The Execution of Private Slovik

This is a film that will leave you crying, angry and filled with righteous indignation, as it should.

Of the thousands of GI's who deserted during WW2, only one, Eddie Slovik, paid the ultimate price. His story is one of sheer bad luck on an appalling scale. Having done time for a minor offence (it was Grand Theft Auto), Slovik is determined to put the past behind him and start afresh. He gets a job, finds a wife and settles down, happy in the knowledge that his prison record means he's a 4F when it comes to military service. But when the army changes the rules and he registers as 1A, he finds himself in a situation he's emotionally unable to cope with.

Eddie Slovik should never have been on the front line. He was terrified of guns and at boot camp they had to cheat to get him through the rifle range. Right from the start it was clear this was not the sort of man any soldier would want defending his rear, since he was incapable of doing it. Despite this, he was sent into Europe after the D-Day landings. Separated from his platoon he found a niche for himself as a forager for a Canadian unit and there, frankly, he should have stayed. When ordered back to his own unit, which was on the front line, he deserted, having made his situation plain. It's a downhill run from there.

The film uses actual letters written by Slovik and comments from people who knew him to fill out the background of this tragic story. Sheer bad timing, combined with a belief that no one would see the sentence through (since it had never been down before) contributes to the film's heartbreaking conclusion.

Martin Sheen's performance is stunning. He manages to capture the pathos, fear, confusion and final terrified resignation of the man in the face of the inevitable. Slovik is the victim of fate and circumstance; the little guy, totally unprepared for the world in which he finds himself, more than willing to apply those skills he does possess to the war effort, but incapable of fulfilling what the army demands of him. While you can appreciate the army's need to make a point, you are left with the unalterable conclusion that here they picked the wrong man.

This film left me feeling extremely angry, and it's a rare one that does that. It also made me want to find out more about the circumstances surrounding the events and I was pleasantly surprised to find the film, by and large, stuck to historical fact.

Highly recommended.

I am 45 years old and I watched this 'Movie Of The Week' on TV when it was new. As I grew older I saw it again and would notice certain things that I didn't see when I was younger. The TV Movies, now called TV Mini-series were so much better in the early to mid 1970s, I think.

Now, I would find it very hard to watch because many people believe Pvt. Slovik should not have been executed considering the overall circumstances and also because of so many other experiences over my years. This film helped shaped my heartfelt opposition to the death penalty. I'm happy to say that I have always respected the work of Martin Sheen and his sons over the years.

John Martin, Fort Worth, Texas

It's been many years since I last saw "The Execution of Private Slovik," and I look forward to its release (someday soon, please!) on DVD. In particular, I recall a terrific performance by Ned Beatty.

Those who condemn this film as an anti-military screed should reconsider. The tenor of most war films of the early 1970s was undoubtedly influenced by a national revulsion with the war in Vietnam (which, unfortunately, was taken out far too often on the Americans who fought there). But the impetus to get beyond the "triumphalism" of most American war films of the '40s, '50s, and '60s would eventually lead to "Platoon," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Blackhawk Down," films that respected fighting men by demonstrating more effectively the hell that they endure. "The Execution of Private Slovik" was an excellent effort to get beyond the myth of "The Good War" and demonstrate that war inevitably degrades and damages all who are involved.

As to whether Eddie Slovik deserved his fate: Slovik was an emotionally troubled young man who never should have been put into combat in the first place, but as the U.S. casualties began to mount in the ETO in the fall of 1944, his requests for non-combat duty were rejected and he was sent to a rifle company as a replacement. He was a "coward" in the traditional sense of the word, but he was only one of more than 21,000 U.S. servicemen convicted of desertion during WWII. Of the 49 who were condemned to death for desertion, Slovik was the only one actually executed; all the others had their sentences commuted to prison time. (Another 141 U.S. servicemen was executed by the U.S. government during the war, all for the crimes of murder and rape.) If justice is supposed to be fair and impartial, it certainly appears that Slovik was singled out as an example to deter other would-be deserters. Why Slovik? One of the officers who sat on his court-martial would write years later that his execution was "an historic injustice."

See: http://www.americanheritage.com /articles/magazine/ah/1987/6/1987_6_97.shtml

http://www.worldwar2history.info/ Army/deserters.html

http://info.detnews.com/history/ /story/index.cfm?id=103&category=people

My father was an infantryman in the Philippines and was injured in combat a few weeks after Slovik was executed. I'm glad my father and millions of other Americans overcame their fear and did their duty, but Slovik didn't deserve death for his "cowardice." Punishment, yes; dishonor, perhaps. But not a firing squad.

Note: The execution of Slovik (though the soldier is never named) also was depicted, briefly, in an earlier antiwar film, "The Victors," directed by Carl Foreman and released in 1963. The scene is played without dialog; in a savagely ironic gesture, the execution is played out while Frank Sinatra croons "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on the soundtrack. Even more ironically, Sinatra himself once owned the film rights to William Bradford Huie's book, "The Execution of Private Slovik," but he sold them to another person before Richard Levinson and William Link obtained the rights to make this film. "The Victors" is an excellent film in its own right -- until it comes out on DVD, catch it if you can!

In January 1945 Private Eddie D Slovik became the only man shot for desertion by the United States Army since the American Civil War. This film shows Slovik's adult life, the twists, turns and decisions that lead to the event and how it unfolded.

An incredibly powerful drama. Shows well what lead to the execution of Private Slovik - his personal life, his decisions, the court martial process - and the execution itself. Most remarkable is how balanced it is: after seeing his view you have some sympathy for Slovik but you get to see and understand the US Army's side too. You are reminded of this conflict between empathy for Slovik's situation and the fact that scores of other soldiers are in a similar position as him but are willing to do their duty.

Quite sensitively told: no big empty speeches about duty and honour, no gung ho rants and the main characters on the US Army's side have no personal agenda - they're just following the process and doing their job.

Rounding it off, the execution scene is very realistic and emotional. Even if you are firmly of the view that justice is being served you can't help but be moved by the final few scenes.

Great work by Martin Sheen in the lead role. Solid supporting cast that includes Ned Beatty and Gary Busey. 8/9-year-old Charlie Sheen also gets some uncredited screen time.

Even now, 25+ years later I remember this movie. It made an impact on me.

I've only seen it twice, but it still hurts me to remember it. As the execution is played out, you hear Bing Crosby sing "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Every time I hear that song, the memory of that movie floods me with terrible, sad feelings.

10/10