Losey's sole war film is a fine effort but, along the years, it seems to have been overlooked in write-ups on the director's work; sharing its taut court-martial scenario with Stanley Kubrick's undeniably superior PATHS OF GLORY (1957), its gritty look at British Army life was also the subject of Sidney Lumet's more highly-rated THE HILL (1965; interestingly enough, both films were made by American directors!).
That said, Losey's film boasts a top British cast (Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, James Villiers and Peter Copley) and the music is provided by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler; also notable is Denys Coop's probing camera-work - though, for a dialogue-driven film, the muddled soundtrack proves a distinct liability!
Still, its thought-provoking script deals with matters such as how one can properly discern between cowardice and shell-shock on the battlefield (the interrogation by Bogarde, as Courtenay's defence counsel, of pompous doctor McKern is perhaps the film's highlight), and also questions the reasoning behind the fact that, sometimes, a man must be sacrificed for the good of the battalion's morale.
In the end, though, the film suffers from a rather slow pace - particularly when focusing on the mostly irrelevant camaraderie among Courtenay's fellow soldiers, which often resorts to gratuitous cruelty towards animals!
That said, Losey's film boasts a top British cast (Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, James Villiers and Peter Copley) and the music is provided by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler; also notable is Denys Coop's probing camera-work - though, for a dialogue-driven film, the muddled soundtrack proves a distinct liability!
Still, its thought-provoking script deals with matters such as how one can properly discern between cowardice and shell-shock on the battlefield (the interrogation by Bogarde, as Courtenay's defence counsel, of pompous doctor McKern is perhaps the film's highlight), and also questions the reasoning behind the fact that, sometimes, a man must be sacrificed for the good of the battalion's morale.
In the end, though, the film suffers from a rather slow pace - particularly when focusing on the mostly irrelevant camaraderie among Courtenay's fellow soldiers, which often resorts to gratuitous cruelty towards animals!