O Último Batalhão

Rick Schroeder stars in this made for A&E true story of an American battalion during WW1. In particular, it tells the true about a battle that resulted in the awarding of 3 Medals of Honor. This film contains a lot of battle scenes and they are quite bloody. It's the story, told from pretty much only the American and German sides, of a battle in the ending weeks of the war. The killing continues unabated, and there is plenty of blood and action to suit even the most action craving viewer. The Americans have penetrated deeply into German held territory and threaten the entire German front from behind. Naturally, the Germans want the Americans out of their area and put forth a maximum effort to dislodge them. But the Americans plan to stay and the resulting battle over the next 3 days or so is graphically depicted. There's not a woman in the film at all; the entire film takes place on the battlefield. Yet, even without romantic interludes, there are very few minutes in the film without some sort of action. The entire cast did a great job. All in all, a very enjoyable and well-made film!

Without the extreme violence and profanity of "Saving Private Ryan" or "Black Hawk Down", Mulcahy's film achieves a higher level of cinematic and emotional success than either of its modern counterparts. The balance of true-life horror and tear-evoking courage and honor is perhaps more beliveable and acceptible than in the fictional "Ryan" or the questionable context of "Black Hawk". That is for history to evaluate. In the case of "Ryan", the ridiculous premise, based upon the true-life scenario of the deaths of the fighting Sullivan brothers, pales in comparison to the true story of Whittlesey and his battalion's mission to serve the entire American Army and its allies, not just one family. In addition, "The Lost Battalion" is a comparable technical tour-de-force, although perhaps Mulcahy derives some directorial inspiration from Spielberg. He compensates for this be eliciting a superior performance from Rick Shroeder than Spielberg did from Hanks, and by adding some nifty special effects shots here and there. This is a film that mixes the respect for the fighting soldier with a disdain for inept command, and war in general. There is no other agenda here, because the truth tells its own story. Rent this, or buy it. You will not be disappointed.

To reply to D.Smyth's post, yes, the film might make some use of war clichés, but given that the original 1919 film did as well, it seems to be keeping honest to the source material. The battalion was historically a diverse one, and while we've seen the type before in war films, I didn't find the film's portrayal to be so terribly clichéd as to detract from its authenticity or enjoyment.

Also, regarding the goofs D.Smyth points out, the zippo indeed is post-WWI (early '30s); however, it was based on an earlier, Austrian design, which may have been the basis for what shows up in the film.

Also, I'm not sure what his basis is for "o'clock" not existing until twenty years later; to give just one example that contradicts it, Ford Madox Ford references the system twice in his poem "On October, 1914 (Antwerp)" ("This is Charing Cross; / It is one o'clock. ... / This is Charing Cross; it is past one of the clock;"), which was published in 1918.

-nqr

This movie, for all the hype, is really a let down to those who know what really happened in the Charlevaux Ravine between October 2nd and October 8th, as well as the offensive fought in the Argonne Forest between September 26th and November 11th. Factually the movie repeatedly persists in making very basic mistakes concerning uniforms, dialog, military matters, and a whole host of other points too numerous to mention in this post. The quality of the acting is marginal at best, the continuity falls well short of the mark, and the story line fails to follow what really happened. The researchers obviously didn't do their jobs - otherwise the majority of the mistakes made would never have occured (ie: it wasn't the '308th Battalion', it was basically the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 308th Infantry Regiment, 154th Infantry Brigade, 77th Division, and elements of the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, and Company 'K' of the 307th Infantry - it is also inconceivable that combat soldiers would STAND UP in the middle of an attack and expose themselves to infilading fire) The location chosen for the film does not resemble the Charlevaux Ravine in the least, nor does Rick Schroeder resemble Charles Whittlesey (or act like him for that matter). All in all, except for certain battle scenes, this movie was a pure waste of film. Robert J. Laplander Author of the forthcoming book "Epic in the Argonne: A Comprehensive History of Charles W. Whittlesey and the Lost Battalion"

We watched this last night - I only hired it because it was about WWI's Western Front, one of my abiding interests.

This faithful re-creation of the brutal slaughter of two thirds of Whittlesey's battalion in the Argonne Forest in WWI is one of the finest war movies I've seen (and I include Saving Private Ryan in that list).

The director uses the same sort of hand-held camera footage to re-create how the on-going massacres must have looked through the eyes of the men on the ground. The scene where a man takes a direct hit from a bomb and is vaporised, with just his rolling helmet remaining, is mesmerizing. My partner and I were open mouthed in awe.

As happened so often in WWI, the stupidity and stubbornness of the commanders, often 20-30 miles behind the front line, seems incredible. And the bravery and dedication of the Battalion, made up of a motley crew supposed misfits, mostly from the 'seamy' suburbs of New York, is amazing and beautifully portrayed.

Even the Germans are well rounded characters, not just stupid Huns. they become human too, even if you don't much like them.

And over it all is the poignant underlying knowledge that this is October 1918, just 5 weeks before Armistice Day. It all seems so futile.

But the Battalion held and was credited with being the spearhead for the Allied breaking of the German lines in the area.

I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to all aficionados of war movies.