Aventures en Birmanie

A good example of a Warner Brothers war drama, it's full of clichés appropriate to the times. The Japanese are "moral idiots," "savages," and "monkeys" (three times). Men shout and wave at a search plane two or three miles away (three times). The men are the usual congeries of ethnicity -- "Gabby" Gordon hollers "Mazeltov" at the departing Sweeney. (Hold on a moment. I'll have to think that one over. I'll also have to figure out how Lt. Sidney Jacobs acquired a Catholic dog tag.) Franz Waxman's music is just catchy enough, without being in the least distinguished. The jungle looks like a dressed-up Santa Anita with eucalyptus trees instead of ebony. The dialogue tends to run along lines like -- "Here we are in the muck and mire." "Hi, Muck!" "Hi, Mire!" Just at the end, when the remaining handful of paratroopers are in despair, the cavalry comes riding to the rescue.

I guess that gets the time-trapped stuff out of the way. This is far from an insulting cartoon of a movie. At its best, it captures the kind of utter physical exhaustion that Norman Mailer caught in his novel, "The Naked and the Dead." It's essentially a "journey" movie. Flynn, who is not bad, and his men are parachuted into Burma to destroy a radar station. Mission accomplished without casualties, they find their pick-up airfield swarming with enemy soldiers and must slog their way out through swamps and over mountains, the trip punctuated by bloody encounters with the Japanese.

Not that the battles are literally bloody. I don't think a drop of blood is spilled in the entire movie despite multiple opportunities. "Saving Private Ryan" is one way to tell a horrifying story -- very explicitly -- but the suggestion that is used in this film is equally effective, as hard as that may be to believe. Maybe the most jarring and moving moment in the film is when Flynn's group finds their friends tortured and killed by the Japanese. Flynn's friend, Jacobs, is barely alive. We see only his legs as Flynn kneels over him and identifies himself. The viewer can only imagine what Jacob's face -- and his eyes -- must look like as he whispers, "Nelson? Is that you, Nelson? Will you do me a favor, Nelson? Kill me?" The movie is a long one but it really needs to be long or we wouldn't so readily feel the agony and the desperation of these dying men. It's long enough for us to get to know the men as more than just anonymous soldiers too.

And the dialogue has its redeeming moments. When the middle-aged journalist is found dead near his foxhole, a supporting player, James Brown, stands over the body and says sincerely but not overdramatically, "Gee, I'm sorry, Mister Williams. Awfully sorry." And when Flynn leads his pitiful group of survivors finally into the base, his commanding officer shakes his hand, gives him a light, and tells him, "You don't know how important it was for you to take that radar station." Flynn says simply, "Here's what it cost," and hands him a fistful of identity tags.

It's an example not of art but of Hollywood craftsmanship. Engaging, and nicely done.

This is one of the very best of the WWII battle films made during the war. It has excellent action sequences, and is full of the very intense emotions that were felt during that time. It's also one of Errol Flynn's best roles, as the captain of a parachute squad sent to blow up a Japanese radar station as a prelude to the allied re-conquest of Burma. Unlike many of the war films of the same era, this one is shot almost exclusively outdoors, and a considerable effort was made to make the shoot look and sound like it was actually in a jungle.

Considering the film's age, the picture quality of the DVD is very good. A few of the sequences have a lot of scratches and grain, but that was because the film makes good use of real jungle war footage.

A must see for fans of WWII films, or of Errol Flynn fans who want to see him in one of his best roles.

Objective Burma has to be one of Errol Flynn's best movies not to mention performances. he is unlike many of the swashbuckling roles that made him famous. There are other fine performances as well throughout the cast. There is only a small amount of the stereotypical Bronx or New York guy with an accent.Objective Burma is an entertaining movie about a paratrooper units mission to destroy a radar station and how it their escape route becomes blocked and they must fight their way out. It is a very underrated war movie that doesn't get the accolades that a Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day or even the Dirty Dozen. It was a made up story about a small mission in the Pacific Theater of operation.It portrays the men's bravery, sacrifice and and heroism quite well. The acting, storyline and action make for a very well done and in some areas ahead of its time movie. I have never really been an Errol Flynn fan, but this has to rank as one of his better and yet more subdued performances. Henry Hull also gets high marks for his portrayal as a newspaperman. Rent this or buy it, you won't be disappointed!

This film is not just one of those propaganda or moral raising movies. I remember seeing it in the early 50's when 'battle cry',or Audie Murphy's 'to hell and back' came out on screen- while this one was black and white. In those days the Israeli army used to show this film in the Israeli 'west point' compatible academy " "Bahad 1",as part of the new officers training program and for more than one reason. First of all it is a first class demonstration what a real combat is like. Not a very flashy adventure , especially when you are outnumbered and fighting your way out from the combat zone. Then , E.F demonstrate a determined commander who possesses true leadership and understanding of his own men.He never panics , never raising voice and he is a first class professional. He is an ancestor of the much later officer played by Tom Hanks in P-Ryan... I wonder if this movie ever re-hit screen during the Vietnam war.

...probably one of the better ones about WWII made during WWII. In it a group of American paratroopers are dropped into the Burmese jungles to destroy a Japanese radar station. Things don't go as expected, of course, and instead of being picked up by an airplane after their mission is completed they are forced to trek through the jungles and battle the elements to make their escape.

Director Raoul Walsh was in good form when he directed this overlong but effective film which adopts a semi documentary approach. James Wong Howe also scored well with his striking photography which really adds to the film's realistic credibility. Howe captures the scorching heat of the jungle in this production, whose principle photography was largely done on "Lucky" Baldwin's Santa Anita ranch. There was also a fine musical score by Franz Waxman, including a impressive military march theme.

While the characters are the usual army stereotypes, the restrained performances of the cast add to the film's sense of realism. This includes Errol Flynn, who well portrays an ordinary guy who's in command. His commanding officer is not the belligerent macho type to be found in many military films but, instead, a humane officer who cares about his men who, in turn, respect him. Flynn regarded this film as one of the best of his career. Also look out for the terrific performances by several actors that later went on to well known TV roles such as George Tobias who played Mr.Kravitz on Bewitched and Hugh Beaumont who was The Beaver's dad.

The film has one dated over-the-top diatribe by Henry Hull as a newsman accompanying the soldiers in which he rants about the Japanese as "stinking little savages" who should be wiped off the face of the earth. Oh well, I guess if I'm going to watch the films of 1945, then I should be prepared to deal with the values of 1945.

At the same time, however, the film has some great dialogue. For example, after a soldier named Hollis is found dead, one of the paratroopers, in retrieving the soldier's dog tag, says, "So much for Mrs. Hollis's 9 months of pain and 20 years of hope." In speaking of the pain that a mother will feel when she receives the news about her son, the film briefly touches upon a common humanity we all feel with the grief and tragedy of war.