Back to Bataan

Amazon.com

John Wayne and Anthony Quinn star in this touching 1945 drama inspired by real-life heroism in the Philippines following General MacArthur's withdrawal in 1942 and the islands' subsequent conquest by the Japanese army. Wayne plays Colonel Joe Madden, an American who stays behind to organize a ragtag guerrilla army in the forests and hills. At his side is Captain Andres Bonifacio (Quinn), grandson of a legendary revolutionary martyred in the nation's old war against Spanish colonialists. Joe, Andres, and their fearless irregulars (with support from a schoolteacher, played by Beulah Bondi) sap the enemy's resolve through hit-and-run missions, but as time passes the locals wonder, with pronounced disillusionment, why America doesn't return with masses of troops and weapons. Wayne's star power is undeniable, and Quinn is very good as a man uncertain of his role or destiny. Edward Dmytryk (Murder, My Sweet), soon to be imprisoned during Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt of Hollywood communists, directs. --Tom Keogh

Description

After the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in World War II, Col. Joseph Madden (John Wayne) of the U.S. Army stays on to organize guerrilla fighters against the conquerors.

Customer Reviews:

After the Fall of Bataan..........2007-09-08

"Back to Bataan" is a ripped-from-the-headlines drama produced as World War II was drawing to a close. It captures the fighting in the Philippines during the brutal Japanese occupation with all the immediacy of a bitter conflict still in progress. It is well-cast with John Wayne and a young Anthony Quinn, blessed with good direction and crisp black and white cinematography, and holds up well more than a half century on.

A prologue features the liberation of the Cabatuan POW camp in 1944 by U.S. Army Rangers and the Filipine resistance. It includes cameos by some of the real liberated prisoners and sets the context for the movie to follow as based on actual events.

The story opens with the pending defeat of U.S. and Filipino forces defending the Bataan Peninsula outside Manila against the Japanese Army in early 1942. An American Colonel named Madden, played by John Wayne, is plucked from the Peninsula and dispatched into the jungles to organize a resistance movement against a promised day of liberation. Madden sets about organizing those former soldiers and interested volunteers he can find. He immediately comes into contact with the brutality of the Japanese Army, as they execute a popular Filipino school principal who refuses to haul down the American flag in a small village. The villagers, including the school children, become valuable allies of Madden's small force.

Madden's small force frees a Filipino Army Captain, played by Anthony Quinn, from the horrors of the Bataan death march in hopes he will serve as a leader of the Filipino resistance. The young Captain, discouraged by defeat and demoralized by the apparent defection of his girlfriend to the Japanese, seems to have declared his own truce. One of the main themes of the movie will be COL Madden's patient effort to make the young captain understand the value of his leadership to the resistance.

Madden's small group prepares for the U.S. return to the Philippines, and for a final confrontation with the sadistic local Japanese Commander. Along the way, various characters will be challenged to do the right thing against the odds. The heroic sacrifices of the Filipino people in the face of privations and Japanese retaliation are highlighted.

The movie paints black and white portraits of the Japanese as cynical murderers and the Americans and Filipinos as virtuous heroes. Those depictions and the voice-overs at the beginning and end of the movie reflect the fact that the U.S. and Japan were in a fight to the death, in a situation where moral distancing would look absurd. The action sequences are surprisingly realistic, if without the special effects possible in today's movies. The acting by Wayne and Quinn is solid, understated, and consistent with their roles as military officers.

This movie is highly recommended as a realistic and thrilling account of the role played by the Filipino resistance in the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation.

dvd review.......2007-05-13

Excellent John Wayne movie from the 1940's. Received dvd in super condition and received quickly.

Old War .......2007-01-05

One of John Wayne's better older war movies, great acting my John Wayne and Anthony Quinn.

Back to Bataan.......2005-10-05

This was another John Wayne movie that is so good & an asset to any video library. It's an oldie but goodie! The performances by supporting actors are excellent. I do not recommend for very young children, but for 12 & above it would be good to see!
It's a very patriotic film and well worth the viewing.

Gutsy but intimate filmmaking.......2005-08-08

War movies can be a tricky recipe to pull off because they've been done so often and fall into cliches sooo easily. This film was saved by bravura and sincerity. It's a good film. What at first may seem like a generic Duke vehicle quickly exposes itself as a small ensemble drama on an epic stage.

Part of the appeal of this film is to watch it with history in mind. It tackles a lesser known part of WWII history, the war and guerilla movements in the Philippines. This film is totally unselfconscious in how it deals with the war, in one scene it features real Bataan POWs marching in a parade and introduces them documentary style with a narrator, and it hired Filipino extras and actors for important roles. This is what really touched and surprised me, how it elevated and glorified Filipino nationalism, culture, and history (Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifácio are frequently quoted and reverently referred to throughout the film); and, in an age where African American actors still were unfairly stereotyped and Asian actors almost nowhere to be found in Hollywood films, this treated Pinoy characters as equals and as heroes. This openmindedness on the part of the filmmakers was refreshing, but very reflective of the US fighting men's appreciation of the contributions of the Filipino people.

The film is passionate about the people it portrays. It's common for wartime films to be full of propaganda and overly zealous, but this film is more touching and intimate in its approach. Patriotic speeches actually have meaning and tears behind them, swelling music doesn't feel manipulative, no doubt because it was filmed with so many soldiers and civilians involved and in 1945, these people had just gone through all this and everything is done with a real and raw memory. It feels like it's built on real stories and people, and the actors seem to know they're not dealing with run of the mill cutout characters. There's a sincerity inherent in all of their performances because of the immediateness of the subject matter. John Wayne is less gruff than usual (and even downright dashing). Anthony Quinn's confused young man: brooding heartbrokenly when he's away from his informant fiancee, tender when he's around her, not sure how to fulfill what many feel is his destiny, and his own personal journey is lovely. Beulah Bondi (as a teacher evacuee who helps the men out) teary eyed when she thinks of her students; the motley crew mix of American GIs and Pinoy volunteers who surrounds the two officers, casual and down to earth. It's a tight cast in a friendly fight to upstage the others, and you'd better believe they milk every scene for what it's worth.

The film moves along quickly and realistically. Instead of complicated plot movements and intricate bloated twists, the story seems like it was taken from any number of jungle war experiences which makes it fascinating and unpredictable, like real history. Director Edward Dmytryk, later blacklisted, paid no heed to Production Code regulations for violence, and filmed scenes that were fairly explicit (for the time) in their portrayal of cruelty and violence inflicted on soldiers and civilians in an attempt to realistically dramatize some of the atrocities that occurred during the war which lends the film an air of impending danger and gravitas.

From before the era of ambiguous and complex war stories (which is how I usually prefer my war flicks to be served), this one of the best "classic" war films I've ever seen. (If you like this, check out "An American Guerilla in the Philippines" which was shot on location by the great Fritz Lang in 1949/50 and very similar in many regards.)

Average customer rating:

Bataan/ Back To Bataan
History Recorded and well done

Bataan/Back to Bataan
Starring: Robert Taylor , George Murphy , Thomas Mitchell , Lloyd Nolan , and Lee Bowman
Director: Tay Garnett , and Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E0WJN2
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Description

The World War II Philippines are the setting for these battle-filled films that temper their heroics with the hard reality of history. Robert Taylor leads valorous U.S. and Filipino combatants facing hopeless odds in a holding action at a bridge in Bataan. John Wayne portrays Col. Joseph Madden and organizes resistance fighters in Back to Bataan, a morale booster whose true-life incidents include the rescue of prisoners from Cabanatuan. An on-screen roll call of real-life soldiers freed by the mission underscores the event. Seeing those haunted but happy faces was a touching moment for audiences then. It remains so today.

Customer Reviews:

Bataan/ Back To Bataan.......2007-04-11

Bataan has always been one of my favourites and I never get tired of watching it.
Back to Bataan is a great follow up.

History Recorded and well done.......2007-02-15

If you like watching watch flicks filmed in the Philippines, this is a great two-some. The action is fierce, the acting good, and the heroism amazing.

Average customer rating:

Bataan/Back to Bataan...
Great Value!
Have not watched dvd yet.

Bataan/Back to Bataan
Starring: War Double Feature
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All Titles | John Wayne Store | Stores | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0009UZG6O
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Description

Customer Reviews:

Bataan/Back to Bataan..........2007-06-02

At $10/US, you get two entertaining movies, a real bargain.

In Bataan, the mixed US force fought against very great odds and performed heroic deeds against a numerically superior force in trying to perform their job.

In Back to Bataan with John Wayne and Anthony Quinn, the struggle against a logistically superior enemy was fairly well documented during World War II and was depicted fairly well. The Filipino people sacrificed much for their freedom and they made an effort to present that in this film.

Don't let the fact that the movies are in Black and White deter you. Bataan/Back to Bataan are good movies! My rating: 4 stars!

Great Value!.......2007-05-03

Two great WWII movies that show the patriotism of the day. A great value!

Have not watched dvd yet........2007-03-18

I have not watched this dvd yet so the rating is only for being delivered when you said you would be.

Jim

Average customer rating:

After the Fall of Bataan...
dvd review
Old War
Back to Bataan
Gutsy but intimate filmmaking

Back to Bataan
Starring: John Wayne , Anthony Quinn , Beulah Bondi , Fely Franquelli , and Richard Loo
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001FVE4A
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Amazon.com

Description

After the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in World War II, Col. Joseph Madden (John Wayne) of the U.S. Army stays on to organize guerrilla fighters against the conquerors.

Customer Reviews:

After the Fall of Bataan..........2007-09-08

dvd review.......2007-05-13

Excellent John Wayne movie from the 1940's. Received dvd in super condition and received quickly.

Old War .......2007-01-05

One of John Wayne's better older war movies, great acting my John Wayne and Anthony Quinn.

Back to Bataan.......2005-10-05

Gutsy but intimate filmmaking.......2005-08-08

Average customer rating:

After the Fall of Bataan...
dvd review
Old War
Back to Bataan
Gutsy but intimate filmmaking

Back to Bataan [Region 2]
Starring: John Wayne , Anthony Quinn , Beulah Bondi , Fely Franquelli , and Richard Loo
Director: Edward Dmytryk
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Titles | John Wayne Store | Stores | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00005BICH

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

After the Fall of Bataan..........2007-09-08

dvd review.......2007-05-13

Excellent John Wayne movie from the 1940's. Received dvd in super condition and received quickly.

Old War .......2007-01-05

One of John Wayne's better older war movies, great acting my John Wayne and Anthony Quinn.

Back to Bataan.......2005-10-05

Gutsy but intimate filmmaking.......2005-08-08

DVD:

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