The Long and the Short and the Tall

The Long and the Short and the Tall

1961 · 110 min · EN · NR · 7.4 (19 votes)
Dir. Leslie Norman · Starring Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd, Richard Harris, David McCallum, Ronald Fraser, John Meillon

Raw emotions bared !

WarDrama

Based on a play by Willis Hall. A troop of British soldiers are out in the jungle to record jungle noises and troop noises in the jungle so that the recordings can be played back by other troops to divert the enemy to their whereabouts. As they progress to what they think is closer to the base camp they find themselves farther and farther from radio range until the only channel they can get clearly is that of a Japanese broadcast. They now realize they are probably only 10 to 15 miles from a Japanese camp! The tension is added to by rowdy and openly admitted "non-hero" Private Bamforth who has nothing good to say about anyone and especially Corporal Johnstone (who holds an equal dislike for Bamforth). When a Japanese soldier is taken as their prisoner, the true colours of each man comes to the surface

VIBE

A suffocating jungle setting amplifies the simmering tensions and moral compromises of isolated soldiers. This is a stark, character-driven drama where the real enemy is often within, exposing the brutal realities of war and camaraderie under duress.

tenseclaustrophobicbleakgrittyslow-burnkitchen sink dramawar filmstageywarsurvivalhuman natureprejudice
armyworld war iibritish armymoral conflictburmabased on play or musicaljunglesoldieranti war
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