Turbilhão de Sangue

War for all those that do not glorify it is true hell. This movie is a document to the above statement; it feels like you are watching a play in a jungle the acting is superb the story tackles moral questions that nowadays dont seem to concern anybodyth about the hypocrisy and the utter futility of war, the fact that the action scenes are very old fashioned makes no difference to the superior quality of this production a must see for all those that want a first hand view into this hypocrisy and futility

This Hammer production broke away from the traditional horror movies for which they had become famous in the 1950's and like "The Camp on Blood Island" was a Second World War drama concentrating on the war with the Japanese. Set in the Burmese jungle, but filmed in the studio, it is a mostly all-male affair full of very familiar British faces. With Val Guest in the director's chair and Stanley Baker playing the officer in charge it is often highly effective (and surprisingly brutal). Indeed Baker is so good, (he was nominated for a BAFTA as indeed was the film itself), you might think you are watching a much better film than you actually are. It's certainly not free of clichés but it also poses some interesting ethical questions, (what constitutes a war crime, how far should an officer go in pursuit of his goals?). It may be no classic but it's no disgrace either and is worth seeing.

I caught this for the first time this evening having never come across it before in over 60 years of film and a TV viewing. It proves what can be achieved without a huge budget as long as one has a fine cast, well written script and a darn good director. No over-dramatic music needed to highlight the tension, no million dollar special effects. Modern filmmakers could learn a thing or two from this lesser known masterpiece of British cinema.

This movie is a terrific war piece of work, among the best ever, which Sam Fuller or Bob Aldrich could have done themselves. A pure men's tale, with no good vs evil silly scheme, as we usual see in war movies. Here British soldiers can behave like Japanese. I have always confounded this movie and Leslie Norman's THE LONG THE SHORT AND THE TALL. Another jungle patrol British film, very close to this one.

Well, I was astonished by how good this film is. Made by Hammer Films in 1959 and despite being shot entirely on set in England it has a deep sense of the grime, heat and fear of the Borneo jungle during WWII.

What really holds it together and creates the powerful generator for this film is a gritty, un-theatrical,un-sentimental performance by Sir Stanley Baker. He creates a 3 dimensional character and (Amazingly for a top ranked star) never tries to get the audience to "like him".

Other fine performances from Guy Rolfe and Leo McKern make this absorbing film seem way too short. The director Val Guest struggled to have the film released without any soundtrack music and this really helps the atmosphere and leaves it up the the actors to create tension without music bailing them out. There are quite a few unexpected twists and surprises too.

The subject matter in 1959 was rather brave and controversial so well done Hammer! It doesn't seem to be available on DVD or Blu-Ray so that goodness for Stagevu otherwise I might never have seen this little gem.