Creed II
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (15) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
Nicholas Ray's direction of black-and-white CinemaScope, that freak child of the 50s, is consistently brilliant in this raw, confused masterpiece.
Contemplating the dangerous games men play with macho self-images, this survives as one of Ray's greatest works.
Fine thesping by Richard Burton leads a series of top performances by other members of large cast.
The title tells all.
The film's military detail is in most respects quite ludicrous.
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.
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.
It's one of Ray's more powerful films.
Nicholas Ray directs with an uncompromising austerity that puts the hypocrisy and the bitter inhumanity of war in focus...
Bitter Victory shows Ray at the height of his powers, making beautiful use of his black-and-white Cinemascope frame.
A brilliant, shamefully neglected war movie.
A starkly shot and probing inquiry into notions of cowardice and heroism.
In "Bitter Victory," General Paterson(Anthony Bushell) is in a bit of a pickle with a sudden dangerous mission to steal documents behind enemy lines in Benghazi requiring recruits. Major Brand(Curt Jurgens) is an obvious choice, especially considering his experience. Even though Captain Leith(Richard Burton) is very familiar with Libya, Paterson has doubts about him, especially about his being an intellectual...and Welsh. But that doesn't mean Brand and Leith have nothing in common, like say Brand's wife Jane(Ruth Roman). "Bitter Victory" is an offbeat war movie with some interesting casting(Jurgens playing a hero on dry land while Richard Burton is not yet Richard Burton) and very good use of location photography being the main points of interest. While Brand and Leith are outsiders(yes, I know Brand is a white South African but that's a conversation for another time), the movie attempts a psychological portrait of war. The fact that it takes the most cliched approach possible(of all the suicide missions in this war, you had to choose this one...) including a shaky resolution is a huge shame and lost opportunity.
Super Reviewer
one of ray's more neglected films, it's a stunning black and white widescreen character study of the intense struggle between two british officers on a hopeless mission in the libyan desert. i somehow never realized before that richard burton was hot at one point in time
Stark drama of principles in wartime. Excellent performances from the three leads. Ruth Roman's part is small but integral to the plot and she makes the most of it.
Burton is strong as is Ray's direction, but this story just falls flat
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