Commando en Corée

Tense , and brooding warlike movie , well set in Korea though actually filmed in Shepperton Studios , Shepperton , Surrey , England , UK and on location in the mountain of Montejunto , Portugal . Including participation of the Portuguese air force in the flying frames , and bombing scenes . This Korean war (1951-1953) drama is the fare of a British commando in Korea and stands out as one of the best British warlike film of the 50s . A band of Chinese troops track a group of soldiers posing as a large regiment and waiting an Allied contra-attack . Then , they take refuge into a Buddhist temple using it as stronghold but the group is besieged by the Chinese Army . They simply do their best to survive a terrifying situation . Later on , the soldiers are murdered one by one and a stiff-upper-lip lieutenant takes command with rigid orders .

The film is dedicated to the queen of battles , the British Infantry . The producers obtained help for the Department of the British Army and give thanks for its encouragement , advice and active cooperation in the preparation and production of this picture . The film is based on true events , a Chinese communist offensive formed by 350.000 soldiers who vanquished U.N. forces , including Brit infantry and US 8º Army and withdraw across southern . Posteriorly , American Army and UN multi-national troops undergo a contra-offensive and retrieve lost territory until 38 parallel . The story bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Fixed Bayonets ¡¨ (1951, Samuel Fuller) also with a bunch of soldiers who are besieged by Chinese hordes and sheltered in a cave , while in ¨A hill in Korea¨ take refuge at a temple . This one was the first major feature film to portray British troops in action during the Korean War . This one seem to be a conventional story with brief character studio and bolstered considerably by director Julian Amyes's flair for warlike drama and action . Dark and thoughtful and hurriedly made , the movie gains strength as it goes on , and shows a tremendous grasp of the tale as an unit . Excellent performance by all-male actors , boasting and most restrained acting by George Baker -later Tiberius in 'I Claudius'- as the tough lieutenant taking the command responsibility along with a sergeant well performed by Harry Andrews . Top-notch Stanley Baker as brave Corporal and excellent secondaries playing Privates as the coward Ronald Lewis , Percy Herbert , Robert Shaw , special appearance by Stephen Boyd and Michael Caine's film debut as well as uncredited . In fact , Michael Caine was actually a veteran of the Korean War .

Appropriate musical score by Malcolm Arnold -The bridge on the River Kwai- and well conducted by usual Muir Matheson . Atmospheric cinematography in black and white by notorious cameraman and occasionally director Freddie Francis , being partially shot in Portugal with intervention by Portuguese Air Force that participated in the jet flying . Portugal was chosen as the facsimile location to Korea, due to it's geographical similarities , even though Michael Caine who served as technical consultant/actor on the production, begged to differ . Adequate film edition by Peter H. Hunt , habitual editor of James Bond movies and director of 'On her Majesty's secret service' . Amyes's most fluid and strongest film-making lies in this war picture , his only movie because he subsequently directed television movies . The original name was ¨Hell in Korea¨ , but was changed for distribution reasons , except in the U.S. that was titled "Hell in Korea" , resulting to be tremendously exciting and stirring for that reason its rating is 6'5 points , better than average and well worth seeing .

If nothing else this is a good little 50's British actioner. There's actually a couple of hills defended in the film. A smaller one in the first half by 4 of the soldiers and then a larger one in the second half, which is also the site of a Buddhist temple.

This is actually the first British war film I can remember seeing set in the Korean War. As others have mentioned, for a very much "B" feature, it has an A cast list, with the added bonus of seeing Robert Shaw and Michael Caine in a couple of their earliest roles. Keep your eyes peeled for Shaw, as his character doesn't last too long into the film.

It's a relatively brief film and the narrative doesn't delve much into the status of the platoon serving under the UN Flag, nor exploring to a great extent the fact that some of the soldiers were regular army and some were apparently national conscripts. The story really could have been fleshed out more. It's pretty lean and sparse, with very little backgrounding. But punters are unlikely to get bored watching it.

It's 1951, and the Allies are on the retreat from the Yalu, with massive Chinese forces pursuing them south. A small unit of British troops is sent to reconnoitre a Korean village, and gets caught by two advancing Chinese battalions.

For all the formulaic treatment of soldiers maintaining a chirpy stoicism in adverse combat conditions, this film does have a certain gritty realism. George Baker as the rookie lieutenant burdened by command, and Harry Andrews as the tough old sergeant, are first-class. Don't blink, or you'll miss a very young Michael Caine as Private Lockyer, lamenting the death of Corporal Ryker (Stanley Baker).

The film works as a simple narrative of men under fire, but it certainly has some shortcomings. The narration which launches events may save the time and effort of explaining the plot, but would it not have been better for this information to emerge naturally out of the drama? When the hut explodes, there is a very obvious jump-cut. During the interval needed to get the actor out of the danger area, someone jolted the camera! Would the Chinese soldiers, even with their advantage in limitless canon-fodder, attack so recklessly across open, flat ground? At one point, close-ups are inserted to enhance the human reactions of the soldiers, but the trouble is, the lighting conditions do not match those of the master shot. Once the British soldiers retreat to the temple on the hill, the whole proceedings become totally studio-bound, with Shepperton fibreglass passing for buddhist architecture. The air strike relies too heavily on monotonously-repeated library footage of American planes. When the ending comes, it is a surprise in the wrong sense - the resolution is unconvincing, almost as if the film-makers didn't know how to extricate the soldiers. Surely a few bombs wouldn't clear the Chinese away for miles around?

Ronald Lewis plays Wyatt, the misfit who didn't want to be a soldier and who gets everything wrong. This character is needed in one sense, because there has to be some internal tension within the British camp, but Wyatt is not well done. His apostasy is overly-dramatic, and his immolation utterly unbelievable. This attempt to inject gaudy emotion into a basically stiff-upper-lip story just doesn't come off.

Verdict - Interesting 1956 British 'take' on recent war which ultimately succeeds, despite its flaws.

A Hill in Korea is a typical British war film, shot in crisp black and white and with Portugal doing a rather good job of standing in for the Korean countryside. The plot sees a British platoon cut off by Chinese forces and forced to take refuge on a hill which they must defend to the last man in the face of overwhelming attacks.

You know these sorts of films by now: half of the conflict comes from the besieging enemy, the other half from divisions within the group, as various characters crack or show their true heroic nature. And the low budget seems to work hand in hand with the plot of these films, helping to make them feel tense and claustrophobic. A Hill in Korea has a lot of casual racism in it, which was a bit of a surprise, but the all-star cast makes it worthwhile.

George Baker (TREAD SOFTLY STRANGER) is a dependable presence as the lieutenant leading the platoon, and Harry Andrews is once again the gruff sergeant - a role he seemed destined to play throughout his career. Ronald Lewis makes an impact as the guy going out of his mind, and others like Percy Herbert, Michael Medwin, and Stephen Boyd flesh out the rank and file troops. Best of all is the chance to see Robert Shaw and Michael Caine, both uncredited early on in their careers.

It's a small film but great in its making. The overwhelming credit of it is its absolutely perfect almost naturalistic realism, filmed in Korea and taking part of all the hardships of the soldiers at very close quarters. You get to know each of the soldiers individually, and MANY of them make unforgettable impressions. More of a curiosity is the presence of a very young Michael Caine among them as the youngest and the only blond one. He isn't noticed much and isn't seen much, but he is actually in it; while also Robert Shaw makes a very early and very palpable presence. The main characters though are Harry Andrews as stalwart and dominating in his imposing stature as ever, and Stanley Baker as the toughest and hardest of them. You don't like him, but in the end you must wonder if he wasn't right after all, while of course there is also the martyr, all lost and making his situation constantly more awkward in succeeding in doing everything wrong.

The settings are also quite impressing with the Buddhist monastery as a refuge, like a Korean Alamo for a last stand, but here there are actually some survivors; while the greatest quality of the film is the indivdual close-up attention given to everyone of these forgotten heros.