Product: MacArthur (1977)
Rating: 4.0
Great Gregory Peck Perfomance Is Crippled By Poor Screenplay
The 1977 film of MacArthur is worth watching for the towering performance of Gregory Peck as General Douglas MacArthur. Peck considered this one of his favorite roles and fought with the producers over the screenplay and editing of the film -- and fought he should have because those very flaws kept this movie from being a great film.MacArthur lead a long, dramatic and heroic life during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. As a vain and brilliant military genius who believed in his own destiny, the movie focuses on the decade 1942-1952. The film feels like MacArthur's greatest hits: the set pieces of Bataan, "I shall return", his rulership of Japan, the Inchon landing in Korea, "The Old Soldier" speech before Congress and so forth WITHOUT pulling the various scenes together into a coherent whole. According to Peck, the original three hour version fleshed out MacArthur more before it was edited down to the 130 minute commerial version.Without prior knowledge of MacArthur's life, the movie would be confusing and lacking in the richness that was MacArthur's life. As one example, the various military situations are dealt with superfical, briefly and often without maps, so that one does not see the strategic brilliance of his Pacific campaigns. I highly recommend reading William Manchester's "MacArthur" before seeing the film.Should you see the movie? Yes, even a MacArthur at half speed is more interesting than most movies and Gregory Peck IS MacArthur. He was passed over for an Oscar nomination although that was interpreted at the time as more of a comment on the film itself than upon his acting. It is worth seeing for Peck's performance in and of itself.