by Lars Lindahl (c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
Lars Attacks! http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
"The Steel Helmet" (1951)
Starring Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards, Richard Loo, Sid Melton, and William Chun.
Directed by Sam Fuller Written by Sam Fuller
Grade: **** (out of four)
Sam Fuller's rarely seen masterpiece, The Steel Helmet, is a film that should be included with Platoon and Saving Private Ryan, among others, as one of the great war films of the twentieth century. Although it is not as violently graphic as others, its anti-war message is just as powerful. With an extremely brief eighty-four minute running time, Fuller proves his point without any unnecessary characters or subplots and manages to avoid any major cliches that plague most war films.
The Steel Helmet is a frighteningly hypnotic tale, set during the Korean War, following a group of American soldiers, separated from their unit, who hide out in a Buddhist temple. In this temple we meet the diverse characters who find they have very little in common with everyone else: an African American medic who realizes that back home his family and friends are treated disrespectfully, a Japanese American soldier who notices the same discrimination, a young naïve North Korean boy who ecstatically joins the group on their quest for safety, and a veteran Sergeant who luckily survived a bullet to his head thanks to his steel helmet. Fuller's use of different races and ages truly show the war's wide ranging effects on society. From this ambiguous group, there is hatred, friendship, innocence, and criminality. Fuller later introduces a South Korean character and he shows that the same traits apply for the opposite side. By doing this, Fuller leaves a powerful message that the war is completely meaningless and detrimental because it is either fought by soldiers with complete unjustified prejudice towards another race or by soldiers who don't know exactly why they are fighting. Since the film was made in 1951, Fuller boldly delivered his message to Americans who fought or cheered on the war. It's almost like releasing Saving Private Ryan the day after D-day; he was showing people what horrible things were happening at the exact time that they were happening. It comes as no surprise to hear that Fuller was at the time harshly accused of being a Communist.
Sam Fuller's incredible utilization of black and white was so impressive that it was even emulated by Martin Scorcese in his beautifully shot black and white Raging Bull. His use of external factors, such as smoke or sound effects, is as convincingly realistic as his perfect use of the musical score. The film also has some fantastic acting to fill all of the characters' roles, from Gene Evans as the Sergeant who reacts like any human being would, whether right or wrong to William Chun as an ingenuous young boy who does not notice the seriousness of the war he is in the middle of. This short film has a lasting impact on the horrors of twentieth century wars.
Grade: **** (out of four)
Lars Attacks! http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
by Lars Lindahl (c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
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