Product Details

• Actors: Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards, Richard Loo
• Directors: Samuel Fuller
• Writers: Samuel Fuller
• Producers: Samuel Fuller, Murray Lerner, Robert L. Lippert, William Berke
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Timeless Multimedia
• VHS Release Date: October 30, 1998
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305226601
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,456 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sergeant Zack (Gene Evans) is the only survivor after his platoon is executed by North Koreans. He pulls himself along painfully, hands tied behind his back with his own bootlaces, until he is discovered by a 10-year-old South Korean boy. He dubs the boy Short Round, and the two eventually hook up with an infantry squad. They find a Buddhist temple, which they take over to use as an observation post. The squad is a group of misfits: a black medic, a World War II conscientious objector, a Japanese American WWII vet, a mute, and a 90-day-wonder Officer Candidate School grad in charge. The Steel Helmet has a gritty, authentic look that transcends its low budget and occasional staginess; all the GIs have Vaseline smeared on their faces and grimy uniforms. More notable, though, is the lack of propagandizing. "Commies" are mentioned, but anti-Communist rhetoric is not. There's a distinct lack of John Wayne-style heroics in this film, and director Sam Fuller never misses an opportunity to work in his sociopolitical agenda. With a black character who's treated on an equal footing with the white GIs and open references to Jim Crow laws and the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII, it points up why Fuller confounded critics on the Left and Right both. Many of the characters and situations were culled directly from combat vet Fuller's war diaries. Strong, profound stuff for 195l, and a film that will stick in your head for days. Highly recommended for fans of Sam Fuller and war films alike. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard-hitting War Drama with Reality, November 25, 2001

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steel Helmet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Samuel Fuller's name may sound unfamiliar to many movie fans in America. This is a pity because Fuller, admired in Europe, made a lot of films that can still shock you. "Steel Helmet" is one of them.

It describes hard times experienced by the soldiers during the Korean War, and though the story sometimes is melodramatic, and the film is a low-budget one (obviously stock footage is used in the climax), "Steel Helmet" always has a ring of truth. The grim reality of war is presented with Fuller's original style, and he never gives us an easy solution to the conflicting relationships between the convincing characters.

To movie fans, however, the most surprising element is the character "Short Round." The idea of putting a young, innocent Korean kid and a veteran sergeant together in a dangerous battlefield, and making their relationship a touching one, is a thing that no one but Sam Fuller can achieve. And there is even an unexpected sense of humor in there (check out the scene in which something unusual is mistaken for shell dropping, and disturbs the soldiers' sleep). So, if you are moved by the films like "Saving Private Ryan" or "Platoon," this is a must for you.

Trivia: the boy's name "Short Round" is used by Steven Spielberg in his "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom," and director Samuel Fuller makes a cameo appearance in Spielberg's "1941." At least, Fuller is respected by him, this fact tells you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the few good films to come out early about Korea, December 8, 2003

By 

D. D Lawson (Pasadena, Calif. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Steel Helmet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

My 1st time that I saw this film was as a young wanna be GI. After the Army and as a Teacher I met "Short Round" who happened to become my Principal named Bill Chun. (A really good man and an excellent Principal.) He has regaled me with tales of his short Movie career and they were amusing. He had nothing but good things to say about the cast and the film. I commned it to you for a worms eye view of the "Old Army". By the by Mr. Chun did a hitch in the Regular Army in the late 50's later on before going into teaching.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steel Helmet, June 20, 2002

By 

Marc R. Wedner "mayreh" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Steel Helmet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

One of the earliest films to deal with the Korean War, Steel Helmet has good action (on a limited budget, which shows in the
largest battle scene), well-drawn characters, and visits more than
one contemporaneous issue, including racism and manipulation
of that issue by the Soviets and their satellites during the Cold War. I saw the film originally in its year of release.

For me, the best element of the film is Gene Evans' portrayal of Sgt. Zack, a hard boiled, but not cast-iron career soldier.

Viewed as a document both for, and yet a little ahead of its time, Steel Helmet is a great lower budget contribution to
the film literature of the Korean War.