The Victors (EOTWS)

End Of The Week Shorts #35 extract: The Victors (1963)

The Victors is a truly phenomenal episodic war drama that subverts a plethora of war film tropes and critiques the manner in which WW2 is/was portrayed on film and in newsreels. In such, this film does not have bravado, glorious soldiers, romance, merry Christmases and a happy ending. Simultaneously, this isn't a blindly sceptical anti-war movie. The commentary of this film then ranges from smart to poignantly true to devastatingly ingenious thanks to brilliant editing, performances and direction. 

Unfortunately, I watched a watered-down day-time television cut of this and so its more pressing themes concerning racism and violence were clearly edited down. Nonetheless, The Victors stunned me. Highly recommended.