Review of The Naked and the Dead (1958) by Grant S — 29 Sep 2011
Goodish, but not great. Had a decent central plot, but the sub-plots were overwraught. The characters of the general, lieutenant and staff sergeant were too extreme, yet stereotypical. All the personal confrontations seemed contrived. Moreover, every philosophical point was made in a speech-laden preachy sort of way. Some subltety would have been great.
Allied to this is the paint-by-numbers acting of Cliff Robertson and Raymond Massey, as the Lieutenant and the General, respectively. Aldo Ray was pretty good as the staff sergeant though.
This all said, the battle scenes are very good, and feel realistic. The director should probably have concentrated on making a war movie, rather than making some (ultimately lame) statement about power and leadership.
This review of The Naked and the Dead (1958) was written by Grant S on 29 Sep 2011.
The Naked and the Dead has generally received mixed reviews.
Was this review helpful?
