Beach Red

Beach Red

Star/director Cornel Wilde, a year after the deserved success of his previous film, "The Naked Prey" (and, hey, Paramount Pictures: when is this terrific film coming out on DVD?), returned to the screen with 1967's "Beach Red", a harrowing World War II tale about the American invasion of a Japanese-held island in the pacific. Kicking off with an amazingly bloody and horrific battle on the beach (which looks awfully similar to the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan", released 31 years later), the film quickly shifts focus to the inner thoughts, fears and memories of the soldiers on both sides. The American commander, played by Wilde, like many of his fellow soldiers, including Rip Torn, and their Japanese counterparts on the island, just wants to go back home to his family, but "duty" -and the seemingly never ending brutal battles- prevails over all else. Good action sequences and involving performances (Torn is especially good) make this anti-war film stand out.
-Ed