MovieChat Forums > The Execution of Private Slovik (1974) Discussion > Slovik got a raw deal IMO

Slovik got a raw deal IMO

posted 18 years ago by ShelbyTMItchell
13 replies | jump to latest

If you ask me, after seeing this film, Eddie Slovak got a raw deal in the end.
Why with being a criminal did he get bumped from 4A to 1A?
That confuses me as he shouldn't had been in the army to begin with!
If it was that bad, maybe he should had been drafted
But the war was about to end though!
In the movie, they said when he was getting married to Antoinette, that it was unlikely due to being a criminal and being sure about it, that the government couldn't tough him with a ten foot poll since he was 4A.
Sad but true that his widow fought to the end to clear his name!
Until her own death in 1979!!

[–] Colin-Linda 16 years ago

Yes, that was the point of this excellent film.

[–] oh_Lilibet 16 years ago

His story is sickeningly sad.

He was killed along with criminals who had raped and killed people!

He was buried in France till 1987, when his body was finally sent back home!
How many years after his wife's death!
Till then his name was not even on his grave, it was in some type of coded number system, that the Government would not make clear to their families!

His criminal record was very clear, was the Army that desperate!?
Since Slovik was killed along with solders who raped and murdered, I was wondering were they drafted criminals as well!?

I was also wondering about his burrial.
How can they do that?
They got their *beep* up power trip and killed the guy, why couldn't his family at least have his body back!?

[–] ShelbyTMItchell 16 years ago

They were sadly trying to make
Names for themselves and poor Slovik
Despite his past, may have had to serve
With other criminals who raped and murdered.
His past was a cakewalk compared to those that
Really deserved to die for much, much, more brutal crimes.

[–] Boogie_Knight 16 years ago

Some people are just mentally and constitutionally unable to be combat soldiers. Slovik was one. He just have just been tranferred to a non-combat duty. There were many jobs like that. Hell, have him scrub latrines back in the States for the rest of the war.

Yes, he got a very raw deal.

[–] linguist1967 16 years ago

I agree.

Learn a language, serve your country www.nationallanguageservicecorps.org

[–] Kram99 15 years ago

He should have just shot himself in the foot..

[–] nelson95 12 years ago

I'm sure you can understand why the army couldn't grant his request and transfer him to non-combat duty. If they did that for him, they'd have to do it for everyone else who didn't want to be in the front lines. Eventually there would be no one left to do the fighting!

[–] TheWanderingFish 12 years ago

So force him into a situation that he doesn't want to be in, and then, when it turns out that he can't handle it, say that you can't help him "because then we'd have to do it for everyone." Better to let him die then to risk damaging discipline in the troops. Terribly impersonal and dehumanizing - individual beliefs and personalities don't matter, only discipline matters - but also a great excuse for anything you want to do. "You see, he's in a uniform so we can kill him for being terrified."

But you're right - it does make since from a discipline standpoint. The bigger problem is that any system that requires innocent people to die (and yes, he was innocent, regardless of whether he was a coward or a criminal) is evidence that the system is broken. That you forced him into a uniform isn't enough to justify any inhumanities you can perpetrate against him.

I suppose on a clear day you can see the class struggle from here

[–] nelson95 12 years ago

Unfortunately the problem here is that war is not designed to be fair, even handed or humanitarian--it's a struggle for survival! It is the most malignant scourge of mankind!

[–] chrissso 8 years ago

Well said WanderingFish!!!

[–] marktayloruk (2378) 2 years ago

Why shouldn't criminals make soldiers? I'd have thought being a good soldier and a good villain required some similar qualities.

[–] bluejaybird12 14 years ago

Forcing anyone to do anything against their will is wrong to me. Period.

[–] marktayloruk (2378) 3 years ago

Why are criminals barred from the army? I'd have thought that the qualities making for a good soldier and a good villain weren't dissimilar.