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Synopsis
Boasting a script by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, The Way Ahead [1944] is a rousing version of a familiar WWII genre: an officer must hammer a small group of disparate characters into an effective fighting unit as quickly as possible. David Niven stars as tough-minded Lieutenant Jim Perry, who has to put a reluctant and sometimes comically inept group of raw recruits through fantastically realistic basic training exercises. When the troops hit the beaches of North Africa, they finally begin to understand the purpose behind their training.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The Immortal Battalion has a bit of a convoluted history. It started life as a training film, The New Lot, which ran 44 minutes. When Winston Churchill approached David Niven about creating a film that would do for the British Army what In Which We Serve had done for the Royal Navy, he contacted Carol Reed and suggested expanding The New Lot. The result, written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, was the acclaimed The Way Ahead. For its U.S. release, Way Ahead was edited to a shorter length and retitled The Immortal Battalion. In either of its feature length forms, the film is concerned with the training of a bunch of raw recruits into a capable and efficient fighting regiment. Niven stars as Jim Perry, a lieutenant and former ordinary guy who finds that he must learn to take a tough line in order to make his wildly diverse crew come together and understand the importance both of the war and of their place in it. Although it takes time and constant effort on the part of Perry and his sergeant, the eight men eventually overcome their different backgrounds and feelings, and transform themselves into a unit which performs its tasks with admirable skill and dexterity, preparing them for their battle against the Desert Fox in Africa. Told in a semi-documentary style, Battalion also features the screen debut of Trevor Howard. ...The Way Ahead ( The Immortal Battalion )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Propaganda and realism,
By rob heath (kuwait) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Way Ahead [DVD] (DVD)
A story of the tough days of the Second World War (when Britain stood alone and kept losing up to the time of approaching victory in the Western Desert, despite losses in the Far East) made just before the Allied landings in Normandy. A 'keep the spirits up and victory will be ours' effort which has the massive advantage of great screenwriting (Ambler and Ustinov) and acting (Niven, Ustinov, Holloway et al and the wonderfully pompous Raymond Huntley). Excellent characterizations of, largely, moaning new soldiers being knocked into shape by Sergeant Hartnell as they become a force to take on Jerry. The last scene as the platoon advance into enemy fire is one to inspire and terrify: the ordinary British Tommy could win but there would be a cost; terrible but worth bearing. Bloody marvellous stuff. Literally.
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The way we were,
By London reader "Londoner" (London UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Way Ahead [DVD] (DVD)
A splendid evocation of my father's generation.Ordinary men who accepted the discipline and uniformity of army life, obeyed orders and did their duty, while retaining their diversity and individualism. The truth is that the second world war was won by shop boys, car mechanics, clerks, bolier men, Oxford graduates,choral scholars teachers and park keepers, who, through the regimental system were moulded into infantrymen. The final scene as the diverse characters advance into the enemy fire, united in a common beleif in King, Country and regiment, yet still individuals, is one of the most moving in Brtiish cinema.
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An understated classic,
By Anthony Porter (Huddersfield, WEst Yorkshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Way Ahead [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is one of those rarely seen films that is a joy to behold.From the director that made 'The Third Man' we have an often told tale of how a disparate group of recruits into the army are gradually molded together to become a team. The Difference here though, as with all Brithish films of this period is the characterisation, everyone you meet in the film has one, and you learn about them, and in a way grow with them. From their first meeting in the Army base to the closing scene as they unflinchingly advance on the rarely seen enemy this film is full of character and low key drama. It is a tribute to the common infantry man of WW2 and the bonds of friendship they formed. If you are fans of WW2 films or Classic British films in general then watch this film it will not dissapoint.
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