Out of all military officers in history, Douglas MacArthur is easily one of the most well known. This man shaped a large part of the course of World War II, due to his heroism, strategic knowledge, and willingness to see the Allied cause prevail over National Socialism and Japanese Fascism. This movie, while skipping over a large part of MacArthur's life, manages to be compelling and entertaining since it covers his greatest tests during ww2, the postwar Japanese occupation, and even the Korean War. The movie begins in 1942, and General Douglas MacArthur (Gregory Peck) receives an order from President Roosevelt that he is to evacuate the Philippine island of Corregidor since the japanese are expected to overwhelm it soon. He and his family are put on a patrol boat and later flown to Australia. MacArthur promises to come back to the philippines one day. Shortly after, surrendering American forces are forced to endure the Bataan Death March; a shocking display of cruelty where japanese soldiers beat, abuse and torture defenseless men as they walk miles on end toward prison camps in the blazing sun. Meanwhile in australia, MacArthur receives a hero's welcome, and is recommended for the Medal of Honor by FDR, the United States' most prestigious award for bravery. MacArthur is briefed on the military situation down here in the South Pacific, and is told by his staff that australia looks to be invaded. If it is, the continent will surely fall as australia only has about 300k soldiers and only 250 aircraft, half of which are being repaired. During a meeting, MacArthur tells other commanders that he is not content with defending australia on its own soil, and that he is instead going to take the fight to the japanese up north in New Guinea. In his mind, the best defense is going on the offensive. MacArthur's habit of arguing with and talking back to other officers when the validity of his plans is questioned stands out in scenes like this, and he isn't afraid to even confront FDR. Although other generals want the philippines to be ignored, MacArthur proposes to land at the island of Leyte in October 1944, in the midst of a large amphibious invasion. A famous picture is taken of MacArthur as he wades ashore on a beach in knee high water. Shortly afterwards, he gains his fifth star and is promoted to General of the Army. In April 1945, President Roosevelt dies of a stroke and is replaced by Harry Truman, the latter telling MacArthur that his plan of invading the japanese home islands is about to be suspended indefinitely; america now has atomic weapons. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki are obliterated, MacArthur (now supreme commander for the allies) is stationed onboard the battleship USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, and a japanese delegation boards the vessel in order to sign the official document of surrender. World war 2 is over. MacArthur is the man that will effectively run japan for the next 5 years. Even in this time of peace, he is confrontational. He understands the japanese see their Emperor as a kind of living god, and so realizes he has to be fair to the japanese public in order to make them trust the US forces that are now rebuilding their country. MacArthur argues with Soviet leadership about Stalin's wishes to occupy the japanese northern prefecture of Hokkaido, and says if Russian forces try anything, he will throw all the soviet delegates in prison. The USSR doesn't dare make a move. One day while watching a movie, MacArthur gets a phone call saying North Korean forces have attacked in huge numbers across the 38th parallel and are trying to invade South Korea. MacArthur once again springs into action, even though many back home were hoping he would be elected Truman's successor. Late in 1950, Truman orders an attack extending beyond the 38th parallel, hoping to hit north korea where it hurts. MacArthur hesitates when Truman is told the People's Republic of China will attack american forces if they continue to push into the north. Russian nukes back the chinese, and the US isn't ready for that. Even so, MacArthur threatens china and says unless they negotiate with him personally, he will bomb their airfields and possibly use nuclear weapons. Early in 1951, MacArthur is forced to retreat from north korea altogether after a chinese attack. Fearing he is going to start a cataclysm with both china and their soviet allies, Truman removes him from command for being disobedient. Although his 5 decades of military service are over, MacArthur is considered a hero to many people, many of them from the philippines and south korea, as he basically saved both of these places (and in the latter case saved it twice). This is quite a good movie. It's really long, but it could have gone on much more extensively. If they covered MacArthur's career from the time he was a cadet, this would probably be at least 5 hours. If they got Gregory Peck to still be in this version, I'd have no issue watching it. I can't think of a more perfect actor for the part. He looks like MacArthur (especially with the pipe and sunglasses) and has a confrontational way of speaking that puts whoever is listening on the defensive. He really knew how to argue. The special effects here are nice too, as we see japanese dive bombers attacking american positions in the philippines, american warships pounding away at japanese coastlines off leyte, and tanks firing into north korean territory. There's a few historical inaccuracies, such as the downplaying of just how bad MacArthur wanted to steamroll china, something not even the most right-wing american thought was a smart idea. Overall though, I think this is a nice addition to the classic war movies made during the 70s, such as Apocalypse Now, Tora Tora Tora, Midway, and another one focusing on arguably the most famous general in american history (but that's a story for another time).
Review of MacArthur
