Combat!: Season 4, Conflict 2

I reviewed COMBAT SEASON 4 CONFLICT 1 where I highlighted some episodes of the season. I want to devote this review to only one episode, HILLS ARE FOR HEROES, which I consider to be one of the finest war movies ever made!

Hills are for Heroes was a 2 part episode which appeared late in the season. It is directed by Vic Morrow and you see the beginnings of what might have been a fine directing career. The story centers on Hanley (Rick Jason) who is ordered to capture two hills, both of which are guarded by bunkers with heavy machine guns. Each attempt to take the hills results in failure, and Hanley begins to question his own effectiveness and leadership. A wounded Saunders provides the support Hanley so desperately needs. To compound the problem, Kirby becomes the voice of the squad as he argues about the stupidity of their efforts. He becomes the powerful moral center of the piece as the body count continues to rise.

If you are familiar with the film HAMBURGER HILL (made many years later), then you have a firm comparison on how this COMBAT episode is structured. HILLS ARE FOR HEROES foreshadows what will become commonplace in Vietnam, namely, the inanity of war, and the great expense of lives for meaningless territory.

Rick Jason, and especially Jack Hogan, does some of there best work in this episode, no doubt encouraged by Vic Morrow's capable directing hand. Some of the scenes are simply incredible. For example, one of the soldiers is shown dying through his eyes, and everything spins about him in slow motion. This first person account of death brings the point home, and Morrow handles it well. The scenes of the interior of the bunkers, and the German soldier manning the machine gun are shot at menacing angles. Even quieter moments, such as Kirby touching an exposed plant root, contemplating that this might be the last thing he touches, are expertly handled by Morrow. Besides the great action set pieces, there is time to flesh out the characters, especially the "Green Shirts", or secondary roles.

I know I run the risk of over hyping Hills are for Heroes to the point where you might end up disappointed, but I am so certain you will enjoy this episode, that you will find the purchase of CONFLICT 2 worth it for this episode alone. As I mentioned previously, this two part episode ranks as one of the best war movies ever produced, and it is a lasting testament to the late Vic Morrow and Rick Jason.

Enthusiastically recommended!!

Season 4 is arguably the best of COMBAT!'s five seasons. In Season 4 we find three of the best episodes in the series: The two part "Hills are for Heroes" and "The Leader." The two part episode "Hills are for Heroes" could easily have been a theatrical feature-length film. In another of his directorial efforts, Vic Morrow was able to capture additional emotional dimensions of Lt. Hanley and the rest of the squad.

COMBAT! found its stride during its fourth year. By that time, the stories revolved around the characters rather than adding superfluous misadventures with French resistance and other dramatic vehicles to add fluff to the story. Even though Saunders' squad, and Hanley's platoon, had taken four years to battle their way through France, each episode appears as fresh as if the D-Day invasion had taken place the episode prior.

Earlier I mentioned another great episode, "The Leader" contained in the Season 4 set. For those who have ever been in a leadership position, military or otherwise, "The Leader" encapsulates the leadership challenge when someone is unexpectedly put into a leadership position. In this particular episode, we find that Kirby, normally laziest complainer in the squad, is thrust into a life or death position of authority over his peers. His evolution throughout this episode is common to anyone undertaking the difficult path from supervisor to leader.

Yes, you would not be incorrect in tossing arm chair criticisms at COMBAT! for the non-Norman California countryside, recognizable MGM sets, and un-1944-ish German uniforms. In doing so, remember that this is 1960s television action-adventure at its best. As a kid growing up in the 1960s, COMBAT! locations and sets certainly appeared more like Europe than did our suburban neighborhoods -- where we played COMBAT! Somehow diving for cover behind my dad's car never had the same dramatic feel of Sergeant Saunders doing something similar on an MGM backlot location.

Basically, if you could only see your way to buying a single season of COMBAT!, this is the season to buy. The two Season 4 volumes are still in black and white and have the gritty feel of war movies like HELL IS FOR HEROES, ATTACK, MEN IN WAR, GO FOR BROKE, and BATTLEGROUND.

As an adult, it is unfashionable to run around the neighborhood playing Army. Watching COMBAT! is the next best thing.

....people talk about saving private ryan... granted it was a great film.. but combat did the same 40 years ago.. i have all the dvd's so far, and will continue to but them... they're great.............. hopefully garrison's gorrilla's will become available..

do yourself a favor but combat.... you'll be glad you did..

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