Rating of
4/4
"Attack" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/26/12
Jack Palance gives the performance of his career as a tough lieutenant who loses one too many men because of the cowardice of his commanding officer Eddie Albert. Robert Aldrich went on to make many testosterone fuelled XY pleasers such as The Dirty Dozen and The Longest Yard, but Attack is a far more sophisticated, character driven affair. The theme of the moral ambiguity of a doomed anti-hero seeking revenge combined with some crisp black and white photography echo the stylistic hallmarks of Film Noir set within the arena of war. It examines the flaws of the chain of command where "lions led by donkeys" lose their lives because of the incompetence or cowardice of those they are forced to obey. Eddie Albert's weak willed and obsequious captain being the main culprit, but Lee Marvin's self serving Colonel who keeps a man he knows to be worthless in place for his own political needs shows corruption in the system in much the same way as Kubrick's Paths Of Glory. William Smithers also puts in a fine performance as the honest soldier trying to do what's right but finding himself caught between a rock and a hard place and the battle sequences are gritty and believable without being tainted by the usual associated macho bullshit that often comes with the genre. Something of a forgotten classic, Attack is the best war film you've never heard of.
