MovieChat Forums > The Purple Heart (1944) Discussion > Who's voting here?

Who's voting here?

posted 19 years ago by pabloquema
16 replies | jump to latest

This is tangential to the film, but I'm driven to ask who's actually voting for the usefulness of the reviews that are posted? I visited this page yesterday and found a brief, ill-considered bit of drum-banging masquerading as a critical piece; it verged on the racist ("makes you want to drop another bomb on them", "the Japanese were a cruel lot, aren't they", and so on) and yet 2 out of 2 votes for it were positive. I return today and find rss2's critique, which is intelligent and reasonably objective and does a good job of placing the film in its context as a propaganda piece with some obvious artistic merit, and discover that 2 out of 4 votes have been against this review. Obviously, I myself voted against the former and have now voted for the latter, but who is it that's lauding the dumbtalk and dismissing the reasoned thought? Howay, people, switch your brains on before you start clicking, will you?

As a footnote, I rather like this film; it remains wartime propaganda, though, and should not be used as an excuse to applaud the killing of civilians by ANY side.

[–] bredbenner 18 years ago

THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS IS A HAZZARD OF WAR.THE JAPS SLAUGHTERED THOUSANDS OF CHINESE. THEY DESERVED WHAT THEY GOT.

[–] pabloquema 18 years ago

Don't shout at me, Ave. And don't contradict yourself. If the killing of civilians is a hazard of war, then what the Japanese did to the Chinese has no bearing on any question of "desert".

And learn to spell. You sound like an idiot.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 18 years ago

I liked "Zombies of the Stratosphere" more; now that's a terrific war movie!

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

[–] diamondgroup 18 years ago

Another perfect example of revisionist history, and that the present day actions of governments reflect on what we were facing in 1944, when this film was released. Since the National Non-Education Association has banned American history from the public un-schooling system, I notice that the younger posters have little or no knowledge of WWII , and what America was facing. Yes ,this is war time propaganda, that you consider rascist. The last I remember the Germans and Italians were Caucasians.Have you seen any nice Nazis or Fascists portrayed in movies of this period? Have you ever seen how the Chinese were portrayed during this period? They are portrayed as generous, loyal, self sacrificing, brave, and caring. Hardly rascist epitaphs, are they? I wonder what color the Chinese are? Does the fact that the Japanese were a brutal enemy have anything to do with it?
Could it be that the Japanese were depicted as brutal, because they were? Why don't you check out the official Communist Chinese view (certainly not a tainted American view) on Japanese war atrocities, like the Rape of Nanking, and the biological experiments (including outright germ attacks on the Chinese civilians) in Harbin. Ever hear of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Bataan Death March, and the live surgical experiments on our captured B-29 pilots? Did you ever read about our prisoners in the Phillipines, or is that more drum banging? Did you know that an Allied prisoner had a twelve times better chance of survival as prisoners of the Nazi? Ever looked at some of the pictures of those survivors? Drum-banging?
These were not the same guys who make the Toyotas, my friend. This was a brutal, militaristic society, based on ancient codes of Bushido. You probably don't know this, but Japan was not a signatory to the Geneva Convention. Downed pilots from the Doolittle Raid wer placed on trial, and some were executed, as the movie depicts. This was fact, not drum banging.

"Richard's in good hands, Robin. The best in England."

[–] akagi_2 18 years ago

The movie was a piece of crap, but what do you expect from a propaganda piece made in 1944 during the war?

First there was the mistakes. On the cell wall for example there were three Chinese characters (which in Japanese are known as Kanji). It could loosely be translated as no talking. I don't think this phrase would have been written like it was. Then the court scenes, the judges looked more like those from a Qing Chinese court than Japanese judges in 1942. And then there was the ridiculous scene when there was the announcement of Corregidor falling and the Japanese were shown as almost as being maniacal and then of course the fencing breaking out in the middle of the court. And what as the purpose of the pro-Japanese white woman as a member of the international press corps?

In short, a total piece of garbage. I understand its purpose which was to rise the anger against the enemy, but still it was a piece of crap. The only redeeming feature was the end when they played the Air Corps hymn, that was stirring, but on the whole it was garbage.

Some films should be burned--this is one of them.

[–] einsteinfile 17 years ago

The Kanji character were written as pictured in the film....the jail was in China and the Japs had written it as such on the prison cells. As to if the judges looked more Chinese than Japanese, well, they were actors portraying the Jap judges..there seemed to be a dearth of Jap actors working in the States during the days the film was made. Why do you say it was ridiculous when the Japs acted 'maniacal' after hearing of the Fall of Corregidor? Ever seen wartime, Jap wartime footage, of the Nipponese forces after some sort of victory and yelling "Banzai"...or hearing of their glee (documented in contemporary accounts) in seeing how many Chinese civilians could be cut through with a single slice of a Jap soldier's sword, at one time....living civilians, no less! Were all Japs then very prudent and inhibited in their actions....all of them acting so reserved etc? No, of course not. Maybe a few of those observors in the courtroom cleared their throat, or smiled sweetly or whispered a 'well-done' in response to the news of Corregidor....yeah right, maybe, just maybe!
Also, were there NO pro-Japanese white women in the foreign press corps....how about the Germans, or one of their conquered, satellite countries sending a member from their media? That's such a blanket statement, although, true, how could any well-thinking person, white or any other race at that time be pro-Japanese?!! The inhabitants of the lands they conquered and subjugated clearly were not pro-Japanese. If they foolishly were at first, after a few days/months of Jap occupation and treatment of the races they deemed inferior (meaning, to the Japs, any race other than Japanese---yes, they were racists, believing themselves as the pure white race...yes, that actually was the case, they believed that) no one would be found to be pro-Japanese...an oxymoron, then, at it's best!
As for this film raising the anger against the Jap enemy, well it was wartime-propaganda, positive, as well. Although it was held up six months after filming was completed, and after the Japs had murdered the American Doolittle fliers, due to it maybe being a bit too incendiary. Anyhow, just basic news reporting, survivors' account of the meaning of the Japs' treatment of their prisoners, of war, and otherwise, was enough to raise any sort of anger/outrage against the Japanese. There was no way things, such as the Bataan Death March, the Rape of Nanking, the Jap prisoner of war camps etc could be sugarcoated or presented in a positive light. These, and many more of the Jap atrocities are still banned to appear in any sort of Japanese school books - too too horrific, I guess, as these events are certainly true. Now, that's the truth, isn't it! You say the film is a piece of crap and should be burned; do you feel that same about books that you also classify as 'crap'? Well, book-burning sure has been done before, too. Remember history....that is, of course, if that chapter is in your books!

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jstachler 17 years ago

I voted this film a 10. Banzai!!!

Or perhaps I should say shikkan!!!

[–] chrissso 8 years ago

Seriously ... that dancing with the swords things was completely ridiculous. Perhaps it passed in 44 but in 2016 I thoughts WTF???

[–] marktayloruk (2375) 2 years ago

Do critics know what the Japs did in China or to POWs? I only regret that we didn't have a lot more A bombs a lot earlier.

[–] TyronePoweristhebest 16 years ago

Beautiful piece of writing Diamondgroup! I agree with everything you say.

[–] timbob-478-937623 8 years ago

You are correct, youngsters in the Public School System have no knowledge of not only who fought for whom during WW II, but are clueless as to the difference between The Revolution and The Civil War, and I'm reminded of this glaring lack of erudition by simply watching Watter's World once a week on Fox. The only answer can be that most Liberals seek to teach so they can spread their Socialist viewpoints to young heads full of mush who by the way are far too interested in Angry Birds and sexting than to pick up a book and learn about the history of the greatest nation on earth, and the Greatest Generation which stopped The Third Reich, not to mention the sacrifices made by all Americans, civilians or military during WW II. Liberal teachers use textbooks, oddly most are printed in Texas which I still don't understand, that devote one paragraph to Lincoln but two chapters to Clinton. But then, that is their agenda.
Things won't be getting any better vis a vis under Obama who is more concerned with getting marijuana laws expunged in all the Blue States, but then he also admitted in his book that he and his all-white posse (from the pictures) liked to smoke dope everyday and he also admits to using coke which by the way is still a felony in all 50 states. And he's treated these last 7 years not protecting the Constitution as he swore to do but instead as using his time to usher in some grand social experiment. Instead of putting a man on the moon he's more concerned with putting a man in the little girl's room. Only 232 days left in his experiment and then hopefully Mr. Trump will take it upon himself to teach today's youth what it means to uphold the Constitution, and he'll prosecute all of the lawbreakers of the last two terms, and I mean every one of them, and prosecute every person in this regime responsible for the (so far) 139 Unconstitutional Acts committed.

[–] boneman4 15 years ago

I was a kid during WW2,and believed I saw every wartime movie that was made then. Somehow,I don't remember this one,and it was so unique that I should
have remembered it.Now 65 years later, one can look at it a bit more rationally and in a cooler demeanor.Of course it was propagandistic,but the attitude in our country was much different than today.There were no anti-war protests,and probably any such events would have been considered traitorous.I'm sure that in the minds of the Japanese one could even have made a case for their expansionism.In truth, there are no "just" wars,yet in the period of human existence,we as a (human)race have not yet evolved to a point where we can eliminate the necessity of warfare.We should however as Americans realize that we have been fortunate to be part of a country that in spite of its many faults has been a positive force in the world,We should be proud of our heritage and understand that in the evolution of our country many unfortunate actions were necessary.We are still a young nation,and now live in a world much more dangerous and treacherous than ever.Only the prevalence of rational thinking
will allow the human race to continue to exist.In spite of the stereotypes,I found this a very interesting production.

[–] elskootero-1 12 years ago

Firstly, you need to watch the film. Secondly, you need to read about an event that took place between 1939 and 1945; it was called WORLD WAR TWO! Thirdly, before you attack someone, get your facts straight! My Uncle Ben was a Japanese prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945, and over a period of 38 years, I would listen to him and some of his POW buddies that he played poker with talk about their experiences, and they all bore out the claim that the Japs were a cruel, sadistic race during the 1930's to 1945, when it took dropping TWO, not one but TWO Atomic bombs on them before it seeped through their thick skulls that ending the war might be a good idea. Then, all of a sudden, it was ;Who US?! What we do??" They don't even teach World War Two in their schools. Their history books come up to 1940, the mysteriously jump to 1946, and go on from there. They also conveniently don't mention the horrors they caused in the South Pacific from 1928 to 1945 either, yet they were the first nation to jump on the bandwagon to DEMAND reparations for the monetary losses of the Japanese Nationals living in the US who were placed in the internment camps during the war, which were paid, by the way. Yet the Japanese have NEVER apologized to ANY nation for the atrocities they comitted. And if you don't think so, ask someone about Camp 731, where experiments were made on Asian innocents that made Josef Menegeles' projects look like Sesame Street. If your going to rap someone, get your facts straight first!

[–] michaelannamarie 7 years ago

This is one of my favorite war movies. I don't find it offensive to the Japanese and I am a Liberal. While it is a fictionalized depiction of the Doolittle Raid, the events that happened to these poor POWs have been GREATLY sanitized. A movie couldn't be made, even today, that showed the torture that these men and many others endured at the hands of the Japanese. A society that approved of torture, starvation, slave labor and cannibalism deserved the beating that it took during the war. True, this was a vastly different society than it is today, but it is fact. Don't judge the Japan of today by the Japan of the war years, but don't pretend that these atrocities never happened. The filmmakers were actually more in tune to these acts, as they had first hand knowledge by some of the survivors.

It's very easy to pooh-pooh this type of film today because the lines were so boldly drawn. The bad guys were really bad and the good guys were really good. But that's the way it was. We cant ignore history. We must embrace it. That's the only way we can ever learn from it. IMHO