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Amazon.co.uk Review
On its first release in 1945, just after VJ day, Objective Burma came under fire in the British press--much as Saving Private Ryan would do some 40 years later--for portraying the jungle war as a solely American operation. But the passage of time has allowed the movie's many merits to outshine its narrow remit. The movie's bone-chilling portrayal of pain, sacrifice and endurance is astonishing; the jungle atmosphere is so persuasive you'd swear it was shot on the actual locations; and you'll never forget the terrifying last dark night on a mountainside--or the crocodiles.
A paratroop captain (Errol Flynn) sets out with a platoon to attack a Japanese outpost in the jungle. The Americans reach their target, take out the enemy with almost balletic precision, then gear up to return home. This feels like the point when a conventional war movie would have reached its action-filled climax, but the journey has only begun. Ahead lies one of the most arduous and agonising adventures any World War II film ever offered, brilliantly directed by that underrated old master Raoul Walsh and photographed with almost tactile realism by the great James Wong Howe. Franz Waxman also contributes one of his finest music scores. Flynn is excellent (he had given his best performance ever in Walsh's Gentleman Jim three years earlier), and he's backed by a solid cast including Henry Hull (as an ageing war correspondent), James Brown, William Prince, George Tobias and Stephen Richards (soon to change his name to Mark Stevens). Incidentally, two of the writers, Alvah Bessie and Lester Cole, were later blacklisted; see if you can spot any Commie propaganda. --Richard T Jameson
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
With "Objective Burma" Raoul Walsh created probably the most realistic war film made while the war was still in progress. People may criticise it for being to American but the story could be applied to anywhere within the Pacific. Because it was made during the war it was probably easier to use the U.S. Army instead of having to send away for material from the British Army. The Americans did fight in Burma however and many were stationed in India.
As the Commander of the Paratroopers, Errol Flynn only has one concern on his mind: the lives of his men. The plot does not have him worry about any ex-wives or young children he has back home. There's no room for sappy sub-plots in this picture because there is already enough going on. The question is, can Flynn and his men survive attacks from the Japanese and the wild Jungle?
One problem is the film's attitude towards the Japanese but please remember it was made when the U.S. was still battling Japan in the Pacific it was made to stir the people on the home front.
The cinematogrophy brilliantly evokes the tense and stuffy atmosphere of the Jungle and you can almost picture the marching and parachute drops when you here Franz Waxman's score. Along with Flynn you have Henry Hull, George Tobias and James Brown among others each cast member contributes greatly to the finished film.
"Objective Burma" proves yet again that in his heyday Raoul Walsh was a master of cinema.
As the Commander of the Paratroopers, Errol Flynn only has one concern on his mind: the lives of his men. The plot does not have him worry about any ex-wives or young children he has back home. There's no room for sappy sub-plots in this picture because there is already enough going on. The question is, can Flynn and his men survive attacks from the Japanese and the wild Jungle?
One problem is the film's attitude towards the Japanese but please remember it was made when the U.S. was still battling Japan in the Pacific it was made to stir the people on the home front.
The cinematogrophy brilliantly evokes the tense and stuffy atmosphere of the Jungle and you can almost picture the marching and parachute drops when you here Franz Waxman's score. Along with Flynn you have Henry Hull, George Tobias and James Brown among others each cast member contributes greatly to the finished film.
"Objective Burma" proves yet again that in his heyday Raoul Walsh was a master of cinema.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Raoul Walsh has to be the most agonizingly undervalued of all Hollywood maestros of yore. When the time came to do 'Objective Burma' he had a glorious career behind him spanning more than 30 years, with bona fide masterworks like 'Regeneration', ’Sadie Thompson’, ’Big Trail’, ’Roaring Twenties’, ’High Sierra’ and others, and yet every second of ’Burma’ is briskly paced and enthrallingly dynamic. In his day Walsh was best known for his action sequences, but everytime you revisit his films, not least this one, you are reminded that nothing human, absolutely nothing under the sun was alien to Hawks as a person and as a director. He succeeds where almost any other director of ensemble movies fails, that is in investing every single cast member with a description that is so precise, so wellrounded and unsentimental, so unlike all the others that you actually sit there with an ache in your heart for all the knowledge, all the feel for the medium, the innate sense of pacing that seems all but lost today where almost no director, certainly no one in Hollywood, dares to communicate this intelligently. Errol Flynn is subdued, pure in his acting and so matter-of-factly heroic that it would shatter it, were he to do do a deed that was actually heroic in the contemporary Hollywood sense. His heroism is a given, but so is his fear and his insecurity.
A masterpiece of moviemaking.
A masterpiece of moviemaking.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Errol Flynn stars as Major Nelson, who along with 50 other commandos parachute into Burma to destroy a Japanese radar station. The mission is a success but while waiting to be air lifted to safety they come under attack from the Japanese and are forced to trek thru the jungle, simultaneously fighting the terrain just as much as the enemy.
There were two magnificently directed war films made in 1945, one was John Ford's supreme John Wayne vehicle, They Were Expendable, the other is this much unheralded Raoul Walsh classic. High on military detail and paced with the ultimate precision, Objective, Burma! is as tense as it most assuredly is thrilling. It also finds Errol Flynn turning in what is arguably his finest acting performance. Casting off his rapscallion prankster like persona, he delivers a straight and raw emotive performance that proves beyond doubt he was an actor of note. Short on flag waving sloganeering, courtesy of the source story from Alvah Bessie, Objective, Burma! holds its head high in the technical departments as well. Franz Waxman's brilliant score is tense and unnerving and it mixes seamlessly with the sound departments excellent work done with the noises of the jungle. It's now very much a relief to be able hear this picture thru the benefits of home cinema systems. James Wong Howe's photography is suitably bringing the jungle to life, which considering the film was shot mostly at the L.A. Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is quite some achievement.
On its release in the U.S. the film was a critical and box office success, my fellow countrymen here in Britain however, were not so impressed. Angry about the lack of credit given to the British in the Burmese operation, the film was subsequently banned in the UK until 1952. Then, with common sense prevailing, new prints were issued with a prologue giving credit to the other armed forces involved in the campaign. Which all in all ends things on a rather tidy note I feel. It's a magnificent picture that never loses sight of its core story, it's widely available now on various formats so really you have no excuse not to see it. 9/10
There were two magnificently directed war films made in 1945, one was John Ford's supreme John Wayne vehicle, They Were Expendable, the other is this much unheralded Raoul Walsh classic. High on military detail and paced with the ultimate precision, Objective, Burma! is as tense as it most assuredly is thrilling. It also finds Errol Flynn turning in what is arguably his finest acting performance. Casting off his rapscallion prankster like persona, he delivers a straight and raw emotive performance that proves beyond doubt he was an actor of note. Short on flag waving sloganeering, courtesy of the source story from Alvah Bessie, Objective, Burma! holds its head high in the technical departments as well. Franz Waxman's brilliant score is tense and unnerving and it mixes seamlessly with the sound departments excellent work done with the noises of the jungle. It's now very much a relief to be able hear this picture thru the benefits of home cinema systems. James Wong Howe's photography is suitably bringing the jungle to life, which considering the film was shot mostly at the L.A. Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is quite some achievement.
On its release in the U.S. the film was a critical and box office success, my fellow countrymen here in Britain however, were not so impressed. Angry about the lack of credit given to the British in the Burmese operation, the film was subsequently banned in the UK until 1952. Then, with common sense prevailing, new prints were issued with a prologue giving credit to the other armed forces involved in the campaign. Which all in all ends things on a rather tidy note I feel. It's a magnificent picture that never loses sight of its core story, it's widely available now on various formats so really you have no excuse not to see it. 9/10
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A classic Flynn movie
A typical Flynn war movie, he portrays a hero (loosely based on a real person) - a role he never experienced in reality.
Flynn took no active role in the war. Read more
Flynn took no active role in the war. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Claptonian
Objective, Burma! The serious side of Flynn
There are many types of war film - the boys own adventure sort (such as Where Eagles Dare), the shockingly viscerally realistic (Saving Private Ryan), and attempts to dramatise... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Victor
God bless America...
Appalling film...If you want to see the US in action in Burma try Merrill's Marauders (also a poor film but nearer the mark). Read more
Published 12 months ago by Stuart
"Objective Burma (1945) ... Errol Flynn ... Raoul Walsh (Director)...
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "OBJECTIVE BURMA" (1945) (142 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Errol Flynn, William Prince, James Brown, George... Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. Lovins
Hardships of the war
A realistic rendishion of the hardships endured by the soldiers fighting in the jungles of the Far East during the WWII. Good acting, sustained action.
Published 22 months ago by Ioannis Sakellarakis
Dashing Hollywood view of the war
No point me bashing the USA for playing up their role in Burma it's been done better by others. As a simple war film it's entertaining and Flynn is a real star.
Published on 26 April 2010 by G. SMITH
a classic
firstly , this movie does not pretend that the british were not in burma, indeed the british, chinese and burmese involvement is mentioned at the end of the film. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2009 by H. Sharp
Objective Burma
A very well made WW2-story with a good cast. One of Flynn's all time best. Very good photo and director Walsh never get lost in a trap of propaganda.
Published on 24 Mar 2009 by Carleric Bergqvist
Bad as it gets
This is typical of the American film type that insists that they always win ..everywhere... even when they weren't there. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2008 by J. N. Bullock
It's Rubbish
Typical Hollywood rubbish!
"Let's re-write history guys and pretend the Brits weren't in Burma. Let's say that the good 'ole USA did it all alone! Read more
"Let's re-write history guys and pretend the Brits weren't in Burma. Let's say that the good 'ole USA did it all alone! Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2007 by ray dorrity
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