Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageDeath of a Soldier (1985)
Director: Philippe Mora
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Edward Leonski (Brown) was the first American soldier to be sentenced to death by a US military tribunal in World War II, convicted for the murder of three women while stationed in Australia. His motive, as he told his defence counsellor Major Dannenberg (Coburn) was a need to possess the women's 'voices'. The American military, seeking to defend their reputation, responded to public outcry by prosecuting Leonski themselves, while Dannenberg pushed to save the soldier's life with an insanity plea. Mora uses the trial in an attempt to examine the fragile relationship that existed between Americans and Australians during the war, and to demonstrate the need for due process of law. But sadly for any intelligent treatment of these issues, the film concentrates on the depiction of the murders and the manhunt which ensued, with Melbourne presented as an outrageous Frat party for the GIs, while Coburn struggles with stilted dialogue and what would seem to be an inordinate amount of starch in his jockeys.Author: SGo
Cast & crew
Director: Philippe Mora
Producer: David Hannay, William Nagle
Cast: James Coburn, Reb Brown, Bill Hunter, Maurie Fields, Belinda Davey, Max Fairchild full cast
Duration: 96 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now