Product: MacArthur (1977)
Rating: 4.0
Cincinnatus
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was a great figure in American history, a character who has been tarnished by liberals because of his supposed disobedience to President Truman. His story is truly staggering.If anything, this movie is not long enough nor provides enough connectivity to establish a running narrative. The action (in the film) begins in 1942 as the end is nearing in the Phillipines in the face of an invasion by Imperial Japanese forces. One weakness of the movie is that it doesn't discuss Mac prior to this point in his life. MacArthur was a highly successful field commander in WWI. He was made superintendent of West Point. He was the controversial commander who sent troops to sweep away the "bonus marchers" from Washington D.C. He was made Chief of Staff of the Army. After he retired from the Army he was made Field Marshal of the Phillipine Army, which was just then being organized. All this and more takes place before the curtain is ever raised.In any case, the movie does follow MacArthur as he is forced to leave the Phillipines and the army under his command to its fate. Once in Australia he discovers that the U.S. government has no intention of attempting to recover the Phillipines. Despite this, MacArthur manages to turn the war in the Pacific around, engineering an offensive which would take him back to the Phillipines, as he promised.Next is the period in which MacArthur served as the supreme allied leader in Japan, working with the Japanese to liberalize and democratize its society. This is an achievement in itself and one hardly ever recognized.Finally is Korea, the conflict that would eventually get him removed from command. The back-and-forth tug between the five star general and the President is well-portrayed and I think is fair to both sides.I thought the acting was done very well and the chemistry of the cast does have its moments. But to really do the subject ustice I think this might have been better as two or three movies.