Kevin B
Not a bad movie would watch again
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
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Audience Member
This was always going to be a tough adaptation, even for John Huston, as much of the text deals with the inner meditations of the protagonist and his thoughts as they relate to cowardice and courage. Huston uses narration to try to impress the main character's stream of consciousness onto the audience but the result feels choppy and never really worked for me, which is likely one of the reasons the run time was definitely shorter than I'd have expected.
Huston does provide some decent battle scenes which help capture the chaotic and less refined nature of war.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"The Red Badge Of Courage" was a movie released in 1951, taking place during the Civil War. The fictional movie focused on a young soldier named Henry Flemming and his experience in the Civil War. Shortly after the movie begins you see Henry trying to figure out his emotions. He constantly debated whether he was a man, or if he would betray his fellow soldiers during battle and flee. For the first few minutes in the movie, it took me a while to figure out who Henry was. The book told us his journey in joining the war and when he left his mother who begged him to not go. Later once I found out who Henry was his emotions changed. In his first battle, he fought very courageously, but in his second battle, however, he fled from the fight afraid. Contemplating his feelings, he felt guilty and ashamed for not having an injury as his other soldiers did. But after he received his "Red Badge of Courage," his feelings changed.
Throughout the movie, Audie Murphy who played the character, Henry Fleming, did a good job expressing his emotions and thoughts by his facial features throughout the movie. Even though I thought that the movie was good at portraying soldiers' emotions, the death scenes weren't believable. It almost looked like the soldiers were fainting or passing out for no reason. Though the death scenes were not believable, the special effects were stunning. The bombs and the bullets were so realistic that it almost looked like the battles were real.
Overall, the movie was excellent. It was a well-made movie giving almost everything you need to keep the viewer on their toes. Though there were a few mistakes, everything tied together perfectly. Especially how the plot was the same as the book! Well done!
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
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Audience Member
The Red Badge of Courage which was released in 1951 was based off of the novel, Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This movie is a fictional story on the American Civil War. At the beginning of the movie we are introduced to Henry Flemming, a young boy who entered the army. He is the main character of this story. We see his journey throughout this story. At first he wonders if he will run from battle and in fact, he does at one point. However, later on, after he receives a "red badge of courage," a fierceness overcomes him and his bravery shines.
For a 1951 movie this is pretty good. The battles were pretty realistic with the loud gun-shots and shells exploding. The acting was not the best and when they died it looked very fake with them jumping back after getting shot and laying on the ground. Audie Murphy, who played Henry Flemming, did a pretty good job and Bill Mauldin, who played Tom Wilson, did good but most of the other actors didn't do so well. In my opinion I think this is a decent movie at best. It is pretty well done by the director and whoever wrote the script, but I think this movie deserves 3 stars and a half stars at best.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The movie and the book of "The Red Badge of Courage" are both pretty well made, especially for the movie with being in the earlier times. It is overall realistic besides the deaths. There were a few scenes I noticed that were only in the movie, but not the book. There were actually quite a few differences between the movie and the book. The uniforms in the movie were not very realistic. In my opinion, the uniforms should have been way more tattered and worn down.
Overall it was a pretty decent movie and the book was quite intriguing. Comparing the two is kind of difficult though, since there are some differences but it isn't even noticeable. The book itself was very detailed and smooth, but the parts where they wrote the strong accent as how it would sound was just unnecessary to me. The dialect was funny at first but it rapidly got annoying and difficult to read. There were a lot of things the movie did not elaborate on, like the beginning of the book before it even got into war was pretty long, whereas the movie kind of rushed past the parts with his mother.
Let's focus on the acting now. In my opinion, the acting was pretty spot on and dramatic, besides the deaths. Those were just a bit over the top and way too drawn out. The book is what most interested me. In the movie, Henry came off as a bit self-centered to me. It's like he went into war thinking death would be so easy going. In the end he learned he needed to fight for what he believed in and kind of had a manic episode. In conclusion though, they both did their job to keep me interested. I would definitely recommend checking out both.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"The Red Badge of Courage" is a movie based on the fictional war novel by Stephen Crane. It was released on September 27, 1951. "The Red Badge of Courage" is the story of a young private named Henry Flemming who joins the Union army during the Civil War. It takes us on a journey as he goes through the ups and downs of being in a war setting.
At first, Henry is excited at the thought of being part of an army and getting to fight in a war. However, once he enlists, Henry begins to ponder many things. He is most troubled by the fact of running away from battle. Will Henry run? Will he stay and fight? When it is time to fight, Henry stays and fights, but on his second battle, he feels overwhelmed and runs away.
Finally, when that particular battle is over, Henry returns to his regiment to find that everyone who stayed and fought had a wound. Henry associates "a red badge of courage" with a wound, and when he sees that he does not have one, feelings of guilt begin to creep into his mind. Eventually, the private gets struck in the head by the butt of a gun and he finally earns a "red badge of courage." After some time, the private witnesses a friend's death, and is angered at the inequity of war. During the next battle, Henry sees the courage of other soldiers, and all the death that takes place. This motivates him to do better on the battlefield. He fights alongside his regiment with true courage and bravery. Henry had a passion to destroy the enemy.
This movie was directed by John Marcellus Huston (1906-1987). He was an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and visual artist. Huston traveled many times, settling in France, Mexico, and Ireland at different times. He was originally a United States citizen, but later renounced his citizenship and became a citizen and resident of Ireland in 1964. His experience is noticeable in the way that he directed this movie.
Overall, the acting of the movie was pretty good. Audie Murphy played the role of Henry Flemming. His expressions were very realistic, as to what Henry must have felt in the story. All the actors did a good job portraying what their characters must have felt during the time of the Civil War. The graphics in the movie were also pretty good for a 1950s movie. During this time, movies were black and white. Compared to today's films, it might not seem like much, but the way the battle scenes were shown looked realistic. An example of this is how the "shells" exploded around Henry and his regiment. While the graphics of the film were convincing, the action scenes could have been better. However, given the fact that it was a 1951 movie, the action was pretty good. Today's movies seem more pragmatic when it comes to action scenes. In my opinion, the director and actors did a good job on the movie. This film followed the plot of the novel very well and did not stray too far from the story line. For those who enjoy watching movies on wars, I would definitely recommend this one for them. If not, this movie may seem like a waste of time, as the focus of this movie is one of the battles of the Civil War.
In conclusion, "The Red Badge of Courage" is a fictional movie about a young private who enlists in the army during the Civil War. It takes us on his journey of how he was before and after experiencing war and battles. This 1950s movie is great for those who enjoy war and action films.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
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