Battleground (1950)

Directed by

William A. Wellman

Genre

drama film, action film, war film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 53m

Rated

12

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 104 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film follows a company of American paratroopers trapped during the siege of Bastogne in World War II. It shows the soldiers as ordinary men who are scared, tired, and sometimes tempted to run away, but still keep fighting. The story focuses on their day-to-day struggles and the bonds between them.

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What happens

Battleground is a 1949 American war film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalbán, George Murphy, and James Whitmore. It follows a fictional company of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as they fight in the siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, in World War II. The screenplay was written by Robert Pirosh, based on his own experiences during the battle. The film portrays American soldiers as vulnerable and human. While they remain steadfast and courageous, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he seriously considers running away, schemes to get sent back from the front line, slacks off, or complains about the situation he is in. One writer – disregarding Warner's successful Fighter Squadron of 1948 – describes Battleground as the first significant American film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war. Battleground premiered in Washington, D.C. on November 9, 1949, and was distributed in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A widespread critical and commercial success, the film won Best Story and Screenplay (Pirosh) and Best Cinematography – Black-and-White (Paul C. Vogel) at the 22nd Academy Awards, out of six total nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Wellman. James Whitmore, for his second-ever film role, was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2001 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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