War Hunt (1962)

Not even bad in a good way

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Extremely Low-Budget War Film about the very Last Days of the Korean "War". It is a Thoughtful, well Researched Little Movie that Introduced Robert Redford to the Big Screen and has a Few other Notables...Director Sydney Pollack before He Changed Occupations as a Sgt., Tom Skerritt (also a debut), and John Saxon in a Show Stealing Role as a Psychopath who is Completely Divorced from Reality.Saxon and Redford are the Leads Playing Polar Opposites. Redford as a Naive Rookie and Saxon as an Insane Killer Relishing His Environment.There are some Deep Subplots for such a Short Movie and the Look is like Good Television of the Era with Echoes of "Twilight Zone" and foreshadowing "Combat".At the Center of the Movie is an Orphaned Korean Child "adopted" by the Maniac Saxon and Redford doing what He can to Rescue the Kid before it is Too Late. The Politics and Intricacies of the War and its Negotiation Table Necessities are included and some Dialog about the Method of this "Police Action" Madness.A Strong Cast and Good Camera Work along with a Haunting Score and Script, make this a "Sleeper" for War Movie and Anti-War Movie Fans. A Film that is virtually Unknown but is Definitely one that's Worth a Watch. Not only for its soon to be "Star Power" but for its Raw and Real Characters and its Offbeat but very Realistic Tone.

Other comments made here about the film are accurate enough. A few words about John Saxon's character though......The question was asked how he ever made it through boot camp... being unable to "comprehend authority, let alone obey it..." The answer is that most serial killers do not spring forth fully developed. ...Whatever his background, (almost certainly a loner) he was an easy target for the draft if he had not enlisted. Most discipline problems show up as individual ones, and not with someone in ranks... Not all nut jobs are weeded out in boot camp (I have served in the Marine Corps and elsewhere and have seen such... though certainly not on his scale) He probably completed his training with all of the inspiration of a man on an escalator......Whatever his demons... they could suddenly spring out on his first solo patrols... like an airbag in an accident, and just as impossible to put back... ...He was permitted to set up not only his own rules, but his own world... The military establishment existed in his mind only to support that world... His sole loyalty to command was to the company commander who both supported him and gave him fatherly approval... ...He chose not to take R&R. His company commander could not afford to be without his services... and if not fearing mayhem during such a leave, at a minimum feared that his most valuable man would get into enough trouble to vanish into the military justice system... ...Historian T.R. Fehrenbach in his work THIS KIND OF WAR: Korea-A study in unpreparedness, tells the story of "Gypsy" Martin... While not a serial killer, he submerged his whole identity into the war... headscarf and all. Martin was different from most soldiers... utterly useless for anything but combat. He had the good fortune to be killed in action before the fighting ended... F.J.

Dark, atmospheric, stylish film telling the story of combat as seen through the eyes of a newcomer, baby-faced Robert Redford, at a wartime trench camp in Korea, 1953. The story basically follows this man's experiences dealing with the others in their little platoon barracks - particularly a very odd man (played by John Saxon) who first appears on screen in a most memorable style - his mud-covered face suddenly appearing in close-up, completely filling the screen. This man likes to go out alone at night with his face darkened, on his own private "war hunt" as he knifes to death Koreans hiding in trench holes. This man's sidekick at camp is a young, orphaned Korean boy who seems to worship the older man. At one point, we watch Redford's character as he faces great fear during his first experience in combat; he also desires to help the young boy and faces many confrontations with the "war hunter"/mud man.This is a very unusual film - powerful, gripping and interesting, the story moved along via voice-over narration by Redford as his character relates his experiences. The film features excellent, thoughtful camera-work including many facial close-ups, and many dark, night-time scenes that gives a haunting feeling to the action. The background music reminded me in style of that often heard during "Twilight Zone" or even "Star Trek" episodes - a sort of 60s sci-fi feeling to it, in a way. The film opens and closes with a nicely done, sentimental chorus of Korean children. An excellent film all around.

If memory serves, the Sanders brothers came out of the UCLA film program at a time when film schools were still forming and not yet the minor leagues of movie-making. The brothers made their mark with a prize-winning amateur production entitled Time Out of War, about quiet moments during the Civil War. I may be wrong about details, but I believe the thrust is accurate-- I wish IMDb's profile of Terry and Denis were more complete than the meagre data provided.Anyway, my point is that this was a non-studio production of stark originality at a time when war was still being celebrated by a WWII-besotted studio industry. War Hunt is not exactly an anti-war film on the order of a Paths of Glory or Attack-- after all, Endore's scary psychopath can be shrugged off as a wild exception to the average GI. What the movie does suggest is that a deranged mind like Endore's can prove highly useful in wartime, even get a medal slapped on his chest for the tactical value his obsession with killing provides (on a more strategic scale, consider the intellectual value of the equally deranged Dr.Strangelove). Because of his battlefield information, Endore is allowed to fight his own war, by his own rules, free from the restrictions placed on normal soldiers, while command looks the other way. In short, Endore's particular form of psychosis finds a home in combat where it not only thrives, but also proves of real instrumental value to the higher-ups. In peacetime, he would get a strait-jacket; in wartime, he gets a commendation. Whether his psychopathic actions also promote a greater good amounts to an unspoken ethical dilemma not taken up by the picture-- and is likely why the script fudges the dilemma by having his obsession threaten the very truce itself. (An unlikely consequence since truces are notoriously slow to take hold, anyway.)The movie itself is no unmixed triumph. There's no motivation for Loomis' standing up to Endore over the Korean boy, unless we extrapolate some symbolism about youth representing the future and Loomis standing for American idealism. In fact, the film's very last line supports some such surmise. Moreover, John Saxon's Endore is truly frightening-- until he opens his mouth. I don't know whether it's the uninspired lines given him or Saxon's rather pedestrian delivery, but neither measures up to Saxon's coldly menacing presence nor the character's bold concept. Then too, the scene with battalion command fails because no one, including Saxon, has a good grasp of how a unique character like Endore should handle it. (And on a more minor note: How could he possibly get through Basic Training since he doesn't just resist authority, he can't even comprehend it!-- as the battalion command scene shows.)On the plus side stands Redford's nicely understated Loomis, whose character wisely resists heroic proportions. Charles Aidman too, comes across intelligently as a weary and beleaguered company commander willing to bend the rules for tactical advantage. At the same time, as others point out, the photography is appropriately grainy and gritty, blending well with the occasional stock footage. But most of all, there remains that frighteningly eerie glimpse of Endore's demonic little dance around his latest slashed throat. What mysterious god of madness is he invoking somewhere inside that dark pool that is his psyche. And what strange secrets has he imparted to the boy to carry into the future. I've seen nothing like this peculiar ritual before or since, and it is truly more unsettling than the gallons of fake blood spilled by contemporary horror-fests.Judging from the Sanders' profile, it looks like their careers petered out on television. What a disappointment after such a promising beginning. There must be some inside story here that I wish I knew. Be that as it may, War Hunt remains truly one-of-a-kind, a really scary glimpse of a mysteriously psychotic figure freed up by the dogs of war.