Battleground

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Incoming MGM production head Dore Schary ramrodded Battleground into the studio's schedule over the virulent protests of MGM boss Louis Mayer. The result was an award-winning box-office hit, as well as the beginning of the end of Mayer's power. This dramatization of the battles of Bastogne and the Bulge in the waning days of World War II concentrates on a single infantry unit. Van Johnson and John Hodiak are the ostensible stars, but the film is stolen by James Whitmore as the cigar-chomping, battle-stained sergeant. Also appearing is Ian MacDonald as General McAuliffe, whose legendary response to the Nazi's suggestion that the Americans surrender consisted of a single four-letter expletive: "Nuts". Whitmore's final scenes of near-delirium before the relief troops arrive are unforgettable. Battleground tries within MGM limits to be wholly realistic, though it is slightly compromised by the scripters' inability to use Army profanity, and by pointless subplot involving actress Denise Darcel. The film doesn't hold up as well as such wartime efforts as The Story of GI Joe or Walk in the Sun, but in 1949 Battleground was regarded as an important milestone in the field of truthful, de-glamorized combat flicks. Please avoid the colorized version: this is a black-and-white subject if ever there was one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Black and White
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • cc
  • Vintage cartoon Little Rural Riding Hood
  • Vintage featurette Let's Cogitate
  • Subtitles: English, Francais & Espanol

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Black and White Cinematography - 1949 (Paul Vogel)
•     Won Best Story and Screenplay - 1949 (Robert Pirosh)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1949 (William Wellman)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1949 (John D. Dunning)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1949
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1949 (James Whitmore)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1949 (James Whitmore)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1949 (Robert Pirosh)

• New York Times

•     Won 10 Best Films - 1949

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Van Johnson - Holley
       John Hodiak - Jarvess
       Ricardo Montalban - Roderigues
       George Murphy - Ernest "Pop" Stazak
       James Whitmore - Kinnie
       Jerome Courtland - Abner Spudler
       Don Taylor - Standiferd
       Bruce Cowling - Wolowicz
       Douglas Fowley - Kipp Kippton
       Thomas E. Breen - Doc
       Denise Darcel - Denise
       Richard Jaeckel - Bettis
       Scotty Beckett - William J. Hooper
       Brett King - Lt. Teiss
       101st Airborne

• Director:

  William Wellman

• Producer:

  Dore Schary

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Pirosh

• Cinematographer:

  Paul Vogel

• Composer (Music Score):

  Lennie Hayton

• Editor:

  John D. Dunning

• Art Director:

  Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters

• Associate Producer:

  Robert Pirosh

• Set Designer:

  Alfred E. Spencer, Edwin B. Willis

• Makeup:

  Jack Dawn

• Special Effects:

  Peter Ballbusch

REVIEW:

• Hailed by critics, audiences, and veterans alike, William Wellman's Battleground (1949), together with such other war movies as Wellman's earlier Ernie Pyle biopic The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) and Lewis Milestone's A Walk in the Sun (1945), set a new standard of de-glamorization in war films that continued for decades. The common elements of this new veracity were sharply observed details about the life of the common serviceman, a nearly documentary-like portrayal of war's gore and harsh brutality, and a somewhat sardonic redefinition of heroism, patriotism, and duty. Many decades and several wars later, films as diverse as MASH (1970), Platoon (1986), Hamburger Hill (1987), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), just to name a few, shared these fundamentals and were, in turn, acclaimed as superior war films. Battleground's background story is nearly as interesting as its plot. Producer Dore Schary, who preferred his film projects to contain socially relevant messages, brought the project with him to MGM when he was lured away from RKO. But MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer resisted putting Battleground into production, believing the American public had gotten its fill of war movies. When the film was a box office smash and nominated for a half-dozen Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, Schary won the confrontation with one of Hollywood's most powerful men, and Mayer's career began to decline. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi