DVD Review: FIXED BAYONETS! from Kino-Lorber
FIXED BAYONETS!
Directed and written by Samuel Fuller. Cast: Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O’Shea, Richard Hylton, Craig Hill, Skip Homeier. Released in December, 1951. Running time: 92 minutes. Black and White.
After the success of his war film THE STEEL HELMET, writer-director Samuel Fuller used his WW2 veteran status to further explore the Korean conflict with FIXED BAYONETS!. Centering on a platoon’s destruction and a brave Corporal’s response, the film has long been considered one of the most striking and accurate war films of its time.
During the first winter of the Korean War a rear guard platoon tries to defend a invasion of the Red Chines as their division attempts to withdraw “without the reds knowing about it.” A character explains that “it is 48 men giving fifteen thousand men a break.” This expands to an examination of some of the individual soldiers and how their particular approaches to leadership allow, and respond to, success or failure.
Within the first ten minutes FIXED BAYONETS!, Fuller beautifully presents an emotionally stirring scene where the troops march away as the 48-man platoon stays behind, looking after them. Showing the men standing frigid temperatures, realizing the danger of their position and the seriousness of their orders, Fuller cuts from vast overhead shots encompassing all of the details, to medium shots of the platoon cross-cut with the exiting troops, to close-ups showing the faces of the central characters. It’s an especially strong scene that remains with the viewer for the rest of the movie.
There are clichés that one finds in every war movie, offering the usual tough guy, frightened guy, smart guy, earnest guy, etc, that make up a platoon. But Fuller works with these ideas more effectively, giving them interesting nuances and sharp dialog. Relationships are explored, but so are individual perspectives. Gene Evans is the anchor, appropriately named Sergeant Rock, while Micahel O’Shea’s Sergeant Lonergan is the sort of touch Irishman that might be clichéd but adds the necessary sarcastic humor to the horrible situations. Richard Basehart’s Corporal Denno is the most complex character. Reluctant and unsure, he doesn’t want to fire his gun, and dreads ending up becoming the leader as his superiors are killed one-by-one, his plight leads to the emotionally uplifting and cinematically powerful climax. And, yes, that is James Dean towards the end of the movie, doing a cameo in his first feature film.
Throughout the film, Fuller cuts from vast long shots featuring small human images surrounded by negative space to close-ups that concentrate on very specific details. And while this is an earlier film for him, it still follows his recognizable rhythm, the narrative structure working its way up to an explosive situation.
The Kino blu ray edition, which was screened for this review, offers remarkable clarity in both the night and daylight scenes, with sharp contrast. There is no trace of background hiss on the soundtrack, and the volume remains consistent throughout. The visual detail presented in close-ups is often amazing.
As an extra, Samuel Fuller’s widow and daughter join film historian Michael Schlesinger for a commentary that truly benefits our greater understanding of this film. Too many commentaries are general conversations that go off on uninteresting tangents. This commentary is focused, insightful, and never seems prolix and discursive.
The Kino Lorber blu ray of FIXED BAYONETS! Is highly recommended for libraries, research centers, and collectors.
It is available for purchase here.