Hey, this movie holds up. But, there's a boom shadow in the beginning....

Rating: 9/10 (2 September 2006)

I watched this last night. I've been watching movies for 30 years and always thought this would be a stinker. Figured, since all I ever saw was that shot on the beach, it must be a clunky 'we're all going to die' love story. But, whadddaya know. Sometimes 'they' are right. This is a good movie. Got yer rebel with a cause, the authoritative machine that wants to break him. Hey, for 1953 that was racy, anti-authoritarianism! Granted, the Army redeems itself. Good gallows humor, might even say plain dark at times. There's jokes made even while they're under attack. Those jokes don't play today, but would 'United 93' offer up something so human? I doubt it. Oh, and when Burt Lancaster and the new kid are walking across the lawn in the beginning of the movie, that shadow on Burt's leg is the sound man's boom. Dead giveaway is that it's a sharp shadow - meaning far from the source, and it stays with him. Not a big gaff, but one that would get a soundman fired in 1953.