University of Virginia Library

Suicide Mission

The plot deals with a suicide
mission during the second world
war, in which an American is sent
to help a British operation in the
south Pacific. The mission does not
go off as expected and the men find
themselves in a dangerous position
while fleeing back to their base.

What makes the film interesting
I think is the subtle anti-war
attitude projected by Cliff
Robertson and Michael Caine. If
anything, they become two men
trapped in a bottle, concerned only
with getting out and saving their
lives. The Japanese pursuit of them
is extremely incredible, but Aldrich
pulls it off and we find ourselves
believing every minute of the film.

In addition to the clever story,
which is by Aldrich, the direction is
also very good, especially during
the latter half of the film. There are
some very interesting shots from a
composition standpoint, one of
them occurring when a grenade
goes off and as the smoke lifts we
see one, then two, then three
Japanese, until the screen is filled
with about ten of 'em, as rays of
sunlight pierce the smoke.