It is remarkable how few reviews this big-budget war movie has received over the years on the IMDb. It seems almost forgotten but this is totally undeserved.
"Lost Command" has all the makings of a big-budget epic of the sixties : a war theme, large battles and some big stars of the day : Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon and (a very sultry) Claudia Cardinale, including the director Mark Robson, fresh from his success "Von Ryan's Express". But this warmovie is a bit more difficult to categorize.
Based on a novel by former French army officer and war correspondent Jean Larteguy it was made only a few years after the actual events (set in 1958 in French colonial Algeria) this somehow is Hollywood's answer to the better-known and much acclaimed European "The battle of Algiers" (1963)from director Gillo Pontecorvo which was shot in black and white, on a shoestring budget with no major stars and very left-wing.
"Lost Command" is almost the complete opposite : a massive budget, shot in Technicolor, big stars and a rather right-wing attitude. But here's the twist : the movie doesn't ignore the brutality on both sides including those by the French paratroopers towards the Algerian civil population, with scenes depicting the use of torture and a massacre of a peasant village (in reprisal of the brutal murder of several of their comrades). Also the terrorists aren't portrayed as all-out baddies, as their leader, an ex-para himself, is played by, wait for it, George Segal (!) in heavy brown make-up. You hardly recognize him. The restof the cast is excellent, with Anthony Quinn leading the way as the para commander and French actors Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet as his assistants.
It is also historically very accurate : the Dien Bien Phu prologue, the uniforms and weapons, etc... They also face roadside bombs, suicide attacks, booby-traps in the inner city, all rather reminiscent of things to come with the US occupation of Bagdad. No wonder then that former commander of the US troops in Iraq, David Petraeus(a paratrooper himself), is an avid fan of the book (and film) from which he took ideas to support his new counter-insurgency strategy.
Come to think of it, this would be a much more interesting training film to show to the US troops in Bagdad as they did indeed with "the Battle of Algiers" !
As it was made only a few years after actual events this was a bit too close for comfort for the French government so "Lost Command" was banned in France for over 10 years. Subsequent French releases vary rather in length, editing out sometimes more then 30 minutes of the original version. The French only got to see the complete version with the release of the DVD in 2003.
So highly recommended viewing, as it treats its audience as adults and not mere as teenage public just looking for cheap thrills with lots of shootings and explosions.
"Lost Command" has all the makings of a big-budget epic of the sixties : a war theme, large battles and some big stars of the day : Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon and (a very sultry) Claudia Cardinale, including the director Mark Robson, fresh from his success "Von Ryan's Express". But this warmovie is a bit more difficult to categorize.
Based on a novel by former French army officer and war correspondent Jean Larteguy it was made only a few years after the actual events (set in 1958 in French colonial Algeria) this somehow is Hollywood's answer to the better-known and much acclaimed European "The battle of Algiers" (1963)from director Gillo Pontecorvo which was shot in black and white, on a shoestring budget with no major stars and very left-wing.
"Lost Command" is almost the complete opposite : a massive budget, shot in Technicolor, big stars and a rather right-wing attitude. But here's the twist : the movie doesn't ignore the brutality on both sides including those by the French paratroopers towards the Algerian civil population, with scenes depicting the use of torture and a massacre of a peasant village (in reprisal of the brutal murder of several of their comrades). Also the terrorists aren't portrayed as all-out baddies, as their leader, an ex-para himself, is played by, wait for it, George Segal (!) in heavy brown make-up. You hardly recognize him. The restof the cast is excellent, with Anthony Quinn leading the way as the para commander and French actors Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet as his assistants.
It is also historically very accurate : the Dien Bien Phu prologue, the uniforms and weapons, etc... They also face roadside bombs, suicide attacks, booby-traps in the inner city, all rather reminiscent of things to come with the US occupation of Bagdad. No wonder then that former commander of the US troops in Iraq, David Petraeus(a paratrooper himself), is an avid fan of the book (and film) from which he took ideas to support his new counter-insurgency strategy.
Come to think of it, this would be a much more interesting training film to show to the US troops in Bagdad as they did indeed with "the Battle of Algiers" !
As it was made only a few years after actual events this was a bit too close for comfort for the French government so "Lost Command" was banned in France for over 10 years. Subsequent French releases vary rather in length, editing out sometimes more then 30 minutes of the original version. The French only got to see the complete version with the release of the DVD in 2003.
So highly recommended viewing, as it treats its audience as adults and not mere as teenage public just looking for cheap thrills with lots of shootings and explosions.