The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage
by John Huston

The Red Badge of Courage
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DVD details

Actor: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, John Dierkes, Royal Dano
Director: John Huston
Brand: MURPHY,AUDIE
Writer: Albert Band
Cinematographer: Harold Rosson
Writer: John Huston
Editor: Ben Lewis
Producer: Dore Schary
Producer: Gottfried Reinhardt
Writer: Stephen Crane
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 69 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video

DVD Reviews of The Red Badge of Courage

DVD Review: Demerits for the entire company
Summary: 2 Stars

Stephen Crane's "Red Badge of Courage " is a sublime psychological study of fear in the face of war, and the way one young man deals with fear -- through flight, bravado, exaggeration and finally, self-confrontation and calm determination. Though the action takes place in one of the most extroverted of possible historical settings -- the American Civil War -- the real warfare takes place in Fleming's psyche. Unfortunately, John Huston was not equal to the task of applying a visual narrative that could convincingly depict the roiling chaos going on in protagonist Henry Fleming's soul. About all he could manage was to put Henry in a few conventional situations and have him knit his brow and bite his lips to communicate his inner turmoil. Audie Murphy, the decorated WWII vet, and Bill Mauldin, the respected war cartoonist and creator of Willie and Joe, were cast in the lead roles. They are likeable and sometimes rise to the level of having a real relationship. But ultimately, their real-world experience doesn't do much to prop up the threadbare narrative. The stilted delivery and wooden acting of much of the cast is a real impediment to enjoying this film. On the plus side, it's daring to portray the baseless bravado and fear experienced by the ordinary soldier. But the profusion of standard Hollywood types, the overwrought and self-important narration, and the unnecessary re-arrangement of Crane's plot combine to muddle the story arc and render the film ineffective.

Although it too suffers from the set piece mentality -- in which characters are pitted mechanically against one crisis after another -- Huston's next film, African Queen, stands out as such a classic. Reason: the sterling acting abilities of Bogart and Hepburn pulled the film through in a way that (sadly) Murphy, Mauldin and others cannot.

The DVD extras are skimpy -- comprising the theatrical trailer and a static listing of the cast. But one extra is fascinating. After comparing RBOC to "Gone with the Wind," (not!) the trailer makes the most lunkheaded claim I have ever seen in film. To paraphrase: "In years to come, The Red Badge of Courage will be as memorable as The Birth of a Nation!" Comparing one's work to a film that glorified the KKK is a feat so bizarre that it stands as a monument to the social blindness of the film's marketers and their era.

Huston's "Red Badge of Courage" is disappointing, plodding and barely worthwhile as a way to visualize the events of the book. The best one can say about it is that it could have been worse. Until a better adaptation is produced, RBOC is a work that should be experienced in one form only: the printed page.
More The Red Badge of Courage reviews:
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Description of The Red Badge of Courage

A young man is initiated into adulthood as a Union Army recruit during the Civil War.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: NR
Release Date: 4-FEB-2003
Media Type: DVD
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