Customer Reviews

The Lost Battalion [VHS]

5 star:		(98)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In late 1918 WW1 was about to come to an end. The US, now fully involved in the war, participated in an offensive alongside the french in the argonne forest. In typical first world war fassion, the modest gains of the offensive were ultimatley lost as the allied forces simply withdrew back to their trenches. however one battalion comprised mostly of New Yorkers of the US 77th division did not withdraw. Instead they advanced, held, and fought to the bitter end. This is the story of the lost battalion; the 308th.

AE really got this one right. Wonderfully scripted and with lots of attention to historical detail and accuracey, this film really comes off as more than just an AE original, but something worthy of a trip to the theater had it been there. The movie opens with new recruits coming in before the offensive. The fresh troops are indoctrinated quickly into the frightening world of trench warfare. Rick Shroder does an amazing Job as the Major in command of the 308th. Having been a lawyer back in NYC, he has no real taste for battle, and struggles with his supperiors over the danger posed to his men by the over-ambitious objectives given to them.

Once they are in the Argonne forest, and fail to retreat like thier comrads, they become unknowingly surrounded by the Germans. The commanders, amazed that the 308th is sitting right smack in the German center, decides to lie and tell them that the french are still on thier flank, and to hold at all costs. Thus begins a desperate fight for survival, as ammunition and food runs out, and as wave after wave of german counter attacks are repelled.

As the bodies pile up we are given glimpes into the personalities of these brave men. Being mostly NYers, the troops are diverse, with italians, jews, polish, and others all creating an interesting dynamic. The movie shows how an interesting transference occurs as the code of the streets, or neighborhood pride than many NYC kids grow up with, lends itself heroicly to the battlefield, not allowing for honor in surrender. The presence of a southerner thrown into the battalion ads a really interesting dynamic between the characters.

the acting throughout the movie is superb, and special effects are gritty and realistic, not flashy and mainstream. Lots of nice touches are added into this movie to make it a pleasure to watch and a tribute to the courage of the men.

The Germans are unable to understand why this battalion has not withdrawn or surrendered as any normal unit in WW1 would do, when the captured southerner informs them with warning that they are "up against a bunch of New York City Gangsters". Finally, even the fearsome special unit of German storm troopers are repelled, and only a handfull of the 308th are left when allied forces finally link up with them once more. The loss of the argonne, puts the german line off balance, and contributes to the further advances that end the war.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit as it shows both the futility of the war, and delves into the character of those fighting it. AE didnt just make a decent war movie, but a great film that easily deserves a place alongside all the hollywood classics of the genre.

This is a true story about a relatively unknown event during World War I.

The film was done in the same style as Saving Private Ryan. When action was happening, the cameras were right there. Plenty of detail added to the authenticity. It is especially interesting for anyone that is familiar to the ways in which warfare was fought toward the end of WWI.

Bayonets! Man, I'd hate to have been a soldier at this time.... Some of the scenes are not for the squeamish. The film holds nothing back...

I have seen the film twice in the last three nights. I am still picking up information. In my opinion, the cast did an excellent job of bringing this film to life. Even from the German point of view, this must be a good film. The details in the trenches as well as the "no man's land"... The weapons used... It all makes for a good film.

It is a definite must for any collector of war films.

As an "old soldier" and a professor, I am not only a collector of war films representing all eras, but am a "student of war." In that role I am quite critical of all films in that genre, and I found "The Lost Battalion" to be practically flawless, which is indeed a rarity. The producers, director, and actors displayed a penchant for historical accuracy in this film, and provided rare glimpses of what it was "really like" during World War I.

There is a chilling reality throughout the film, to include how the war was seen and pursued from the lowliest fighting man through the top echelons of command, and even from the German perspective. Frankly, there are relatively few films that cover World War I very well, but this is clearly the very best. I feel that my collection - or anyone else's - of war films would be incomplete without "The Lost Battalion," as it is clearly the WWI equivalent of "Saving Private Ryan," and one of the best war films of all time.

Why does it seem that all the interesting stuff is coming from cable television nowadays? Russell Mulcahy's THE LOST BATTALION is a 2001 A&E production that tells the based-on-fact story of an American battalion - about 600 men - that became `lost' during an offensive operation in the Meuse-Argonne sector of France in 1918.
Rick Schroder plays Maj. Charles Whittlesey, a New York lawyer before the war broke out. Soft spoken and hidden behind a pair of wire framed glasses Schroder nails the part, conveying the character's strength with whispered stubbornness. By the end of the film, when one of the characters tell the Major his men would follow him anywhere (okay, there's a cliché or two in this one), we believe him. With its jittery camera amidst the men and relative absence of establishing shots LOST BATTALION is emotionally gripping, if at times a tad confusing and dizzying. In any event, the movie successfully renders the muck and grim of trench warfare, and delivers an exciting and grisly view of a war cursed with primitive communications yet possessed of highly developed means of mass slaughter.
The dvd also contains a 45-minute History Channel special, `Dear Home: Letters from WWI.' Employing archive footage, period photographs, voice actors and a great number of letters to and from the soldiers it's a nice, sometimes touching, introduction to US involvement in WWI. Both movie and special are highly recommended.

This is easily one of the best war movies ever made. It does not go into detail on the meaning of the war, why we were in it or any other social commentary. I does however cover a very small and dramatic piece of World War I.

The Lost Battalion is about a battalion that is trapped and surrounded and instead of surrendering, chooses to fight (actually there were 2 battalions although the movie concentrates on 1 of them). There is not a lot of character development and the story line sticks pretty much to the task at hand. This was much like Blackhawk Down where you are only given enough information to get you into the battle.

As far as those critics who blast this movie as hype or over the top American propaganda, think of this. In the actual battle, 5 Medals of Honor were earned. The movie only mentions 3 of them and they were the ground commanders. Two were also awarded posthumously to a pilot and his observer who helped to find the lost battalion in the thick forest. The pilot was shown briefly in the movie but is not later mentioned as a MOH winner. Name another battle where only 700 men fought for 5 days and earned 5 Medals of Honor. There is no need for hype here.

The bottom line is this, if you like war movies for what they are and not for social commentary, then this is a movie for you.

"The Lost Battalion" touches a period not often seen in the war genre, that being World War I ("The Great War"). Despite being made for the small screen, it manages to be great enough to be put alongside other superb WWI films such as "The Lighthorsemen" or "Paths of Glory."

The story is true, as are the characters. The 308th, along with the 307th, battalions are trapped after a succesful attack and find themselves hard pressed by German officers, determined to wipe out the Americans in an effort to prove to the Yankees they are not undefeatable. The battalion manages to hold out even when they're own artillery bombs them and the Germans unleash flamethrowers at the defenders. 500 men went in, and less than 200 came out, but they managed to help secure a line deep in German-controlled territory.

Some of the other reviewers have tried bad-mouthing this film by saying it gives too much glory to the battalion. I ask: why shouldn't it? Any time a group of men vastly outnumbered by their enemies, and with circumstances against them, manage to hold out by sheer bravery, that is a thing to be admired. There is no flag-waving in this movie, nor do they make the battalion out to be the saviours of the war, but this film does give the men their just deserve in honor. And those who think that this film copied off "Saving Private Ryan" in its style should give themselves a firm kick in the head: this movie came out long before "Ryan" was even advertised.

A high quality movie. If only TV networks could come up with more movies such as this.

This excellent film features a famous but little known incident today from the First World War. The Lost Battalion of the 308th Infantry rightfully deserves its place in Great War heroics of the US army as does Sarjeant York and others. This A@E movie tells the story with a degree of accuracy and has none of the over-the-top antics that many big budget Hollywood films today seem to be plagued with. A@E productions provide a refreshing perspective to American movie making and show that this country can still produce decent cinema. Its good to see the First World War portrayed for a change. American viewers have gott'en their fill with World War Two, Vietnam etc., but little has been done recently on the Great War.

Here we have a conflict every bit as tragic in its own right because of the massive loss of human life through use of futile tactics on the battlefield. We have Germans that are not Nazi's for a change which is also refreshing. While this film over-does a bit of the ethnic tensions within the 308th Infantry, and some of the acting at times seems a bit too contemporary, what we have still is a pretty accurate recreation of events. The standard German vs. American elements are there, with the Germans learning to respect the yanks and such, but what is important to remember here is that by late 1918 the German army was a shadow of its former self. Exhausted from its earlier offensives that year, the US army does not contend with a first-rate Imperial army. Had the Lost Battalion incident occured six months earlier it is doubtful that this little band of American heros could have survived for very long against overwhelming Stosstroopen tactics. Still, the combat scenes are vivd and well done, and the acting is not bad overall. This movie should become part of the relatively small number of good World War One films out there. Deffinitely worth adding to one's collection.

All I can say is wow! This is Ricky Schroeder? No way! Rick does an unbelievable job in this movie and proves himself to be a true actor worthy of extreme praise. The story line is excellent and true to the actual event the movie is based upon. They spent the time and got all the details right on this one, the historical accuracy is extremely impressive. This is not a "chick flick" as it has a lot of intense close quarter combat, which is not the case with many modern WWII films. That makes some parts of the movie a bit graphic and nasty, but WWI was graphic and nasty. The hand-held camera work is a bit jumpy and almost too over-the-top in trying to place you "into" the action at times, but the movie is certainly good enough to overcome the overzealous camera work. If you want to know something of WWI combat, there's not a better movie out there right now - at least that I know of. With all due respect to "All Quiet On The Western Front" of course - both versions. The Lost Batallion should be in any military enthusiast's collection.

Originally broadcast on A&E in December 2001, it is of course a Fullscreen movie. But don't let that discourage you from checking it out. Yes it really should have been filmed in Panavision, but its really good enough to overlook that.

OK enough of that, The Lost Battalion is a movie about an American Battalion led by the ol' Silverspoons kid actor Ricky Schroeder. Yeah OK, he's over 30 now, but you know, its funny to see a successful kid actor these days that hasn't gone off the deep end.

In the Lost Battalion Ricky is ordered to take his Battalion of troops, mostly made up of new recruits from New York City and one Texan Lt., through the German lines to take and hold a Mill out in the middle if the Argonne Forest. The Battalion made it all the way to the Mill due to American "stubborness", as described by the German commander, ("They didn't withdraw when they were supposed to"). The thing is that he was supposed to be flanked by supporting British and French forces as well. However those attacking forces were forced to hold at their trenches. Thus this left Shroeder's Battalion out there all alone behind enemy lines.

However, this breakthrough created a major thorn in the side of the German forces. In the meantime the German forces had surrounded Shroeder's Battalion and continued to assault them. It had driven the German commanders absolutely beserk as they could not beleive the stubborn defense put up by a Battalion that was low on food, ammo and other supplies that it actually helped bring about the end of the War.

There are several intense fighting scenes where men are showing their greatest under the worst circumstances. Think "Hamburger Hill" in a WWI theme. You have a mis-directed artillery barrage, ala the helicopter friendly fire episode in Hamburger Hill. A flamethrower assualt in the end that winds up disasterous for the Germans. And several other "over-the-top" kind of WWI engagements. Except all of this is out in the middle of some woods. This movie also shows off how carrier pigeons were used to transfer messages from the frontlines back to HQ when out of range from telegraph wire. Too bad they didn't have Nokia phones back then, eh? ("Can you hear me now?")

But anyway, this movie is watchable again and again. Just for the pure action and the determined resistance of a stubborn American Lost Battalion. I'd definately recommend it if you like good WWI action.

Perhaps it was too long ago for anyone to have memories that could correct innaccuracies but few movies of the first world war seem to get it right. This one captures the American experience in that war like few others have. Drama and action together bring out a story of depth, courage, tolerance, and forbearance in the crucible of adversity. I watch it again and again. Hard to believe it was made for TV and not a major picture. Still one of the great war-stories to capture the American public.