None But the Brave

Dir: Frank Sinatra

1965

****

None But the Brave is a rather ambitious but successful attempt at showing war for the ridiculous notion it is. It's a stunning anti-war film from Ol' Blue Eyes, who is brilliant in front of the camera as well as behind it. The film begins on a small island with a platoon of stranded Japanese solders who have no means of communication with the outside world. The war has essentially forgotten them after enemy lines moved quick and unexpectedly. While a few of the men are happy for the war to carry on without them, some are keen to get back to civilization and back to the front lines. Then, from out of nowhere, an American C-47/R4D transport plane is shot out of the sky by a Japanese Zero fighter, which is then shot down by another American F4U Corsair. The pilot manages to crash-land the plane on the island's beach with only two fatalities but the crew are presumed perished by their squadron. Over time the two camps become aware of each other's existence but after both leaders (Lieutenant Kuroki played by Tatsuya Mihashi and Captain Dennis Bourke played by Clint Walker) keep their men under control and agree to terms of ceasefire. The two groups soon learn to live and work together and even enjoy each other's company in some cases. Certain members of the group such as Sinatra's Chief Pharmacist is happy to work in harmony and sit the rest of the war out but when a rescue attempt is made, the men soon go back to the ways in which they were trained. It's fascinating really, as the west was always led to believe that the Japanese were specifically brainwashed into fighting for their country. The truth is they were following orders just as every other nation's solders were. Sinatra's film shows how patriotism on one side can be seen as brainwashed on the other, how propaganda really works and how utterly stupid it is to kill your fellow man. It takes away all of the glory of other war films made around the same time and was unsurprisingly misunderstood by most and criticized by those that got it. The only good war film is an anti-war film and this is one of the best of its era, a bold move by Sinatra, beautifully directed with some outstanding performances. The visual effects from special effects guru Eiji Tsuburaya (of Godzilla fame) are stunning and an added treat to such a great story.