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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 7147
Released: May 3, 2005 |
| Our Price: $3.70 |
| Used Price: $4.81 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy star in this remarkable war film, nominated for six Oscars(R) (including Best Picture) about courageous American G.I.s caught up in the battle at Bastogne. Year: 1949
Description of Battleground:
Director William Wellman (The Big Heat) offered up this 1949 treatment of the Battle of the Bulge, which won Oscars for best screenplay and best cinematography. The film concentrates on the camaraderie and the divisions between the troops as they ready for the big offensive. Told in a taut narrative, the men of the 101st, led by Van Johnson, wait out the winter in the Ardennes forest to confront the German army in what would be the last major offensive of World War II. The men are demoralized and trapped, with no hope of support from the Allies as they are forced to band together and defend their position. A classically assembled war drama that nevertheless manages to be both engrossing and entertaining, Battleground is a mainstay of the genre. --Robert Lane
Battleground Reviews:
Battleground 
2009-10-14 - American soldiers in France fight to survive a Nazi siege just before the Battle of the Bulge.A must see before seeing "Battle of the Bulge".
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
2009-09-07 - Academy Award winning story of the Battle of the Bulge. This story is told from the soldier view, not the Generals'. The grit, the dirt, the cold, the shortages, the dying: it is all here. And excruciatingly well done. Van Johnson is superb, as are the others in an all star cast. GREAT MOVIE MAKING.
Good Movie 
2009-07-17 - I saw this movie in a theatre when it was released in 1949/50.It made a big impression on this 11 yr. old at the time and it still retains impact today.The insertion of Denise Darcel as a Frenchwoman was a mistake in my view but does not seriously take away from the movie.I recommend purchase if you are a WW2 movie fan,it is not some low production value knockoff that we all have probably seen and you should enjoy it!
an unforgettable movie with lots of brilliant acting
2009-07-16 - Battleground remains one of the best films to deal with The Battles of The Bulge near the end of World War Two; it depicts the struggles of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division when they are surrounded by German forces in the French town of Bastogne. The plot moves along at a very good pace and there's lots of time spent on character development which I really like a lot. The actors also trained under some mighty tough conditions so that even a top ranking Army official couldn't tell the actors from the actual enlisted men--that's how far MGM went to make this actors look as realistic as possible for their scenes! In addition, the cinematography is terrific and the choreography works well during fight scenes and the scenes in which the soldiers relax in the home of a young French woman who just wants to dance with them for a reprieve from the stress of war.
When the action begins, we are quickly introduced to World War Two soldiers who, as it rather quickly turns out, mistakenly believe that they will be spending Christmas, 1944 in Paris to have some fun. However, fate intervenes and they must "move up" to combat German military forces. Thus begins the horrors of the war which we see here; there may not be too much blood but there are a number of deaths. We also get graphic reminders of just how much soldiers had to suffer in pain when there was no morphine left to give to them.
In addition, we see just how tough it was for these men. With the thick fog covering their area in The Battle of The Bulge, American planes were simply unable to fly overhead to drop supplies and regain air control; they are running incredibly low on ammunition--and the Germans even send a couple of messengers to tell them that they should surrender or else they will "kill many Americans." The Germans also encourage them to surrender by dropping leaflets written in English that the Americans have no hope and their only option is to surrender, something that the 101st is not about to do! The men are trapped and surrounded by German in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and Luxembourg. The American men are also exhausted, demoralized by the stress of the fight under poor weather conditions and the loss of some of their buddies--and they are desperately trying to survive on very little food. Clearly their situation is very bleak.
Look also for fine performances in particular by Van Johnson as Holley; John Hodiak as Jarvess; a young Ricardo Montalban as Roderigues; George Murphy as 'Pop' Stazak; Bruce Cowling as Wolowicz; and Leon Ames as The Chaplin who makes quite a statement about World War Two near the ending of the film.
Battleground is a must-have for any fan of World War Two pictures; it's an excellent film that easily stands the test of time. Although there is violence the focus remains on the American military men and their situation although there are a few archival clips from the ending of The Battle of The Bulge that lend a little extra bit of authenticity to the story near the end of the film. People who are fans of the actors in this film will also want to add this to their DVD collections.
A film that lived close to reality
2009-07-05 - Battleground A film of tribute to those who fought the famed "Battle of the Bulge" in Belgium. Filmed during the very late 1940s, some of the scenery lacks the hard-nosed realism of that the characters exhibit. It also brought together an amazing group of actors, some in their debut performances. Many of them went on to Oscar-winning careers, and countless films that entertained us for a generation or more.
