AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Leofwine_draca BITTER VICTORY is a standard WW2 flick that seems to have heavily inspired the Italian run of WW2 movies that came out some ten years later. The bulk of the film is a men-on-a-mission thriller as a group of British soldiers steal some top secret documents from the Nazis and then are forced to flee for their lives into the desert. What follows will surprise nobody watching, as this is very straightforward stuff.What BITTER VICTORY does have going for it is a good cast, headlined by Curd Jurgens (surprisingly playing a Brit) and Richard Burton. The two have a love triangle going on involving Jurgens's wife, so there's a lot of antagonism and even hints at forthcoming murder that helps to drive the movie's conflict. The supporting cast is rounded out by the likes of Nigel Green, Christopher Lee, and Alfred Burke.This film is rather light on action, although the scenes set in Benghazi involving Green's safecracker are well handled. Overall the movie is well shot by American director Nicholas Ray (ON DANGEROUS GROUND), but it lacks quite a bit of suspense considering the premise so it's only middling stuff.

Tweekums This Second World War drama follows a British commando raid into the German occupied city of Benghazi in Libya. Their task is to break into the German headquarters, take the documents out of the safe before returning overland to rejoin British forces in Egypt. Getting their hands on the documents and escaping from the Germans is going to be the least of their worries though; the Sahara Desert is not a forgiving place to walk through and to make matters there is bad feeling between commanding officer Major Brand and his second in command Capt. Leith... the woman Leigh had been involved with before the war went on to marry Brand but deep down Brand knows she still loves Leigh. He believes that this mission should be an opportunity to prove his bravery because although he is a professional soldier he hasn't seen action. When the time comes for him to kill a sentry he hesitates and Leigh does it. As they head back east it becomes clear that it would suit Brand very much if Leigh didn't make it back and the desert will provide more than one chance for the captain to have an 'accident'.I found this to be a good taut wartime thriller; this is largely down to Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens who did fine jobs as Leigh and Brand... to very different characters; Leigh the brave volunteer with combat experience and Brand a professional who doesn't have what it takes but is determined to keep that fact hidden. The action scenes are competently handled although they will seem tame to a modern audience... not a drop of blood is spilt when people get machine-gunned! The conclusion is likely to come as a shock; it certainly surprised me although it does fit with the downbeat feel of the film which is really about the nature of cowardice more than anything else. Filmed on location in Libya the film nicely captures the inhospitableness of the desert as the soldiers struggle to get back to British lines. If you are looking for a gung-ho action packed war film then this probably isn't for you but if you want something a little different give it a go.

Jeff (actionrating.com) Just another British anti-war movie with all the usual ingredients…secret mission, getting lost in the desert, Richard Burton etc. This one decides to focus a little more on the conflict between the two officers in command. Which means less time for actual plot development and good combat sequences…or any combat sequences for that matter. There's only one real battle, and it's near the beginning. The rest of the movie just coasts along till its disappointing ending. In addition, it feels cheap, as if corners were cut in order to spend as little money as possible. And with a love triangle dominating the subplot, this really doesn't even feel like a war movie. You almost forget there is a war going on. Which is not good for a movie that is supposed to be about a secret mission. In short, rather than a good war movie, this is a boring love story that happens to be incidentally taking place during World War II. 1.5 out of 5 action rating

dbotoreales Before entering the cinema theater I read a review of the film made by Godard in Cahiers du Cinéma. He defined this movie 'more than cinema' and a pure reflection of life. The miserable and coward behaviour of the character (played superbly by Curd Júrgens), a bewildered Richard Burton when futilely carries over his shoulder a dying soldier through the desert until he realizes his death: 'I kill the living and save the dead! or the moment when Ruth Roman looks for "Jimmy" among the survivors of the expedition, and many more... are all beautiful pieces of life, probably bigger than life... How easy is killing!? I also wanted to emphasize the brilliant expressionist photography used in the film. Especially in the nocturnal sequences.