They fear neither death nor the devil
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | They fear neither death nor the devil |
| Original title | Lost Command |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1966 |
| length | 129 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Mark Robson |
| script | Nelson Gidding |
| production | Mark Robson |
| music | Franz Waxman |
| camera | Robert Surtees |
| cut | Dorothy Spencer |
| occupation | |
| |
Lost Command ( Lost Command ) is an American war film from the year 1966 . Directed by Mark Robson , the screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding based on the novel The Centurions ( Les Centurions ) by Jean Lartéguy .
action
The by Lt. Colonel Pierre Raspeguy, commanding the French paratroopers' unit, experienced the defeat of Đi Bin Biên Phủ in French Indochina . After imprisonment and the subsequent armistice, the soldiers return to their homeland. The Arab officer Mahidi, who comes from Algiers , goes to his family and sees how his younger brother is shot for having painted "Indépendance" ("Independence") on a house wall. After his parents' company was destroyed by the French, he joined the resistance. Raspeguy, a former shepherd, now a man in his fifties, is not given a new command because of several violations of discipline. He tries to get back to work and uncritically takes on an unpleasant assignment in the flare-up struggle for independence in Algeria. To do this, he gathers his former officers from Indochina, who now lead a civil life. Among them, Phillipe Esclavier is the only one who refuses to fight just for the sake of fighting. But Raspeguy persuades him.
In Algeria , Raspeguy is confronted with a lack of cooperation and incorrect information from the local administration and is increasingly resorting to unauthorized actions. He blackmailed a mayor with the knowledge that the weapons used by the insurgents came from the armory of the city authorities in order to secure the use of a helicopter. Although the mayor demands that the guards be set up in every settlement, Raspeguy prefers to block the mountain roads of the region and look for the insurgents. In one of the settlements, the French residents are killed - as Rasperguy suspects, by the Arab farm workers who then fled to the rebels.
The alleged robbers who Rasperguy is supposed to neutralize with his new unit turn out to be well-armed and militarily operating guerrillas , commanded by Mahidi. Three soldiers from Raspeguy's unit are ambushed and brutally killed by a Mahidi's assistant. This happens right outside the gates of the village of Rahlem. Without further investigation, Capitaine Boisfeuras takes bloody revenge on all male villagers. Esclavier tries to hold him back, which he fails.
When Raspeguy found out about this, he condemned the massacre, but still used it as a warning to the locals. He does not hand Boisfeuras over to the military tribunal and thus puts himself under pressure to forestall requests from the generals by means of further successes .
After it became known that an ammunition transport was on the way, which would considerably strengthen the forces of the rebels, Raspeguy is supposed to unauthorized place the city of Algiers under martial law in order to find the headquarters of the resistance organization. He has concerns, but is put under pressure by the responsible general with the Rahlem massacre.
In Algiers, Esclavier is involved in a love affair by Aisha, Mahidi's sister, and abused to smuggle detonators through the controls in Aisha's handbag. Esclavier distanced himself more and more when he saw his comrades extorted confessions under torture and obtained through informers, and he realized that Raspeguy not only tolerated this. Under time pressure, he illegally confiscates the police files and interrogates a number of citizens, always in the hope that the victory will prove him right. Aisha is also arrested, who reveals the whereabouts of his troops to Esclavier on the condition that Mahidi is not killed.
Once there, Raspeguy's unit embarks on the final battle. For the sake of victory, Boisfeuras rushes soldiers through a bottleneck, where they are hit in rows. Raspeguy abuses a Red Cross helicopter to attack the insurgents from behind. Eventually, contrary to the Boisfeuras agreement, the wounded Mahidi is shot. Raspeguy justifies this in turn with the military success, whereupon Esclavier quits the service. In the closing sequence, Raspeguy, Boisfeuras and the rest of the unit are awarded medals, while Esclavier leaves the place alone and in civilian clothes. He is delighted to see the inscription "Indépendance", which is laboriously wiped off one wall, being painted again around the corner by a boy on another wall.
Reviews
Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times on September 15, 1966 that the historical background was merely lip service. The film, with its shootings, raids, Vietnamese, Arabs and political intrigues, could keep all viewers wide awake who are not historians. Claudia Cardinale is probably the prettiest spy, if not the best actress in the film.
The lexicon of international film wrote that the film was technically above average and masterful in staging the crowd scenes . He left out a drawing of the political context and exhausted himself in showing gruesome carnage , which made him a questionable persistence film with a pro-French touch .
The Evangelische Film-Beobachter comes to a similar assessment : Unfortunately, to a far greater extent a persistence film than a serious discussion of the Algerian conflict as such. This affects interest in the strip and requires good judgment.
backgrounds
The film was shot in Spain , including Madrid . In France there were around 4.3 million cinema viewers.
The figure of Lt. Colonel Pierre Raspeguy refers to the French General Jacques Massu , the commander of the 10th Parachute Division , which in September 1957 in the Kasbah of Algiers in the " Battle of Algiers " (Bataille d'Alger) successfully against the fighters of the FLN had fought and for this was awarded the honorary title "Hero of Algiers" by the French in Algeria .
literature
- Jean Lartéguy : The Centurions. Roman (original title: Les Centurions ). German by Werner von Grünau . Verlag der Europäische Bücherei Hieronimi, Bonn 1961, p. 576.
Web links
- Lost Command in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Lost Command at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A film review by Bosley Crowther, accessed September 25, 2007
- ↑ You fear neither death nor the devil in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed September 25, 2007
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 422/1966
- ^ Filming locations for Lost Command, accessed September 25, 2007
- ↑ uk.rottentomatoes.com, accessed September 25, 2007
- ↑ Box office / business for Lost Command, accessed September 25, 2007