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Pork Chop HillThere are very few well-known Korean War films. There's M*A*S*H, of course, but that's really more about 'Nam. Pork Chop Hill stands out, thanks to its big-name star and director Lewis Milestone, the man responsible for one of the greatest ever anti-war films, 1930's All Quiet On The Western Front.
The film starts by declaring "This is a true story, based on the book by Brig Gen SLA Marshall, USAR. In most cases not even the names of the people have been changed. We are deeply grateful for the cooperation of the United States Army." Although this asserts veracity, it also suggests its potency as an anti-war film may well have been compromised. After all, would the US Army really endorse something that condemned their profession?
That said, Pork Chop Hill does share similarities with films like Paths Of Glory (1957), Hamburger Hill (1987), and even Attack! (1956) and The Thin Red Line. The motif of a specific geographical target is ripe with symbolism. In this case, the battle over the hill in question comes to represent "a test of strength, pure and simple" according to one high-ranking US officer. Arguably, the battle is more specifically about ego. The war might be drawing to a close, but whichever side can win the hill achieves a victory of machismo.
That does not justify the loss of life incurred on this "ten hundred and twentieth day of the forgotten war". When inexperienced officer Lt Joe Clemons (Peck) receives the order to take back the hill, he's aware of the burden of having to lead "135 men who don't want to die in what may be the last battle [of the war]". But, as a career soldier, what can he do?
So the men climb the hill at night to face not just the well dug-in Chinese soldiers and the morale-deflating banter of a Red propaganda officer, but also wire that hasn't been destroyed by US artillery (as they'd be informed) and floodlights, accidentally turned on by their own side, thus giving away their position. A terrible, tough battle ensues as the Americans push on, their numbers dwindling and, without supplies or reinforcements, their position becomes increasingly precarious.
The progress of the infantry up the hill and into the trench system is remarkably reminiscent of battle imagery in All Quiet On The Western Front. In an era of Saving Private Ryan, where the gruesome brutality of battle is enhanced through the use of amputee actors and CGI details, the traditional filmmaking of Pork Chop Hill may seem somewhat tame. And Peck's take on the character of Clemons is more in the square-jawed hero mode, lacking the intense, innocent humanity of All Quiet's Paul Bäumer, say.
Furthermore, the cast of characters here is so large it's difficult to give them enough depth to make their loss moving. However, strong work from actors like Woody Strode (Spartacus), as a soldier from a poverty-stricken African-American background with no interest in dying "for this stinking hill", and George Shibata, as Clemons' Japanese-American deputy, give us something to cling on to amidst the action. There are also other youthful but familiar faces to fix on - an uncredited Harry Dean Stanton, Rip Torn and George Peppard.
Pork Chop Hill is not a classic. Its agenda is caught between portraying conservative movie heroism (emphasised in a grating final voiceover from Peck that declares "millions live in freedom today because of what they did") and the pointlessness of many military decisions and actions. ("We can't reinforce and we have no authority to pull you out"). But it's a compelling piece nevertheless, powerfully coordinated by Milestone, full of bleak humour and bathos ("I lug this damn bullet-proof vest and they blow my foot off!") and tension (the approach to the hill starts out as a deceptively peaceful stroll).
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