Steve D
A great cast and nothing else.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/23/24
Full Review
Jizoan Z
This is a must see for fans of Golden Hollywood and War Genre with social conscience. The Bridges at Toko Ri is one of the earliest treatments of subjects such as conflict PTSD and Cold War policies. While set in Korea, the story is a commentary on the personal tragedy of war and American involvement without clear objects. James A Mitchener intended the film to be a comment on America's inclement in Vietnam which was just beginning when he wrote it.
The performances are tight and punctual, there nothing extra to the story and comment this film and book seeks to make. It wants you to feel the pointless waste of life and it does it.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The cast was outstanding and all the performances were very good. My problem with this movie is how boring it is. It moves along at a snail's pace, and while I get that it's trying to explore the terrible toll that war extracts from soldiers/sailors and their families, including the very real struggle of PTSD, it is just a really uninspired script. It'll start a little subplot and I think, "Oh this has promise, but then it just peters out, doesn't make any sense, and fails to really add anything to the story at all.
Other than enjoying great performers like William Holden, Grace Kelly, Mickey Rooney, Frederic March, Robert Strauss, and many other very talented but lesser-known performers, practice their craft, overall, it's pretty forgettable. While watching it, my attention would drift and I had to keep backing up and re-watching parts to keep up with what was going on.
To be fair, the film is not a total waste of time, however, unlike other war films from the 50s and 60s which I know I will be watching many times more… like "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Great Escape", "The Dirty Dozen", "From Here to Eternity", "Casablanca", "Where Eagles Dare", " The Guns of Navarone", " The Caine Mutiny", and etc., I don't think I'll ever watch this film again. Once was enough.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This was a disappointment as I wanted to see a movie with Grace Kelly, but she is only in the second act. The movie is really a William Holden movie. It also just kind of ends. You feel like you watched a movie and you aren't sure what the point was to the movie. I did like how they used actual footage from the Navy.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/07/21
Full Review
Audience Member
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Harry Brubaker (William Holden) is a Naval Reserve officer and Naval Aviator who was called back to active duty from his civilian profession as an attorney to fly fighter-bombers in the Korean War. Returning from a mission with battle damage, he is forced to ditch into the sea and is rescued by a Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter manned by Chief Petty Officer (NAP) Mike Forney (Mickey Rooney) and Airman (NAC) Nestor Gamidge. Forney had often been in trouble for brawling and sporting a non-regulation green top hat and scarf while flying his helicopter as encouragement to downed pilots in the water. Back aboard his ship, the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island, Brubaker is called to the quarters of Rear Admiral Tarrant, the Carrier Task Force 77 commander, who has taken an interest in Brubaker because he reminds Tarrant of his son, a Navy Pilot killed in World War II. Brubaker complains about the unfairness of his recall when most actively flying/actively drilling Naval Reserve pilots weren't recalled (Brubaker hadn't been flying in the Reserve), America is not actually "at war", and most Americans have no involvement. Tarrant advises that, "All through history, men have had to fight the wrong war in the wrong place, but that's the one they're stuck with." The Savo Island returns to port in Japan, where Brubaker is given a three-day shore leave in Tokyo with his wife Nancy (Grace Kelly) and their children. The reunion is interrupted when Gamidge comes to Brubaker asking his help in bailing Forney out of the brig after a brawl. Nancy expresses her bewilderment to Tarrant, who explains that Forney saved her husband from freezing to death when he had to ditch his jet at sea and warns her that when they return to Korea, Brubaker will have to attack the dangerous bridges at Toko-Ri. He advises her to face the reality that Harry might be killed, which neither his wife nor daughter-in-law did, and thus were crushed by despair. Late that night Nancy asks Brubaker about the bridges. Back on a carrier off Korea, Brubaker flies as wingman for Commander Lee, the carrier air group commander known as "CAG," on a dangerous reconnaissance to photograph the bridges. Lee briefs his pilots on the coming mission using the film he took and Brubaker loses his nerve. However, he cannot bring himself to quit the mission or write a final letter to Nancy. Forney crosses the Captain of the Savo Island once too often, and then he is exiled to a helicopter scow. As he is leaving the ship, he notices Brubaker's distress, and relates a "cure" for bad nerves that has worked for him. Brubaker follows his advice and finds renewed strength within himself...
"The Bridges at Toko-Ri" was well received by critics and public alike. As an example of the films that came out of the Korean War, it was considered more of a multi-faceted account that dealt with both ordinary seamen and command officers involved in combat. Typical of the reviews was one by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who noted how the film adaptation was true to the original story and was "vividly and movingly developed in this punctilious film." The close cooperation of the U.S. Navy led to spectacular aerial scenes as well as carrier action. A raid sequence with large scale models intercut with combat footage was a particularly effective scene that was later recognized in the Academy Awards.
"The Bridges at Toko-Ri" is an unbalanced warmovie set during the Korean War with a strong antiwar message. The screenplay is based on the novel "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" by Pulitzer Prize winner James Michener. It emphasizes the lives of the pilots and crew in the context of the Korean War; a conflict that seems remote to all except those who fight in Korea. The focus is on fear of loss of life, liberty and family. Strong cast in William Holden, Mickey Rooney and Grace Kelly. Some very nice aerial scenes and great cinematography for being shot in 1954. But, the film never grasps you emotionally and there´s no real hooks in my opinion.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A classic & a heartb
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
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