involved matters

Episode 34
$1.99

Bitter Victory
$9.99
The conflict between the two main characters seems at first one-sided, with the cynical, intellectual Burton more attractive than the stolid, uncertain Jurgens. But by the end of the film, with one of the men dead, which is the better soldier and which the better man is not so clear. It's a movie full of interesting, unanswered questions.

If you are intrigued by this brilliant and beautiful film where so much is left unsaid and unexplained, you will want to read James Harvey's chapter on Bitter Victory in his 2001 book Movie Love in the Fifties. He relates the confusion and conflict from which this extraordinary movie arose and provides a detailed, shot-by-shot analysis of several important scenes.