BATTLE OF THE BULGE
US, 1965, 157 minutes, Colour.
Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson, Ty Hardin, Hans Christian Blech, James Macarthur, Pier Angeli, Barbara Werley, Robert Shaw.
Directed by Ken Annakin.
Battle of the Bulge was a Cinerama blockbuster of the mid?60's, strong in spectacular action, especially in the great tank invasion into France, the bombardment of a French town, and the routing of the tanks by the exploding of fuel. While these battle scenes fill the wide screen with colour, there is an air of authenticity about the film since it deals with a particular area and shows the details of the battle and the soldiers' lives quite closely. However, the centre of interest of the film is really the German commander of the invasion, played with intensity by Robert Shaw. He is less raucous than his Pizarro in The Royal Hunt of the Sun and more personal than his Custer of the West. Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan are good as his opponents, but their characters are not developed in the screenplay as well as his.
The film enjoys the benefits of its war spectacle and then makes its points about the futility of war. This kind of film has been made frequently, but this version is above average.
1. What insights into World War II and war in general did this film give?
2. Did the film make the German commander the hero? Why did he receive so much emphasis?
3. Were the Americans heroes and equal adversaries to the German commander?
4. What was Kiley's role in the film? Was he good at his job? Was he over-daring in his opinions and actions? Was he presented as merely a conventional hero?
5. What kind of character was Kessler? Comment on such scenes as his meeting with the tank commanders and his joining their patriotic song, his lack of fear, his relationship with and discussions with Conrad, his rejection of the German courtesan, his determination not to fail? Was he a warmonger, longing to prolong the war for his own personal promotion?
6. Did the action sequences give an adequate impression of real warfare (not just Hollywood style war), the advance of the German tanks and the American retreat, the sabotage by Germans disguised as Americans, the levelling of the French town.
7. Was Guffy introduced merely for comic relief and a touch of romance?
8. Comment on the massacre of the American soldiers. Does this kind of thing happen often during wars?
9. Why did Kessler and Conrad finally clash? What did each illustrate of the German spirit during World War II? How was the futility of war and antiwar theme put forward in Conrad, especially in the final sequences of the tanks and the retreating Germans?
10. Even though the end was spectacular, how realistic was it?
