Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

In Reality, one of the Major Concerns or the Director/Writer, is that there is Literally No Real Ground in this Staged Production. It will probably come as no Surprise to those Watching this that almost all of it was Filmed on a Stage and Back Lot. Sorry, but that does not allow for a whole lot of Battleground Realism.So this is a Character Study, or more Accurately, a Multiple Character Study of the Men in and around Bastogne. The Grunts are Stereotypical and are a group of Multi-National Melting Pot Joes. There is some Believable Banter among the Brothers and most of the Movie is mostly that. A lot of Banter about this and that, Insignificant Stuff like False Teeth, Newspapers, and Mom's Home Baked Pies.Sure, this happens but here a lot of it Smacks of Cliché, with Actors on Stage given a lot of "get to know Me" Dialog before they are Forced to do Battle. There are some Battles but not many. There is some Combat Tension, but not much. The Preacher's Sermon is straight out of Post-War Anti-Communist Rhetoric, and there again, so much for Realism.This is a Fondly Remembered and well Liked Film. Multiple Oscar Nominee, including Best Picture, but it is Really not that Great and is Overrated and much Loved more for its Real Life Participants and Events, than this rather Stiff War Movie. It almost seems like one of those TV Playhouse 90 Things. Perhaps, Subconsciously, TV was already starting to influence Movie Making, even in the Early Years.

This film doesn't quite shift up a gear into 'war classic' category as the audience don't really feel any emotional connection when people start getting killed. The film holds the interest whilst you watch and it's fairly entertaining but there's a bit too much comedy for my liking and some of the characters are irritating. For example, Ricardo Montalban (Roderigues) keeps shouting all the time - he should keep quiet in a war situation with the enemy all around. What a douche-bag! The Texas boy, Jerome Courtland (Abner) uses corny language and repeatedly sings a corny song– he's obviously been told to play a stereo-typical country simpleton. There is also not enough action given that the film is 2 hours long.There are some nice looking scenes in the foggy forests and the film should have used this to better effect as we are encouraged to wait for the mist to clear to see what is going on. It does happen but it could have happened on more occasions to crank up the tension.Characters go through changes and by the end of the film, the fresh faced wise-cracking troops are dishevelled. There is some man-to man combat as 3 of the troop go on a scouting mission and it is nicely directed as all violent killings are carried out just outside of our vision, so the film scores for good direction during this part.Strangely, I find that the memory of this film is better than the experience of actually watching it. Maybe it's worth a second viewing.

In the waning months of World War II, a group of war-weary American soldiers fight off The Third Reich's second wind. "Battleground" suffered from a lot of backstage studio machinations, but rose to become one of the most critical and popular success stories of the era. It starts with a fine script from Robert Pirosh, who manages to make the otherwise stereotypical characters human. Drawing on his own experiences, Mr. Pirosh is able to covey the soldiers' reluctance, determination, love and sacrifice. The fighting men seem theatrical, but real. And, war veterans William Wellman (director) and Paul Vogel (cinematographer) know how to put over Pirosh's thesis. Their final argument is superfluous, but does not undermine anything - the trip was necessary, as was entering this war.********* Battleground (11/9/49) William A. Wellman ~ Van Johnson, John Hodiak, James Whitmore, Marshall Thompson

It's rare to encounter a movie in this genre where most of the actors aren't obviously "acting." The cast, for the most part, seem to really live their part and know their stuff. The equipment, tactics, behavior, and language seems authentic and natural, not forced. That former members of the 101 Airborne helped train the cast really shines through.I appreciated how the movie didn't pull punches regarding the horrors of war. A character with a pleasing personality is just as likely to get killed as an "extra," and nobody comes across as being "bullet-proof." If your number's up, it's up, regardless of your "family back home" story. The wide variety of ages who fought in the war is nicely represented, as well. Memorable characters, with weaknesses not glossed over.The most realistic, naturally acted scene in the entire movie could have easily been cut, but I'm so glad it wasn't. The chaplain scene. So much was said, and not all of it with words. I won't spoil it, you'll know it when you see it.