Okinawa (1952) Full Movie

Jon A 20 Jan 2011

Distinctly average movie filled with cliched characters that walks a thin line between square-jawed heroics and war-weary endurance.

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Gary C 28 Nov 2007

Lewis Milestone made some great war films, but this WWII drama about a marine platoon commanded by Richard Widmark doesn't measure up to his best. The action is all smoke and noise, with little pause for any character development and the supporting cast overact their badly melodramatic, overly stereotypical roles to a rather cringeworthy degree (Jack Palance's performance in Batman is comparatively understated compared to this!) The technique of using flashbacks to contrast the soldier's pre-war lives is also clumsy, and Widmark too often looks more like a social worker dishing out Werther's originals than a battle hardened lieutenant. The lack of humanity in the script is highlighted particularly in a scene where a tank sprays napalm on Japanese positions with no thought or mention of it's victims, as the marines look on cheerfully as if they're watching a sunday afternoon barbecue. It does have moments; particularly in the scenes involving the Japanese prisoners, but as a whole it's too simplistic and cliched.

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Alex r 29 Jan 2012

Relax. It 's not video game. War is hell.

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Dennis Schwartz 01 Jan 2000

The film doesn't pretend to be more than a routine WW11 war film reflecting the political mood of when it was made.

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xGary X 24 Nov 2007

Lewis Milestone made some great war films, but this WWII drama about a marine platoon commanded by Richard Widmark doesn't measure up to his best. The action is all smoke and noise, with little pause for any character development and the supporting cast overact their badly melodramatic, overly stereotypical roles to a rather cringeworthy degree (Jack Palance's performance in Batman is comparatively understated compared to this!) The technique of using flashbacks to contrast the soldier's pre-war lives is also clumsy, and Widmark too often looks more like a social worker dishing out Werther's originals than a battle hardened lieutenant. The lack of humanity in the script is highlighted particularly in a scene where a tank sprays napalm on Japanese positions with no thought or mention of it's victims, as the marines look on cheerfully as if they're watching a sunday afternoon barbecue. It does have moments; particularly in the scenes involving the Japanese prisoners, but as a whole it's too simplistic and cliched.

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