THE YOUNG LIONS is a war drama about three soldiers in the World War Two, whose stories are overlapping in certain periods of time. The film was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw.
On the eve of the World War Two,an Austrian ski instructor in the Alps meets an American tourist. Flirting is not escalating into something more serious. The tourist is confronted with German nationalism. A famous singer is trying to take the best possible position at the time of recruitment in the US Army. An American Jew, who has started an affair with a young girl, has to face the anti-semitism which, it seems, is not behind the German. The ski instructor joins, as a patriot, German forces in a battle for the occupation of Paris ...
Three completely different stories are accidentally connected in the war circumstances. The protagonists who exposed to emotional and physical shocks. The three protagonists, which are faced with bloodshed and inhumane circumstances, exhibit strange moral values and personal rebellion.
Marlon Brando as Christian Diestl is the ski instructor and a German lieutenant. He is an idealist, who was disappointed with the war, casualties and a regime at the end. Nazism has destroyed his character. He looks at war with sadness that goes into depression. One human spirit is completely defeated and disappointed. This character evokes sympathy.
Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman is the young Jew. His character is unusual, sensitive and unclear. Characterization could be better in this case. It is difficult to determine the nature of his character, because he is usually helpless or dazed. However, he shows vague defiance in some scenes. Syndrome of a rebel without a cause is inappropriate in this case.
Dean Martin as Michael Whiteacre is a showman, who is in the military against his will. However, he has participated in a great battle in the end. The struggle between conscience and compassion is evident in him.
Maximilian Schell as Captain Hardenberg, a vicious Nazi commander, is probably the most compelling character in the film. Female characters in the film are presented as a kind of voice of reason in different circumstances. Hope Lange as Hope Plowman is a very honest character, who is involved in a touching romance at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, that love dreaming, later, lost its purpose.
Although Mr. Dmytryk has elaborated extremely important war themes, through episodic war stories, the overall effect is too lenient for a movie that lasts almost three hours.
On the eve of the World War Two,an Austrian ski instructor in the Alps meets an American tourist. Flirting is not escalating into something more serious. The tourist is confronted with German nationalism. A famous singer is trying to take the best possible position at the time of recruitment in the US Army. An American Jew, who has started an affair with a young girl, has to face the anti-semitism which, it seems, is not behind the German. The ski instructor joins, as a patriot, German forces in a battle for the occupation of Paris ...
Three completely different stories are accidentally connected in the war circumstances. The protagonists who exposed to emotional and physical shocks. The three protagonists, which are faced with bloodshed and inhumane circumstances, exhibit strange moral values and personal rebellion.
Marlon Brando as Christian Diestl is the ski instructor and a German lieutenant. He is an idealist, who was disappointed with the war, casualties and a regime at the end. Nazism has destroyed his character. He looks at war with sadness that goes into depression. One human spirit is completely defeated and disappointed. This character evokes sympathy.
Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman is the young Jew. His character is unusual, sensitive and unclear. Characterization could be better in this case. It is difficult to determine the nature of his character, because he is usually helpless or dazed. However, he shows vague defiance in some scenes. Syndrome of a rebel without a cause is inappropriate in this case.
Dean Martin as Michael Whiteacre is a showman, who is in the military against his will. However, he has participated in a great battle in the end. The struggle between conscience and compassion is evident in him.
Maximilian Schell as Captain Hardenberg, a vicious Nazi commander, is probably the most compelling character in the film. Female characters in the film are presented as a kind of voice of reason in different circumstances. Hope Lange as Hope Plowman is a very honest character, who is involved in a touching romance at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, that love dreaming, later, lost its purpose.
Although Mr. Dmytryk has elaborated extremely important war themes, through episodic war stories, the overall effect is too lenient for a movie that lasts almost three hours.