Bitter Victory (1957)
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80% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(931 ratings)
In Nicholas Ray's WWII drama, two British officers, Captain Leith (Richard Burton) and Major Brand (German character actor Curd Jürgens, who would later play Bond foe Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me), a South African, are being considered to lead a daring raid to steal crucial documents… More In Nicholas Ray's WWII drama, two British officers, Captain Leith (Richard Burton) and Major Brand (German character actor Curd Jürgens, who would later play Bond foe Karl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me), a South African, are being considered to lead a daring raid to steal crucial documents from a Nazi stronghold in Libya. The two don't seem particularly fond of each other. Brand's wife, Jane (Ruth Roman of Strangers on a Train), arrives on the base. There's an odd awkwardness when Brand introduces her to Leith at the officers' club. It turns out the two already know each other, intimately. They were romantically involved long ago, until Leith broke it off without warning. Jane later met Brand. Leith and Jane keep their relationship a secret from Brand, but he realizes something's up when he goes out for a bit and comes back to find them dancing together. He later gets angry when his wife slips up and refers to Leith as "Jimmy." Brand and Leith are chosen to lead the mission together. Jane says goodbye to Leith, and Wilkins (Nigel Green of The Ipcress File) and some other soldiers see them together. The raid goes fairly smoothly, until Brand can't bring himself to kill a German sentry, and Leith feels compelled to step in and do it for him. Brand's resentment of Leith grows. The team steals the documents and heads out across the desert to make their escape. They're attacked by a German patrol, and after the melee, Brand arouses suspicious when he orders Leith to stay with three badly wounded soldiers while the rest of the group leaves for the rendezvous point. Bitter Victory is based on the novel by René Hardy. Jean-Luc Godard famously said of the film in his review, "Nicholas Ray is cinema." ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Directed By
- Nicholas Ray
- Written By
- Paul Gallico, René Hardy
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1957 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 22, 2005
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Nicholas Ray's direction of black-and-white CinemaScope, that freak child of the 50s, is consistently brilliant in this raw, confused masterpiece.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Contemplating the dangerous games men play with macho self-images, this survives as one of Ray's greatest works.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Fine thesping by Richard Burton leads a series of top performances by other members of large cast.
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, Time Out
The title tells all.
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Philip French, Observer [UK]
The film's military detail is in most respects quite ludicrous.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Richard Burton
as Capt. Leith
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Curd Jürgens
as Maj. Brand
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Ruth Roman
as Jane Brand
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Raymond Pellegrin
as Mekrane
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Anthony Bushell
as Gen. Paterson
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Sean Kelly
as Lieutenant Barton
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Christopher Lee
as Sgt. Barney
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Alfred Burke
as Lt. Col. Callander
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Andrew Crawford
as Roberts
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Ramon de Larrocha
as Lt. Sanders
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Raoul Delfosse
as Lt Kassel
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Harry Landis
as Pvt. Berowining
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Ronan O'Casey
as Sgt. Dunnigan
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Sumner Williams
as Pvt. Anderson
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Nigel Green
as Private Wilkins
- Fred Matter
