|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Battle Hymn" is the story
of a minister, Col. Dean Hess (Rock Hudson), who
returns to the fray of battle and trains Korean
soldiers to fight after he feels he has lost his
spiritual calling. Of course Hess finds redemption
and his faith when he becomes involved with a
group of Korean orphans and a young Korean/Indian
woman, En Soon Yang (Anna Kashfi), who cares for
them.
Despite several brilliantly staged action
sequences, this film is not so much a war saga as
it is a tale of introspection and finding the
courage within one's self to carry on. The logic
behind the treacle is easily explained: the film's
director is Douglas Sirk -- known for his soppy,
sloppy and gushy melodramas that ooze sentiment
over substance. The blend of both adventure and
drama is seamless enough, but the intrusion of
love among the ruins is a bit awkward in spots.
Nevertheless, "Battle Hymn" is a reasonably
intelligent and inspiring movie.
Overall, the picture quality is nicely rendered
but the ravages of time have not been kind in a
few spots. Age-related artifacts are present
throughout -- sometimes glaringly so. Black levels
are often weak and fine detail is lost in the
darkest scenes. Digital anomalies are not an issue
for a generally smooth visual presentation. The
audio is nicely presented -- if somewhat dated.
"Battle Hymn" is finely wrought melodrama tinged
with the prerequisite of combat that all war films
have in common. The DVD is admirably realized but
is not reference quality. Still, it's definitely
worth a look. |
