  Notes from awards committee: 1970 was a banner year for military history film fans. Kelly’s Heroes and Catch 22 was WW2 history-lite, and Patton was a somewhat strange and fanciful historical portrayal, and Tora! received high praised for WW2 historical accuracy; it was Waterloo that captured the prize for HC Best Motion Picture of the year. The film is a masterful recreation of the most famed European battle, and depicts battle scenes that are visually stunning and stand out, as they should, in a military history film. The film version of Waterloo is surprisingly accurate to the actual events of 1815 when Napoleon returned to France from exile and reclaims the French throne. The high drama of 1815 makes for a great story to tell, and the story is translated extremely well to film by Director/writer Sergei Bondarchuk. The costumes and sets are very well done, and you almost think you stepped out of a time machine to 1815 when you see them. The film captures the spectacle of two huge armies clashing in battle, and got the highlights correct: the roar of Napoleon’s grand artillery battery, the charge of the Greys, Ney’s cavalry streaming around the battered British squares (this sequence has no equal in cinema), the magnificent ranks of the Old Guard advancing up the hill and being met by Wellington’s infantry. The principals are excellent, Christopher Plummer is a convincing Duke of Wellington and Rod Steiger is Napoleon with the quick, abrupt manner, the restless energy and the sudden passion described by countless biographers. The final scene is a ghastly depiction of war and is an honest one. Wellington famously was very reluctant to talk about the epic battle, but he did remark, “It was a pounding match, and a damned near-run thing, the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.” The World at Large
Fun Surprises -
Two Mules for Sister Sara - There is a lot to like about this movie: The rugged setting of the Mexican desert, a musical score by the legend, Ennio Morricone; two Hollywood icons, MacLaine and Eastwood, while still in their prime, and putting it all together is veteran director Don Siegel who would direct Clint the following year in the 1971 blockbuster hit, Dirty Harry. Siegel had a talent for action scenes, and in this film, the final shootout does not disappoint. My favorite part of the movie is Shirley MacLaine. Lately, she’s been typecast as a sassy, old crow with gruff one-liners, but in this 1970 performance, she plays a damsel in distress and a nun. She is charming and sexy even when dressed in a nun frock. Clint is by turns chivalrous and tough, and unlike the Spaghetti Western trilogy, has a chance to display his romantic and dry-wit-comedy talents. He has terrific screen chemistry with Shirley, and they make the best movie couple of the year. Shirley scores her first House Clark Best Actress award. Little Big Man - Dustin Hoffman plays Jack Crabb, the only white survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn (aka Custer’s Last Stand). Jack looks back on a fractured life as a pioneer, Indian prisoner, gunslinger, drunkard, mule skinner, army scout and Cheyenne warrior. This often comical episodic film skillfully blends together an entertaining, fanciful portrait of the American Wild West. Also LBM is one of the most quotable movies of all time. While it makes for poor factual history, it is never boring. Tora! Tora! Tora! - The title of the movie was the code for a successful attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, and was transmitted by the commander of the first wave of Japanese warplanes on December 7, 1941. A rare war movie which sticks to true history and tells it like it was, from both the American and Japanese sides. There's a little bit of bias towards the winners, but that's only to be expected. And the film does not suffer unduly because of it. Indeed the film batters the American military complacency and errors that helped make the Japanese surprise attack a success. Highest praise has to go to the stuntmen in the spectacular battle scenes. It was later revealed some of the stunts went out of control, and the actors were really running for their lives. Frankly it looks all the better for it; you cannot beat a bit of real action and danger for spicing up a movie. Kelly’s Heroes - This exciting World War 2 caper film is pure fiction but very entertaining. I have re-watched this film a dozen times. A great ensemble cast with Eastwood, Sutherland, Don Rickles and Telly Sevalas, and Harry Dean Stanton create a group of likable, somewhat anachronistic WW2 GI's who set out to steal a fortune in Nazi gold - miles behind German lines. The film has comedy, tragedy, and plenty of action. Is it a realistic version of WW2? You have got to be joking. Patton - If you enjoy character studies and WWII history, this is one of Hollywood’s better efforts. George C. Scott delivers a strong performance with plenty of swagger and bravado. The famed opening scene depicts Patton delivering a 6-minute speech (or pep talk) before a huge American flag to an unseen group of American conscript troops. The film is not without major flaws – Patton is portrayed as a wild-eyed believer in reincarnation with fantasies of fighting in ancient Rome. Wait a minute. I have read Patton’s WW2 war diaries and those assertions are a Hollywood fairy tale, and make Patton’s movie character a bit crazy. He was not crazy, but rather supremely self-confident warrior. George C. Scott gives his best ever performance in Patton. He won the Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the title character, but refused to attend ceremony or accept the gold statuette. I suppose he had his reasons. Catch 22 - A cast of unheralded, talented comedy clowns are showcased in this WWII farce about an American B25 bomber squadron based in Italy. When I first saw Catch-22 back in 1970, I had little understanding of the senseless killing during the last few months of WWII in Europe. The film ridicules the almost messianic belief in mass aerial bombing even as the military value of the targets steadily diminished in 1945. The Allies knew the war was won, and no airman or infantryman wanted to have the distinction of being the last man killed in the war. The dark humor captures the craziness of war in a way - I think - no other anti-war movie does. This film often gets compared to *M*A*S*H*, which also debuted in 1970, and in retrospect I think that Catch-22 is the superior motion picture. Woodstock – a cultural milestone and a musical farewell to the madness of hippies. Film critic, Pris Factor writes, “Whatever one thinks of Woodstock the happening, WOODSTOCK the film is fascinating and informative on many levels, as Rock concert film, social documentary, generational mythmaking(and myth-busting), and political propaganda.” Disappointments - M*A*S*H - set in Korea circa 1951, resonated with the American public weary of the endless Vietnam War. The film was very popular and spawned a hit TV series by the same name. Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould began their lucky streak of hit movies during the 70s by playing MASH doctors, Hawkeye and Trapper John. The two misfits play cruel practical jokes to torment primarily two fellow officers; the humorless Major Burns (Robert Duvall) and the delightfully charming Major "Hot Lips" Hoolihan (Sally Kellerman). The humor is dark, mean spirited and mostly not funny. Military comedies an awkward, tricky genre that sometimes hits a wrong, jarring note, as happens often in MASH. Five Easy Pieces - The biggest problem with this movie is that nothing interesting happens in this study of a callow, rebellious youth. The cast is loaded with talent, but even they could not make a diamond out of this lump of coal. FEP is a very overrated and boring movie. Love Story – is a made for TV melodrama if there ever was one.
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