Bitter Victory

"THE DESERT COMMANDO RAID THEY WIPED OFF THE RECORD BOOKS!"

1957 1h 42m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 55

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the second world war, two British officers, Brand and Leith, who have never seen combat, are assigned a vital mission. Their relationship and the operation are complicated by the arrival of Brand's wife, who had a tryst with Leith years earlier.

“THE DESERT COMMANDO RAID THEY WIPED OFF THE RECORD BOOKS!”

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Cast

Richard Burton
Capt. Leith
Curd Jürgens
Major David Brand
Ruth Roman
Jane Brand
Christopher Lee
Sgt. Barney
Raymond Pellegrin
Mekrane
Anthony Bushell
General Paterson
Alfred Burke
Lt. Colonel Callander
Ramón de Larrocha
Lieutenant Sanders

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nicholas Ray
Writers: René Hardy, Nicholas Ray, Gavin Lambert
Languages: German, English, Arabic
Countries: France, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Arabic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nicholas Ray, shot by Michel Kelber. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Maurice Le Roux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Léonide Azar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens and Ruth Roman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "THE DESERT COMMANDO RAID THEY WIPED OFF THE RECORD BOOKS!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nicholas Ray directs. Michel Kelber behind the camera. Maurice Le Roux scores. Léonide Azar cuts. Produced in France, United States of America. Dialogue in German, English, Arabic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

169 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Arabic.
3International production across 2 countries: France, United States of America.
4Directed by Nicholas Ray, shot by Michel Kelber. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Maurice Le Roux. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Léonide Azar shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens and Ruth Roman carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "THE DESERT COMMANDO RAID THEY WIPED OFF THE RECORD BOOKS!".
9IMDB entry: tt0050126 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 55 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michel Kelber
Original score: Maurice Le Roux
Editing: Léonide Azar
Production design: Jean d'Eaubonne
Makeup / hair: René Daudin
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Bitter Victory (1957)

Also by

Nicholas Ray

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2013-12-14
★ 4/10
Deconstructing Machismo. Bitter Victory is directed by Nicholas Ray and adapted to screenplay from the novel of the same name written by Rene Hardy. It stars Richard Burton, Curd Jurgens, Ruth Roman, Raymond Pellegrin, Christopher Lee and Nigel Green. Music is by Maurice Leroux and cinematography by Michel Kelber. It’s a film that has proved most divisive over the years, where some have seen fit to devote in depth studies to it, others have bitingly dismissed it as a stretch to far in pretentious posturing. Personally I found it rather dull, a dreary trudge through the World War II deserts as Burton and Jurgens butt heads because Burton’s character had an affair with Jurgens’ wife (Roman). The pace is purposely sedate, except for the battle sequence that is, so we are left to rely on the skills of the writers and actors to carry us through to film’s end. Burton is good value, he almost always was when he got to brood and pontificate, while Green is his usual irrepressible self. Jurgens, however, is miscast and very uncomfortable with the moody machinations of his character. While the editing is at times awful and a couple of scenes don’t really make sense. Undeniably there is some potency bubbling away in the writing, the deconstruction of machismo and military cynicism angles carry thematic weight, but the film is structured in such a cocksure way it just comes off as being preachy instead of taking full advantage of the emotional core of the characters as written by Hardy. Just because I don’t like the film doesn’t mean it’s bad, as previously stated, many find it fascinating and powerful, but it’s not for me and I feel it’s one of the great Nicholas Ray’s lesser works. 4/10

Production companies