A unit of US national guardsmen go out on weekend manurers and whilst there they incur of the wrath of local Cajuns which leads to a battle for survival against an unseen , cunning nd ruthless foe
This is the type of premise that appeals to director Walter Hill . His 1979 controversial thriller THE WARRIORS had a similar type of plot about a New York gang trying to seek sanctuary through a hostile land and 20 year later he made another similar thriller TRESPASS about two protagonists fighting for their lives in a decaying urban landscape against a violent street gang . It should also be remembered that Hill was the co-screenwriter of ALIEN and we all know the story to that one . In short Hill is an auteur who makes movies about individuals trying to survive against a hostile foe in an uncaring environment
Everyone seems to have picked up on the allegory of the Vietnam war which is hardly surprising since it's impossible not to escape the parallels . Even the opening caption of " Louisanna 1973 " ties in with the conflict . Why does the story have to be set in 1973 ? Absolutely no reason whatsoever except this was the year that the last American combat troops left the country leaving behind 58,000 dead compatriots and adds to the subtext of the narrative
I've got to be honest and state that the allegory is in my opinion overdone and while watching it I was left with the distinct impression that someone somewhere in the production team wanted to make a straight forward war thriller set in 'Nam , a sort of American version of THE LOST PATROL but decided that the budget wouldn't stretch to this . This might explain why the inciting incident seems rather weak . Would this misunderstanding lead to the death of somebody and the fall out connected with it exist in real life ? You can understand it if the story was taking place in the jungles of South East Asia but not Cajun territory in the USA
This is the weak point of the film and the lack of conviction spoils it somewhat. I had memories of SOUTHERN COMFORT being a gritty violent compelling thriller but most of the running time I found myself thinkingwhy I thought it was so great after seeing it many years ago . The reason it was so fondly remembered is because it was a truly great ending where the last two surviving guardsmen find themselves in a friendly village only to find their nightmare hasn't finished aftera ll . Walter Hill builds up the tension via the use of editing and music in the last ten minutes in a way rarely seen except from the best American film makers
In summary SOUTHERN COMFORT is a memorable thriller due to it having a very good ending . Elsewhere it's not so good because the audience are being bludgeoned by a very unsubtle subtext and the audience needing to suspend disbelief in order for the film to work which stops it from achieving true greatness
This is the type of premise that appeals to director Walter Hill . His 1979 controversial thriller THE WARRIORS had a similar type of plot about a New York gang trying to seek sanctuary through a hostile land and 20 year later he made another similar thriller TRESPASS about two protagonists fighting for their lives in a decaying urban landscape against a violent street gang . It should also be remembered that Hill was the co-screenwriter of ALIEN and we all know the story to that one . In short Hill is an auteur who makes movies about individuals trying to survive against a hostile foe in an uncaring environment
Everyone seems to have picked up on the allegory of the Vietnam war which is hardly surprising since it's impossible not to escape the parallels . Even the opening caption of " Louisanna 1973 " ties in with the conflict . Why does the story have to be set in 1973 ? Absolutely no reason whatsoever except this was the year that the last American combat troops left the country leaving behind 58,000 dead compatriots and adds to the subtext of the narrative
I've got to be honest and state that the allegory is in my opinion overdone and while watching it I was left with the distinct impression that someone somewhere in the production team wanted to make a straight forward war thriller set in 'Nam , a sort of American version of THE LOST PATROL but decided that the budget wouldn't stretch to this . This might explain why the inciting incident seems rather weak . Would this misunderstanding lead to the death of somebody and the fall out connected with it exist in real life ? You can understand it if the story was taking place in the jungles of South East Asia but not Cajun territory in the USA
This is the weak point of the film and the lack of conviction spoils it somewhat. I had memories of SOUTHERN COMFORT being a gritty violent compelling thriller but most of the running time I found myself thinkingwhy I thought it was so great after seeing it many years ago . The reason it was so fondly remembered is because it was a truly great ending where the last two surviving guardsmen find themselves in a friendly village only to find their nightmare hasn't finished aftera ll . Walter Hill builds up the tension via the use of editing and music in the last ten minutes in a way rarely seen except from the best American film makers
In summary SOUTHERN COMFORT is a memorable thriller due to it having a very good ending . Elsewhere it's not so good because the audience are being bludgeoned by a very unsubtle subtext and the audience needing to suspend disbelief in order for the film to work which stops it from achieving true greatness