Customer Reviews

The Execution of Private Slovik [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This movie shows how brave, and great of a man my great uncle really was. I don't think any movie can ever top this. Not even Saving Private Ryan. This movie shows you that you don't have to have million dollar special effects, foul language, and blood to be good. Eddie Slovik was a truly brave man who stood up for what he believed in, even through death. I am proud of him, and I only hope he is proud of me. Thank you to everyone who has viewed this movie. I am sure he would be very proud if he knew he was looked upon as a very courageous man.

A must see (and read) for anyone interested in WWII or the conflict each dogface must have experienced on the front lines. It is amazing to me how out of 40,000 deserters, 49 of which were sentenced to death, only ONE was executed. Indeed, the only one since the Civil War. What was so "special" about Eddie Slovik? The movie follows true to the excellent book by William Bradford Huie and Martin Sheen's performance is a study in reserved pain. He doesn't shout with indignation when sentence is conferred upon him. Rather, he takes it "in stride" as just another bit of dumb luck he has experienced his whole life. Snatched from the only good thing his short life ever provided, his wife Antoinette, after being reassured he would not be drafted was a cruel joke played upon a guy who was made to suffer cruelties all his life. I am not going to sit in judgment on his decision to confess to desertion. Hey, my dad faught in that war, you just can't have everyone deciding they are not going to fight. My argument is with the system that drafted this guy in the first place and the system that made him unique in the execution of sentence. Was Eddie Slovik the worst case of desertion in the entire war? I highly recommend this film and book. The book is out of print but Amazon found me a copy and I just finished reading it. I wish the film was available on tape but it isn't. I saw the movie on the "Encore" channel about a month ago after first seeing it on TV in 1974. It hasn't lost a thing. If you get a chance to see it, please do so, you won't believe how moving this story is.

Being an active-duty military member, I have a special interest in the world of the profession of arms. Especially fond of WWII films, I have seen many of the wonderful and entertaining creations from this genre. It was my pleasure to view The Execution of Private Slovak, I ranked it right up there with films such as 12 o'clock High and Saving Private Ryan.

I must admit I was not all too familiar with the life and death of Mr. Slovak. As I watched his life develop under the brilliant acting of a young Martin Sheen, it became aware to me this young man only wanted to be happy and safe in life. He was not a fighter, but a lover of life.

After his reformatory days, Eddie is keen on getting his life together and getting a good job, and a fine woman. He gets both eventually, Antoinette was a definite match for him made in Heaven. They complimented each other perfectly. The draft board ultimately selects Eddie and he is off to training before you know it. You can sense the fear growing in Eddie already, not only because of his new warrior status, but because he is separated from his lovely new wife.

In the days that follow, he is sent to the front lines and comes under fire, which scares Eddie so much he decides to be a deserter, rather than face almost certain death from enemy fire. His zest for life picks up when the Canadians befriend him, but is reunited with his unit where he ultimately goes AWOL once again. This time, Eddie turns himself in and sign a confession stating his guilt. If only poor Eddie had broken parole back home and done a few months. He would've never been in that situation. But as Eddie said in a letter to his wife; "I never had a streak of luck".

Upon his courts-martial, Eddie is convicted of the charges of desertion in three separate ballots, and sentenced to death. Even then, the reality hasn't sunk in to his head yet. There is always the hope he will be reunited with his love. It isn't until the very end, where Eddie shows his true bravery, that he accepts nervously his fate.

I loved this film tremendously. As stated earlier, Martin Sheen made the movie true to life, as it should have been in the memory of Mr. Slovik. The special effects were lacking to today's standards, but hey, we're talking about a 1974 film here. The other actors, such as Ned Beatty and the actress who played Eddie's wife, we're also worth mentioning, they did a more than fine job. Also, the Major who presided over Eddie's execution and final drama was very convincing. He had many different emotions and a job to do, which conflicted with each other, and it showed.

Finally, this film brings out many deep thoughts and emotions brought on by the superb acting and storyline. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is a lover of WWII, drama, and the condition of being human. It can also be considered a tragedy in a sense. I salute Mr. Slovik, may he rest in peace.

This book gives a detailed description of what it was like for this man to go to WW II and it shows the reason behind his desertion to the Army. After reading this, I feel that the US government made a mistake by killing him and not giving this man the proper grave he deserves. END

This movie boldly states that you don't need the special effects in Saving Private Ryan to tell an incredible (and true) World War II Story.

I cannot do the story justice in a few words, but I'll try. This is the tale of an individual who never got a brake in life except for when he found someone to love. When he married her his life began to turn around. Then he was drafted into the army and sent to France. His desire to return to her and his fear of sudden death led to his dissertion from front-line duty. He was not afraid to die -- he just feared knowing that it could happen any second he was out there.

The Execution of Private Slovik is the type of tale that makes you understand the underdog and although you know that he dies at the end - you wind up wishing, perhaps as much as he did, that there was some way he could escape it. Told through the eyes of the people he met, this film reaches deep inside you and touches those emotions you've forgotten about in your daily grind.

I rate this film a MUST SEE. Rent it, borrow it, or hope it comes on the History Channel. Films like this one remind us of what really happened during those hard years.

I haven't seen this movie since its original airing on television. I do remember being incredibly impressed both by the film and by the performance of Martin Sheen, then a virtual unknown. I hope this is released on DVD soon.

ONe of the best movies I have ever seen. Stayed in bed and cried for about 3 days after viewing.
A must see.

Video arrived in excellent condition. The movie and subject matter was captivating when it first came out, and remains so. Even my wife sat and watched it.

This was a made-for-TV movie shown about 35 years ago about the only American since the Civil War to be shot for desertion. Slovik (Martin Sheen) was a strange person and I didn't know how to react to this story, frankly. I knew Hollywood was going to give it its usual liberal bias, especially with Sheen in the starring role, so I tried to look at this objectively with no prejudices.

Unfortunately, in trying to be totally neutral, it's easy to watch this film and come away with no definite stance. On one hand, you can't blame the military because it would be in chaos if every soldier who didn't want to fight could get out of it. On the hand, Slovik was such a nice, gentle guy, the death penalty for his actions seemed severe, too. Couldn't something else have been worked out?

Anyway, the film - except for a couple of lulls with the romance angle - kept my attention and made me think about an issue, so it served its purpose.

When I first saw The Execution of Private Slovik on television March 13, 1974, I was impressed by it immensely. I saw it again on televion in 1984, then more recently obtained VHS. It is a very enlightening movie, as it is eloquent of the disadvantage of a nation's going to war. Yes, World War II WAS a just war, so drafting young men, discharging them very sparingly, prior to end of tour of duty, assigning as many as possible to front lines and refusing requests for transfers to rear area, and yes, court-martialing and sentencing to terms of years at hard labor those who run away either to stay away or to avoid hazardous duty, all were justified. BUT-- with the policy of clemency having been adopted over the years, and death sentences for deserters nearly always modified, it WAS anomolous
to shoot Private Eddie Slovik! Because of his situation, of his having served two terms in a Michigan reformatory and thus initially 4-F, and wife Antoinette's becoming epileptic and unable to work, the movie DOES reveal that SOME sort of concession should have been made to Eddie Slovik! Either he should
have been GRANTED dependency discharge, OR, when his request was denied, be reassigned to a rear area in order to be able to come home and provide for Antoinette, OR, when THAT was refused ALSO, be granted clemency. Indeed, there were various scenes which corresponded to the book, that showed that the United States was not about to make ANY concession to Eddie Slovik! Prominent was Antoinette's visit to the Red Cross, where the woman who took her case said there was nothing that she could do even though Eddie supplied the three affidavits, as instructed by his SUPPORTIVE commanding officer (who did not appear IN the movie). So, I enjoyed the movie all the way through, and am convinced that the United States made FOUR mistakes, first of DRAFTING him even though he had no chance of becoming a model warrior, second of denying him the depenency discharge that wife Antionette tried to obtain for him, third of refusing transfer from the line, which he later sought, finally of shooting him! Mercifully, THE LAST-NAMED mistake has NOT BEEN REPEATED SINCE!