment is one of his lesser-known films, but it is nonetheless possessed of a subtle complexity and existential ambiguity that... Nicholas Ray's (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) masterpiece of anti-war sentiment is one of his lesser-known films, but it is nonetheless possessed of a subtle complexity and existential ambiguity that render it one of his most poignant. Set during WWII and unfolding mostly in the deserts of Libya, the film establishes a rivalry between its two main characters from the very beginning. The charismatic Captain James Leith (Richard Burton, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF) and his cowardly superior, Major David Brand (Curt Jurgens, AND GOD CREATED WOMAN), both accept a dangerous assignment to be sent to Libya to recover top-secret documents. Before they depart, Brand sees his wife Jane (Ruth Roman, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN) dancing with the Captain, and becomes enflamed with jealousy; it turns out that Leith and Jane were lovers before the war. The rest of the exposition traces the two men's journey, made even more perilous by their intense enmity, and moves toward a climactic ending that plays up the absurdity of war. Refusing to draw a clear division between hero and villain, Ray highlights the way war ultimately reduces everyone to the same petty motivations and empty rhetoric. [More]

Starring: Richard Burton, Curd Jürgens, Ruth Roman, Raymond Pellegrin

Starring: Richard Burton, Curd Jürgens, Ruth Roman, Raymond Pellegrin, Anthony Bushell

Director: Nicholas Ray

Director: Nicholas Ray

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Release:

Feb 22, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Bitter Victory

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1 - 15 (sorted by date)
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The film's military detail is in most respects quite ludicrous.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
10/23/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Nicholas Ray's direction of black-and-white CinemaScope, that freak child of the 50s, is consistently brilliant in this raw, confused masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/23/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Contemplating the dangerous games men play with macho self-images, this survives as one of Ray's greatest works.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/23/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Odd amalgam of a French film, starring a British, German, and American trio, directed by an American and written by three men from different countries.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/23/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Fine thesping by Richard Burton leads a series of top performances by other members of large cast.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/23/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is a sense that while the men here are well-versed in the theories of war, they are clueless about the realities of combat.

Full Review Source: Cinematic Reflections | comment Comment
10/30/06
Derek Smith
Derek Smith
Cinematic Reflections

It's one of Ray's more powerful films.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/05/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The title tells all.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

Nicholas Ray directs with an uncompromising austerity that puts the hypocrisy and the bitter inhumanity of war in focus...

Full Review Source: St@tic Multimedia | comment Comment
07/05/05
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
St@tic Multimedia

Bitter Victory shows Ray at the height of his powers, making beautiful use of his black-and-white Cinemascope frame.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
04/25/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A starkly shot and probing inquiry into notions of cowardice and heroism.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/09/05
Channel 4 Film

A brilliant, shamefully neglected war movie.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/09/05
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

The whole picture, deeply pessimistic and subversive, exerts a fierce grip.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/09/05
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

Has almost become eclipsed by the thunder of Jean-Luc Godard’s infamously rapturous tribute in the pages of Cahiers.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/13/05
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

...characters remain woefully underdeveloped.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/26/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
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