Men in War

Anthony Mann: Men in War (US 1956) avec Robert Ryan (Lt. Benson).

Cote 465 / Miehet sodassa / Män i krig.

Anthony Mann

États-Unis / 1956 / 104 min / 35 mm / VOSTF

D'après le roman Day Without End de Van Van Praag.

Avec Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith.

    Finnish premiere: 17 May 1957.

Rétrospective Anthony Mann

Viewed at La Cinémathèque française, Salle Henri Langlois, 51 Rue de Bercy, 75012 Paris, M° Bercy Lignes 14, 6, 29 March 2024

La Cinémathèque française : " Guerre de Corée, 1950. Une patrouille tente de rejoindre les lignes américaines basées sur la cote 465. Harcelés par un ennemi invisible, les soldats rencontrent le belliqueux sergent Montana et son colonel frappé de catatonie. À travers le portrait d'un groupe d' « hommes en guerre » – de ceux qui affrontent la jungle et les cadavres, mais aussi de simples soldats qui retiennent leur souffle et essuient la sueur de leur front –, Anthony Mann explore la souffrance, les peurs enfouies et la mort latente, avec la même dynamique scénaristique qu'un Walsh en Birmanie. D'une violence sans fard, porté par de grands acteurs aux antagonismes fascinants, un chef-d'œuvre de film de guerre, qui anticipe de vingt ans le Voyage au bout de l'enfer de Michael Cimino. "

AA: Sometimes called Anthony Mann's sole war film, this is one of the two films made by his own production company Security Pictures, one of the all time best war movies. (But The Heroes of Telemark is also a war film, covering the anti-Nazi resistance. Of the Westerns, The Last Frontier focuses on the Indian wars. And there are the historical war films, El Cid about the Reconquista and The Fall of the Roman Empire about the wars in the Eastern provinces.).

Samuel Fuller directed the first films on the Korean War (The Steel Helmet and Fixed Bayonets) and Men in War is the same kind of combat film, following a platoon on a desperate mission. In this case the goal is to reach the elusive Hill 465.

Mann was at the height of his esteem thanks to the grandeur of his epic Westerns shot in colour and CinemaScope. Man and landscape were one in his sublime visions, the colour approach of which André Bazin compared with Cézanne. But here Mann uses his freedom to shoot a grim death march in black and white.

The result is something completely different, blessed by outstanding contributions. The excellent screenplay credited to Philip Yordan, the front for the blacklisted Ben Maddow. The arid cinematography by Ernest Haller: like in Fuller's war films, the camera remains on the eye level. The unusual lyrical score by Elmer Bernstein, his own favourite. The authenticity of the performances, avoiding heroism but acknowledging true courage and grit, honest about the psychological toll under relentless pressure. Robert Ryan is the responsible leader who sees the big picture and Aldo Ray the maverick with the perfect warrior instinct. Robert Keith is the shell-shocked colonel. All are individuals. The atmosphere of fear and danger is ubiquitous. The Koreans are in their element on the ground, in the treetops, on the hills and even in the air where they control the communications. The Americans are outsiders. This war theatre has aspects of the theatre of the absurd. And existential solitude. This is not an action extravaganza: there is a lot of anticipation and then short and upsetting instances of warfare. Philip Kemp has remarked that there is less violence in this war film than in Mann's westerns. The men are not brutalized, and they keep their team spirit.

I last saw this print in our 70th anniversary tribute to the Cinémathèque francaise in 2007. I was puzzled about the print that is clean and complete but without full sharpness and in low contrast like a dupe from a television print.