Two things that are very tricky to do in Hollywood:
Remake a classic movie and make a great TV movie. In the case of the 1979 version of "A.Q.O.T.W.F." both of these challenges have been met. The most incredible casting to me is Richard Thomas (John Boy on "The Waltons"). Most definitely shedding that image in this movie Thomas gives an incredible performance.
He even uses God's name (in a way I never would) in a hospital scene. To do that on TV back then was "really" taboo and the only other time was Carrol O'Conner on "All In The Family".
What we see is that Thomas' character, over time, becomes destroyed internally by killing. Even after going home on leave (after getting shot) he later returns to the fighting! He feels that,he's not the man that he was going in.
His classmates are either killed or lose their minds or disappear,which is nothing like the picture the class instructor at their school painted about "fighting for the fatherland".
Ernest Borgnine (89 this year)is great as Kat the front line soldier who's seen it all over the last 2 years (1914-1916). He shows the new fighters what they really need to know at the front and that they should forget everything they learned at training camp.
For a TV movie in the 1970's,this is about as real as they could get and while today some of the images are common,back then it was a daring piece of film-making and normally,TV network executives frown on being "too real".
Just like my rating for the original,it's ten stars. For all of it. Scene 1 to the final shot. See this movie,both of them! (END)
Remake a classic movie and make a great TV movie. In the case of the 1979 version of "A.Q.O.T.W.F." both of these challenges have been met. The most incredible casting to me is Richard Thomas (John Boy on "The Waltons"). Most definitely shedding that image in this movie Thomas gives an incredible performance.
He even uses God's name (in a way I never would) in a hospital scene. To do that on TV back then was "really" taboo and the only other time was Carrol O'Conner on "All In The Family".
What we see is that Thomas' character, over time, becomes destroyed internally by killing. Even after going home on leave (after getting shot) he later returns to the fighting! He feels that,he's not the man that he was going in.
His classmates are either killed or lose their minds or disappear,which is nothing like the picture the class instructor at their school painted about "fighting for the fatherland".
Ernest Borgnine (89 this year)is great as Kat the front line soldier who's seen it all over the last 2 years (1914-1916). He shows the new fighters what they really need to know at the front and that they should forget everything they learned at training camp.
For a TV movie in the 1970's,this is about as real as they could get and while today some of the images are common,back then it was a daring piece of film-making and normally,TV network executives frown on being "too real".
Just like my rating for the original,it's ten stars. For all of it. Scene 1 to the final shot. See this movie,both of them! (END)