Attack [Blu-ray]

Over the years I have owned every version of this movie that I have found. Originally I saw the movie on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon on a local TV station.Years later I didn't remember the title, who was in it, or when it was made, but I always remembered it took place during the Battle of the Bulge, and the scene where Costa's platoon is moving across the field to get into the town. Finally I saw an ad in a catalog for the movie and from the description I knew that it had to be this film. A friend asked me, why I would consider spending the money on a VHS, yes VHS, of something that may not be really what I wanted. I just knew it was the movie that I remembered.Then, when the DVD came out I bought that, and now the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray doesn't have a lot of special features, a few trailers is all, and it does offer English subtitles. The video quality of the movie is very good.The film itself is not a "blood and guts" action war movie. It is more of a thought provoking, war movie. It deals with the nature of men in combat, who may be a hero, and who may be a coward. There are also elements of manipulation and self-service. That isn't to say there is no action. There is, but since it is based on a stage play, things are more "set piece" than other war movies.Because the film featured unflattering portraits of some US military officers, the Department of Defense would not assist in the production of the movie. That does impact some of the equipment (namely tanks) that is used, but I have found that the story and acting is what is holding my interest, not the individual things that may be wrong.Overall, this is one of my favorite war movies. As I said at the start, I always remembered a certain scene, but had no idea of what the movie was. To me, that says something about the impact it had on me.

Nice movie no problems.

Just a good war movie from the 50s. Good acting, good story. One if the greatest cowards in military movie history. Officers who act like officers and it adds up to one of the best from the decade.

It’s a movie

I saw this 30+ years and remember being impressed by it. A purchase of this new blu ray left me a little less than blown away. Aldrich, at his best, could be a great director - Kiss Me Deadly, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Yard - all pretty great movies. He was also a little erratic. This movie is just a little flat visually and lacks big action set pieces. It's very talky and was obviously based on a play without a lot of opportunities to open things up. Jack Palance is quite good in it. Others a little less so and a little hammy overall. The moral of the story - that wars are run by sometimes inept, manipulative officers - is a little heavy handed. A bonus is the title sequence - overseen by the great graphic visualist, Saul Bass. Ultimately for Aldrich, Palance or Lee Marvin enthusiasts only.

World War II offered 1950s Hollywood countless opportunities for action picture plots and background for dramas. Some of the best known are “Bridge on the River Kwai,” “From Here to Eternity,” and “The Caine Mutiny.” Less known is “Attack!” Based on the play “Fragile Fox,” the movie keeps the focus on a single infantry company and the testy relationship between two of its officers.Toward the end of World War II, Fox Company must set up observation posts in a strategic area. Captain Cooney (Eddie Albert) failed to act during a recent engagement with the heavily entrenched Germans and 14 men died as a result. Cooney is a heavy-drinking judge’s son who never wanted to be in the army and is there only to earn his father’s respect. He’s under the command of Col. Bartlett (Lee Marvin).Lt. Joe Costa (Jack Palance) blames Cooney’s cowardice for the unnecessary loss of his men and warns Cooney that he will kill him if he fails to do his duty again. During a visit from Col. Bartlett, Lt. Woodruff (William Smithers) tells him morale in Fox Company is low and suggests that Bartlett place Cooney in a staff job, far from the front line.Anticipating military advancement for sheltering Cooney, the cynical and pragmatic Col. Bartlett puts his own career ahead of the safety of his men and ignores Cooney’s weakness as a leader. Bartlett has no open staff jobs and assures Woodruff that the company is not likely to see further action, since the enemy is on the run.But the Germans make one last massive effort in the Battle of the Bulge and Fox Company is called into action. Cooney orders Costa and his men to capture and hold a position in what is believed to be a deserted Belgian town. Cooney will provide back-up in case the company faces enemy resistance.Rather than glorify all American fighting men, director Robert Aldrich (“The Dirty Dozen”) shows that there were incompetents and cowards among American officers and soldiers and sometimes the wrong men were put in charge. The enemy may not always be the primary villain. It may be the corrupt and cowardly officers on our own side.The emphasis of “Attack!” is the interplay among individuals, not battle action. The film opens with a well staged uphill attack on a German pill box and there is some tank action later on, but the movie is not packed with gunfire and explosions. James Poe’s script fleshes out the characters of Cooney, Bartlett, Costa, and Woodruff and features some good moments for Buddy Ebsen, Richard Jaeckel, and Robert Strauss as men in Cooney’s command.Albert dominates the film. His Cooney is inept and knows his men don’t respect him. More concerned with the bottles of brandy he cherishes than with his duty, he thinks first of himself. He is the antithesis of Costa, an officer who is protective of his men and intolerant of lethal incompetence. Costa follows orders, even when he know they’re not the soundest, attempting to carry out a mission with minimum human loss. Both Albert and Palance are excellent actors and inhabit their characters. The scenes between Cooney and Costa bristle with tension.“Attack!” is a gritty war picture that grabs you on an emotional level. The characters’ flaws are magnified by the daily stresses of life and death. The screenplay doesn’t pull its punches as it features brave men captained by a coward. Because of this less-than-heroic look at its officers, the military refused cooperation and equipment, making it necessary for director Aldrich to make the film on a small budget. Appropriately edgy and bleak, “Attack!” has lost none of its bite and is still a powerful filmThe only bonus features on the Region A, unrated Blu-ray release are theatrical trailers.

Eddie Albert ( Green Acres ) plays the captain of a ww2 squad but has a cowardice streak toward helping his men which include Jack Palance a lieutenant ( City Slickers) and Buddy Epson ( Beverly Hillbillies) a sergeant Lee Marvin ( CAT BALLOU) is the colonel in charge that knows of the nepotism used to keep the capt. in charge . When the lieutenant is sick and tired of his captains cowardice he publicly threatens him but is stopped by the head lieutenant who like him wants a solution to their problem. This film was made without help of the military because of the subject content. With excellent fighting scenes and a oscar nominated performance from Jack Palance , this movie is my choice for the number one war film of all time. Excellent score also . But I cant see how it helps putting this in blue ray when it is shocking enough in black and white.

Wow. What an amazing war movie. It does have some of the shortcomings of it's time but unlike other movies from this era it has (mostly) natural unforced dialogue you would expect from men in the pressure cooker of war. The bombed out town set is fantastic and there are 3 decent action set pieces. The story has a cowardly out of his depth colonel gripped by fear refusing to support platoons in the field. Jack Palances officer has had enough and a battle of wills ensues. Navigating the battlefield is bad enough but they also have to contend with the politics exemplified by Lee Marvins character. This is a better watch than Saving Private Ryan. It'gritty, cynical and ultimately more realistic. Region A locked blu ray has excellent audio and video.