The Red Badge of Courage (1951)

One of the best movies I've ever seen! It showed true faith in troubling times, and shows how someone can come from running away to a true figure of courage! I totally recommend this movie to anyone! It really showed me what it takes to rise and overcome your fears

When you take an introspective book like "The Red Badge of Courage" and try to make it an action film, it's going to suffer a bit. This is the story of a boy who is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of war. Henry Fleming (Audie Murphy) is that boy who runs when confronted with Rebel forces. He hide in the woods, where he is struck on the head by another retreating soldier, knocked unconscious. In the book there is great pain and serious guilt on the part of Fleming. This is hard to portray, but Murphy does quite a good job, considering his relative inexperience. Apparently, the studio just didn't give this film a true chance at greatness. They kept cutting and cutting because it didn't fit the Hollywood mode. We need to remember those big time producers weren't in the business for their health. All of this said, there are great scenes of battle and Murphy's portrayal of the young soldier are very good.

"The Red Badge of Courage" is about a simple Union soldier who loses his nerve in battle during the Civil War. Interestingly, the film stars Audie Murphy--the most decorated American soldier during World War II! Seeing him struggle with nerves and bravery is ironic!As for the movie, it's an ultra-realistic view of war. Unlike the usually jingoistic WWII era films, this one centers not on patriotism but cowardice--and many of the men in this film ar4e ready to run when the battle begins. One soldier in particular (Murphy) doubts his courage and does initially run from battle. However, through the course of the film he manages to not only hide his actions from his fellow soldiers but summon up courage after all--and what a soldier he becomes!The film is much more realistic than most from this time period. It also helps that the film is filled with a wonderful cast of supporting characters--folks whose names you may not remember but whose faces you will. All in all, one of the better Audie Murphy films and my only quibble is the unnecessary narration that MGM added to the film against the director's wishes. It didn't help and just felt out of place...though I often hate narration in films.

I rarely vote above a 7 but this movie definitely merits it.Nor had I ever seen Audie Murphy in a film, and I was thoroughly impressed with what he brought to the central character. Reading about him on Wikipedia, and learning that he was the second most-decorated US soldier in WWII, I better understood the believability he brought to the fearful, anxious, and, later, far more courageous protagonist.I haven't read the book so I wasn't prepared for the intimacy of the portrait of Murphy's soldier, who begins by admitting his fear of dying to himself, and later is able to be more authentic with others. His transformation from runaway to leader seems authentic. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the soldiers who surround Murphy. I particularly liked the cameo of the down-to-earth "Cheery Soldier" who is so effective in helping Murphy to pick himself up and fight another day.I was really drawn in to the camaraderie in the drumbeat-propelled Union regiment, and found the smoky battle scenes, punctuated by so many rebel yells, to be wholly convincing.This a sad and powerful story -- definitely one of the best anti-war films I've seen.