A Franco-American war drama; A story about a South African commander, played by Curd Jurgens, who receives an undeserved citation for a commando assault on Field Marshall Rommel's desert headquarters during WWII. Unbeknownst to him, his wife is having an affair with one of his officers, and during the course of the raid both men are broken. The film deals with a theme about truth, and the braggadocio and fear among officer classes. It has a pessimistic and subversive tone, aided by a desolate setting, which exerts a fierce grip on the narrative. While the military detail observed falls short and the dialogue is ponderous, the film is otherwise well directed and there are top-rank performances from Jurgens, and Richard Burton as the languid and conceited and nihilistic Captain.
As an aside, the film in its 101 mins version includes a final passage sequence, and other scenes, which lend greater power to the themes explored, which contribute to a better story than the original theatrical release.
Review of Bitter Victory
