Product Details

• Actors: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland, Lloyd Bridges
• Directors: Lewis Milestone
• Writers: Harry Brown, Robert Rossen
• Producers: Lewis Milestone
• Format: Color, EP, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Front Row Video, Inc
• VHS Release Date: May 29, 2001
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005B30N
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,708 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Alongside larger-scaled epics, this 1945 drama looks modest, but director Lewis Milestone achieves a gritty realism that is ultimately closer to the truth of combat. A World War I veteran, Milestone had already created a classic war film--and powerful antiwar statement--in 1930's All Quiet on the Western Front, focusing on German troops in the trenches during "the Great War." For obvious reasons, A Walk in the Sun views the action from the perspective of American troops, but Milestone and a strong cast headed by Dana Andrews and Richard Conte prove remarkably clear-eyed in this chronicle of a platoon moving through the Italian countryside following the successful, but bloody, invasion of Italy. There's little of the cheerleading fervor or reflexive demonizing of the enemy visible in other films from the period; instead, the men's treacherous odyssey captures the sense of random chaos as their bucolic trek is interrupted by sudden skirmishes. We're shown the deep bonds forged between the soldiers, the loss of innocence that is the inevitable price of combat experience, and the capricious fates that can spare one soldier while exterminating another. Milestone would extend his mastery of wartime fiction to include the Korean War, captured in the equally fine, equally sobering Pork Chop Hill. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Nobody Dies," Best World War II Movie, Poorest DVD Quality, January 30, 2000

By 

Sanford W. Bloom (USA) - See all my reviews

I have watched this film trillions of times, and I own many VHS and Beta copies of it. I first saw it as a kid in the 1950's, and it is truly haunting. The dialogue, acting, tension buildup, realism, psychology, and photography/camera work are nothing short of superb. It is a film way ahead of its time, true to its genre, and probably the best/most realistic film to come out of WWII. Many of the ethnic/cultural stereotypes are quite good, even considering the absence of African-American roles, probably fairly accurate for the time. The depiction of war seems very genuine. Does anyone know what Dana Andrews meant when he said "4 ways from the jack?" What a shame that the DVD version by Madacy is so poor. There are video/digital dropouts, terrible sound, missing frames. The VHS and BETA versions are of better quality overall. There is no evidence of ANY Dolby Digital sound.

I hope someone will recognize the true artistry of this film and issue it in a better DVD version.

I would also recommend "The Best Years of Our Lives", although I don't know if it is out on DVD yet.

Anyway, I rate this film as a "Must See/Own!"

67 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DVD quality incredibly poor, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

A Walk in the Sun may be a good movie, but this DVD is amazingly bad. It looks like Madacy made it from a 10th generation VHS tape. They are even moments when static, from the poor tracking of the source tape, is visible. On top of that DVD compression artifacts abound, and my new DVD player has a lot of difficulty playing the disc without pausing every few minutes. It's absolutely amazing how little pride Madacy apparently takes in its products. The one star rating is for the wretched DVD quality only.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Focus on the Ordinary Infantryman, December 17, 2005

By 

gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews

I use the term ordinary to emphasize just how extraordinary the US infantryman was in WWII. In motion pictures it seems that most war films focus and glorify trained teams sent on secret missions or small groups of elite fighting men trained for a specific purpose. Most of these films never really focus on the men, the morality and camaraderie developed (one exception being THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE) and the day-to-day grind of combat and unsettled nerves. A WALK IN THE SUN is one of a handful of war films that focuses on these endearing elements of civilian men thrown into this mundane (on the surface) yet extraordinary routine of constant exposure to death from enemy ordnance. They are a unit from mixed backgrounds thrown into this maelstrom of uncertainty and death. They develop camaraderie and build trust in each other and execute the daily task they are ordered to without real knowledge of the bigger picture and without specific question of purpose. They get the job done ay any cost whatever the reason. Men die, they grieve and they keep moving. They are on the lowest rung in the field of getting the job done. And they persevere. Recent pictures like SAVING PRIVATE and the restored Sam Fuller epic THE BIG RED ONE have redirected the focus to the lowly ordinary infantryman out there getting the job done. BATTLEGROUND and THE STORY OF G.I. JOE have been around for a while and they too have gotten their deserved recognition. Their greatness comes because they have focused on the men. A WALK IN THE SUN is poetic in nature. Mild mannered Sterling Holloway's death scene is very poignant and difficult to watch and even fathom because of the irony that war has exposed these men to. The diversity of the men is great yet the leader types pick up and take charge when it becomes necessary without any hesitation. Dana Andrews is a man seeing that they get the job done. John Ireland, in one of his better performances, is a distant and cool character that seems like the eyes and ears of the viewer taking in all that transpires. Screenwriter Robert Rossen's script is rich in the character studies of these men including Richard Conte, Lloyd Bridges, Norman Lloyd, George Tyne, Huntz Hall and Herbert Rudley under Lewis Milestone's lyrical direction. Beware that this DVD may not be up to your standards of picture quality.