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Wonderful character development!

Simply A Masterpiece

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Better Late Then Never

Disturbing Audiences to the Extreme, bleak Anti-War Movie from Screenwriter (1938 novel), Director (only attempt), the Blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, does Try to Break the Downbeat Premise with Colorful Flashbacks containing some Dark Humor.But the Story's Central Theme of Horrific Mutilation, Military, Family, and Medical Disassociation from One's Personal Reality, is so Disparagingly Depressing, that the Tone Hardly Rises above its "Hell On Earth" Situation.Timothy Bottoms as the Quadriplegic Soldier sent to a Blacked Out Storeroom (away from curious eyes), to Vegetate while being "Studied" by Doctors, gives a Performance, at least the "Voice" Performance that Requires more than the 18 Year Old is Capable. Some of Trumbo's "Inner Voicing" is Stagy and Over Emoted.But this Flaw can be Overlooked because the Remainder of the Movie is so Effective, Offbeat, and Surreal that Watching this 1971 Film is a One of a Kind Experience that cannot be Forgotten.Powerful, Cynical Statements about War and other Things Represent Our "Cross to Bare" as the Human Species. Donald Sutherland as "Jesus Christ" makes an Indelible Impression as the Soldier Fantasizes from His Deathbed. Jason Robards Plays the Patient's Father in other Scenes that Linger.Fact is, this is one of those Films that will Linger Long. There were Reports when it was First Released in the Early Seventies that Audiences were routinely Spotted leaving the Theater in Total Silence.Without Doubt the same Thing would Occur Today. A Timeless Film that doesn't Feel Dated for One Second. Despite its Excellence, Repeated Viewings are Probably Rare.

Few films have left me so moved and shocked. I saw this film in passing, perhaps twice when I was in my teens. Half-hearted attempts to give it a name failed until I clicked through an IMDb list. It is gripping, moving and wonderfully told. You can never again lie awake in bed at night and not imagine how you would cope with such a nightmare. It poses so many questions about what it means to be alive, violent conflict, war, nursing and treatment and the right to live or die - even the 21st century question of what defines 'to be alive' and ways today to communicate through brain wave activity when there is nothing else to monitor. This should be seen by anyone with an interest in the First World War alongside documentaries, action thrillers, romances and comedy about conflict on this scale. As pertinent to those interested in the Second World War, indeed any conflict where a combatant is left horrendously broken and then kept in the quasi-statis of the undead.

I don't know how original it was in ol 1971; but I wasn't introduced to a single new idea in this movie.I also don't see how this movie is about the war... other than the fact that we know it suppose to be an anti war movie. And that we know that he was "injured" in the war. There is probably only a one scene that happens in a war. What you see in the trailer, are the heights of the scenes (probably all of them). But the scenes ware starched to an hour and 40 minutes. Maybe if it was 30 minutes; it would be, eeh... decent. But the way it is now, is way too long for that idea.I never wrote a review, till now. Just wanted to give a friendly warning, from someone how can watch a heavy movie; otherwise I wouldn't even try it. Thought this movie had something to say... it didn't. Not to someone who watched some good motion pictures in this day and age.

Let me preface this by saying I have not read the book but I definitely want to after seeing this very thought provoking film.Like many of you, I first heard about this movie from Metallica's video of their song, One. It's essentially the story of a young WWI soldier, Joe, who loses his limbs, his face, and all of his senses except for touch. But his mind is completely intact, yet trapped in his completely broken body. When I first heard about the movie, it seemed incredibly disturbing, and it definitely peaked my interest in seeing the film. But I never got around to actually seeing it until recently. And now that I've seen it, I'm very glad I have.The movie wasn't as disturbing as I thought it would be. Perhaps, had I seen this when I was younger, and more fearful of the losses he had suffered, I would have been horrified. But, as we age and are increasingly exposed to such tragedies and losses, our sensibilities numb somewhat, and we become more accepting of our own mortality and frailty. This movie is also somewhat comforting in that it makes ones own problems seem trivial by comparison. We often forget that things could always be worse. And Joe's situation seems to be about as bad as it good get. Nevertheless, he does his best to deal with it as best he can, which is also strangely comforting.Another reason why this movie didn't feel as depressing or disturbing as I thought was because the acting wasn't that great. There were times when I literally laughed out loud during some of the more emotional scenes simply because the delivery was off. The movie felt quite amateurish at times. There were also times when the film got a little too preachy. It often tries to force its pacifist views on the viewer a little too obviously, particularly in the way it portrays the military commanders as heartless buffoons with no redeeming qualities. Still, the movie did seem to get better as it went on and there were enough great moments in this movie to make it worthwhile.Probably my favorite aspect of the film was in the way it explored the themes of reality vs. dreaming. Because Joe is unable to communicate for much of the film, he creates a world for himself, mostly of memories, and of dreams, and of strange moments that have stuck with him. In his head, he often converses with his old girlfriend, a somewhat incompetent Jesus, and his father in order to get advice on how to deal with his situation. None are able to really provide good advice, reinforcing the fact that his situation is truly hopeless, but the things they talk about are often very thought provoking and deep on an almost existentialist level.Jesus, in particular, helps him to see that he is perhaps better off living for his dreams rather than for his real life, since his real life is more like a nightmare, and his dreams often give him hope and comfort. In a memorable conversation with his girlfriend, he questions what is real, and what time is. Since all he has is his memories and is no longer able to experience anything worthy of memory, does he really age? Will he ever forget anything since there are very few new memories to replace the old? In a way, he's frozen in time, and keeping track of time becomes one of his goals early on.All in all, this leads me to believe that the source material from which this film was made is probably much better than the film, and probably much deeper than just a simple pacifist's message. Check this film out if you get the opportunity, it will certainly make you think, and it's actually not as morbidly depressing and disturbing as you might think.