Excellent WWII movie
Added 11/13/2009
An excellent movie about early WWII. Not only shows combat for an unusual part of the navy (PT boats), but deals with the difficult decisions that commanders must make. John Wayne, Robert Montgomery and Donna Reed are all very good. One of John Ford's best.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Monkeys not Racist
Added 7/29/2009
I as surprised to read in more than one review of John Ford's "They Were Expendable" that several reviewers have an issue with the song sung by the ordinary seamen during a farewell party: "The Monkeys have no tails on Zamboanga." They interpret the song to refer to Filipinos in a racist insult. However, sailors have called ordinary seamen "deck apes," "powder monkeys" and the like for centuries. One can find discussions of this in many online dictionaries. The lyrics in the film say "the monkeys have no tails, they've been bitten off by whales," a rather whimsical view of maritime life. The verse, "He won't go back to Subic anymore" obviously is meant for the "Doc" who sheds a silent "tear" as one of the "monkeys." Clearly, the audiences since 1945 have forgotten the naval slang. I'm satisfied that no insult toward our WWII allies even contemplated by cast and crew. Great film filled with great scenes.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Don't know
Added 7/6/2009
Don't know if I liked this movie. I ordered it on 6/5/09. It's now 7/6/09. Guess I'll have to contact customer service.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
This movie is expendable
Added 5/25/2009
I know I'm going to get "shot down" for criticizing this movie. It seems that anyone who dares to do so gets accused of not knowing history or not appreciating the sacrifice of those fighting the Japanese in those "bleak war years." Isn't it possible to judge this movie as a movie, without mixing it up with the actual war which it depicts? And by "judge," I mean - since this is my personal review - I want to express my honest opinion. Will anyone tell me that I should write dishonest reviews on Amazon?
I feel nothing but admiration and gratitude for all those who have sacrificed for the defense of our country and other countries. But that has nothing to do with my opinion about this movie. I didn't enjoy it. I found it mostly boring. Of the four people watching it, two fell asleep and I almost did. And the only reason my uncle did not fall asleep is because he had just had a two-hour nap before we started watching.
It was my uncle's idea to watch the film. He remembered it as "one of the best war movies ever made." But for some reason he couldn't find it at any of the libraries or movie rental places. I searched around and finally found it on VHS. I now know why it is so hard to find: too few people want to watch it!
I suspect any critical review is going to come down to the entertainment factor. This movie tells an important but neglected story about the war, about the PT boats and the hopelessly outnumbered troops in the Philippines in the wake of Pearl Harbor. But dang it all, it's just not that entertaining to watch! Watching this movie is like eating canned spinach, which is good for you, sort of. As one reviewer who gave it five stars said, it can be a bit romantic and sentimental, but I didn't mind that - though I did mind the constant patriotic music track. But then, what would you expect for a war movie made in 1945? I felt like I was watching a story about something I wanted to learn more about, but I wasn't getting enough information. If anyone ever questioned why they were being abandoned and neglected by the US Navy, the standard reply was, "That's what we've been trained to do." What does that mean? They've been trained to fight and die without any hope of support? How much did their sacrifice help the US regroup after Pearl?
There is some hokey stuff in this film. John Wayne, as Lt. "Rusty" Ryan, skipper of a PT boat, complains about being "bored to death" running messages, before war has been declared and before Pearl Harbor. Apparently he'd rather be doing something more exciting than running messages, like sinking ships and killing people. Lucky for him he gets his excitement before too long. Good times! Then there's the scene in which the PT crew manages to get some torpedoes from a visiting commander when they blackmail him about playing the leading lady role in a Naval Academy production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Mind you, he wasn't going to give them any torpedoes at all except for that embarrassment. As an aside, I'd sure like to know why the Academy wanted to put on a production of Tess in the first place! Is it possible that even back then there were gay men in the armed forces? I won't ask, and please don't tell!
My uncle, who had such fond memories of this film, sadly decided that it wasn't nearly as good anymore. But there is one good result from watching this movie, as we've decided to watch more classic movies together. I'm sure that many of them will hold up.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Portays a part of the war that isn't often shown. The carriers and battleships usually get all the glory.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Excellent WWII movie
Added 11/13/2009
An excellent movie about early WWII. Not only shows combat for an unusual part of the navy (PT boats), but deals with the difficult decisions that commanders must make. John Wayne, Robert Montgomery and Donna Reed are all very good. One of John Ford's best.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Monkeys not Racist
Added 7/29/2009
I as surprised to read in more than one review of John Ford's "They Were Expendable" that several reviewers have an issue with the song sung by the ordinary seamen during a farewell party: "The Monkeys have no tails on Zamboanga." They interpret the song to refer to Filipinos in a racist insult. However, sailors have called ordinary seamen "deck apes," "powder monkeys" and the like for centuries. One can find discussions of this in many online dictionaries. The lyrics in the film say "the monkeys have no tails, they've been bitten off by whales," a rather whimsical view of maritime life. The verse, "He won't go back to Subic anymore" obviously is meant for the "Doc" who sheds a silent "tear" as one of the "monkeys." Clearly, the audiences since 1945 have forgotten the naval slang. I'm satisfied that no insult toward our WWII allies even contemplated by cast and crew. Great film filled with great scenes.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Don't know
Added 7/6/2009
Don't know if I liked this movie. I ordered it on 6/5/09. It's now 7/6/09. Guess I'll have to contact customer service.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
