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Pork Chop Hill (1959)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 7/04, 5/24

PorkCh
5/24: Despite featuring about a dozen of big-time names, Pork Chop Hill tries hard to separate itself from the pack, but no dice.

I can see why Gregory Peck wanted Lewis Milestone for the job because he directed All Quiet on the Western Front. The actor was deeply affected by it, a film that I consider to be a top five masterpiece of all time. So, what went wrong?

For starters, Gregory Peck gets too much attention, leaving barely any character development for others with the exception of George Shibata (a fun fact is he's the first Asian graduate ever of any U.S. service academy in history; after West Point, he went into Air Force and flew thirty missions during the Korean War) as Lieutenant Tsugi Ohashi. Some is granted to Woody Strode and Robert Blake, but it's not enough. Secondly, there are no powerful moments. The same type of fighting to retake the hill is done to death throughout. Hence, there must be variety to change it up.

While watching Pork Chop Hill, I thought back to Platoon for getting everything right: the characters, the dramatic scenes, and the effective messages about the futility of war and how the definition of "enemy" kept getting blurred. At least, I like how the Chinese radio announcer was used in an attempt to defeat the soldiers psychologically. To improve the film, showing the peace conference talks while the men are still fighting might be beneficial to create tension. Inserting the Chinese side in a back-and-forth manner with the Americans is another way.

All in all, Pork Chop Hill is a noble effort but falls short to be a moving war picture by failing to take advantage of the power of editing.