Product Description

Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy star in this remarkable war film, nominated for six Oscars(R) (including Best Picture) about courageous American G.I.s caught up in the battle at Bastogne. Year: 1949

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80917 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-04
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Subtitled, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Customer Reviews

Tribute to the World War II Veteran
I love this World War II movie about the Battle of the Bulge. I like this film because it focuses on the ordinary infantryman and is told in a very gritty fashion for its time (1949). Producer Dore Schary had the good sense to let director William Wellman (World War I veteran) film this movie in a more realistic style than a major Hollywood studio would normally have done. Robert Pirosh's competent and honest script breathes reality into the life and death daily existence of these soldiers through their turgid dialog. Paul C. Vogel's black & white cinematography is bleak and adds a sense of anxiety that puts the viewer directly into the story. Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, James Whitmore, Richard Jaeckel and Marshall Thompson are all excellent in their roles. This move is a tribute to the ordinary guy that had to leave home, go out and defend our freedoms.

As good as it gets
If you like war movies for more than just shoot em up, special effects, and theater command decisions, then this is the movie for you. This is the soldiers tale of the Seige of Bastogne. Unlike other well made WWII movies, Battleground focuses on on platton in the 101st Airborne, or the screaming eagles. From Rodriquez cheering joyfully at his first experience with snow to Holly and his encounters with a young french woman, this it what the war was like to the everyday soldier. They didn't know what was going on, where there were headed or, whether or not they would be alive the next day. This is one of the greatest war movies of all time because it makes you feel like just one of the buck privates fighting for freedom. You know how much you care for them when at the end, the sun comes out, and you are right there cheering on the much needed air support. "Hey, how've you been!!!!"

One of the best
Although somewhat dated, Battleground is as close to the Battle of the Bulge as anyone can get. The scene by the railroad trestle is taken from an actual 101st incident and is about as real as one could get including clips ejected from an M-1 rifle. A great history lesson for anyone even remotely interested in WWII.