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Lt. Joe Clemons (Gregory Peck) has been given the order: take Pork Chop Hill. If it’s taken by the Chinese, U.S. negotiators at the Panmunjom peace conference would lose face with their Communist adversaries – an unthinkable outcome. And so Clemens leads his troops into combat to fight for an objective that they know to be strategically pointless. But they also know that an order is an order and they must take Pork Chop Hill – or die trying – so that millions can live in freedom tomorrow for what Clemons and his men will sacrifice today.
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
In the spring of 1953, a company of the U.S. Army was ordered to assault an otherwise unprepossessing lump of Korean real estate called Pork Chop Hill. It's only value to either side was as a chess piece in the peace talks at Panmunjon, which were stalled on the question of where to pencil-in the cease-fire line. The Americans had occupied it; the Red Chinese had overwhelmed it; and now Gregory Peck (as Lt. Joe Clemons) is ordered to take his 135-man company and re-take it. PORK CHOP HILL is ostensibly based on the actual battle, and a qualifier at the beginning even states that most of the names haven't been changed.
As the battle unfolded, I began to mentally compare the production with recent, outstanding, "last stand" epics, specifically WE WERE SOLDIERS and BLACK HAWK DOWN - both also based on true events. PORK CHOP HILL comes up short, but not by much. The obvious difference is that PCH - released in 1959 - is filmed in black and white. This mutes the gore, which, in any case, is positively negligible compared to the grisly and graphic realism of today's simulated combat footage. However, the resulting tension felt by the viewer as Joe's unit is surrounded and faced with impending annihilation is only a click less than that felt during the height of the WWS and BHD on-screen fighting. At one point, Clemons orders a bayonet charge, which, as he says, may be the last one ever carried out by the U.S. Army. Well, the last perhaps until Mel Gibson's character, Lt. Col. Harold Moore, orders his Air Cav troopers to do the same to get out of a tight spot in WE WERE SOLDIERS.
PORK CHOP HILL is anti-war to the extent that it condemns the rear echelon desk jockeys tempted to sacrifice American boys on the altar of political expediency, or just from pure incompetence. It also isn't afraid to show the demoralization within Joe's command, and that not every grunt was itching to go over the top and charge the enemy trenches. In a film made well before the Vietnam debacle, such candidness must have been some sort of cinematic milestone for U.S. audiences used to the gung-ho dramas based on the nation's relatively recent World War II victories.
My sole motivation in watching this film was to see Peck. I can't think of any actor today whose on-screen presence exudes such dignified strength and integrity. I'm so convinced of this fact that I've gone ahead and ordered a biography of the man. We are missing the likes of him (and icons Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Cary Grant).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Filmed just after the end of the Korean war, this intense and gritty film shows the stupidities of war in all their glory. Gregory Peck puts in a stirring performance as Joe Clemons, leader of a platoon ordered to take Pork Chop Hill.
The hill is heavily defended, impossible to take without heavy casualties and strategically worthless. But it must be taken as it is a vital chip in the great poker game that is the peace negotiations. The film is the story of the assault, showing the realities of war in visceral and disturbing detail. It studies the characters of the soldiers, showing them as real human beings with the same emotions as the rest of us, not just the usual heroic stereotypes usually seen in war movies. The action is relentless. There is almost no musical score, just the constant thump of heavy ordinance and the rattle of small arms fire.
Peck is excellently cast as the commanding officer, trying to rally his men and drive them up the hill in spite of the huge casualties they are suffering. George Peppard, Harry Guardino and Martin Landau are among the excellent supporting cast, and provide us with some distinctive and memorable characters. The only downside is it ges a little over the top at times with the moralising. An excellent film, well worth watching by any fans of gritty and realistic war films in the vein of `Saving Private Ryan'.
This 2004 MGM release is OK. The film has a decent transfer and OK soundtrack. The picture is 4:3 aspect, the sound mono. The only extra is a theatrical trailer. The film is in black and white. Four stars.
The hill is heavily defended, impossible to take without heavy casualties and strategically worthless. But it must be taken as it is a vital chip in the great poker game that is the peace negotiations. The film is the story of the assault, showing the realities of war in visceral and disturbing detail. It studies the characters of the soldiers, showing them as real human beings with the same emotions as the rest of us, not just the usual heroic stereotypes usually seen in war movies. The action is relentless. There is almost no musical score, just the constant thump of heavy ordinance and the rattle of small arms fire.
Peck is excellently cast as the commanding officer, trying to rally his men and drive them up the hill in spite of the huge casualties they are suffering. George Peppard, Harry Guardino and Martin Landau are among the excellent supporting cast, and provide us with some distinctive and memorable characters. The only downside is it ges a little over the top at times with the moralising. An excellent film, well worth watching by any fans of gritty and realistic war films in the vein of `Saving Private Ryan'.
This 2004 MGM release is OK. The film has a decent transfer and OK soundtrack. The picture is 4:3 aspect, the sound mono. The only extra is a theatrical trailer. The film is in black and white. Four stars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Spike Owen
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
It's the Korean War, Lt. Clemons and his company are ordered to retake from the Chinese a ridge known as Pork Chop Hill, it's a futile exercise as the hill itself has no significant tactical worth. Disillusioned about their superiors and frightened to the hilt, the men must battle for the hill knowing they could well be killed just because the top brass want to save face.
Based on actual events and lifted from the story by S.L.A. Marshall, Pork Chop Hill is a poignantly effective drama that impacts hard about the grimness of war. Playing out (with some justification) as a paean to the wonderful infantrymen that fight the wars, it's an engrossing viewing that never feels preachy or self indulgent, a charge that sticks with many other acclaimed war dramas. Directed by Lewis Milestone (All Quiet On The Western Front), the picture benefits from a feeling of authenticity, a sense of desperation hangs heavy for those viewers willing to fully invest into the picture. Photography is expertly handled by Sam Leavitt, with the cast, led by a brilliant show from Gregory Peck as the compassionate Clemons, firing from the top draw. A powerful and memorable movie for sure and certainly an important one because the Korean War is largely forgotten these days, so Pork Chop Hill now stands proud for those that died during the conflict, for this is a wonderful testament to the brave fighting under stupid circumstances. 7.5/10
Based on actual events and lifted from the story by S.L.A. Marshall, Pork Chop Hill is a poignantly effective drama that impacts hard about the grimness of war. Playing out (with some justification) as a paean to the wonderful infantrymen that fight the wars, it's an engrossing viewing that never feels preachy or self indulgent, a charge that sticks with many other acclaimed war dramas. Directed by Lewis Milestone (All Quiet On The Western Front), the picture benefits from a feeling of authenticity, a sense of desperation hangs heavy for those viewers willing to fully invest into the picture. Photography is expertly handled by Sam Leavitt, with the cast, led by a brilliant show from Gregory Peck as the compassionate Clemons, firing from the top draw. A powerful and memorable movie for sure and certainly an important one because the Korean War is largely forgotten these days, so Pork Chop Hill now stands proud for those that died during the conflict, for this is a wonderful testament to the brave fighting under stupid circumstances. 7.5/10
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good in its time
A good movie describing the nonsense of the Korean war and the needless waste of life. Gregory Peck is excellent as usual playing the part of a loyal American Army officer doing... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Anthony Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very realistic for its time
The other reviews here have covered this film admirably, but I would just like to add that this is the most realistic depiction of small unit action I think I have ever seen. Read more
Published 16 months ago by dasbunker. carmarthen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gregory Peck with alot on his plate
This is an old fashioned war movie, albeit covering less well trod territory, about an assault on a hill in Korea. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars
The real thing
This film is probably the most realistic war film I have ever seen . Based on an actual event in the Korean war it brought home the absolute futility of that particular war. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Geordie70
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not so quiet on the Pork Chop front
Filmed in 1959 with the cooperation of the US Army and directed by Lewis Milestone (All quiet on the western front), this is the portrayal of an actual battle in Korea. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Olav
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pork Chop Hill
the Korean War is in full swing and Gregory Peck is outstanding in charge of his troops as the Chinese attack them I loved it.K B
Published 23 months ago by K. Bruce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good But Not Great
"Pork chop hill" is an underrated war film which is based in the Korean war and stars Gregory Peck in the leading role. Read more
Published on 7 May 2011 by Mrs. Marilyn A. Rice
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pork Chop Hill
By my opinionthis movie is one of the very good films dealing with the Korean War
Published on 23 Feb 2009 by Anton Furlan
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