Bitter Victory (1957)

80% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(910 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 from… 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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Nicholas Ray
Written By: Paul Gallico, René Hardy
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1957 Wide
On DVD: Feb 22, 2005

Critic Reviews

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.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Contemplating the dangerous games men play with macho self-images, this survives as one of Ray's greatest works.
Variety Staff, Variety
Fine thesping by Richard Burton leads a series of top performances by other members of large cast.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
The film's military detail is in most respects quite ludicrous.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Odd amalgam of a French film, starring a British, German, and American trio, directed by an American and written by three men from different countries.
Derek Smith, Cinematic Reflections
There is a sense that while the men here are well-versed in the theories of war, they are clueless about the realities of combat.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's one of Ray's more powerful films.
, Time Out
The title tells all.
Sean Axmaker, St@tic Multimedia
Nicholas Ray directs with an uncompromising austerity that puts the hypocrisy and the bitter inhumanity of war in focus...
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Bitter Victory shows Ray at the height of his powers, making beautiful use of his black-and-white Cinemascope frame.
Jamie Russell, BBC
A brilliant, shamefully neglected war movie.
, Film4
A starkly shot and probing inquiry into notions of cowardice and heroism.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
The whole picture, deeply pessimistic and subversive, exerts a fierce grip.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
To neutralize scorpion venom, all you have to do is surgically remove a camel's bladder to harvest the ammonia in its urine. Good to know.
Eric Henderson, Slant Magazine
Has almost become eclipsed by the thunder of Jean-Luc Godard's infamously rapturous tribute in the pages of Cahiers.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...characters remain woefully underdeveloped.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Stark drama of principles in wartime. Excellent performances from the three leads. Ruth Roman's part is small but integral to the plot and she makes the most of it.
Ken S

Burton is strong as is Ray's direction, but this story just falls flat
cody f

This film succeeds with the acting, but fails with the story. Nicholas Ray gets everything he can out of every character, but the story is bland, the action is bad and the love story is tact on and unnecessary. Burton is fantastic and has a great screen presence. Burton, Jurgens,and… More
This film succeeds with the acting, but fails with the story. Nicholas Ray gets everything he can out of every character, but the story is bland, the action is bad and the love story is tact on and unnecessary. Burton is fantastic and has a great screen presence. Burton, Jurgens,and the rest of their crew is what makes this film great. Everyone has a memorable character and the desert scenes look great. The story of a coward commander clashing with a noble one is not handled well. It's a forced story as is the love story which is a rip off of Casablanca. I am on the crossroads here,because loved the acting and was bored by everything else. Watch Sahara with Bogart to see a better desert war film.