Bitter Victory

1957
Approved
1h 22m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:01

1 Video

14 Photos

Drama War

A commander receives a citation for an attack on Erwin Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved, as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wif... Read allA commander receives a citation for an attack on Erwin Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved, as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers.A commander receives a citation for an attack on Erwin Rommel's headquarters, which is actually undeserved, as the commander is unfit for his job. On top of that, unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Videos1

Trailer 2:01

Bitter Victory

Photos14

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Storyline

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Trivia
The making of this film was especially difficult. Screenwriter Gavin Lambert was, in later years, inclined to blame this chiefly on the abrasive and dictatorial personality of producer Paul Graetz, whom he and director Nicholas Ray both disliked intensely. The original plan was to cast Richard Burton as Brand and Montgomery Clift as Leith, but, when Clift dropped out of the film, Burton was promoted to the heroic role and Graetz insisted on Curt Jurgens being cast as the cowardly Brand, as he was a popular European star who was just starting to make American films, and it was assumed that this casting would be good for box-office. The fact that a German actor would be unlikely to be convincing as a British officer was ignored by Graetz. Ray and Lambert made the character South African to explain Jurgens' accent. The screenplay was constantly changed throughout filming, causing the actors much distress and bafflement, and Ray found the whole experience a disheartening one, although the film came to be recognized as one of his best. It was a box-office failure which was heavily cut to a running time of 82 minutes in the US.

Goofs
After the raid on the German compound, in the fight out in the desert, an explosion goes off under a German vehicle, but there is a slight delay before it is obviously pulled over on its side.

Quotes
Capt. Leith: [surveying the ruins of a Berber city in the desert] Tenth century, I'd say. Too modern for me.

Crazy credits
The credits are designed to look like they came from a typewriter (although in white on a dark or transparent background). There are no upper case letters (capitals) in the credits.

Connections
Featured in João Bénard da Costa - Others will love the Things I loved (2014)

User reviews36

Review

Featured review

7/10

Antonioni remakes Flying Leathernecks...

As it were...The 2 films (this one and Flying Leathernecks) have more in common than one would like to believe, given the fact that F.L. is often thought of as not a "real" Ray film. But the rivalry between 2 military men who dance around the same rank (one being generally subservient - not by choice - to the other) is in both cases treated as as much a psychological issue as an issue of military discipline. The difference is that in F.L. the psychological aspect is soft-pedaled (except for a couple of key scenes). I have to admit that there are a couple of ways that I prefer F.L. Obviously, Bitter Victory is a much finer and more fully realized film. But it feels failed to me in some important ways: it seems to aspire to the status of independent artwork (the score, the long scenes of trudging through the desert), and as such it is not totally successful. It doesn't break free of its genre moorings the way Fuller or Sirk or Ophuls (etc.) can and often do. F.L. doesn't pretend to be more than it is: it stays solidly within genre conventions, easy resolution and all. Its lack of aspiration makes it easier to watch, to some degree. There are unforgettable moments in Bitter Victory: the scorpion, the camel bladder, the raid, the dance, the fight in the street (pure Ray). But the whole doesn't convince me, the issues don't move me. Ray often seems poised between Kazanian script and actor - driven film-making on one hand and more personal crazy auteurist cinema on the other. I haven't had that revelation that caused Godard to say "the cinema is Nicholas Ray". I'll keep trying.