I was surprised by "Beyond Victory" as I assumed based on the scores and other reviews that it was a pretty mediocre film. However, I was impressed by it and think it's well worth seeing.
The story is about four American soldiers during WWI. With each, you see a flashback sequence during which you learn about their motivations to join the Army as well as its impact on the women in their lives. The first two, the dying Bud and Lew (yes, the choice of names was a bit ironic) were much shorter stories. The final two, Bill (Bill Boyd) and Jim (James Gleason) intertwine much more and are much longer and more interesting.
The strengths of the film are its realism. The battle sequences are loud with tons of explosions and realism--much of which, most likely, is because the war had only ended a short time before and the equipment was much easier to come by. Additionally, while it was a bit difficult to believe, I really liked the anti-war sequence involving Bill and his fiancé. Seeing such anti-war sentiments, by the way, was NOT unusual for the 1930s as the Great War had undergone a transformation in American minds. Gone was the jingoism and anti-German rhetoric and instead it was replaced by a cynicism about the necessity of the country's involvement in the bloody war. Well worth seeing and well made.
The story is about four American soldiers during WWI. With each, you see a flashback sequence during which you learn about their motivations to join the Army as well as its impact on the women in their lives. The first two, the dying Bud and Lew (yes, the choice of names was a bit ironic) were much shorter stories. The final two, Bill (Bill Boyd) and Jim (James Gleason) intertwine much more and are much longer and more interesting.
The strengths of the film are its realism. The battle sequences are loud with tons of explosions and realism--much of which, most likely, is because the war had only ended a short time before and the equipment was much easier to come by. Additionally, while it was a bit difficult to believe, I really liked the anti-war sequence involving Bill and his fiancé. Seeing such anti-war sentiments, by the way, was NOT unusual for the 1930s as the Great War had undergone a transformation in American minds. Gone was the jingoism and anti-German rhetoric and instead it was replaced by a cynicism about the necessity of the country's involvement in the bloody war. Well worth seeing and well made.