Clearly, Academy Award winning actor Burt Lancaster must have gotten along well with director Sidney Pollack because they made two films together: "The Scalphunters" (1968) and "Castle Keep" (1969), and Pollack contributed to the one in between, "The Swimmer," that Lancaster appeared in for director Frank Perry. A one-eyed U.S. Army commander, Major Abraham Falconer (Burt Lancaster of "Elmer Gantry), leads a squad of eight soldiers, consisting of three officers, two sergeants and three enlisted men soldiers into the Ardennes Forrest in 1944. They billet in a breathtaking 10th century castle in Belgium on the eve of the historic Battle of the Bulge. The dry humor comes through the dialogue that cleverly undercuts each situation or predicament that our protagonists encounter. If fantastic photography guaranteed that a movie would be artistically great, "Night of the Generals" lenser Henri Decaë would make this the rule rather than the exception. His widescreen cinematography is a consistent treat for the eyes, and the pictorial compositions are well-balanced and imaginative.
Director Sidney Pollack and scenarists Daniel Taradash of "From Here to Eternity"(1953) and David Rayfiel of "Valdez Is Coming" (1971) adapted the novel by David Eastlake. "Castle Keep" emerges as a surrealistic World War II action epic. Major Falconer and his men defend the castle tenaciously against an onslaught of German troops and armor. During the first half of this 107-minute movie, castle owner Count of Maldorais (Jean-Pierre Aumont of "The Siren of Atlantis") welcomes Major Falconer, Captain Beckman (Patrick O'Neal of "El Condor"), Lieutenant Amberjack (Tony Bill of "Ice Station Zebra"), Sergeant Rossi (Peter Falk of "Anzio"), Sergeant DaVaca (Michael Conrad of "Sol Madrid"), Corporal Clearboy (Scott Wilson of "In Cold Blood"), Private Allistair Piersall Benjamin (Al Freeman, Jr. of "The Lost Man"), and Elk (James Patterson of "Lilith") to the castle. He hopes they will defend it from the enemy. Principally, Maldorais wants them to save his works of art and hopes the virile Major will get his classically gorgeous wife, Therese (Astrid Heeren of "Silent Night, Deadly Night"), pregnant because the count is impotent and requires a male heir.
After the Americans settle in, Falconer warms up the master bedroom with Therese; the soldiers head into town to the Red Queen brothel, and Rossi befriends the widow of a baker (Olga Bisera of Women in Cell Block 7") and starts kneading dough. Captain Beckman presents lectures about the artworks in the castle. Not surprisingly, Beckman was a published art historian. Falconer rides into town and shows the prostitutes how to design Molotov cocktails and then throw them at German tanks when they enter town. The funniest scene involves Corporal Clearboy and the Volkswagen beetle that he finds on the premises. Late one night, two G.I.s decide to destroy the VW bug. They push it into the moat. The bug floats, so they shoot at it below the waterline to sink it. Corporal Clearboy awakens to the sounds of gunshots and scrambles for the stairs. A fellow soldier tells him to take the shortcut through another door. Clearboy opens the door and steps out onto air. The door opens on the moat and the corporal plunges into the moat. He swims to the VW, cranks it up, and cruises it up onto dry land. The second half concerns the castle defense and a brief but explosive battle with tanks blasting away at the architecture as well as the Americans concealed behind it.
Despite its pretentious, cool attitude toward warfare, "Castle Keep" qualifies as a traditional war movie, but it is far from conventional. The action boils down to a desperate siege with no hope in sight for relief. Indeed, some of the best World War II era films dealt with gallant last stands, such as "Wake Island," "Bataan," and "China." The Germans constitute a faceless enemy. Pollack keeps them at arm's length, so we have no reason to hate them. The Americans represent a cross-section of the United States, and they are basically good guys who love to loaf until they get a caught. Major Falconer is a straight-up guy who does not lord it over his men. Nevertheless, despite its handsome production values, sensational photography, this World War II movie rarely generates any suspense because it the Americans are not portrayed in a sympathetic light, and everything seems arbitrary. The performances are all good. Lancaster delivers a tight-lipped, no-nonsense performance as the disciplined commander with a purposeful manner. Pollack invests very little sentiment when the characters die. None of the Americans receive historic treatment. The sight of the castle burning is hypnotic. One of the most iconic character actors of the 1960 thru the 1980,perennial villain Bruce Dern is a ragged deserter who leads a religious sect. You can tell that "Castle Keep" is an anti-war movie because it refuses to glorify warfare. The problem with "Castle Keep" is that it doesn't have enough sarcasm to be a satire, and it lacks the outlandish exuberance in its combat sequences to be a warmongering classic. Interestingly, "Castle Keep" fails to measure up to its own-or perhaps Beckman's--definition of good art. According to Beckman, great art must disturb and awaken its audience. Sadly, "Castle Keep" doesn't disturb us enough to awakens us.
Director Sidney Pollack and scenarists Daniel Taradash of "From Here to Eternity"(1953) and David Rayfiel of "Valdez Is Coming" (1971) adapted the novel by David Eastlake. "Castle Keep" emerges as a surrealistic World War II action epic. Major Falconer and his men defend the castle tenaciously against an onslaught of German troops and armor. During the first half of this 107-minute movie, castle owner Count of Maldorais (Jean-Pierre Aumont of "The Siren of Atlantis") welcomes Major Falconer, Captain Beckman (Patrick O'Neal of "El Condor"), Lieutenant Amberjack (Tony Bill of "Ice Station Zebra"), Sergeant Rossi (Peter Falk of "Anzio"), Sergeant DaVaca (Michael Conrad of "Sol Madrid"), Corporal Clearboy (Scott Wilson of "In Cold Blood"), Private Allistair Piersall Benjamin (Al Freeman, Jr. of "The Lost Man"), and Elk (James Patterson of "Lilith") to the castle. He hopes they will defend it from the enemy. Principally, Maldorais wants them to save his works of art and hopes the virile Major will get his classically gorgeous wife, Therese (Astrid Heeren of "Silent Night, Deadly Night"), pregnant because the count is impotent and requires a male heir.
After the Americans settle in, Falconer warms up the master bedroom with Therese; the soldiers head into town to the Red Queen brothel, and Rossi befriends the widow of a baker (Olga Bisera of Women in Cell Block 7") and starts kneading dough. Captain Beckman presents lectures about the artworks in the castle. Not surprisingly, Beckman was a published art historian. Falconer rides into town and shows the prostitutes how to design Molotov cocktails and then throw them at German tanks when they enter town. The funniest scene involves Corporal Clearboy and the Volkswagen beetle that he finds on the premises. Late one night, two G.I.s decide to destroy the VW bug. They push it into the moat. The bug floats, so they shoot at it below the waterline to sink it. Corporal Clearboy awakens to the sounds of gunshots and scrambles for the stairs. A fellow soldier tells him to take the shortcut through another door. Clearboy opens the door and steps out onto air. The door opens on the moat and the corporal plunges into the moat. He swims to the VW, cranks it up, and cruises it up onto dry land. The second half concerns the castle defense and a brief but explosive battle with tanks blasting away at the architecture as well as the Americans concealed behind it.
Despite its pretentious, cool attitude toward warfare, "Castle Keep" qualifies as a traditional war movie, but it is far from conventional. The action boils down to a desperate siege with no hope in sight for relief. Indeed, some of the best World War II era films dealt with gallant last stands, such as "Wake Island," "Bataan," and "China." The Germans constitute a faceless enemy. Pollack keeps them at arm's length, so we have no reason to hate them. The Americans represent a cross-section of the United States, and they are basically good guys who love to loaf until they get a caught. Major Falconer is a straight-up guy who does not lord it over his men. Nevertheless, despite its handsome production values, sensational photography, this World War II movie rarely generates any suspense because it the Americans are not portrayed in a sympathetic light, and everything seems arbitrary. The performances are all good. Lancaster delivers a tight-lipped, no-nonsense performance as the disciplined commander with a purposeful manner. Pollack invests very little sentiment when the characters die. None of the Americans receive historic treatment. The sight of the castle burning is hypnotic. One of the most iconic character actors of the 1960 thru the 1980,perennial villain Bruce Dern is a ragged deserter who leads a religious sect. You can tell that "Castle Keep" is an anti-war movie because it refuses to glorify warfare. The problem with "Castle Keep" is that it doesn't have enough sarcasm to be a satire, and it lacks the outlandish exuberance in its combat sequences to be a warmongering classic. Interestingly, "Castle Keep" fails to measure up to its own-or perhaps Beckman's--definition of good art. According to Beckman, great art must disturb and awaken its audience. Sadly, "Castle Keep" doesn't disturb us enough to awakens us.