Rating: 
Summary: Deep thoughts and lots of surprises
Review: The movie was well paces and had just the right people to play the characters. It was fun to watch how Alvin (Gary cooper) suddenly and progressively alters his look on life. He gives meaning to "I see the light".
I appreciated the scene where he is in on the mountain contemplating the dichotomy of life and defense. It has the same feel as in the movie "The Razors Edge" where Tyrone Powers contemplates being one with God.
Later it was fun to see how Alvin applied his turkey target skills. And asking people to take a few prisoners off his hands.
This is one of those movies that can use repeated viewing,
Rating:
Summary: What it's all about
Review: Sergeant York is the best movie of all times. It shows the simple life of an American and what American values we use to have and would still like to have. The story shows how a man became humble and came to believe in God. It shows a love story with his family and girl friend. A man that was caught between good and evil. How he struggled with right and wrong and the decision he made was perfect. He had to kill to keep people from being killed in a war. The language of the Kentucky hill people was great. I enjoyed this movie over all other movies that I own.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie/great man
Review: Although there were more than a few details of this movie that were not accurate, overall it is a wonderful piece. The stereotypical back-hills Tennessee accents were perhaps a bit much, but the real Alvin York didn't seem to complain when the movie was made (although he did chastize Gary Cooper for being photographed for a publicity shot holding a cigarette, something York would never do).
The story is of a rough-necked young mountain man who finds religion right before WWI and then struggles with his conscience as to whether or not he can kill and still live up to his Christian ideals. Well, God was on his side as he became an international hero (quite by accident) then went home. the movie ends there, but I would also recomend reading a recent biography of York to see what a truly extraordinary man he was. He wouldn't capitalize on his fame to make money, and he used what little he did have to try to build schools to bring education to the rural hills of Tennessee.
Alvin York is one of the greatest examples of an American hero that we have, not because of his actions in war, but because of his actions in peace and his devotion to God, His country, and his neighbors.
Rating:
Summary: AN OSCAR FOR GARY
Review: Alvin C. York is a rough and tough, sharp-shooting farmer living in Tennessee's Valley of the Three Forks, who gets "religion" in his own way. He hates no one and, when drafted for service in WWI, registers as a conscientious objector..........The role was Cooper's personal favourite, not just because it won him an AA, but rather because "I was portraying a good, sound American character". The film has all the flavour of true Americana, the blunt and homely humour of backwoodsmen the raw integrity peculiar to simple folk. Coop's performance is one of extraordinary versatility and conviction. Whether he is being the gangling hell-raiser of the opening sequences, the hard-working fanatic of the middle portion or the shrewd fighter of the Argonne section, he is always utterly right in the part. It's a completely persuasive characterization; Cooper dominates the film with his quiet sincerity, which is enhanced by his moments of blazing action. Cooper ALSO won the New York Film Critics award for this performance and William Holmes won an Oscar for his superb editing; in addition, there were an incredible NINE additional nominations!! Margaret Wycherly is excellent as York's simple, devout mother (she received an best-supporting actress nomination). SERGEANT YORK was 1941's top - grossing film and Cooper was the year's top money-making actor (he had also done MEET JOHN DOE and THE WESTERNER during 1941).
Rating:
Summary: The perfect film to watch each and every Memorial Day
Review: Gary Cooper was 40 years old when he made "Sergeant York," and his Southern accent is weak at best, but those things do not end up detracting all that much from his performance or this film. Directed in 1941 by Howard Hawks, "Sergeant York" has strong propagandistic elements. A whiskey-drinking hell-raiser, Alvin C. York undergoes a religious conversation when lighting strikes his gun and almost kills him. His goal in life becomes getting himself a piece of bottom land so he can propose to Gracie Williams (Joan Leslie). Things go against him, but Alvin holds his temper and does what the Good Book tell him to do. Then World War I breaks out and Alvin is drafted. Unable to get status as a conscientious objector because of his religious beliefs, Alvin has to come to terms with the obligations of citizenship versus the dictates of scripture. The film is surprisingly even handed in showing Alvin debating the matter with his superiors. In the end he comes to the only conclusion possible for men of conscience forced to go to war: killing is justified to save lives.On the Argonne Forest battlefield Alvin, made a corporal because of his marksmanship, becomes a hero when his unit is trapped and he single-handedly kills 25 and captures 132 prisoners. Called the "greatest civilian solider of the war" by General Pershing, York received the Medal of Honor, France's Croix de Guerre, and basically every high medal the Allies could bestow upon him. But while the film does a first-rate job of showing York's heroic exploits, ultimately it is more about the man that the solider. Cooper's sense of dignity is well-suited to the role, which gives more weight to York's life in the hills of Tennessee than to the war in Europe. What he learned back home clearly stands Alvin in good stead on the battlefield. The supporting cast of "Sergeant York" is truly outstanding, with George Tobias as "Pusher" Ross, Ward Bond as Ike Botkin and Robert Porterfield as Zeb Andrews. Both Walter Brennan as Pastor Rosier Pile and Margaret Wycherly as Mother York received well deserved Oscar nominations in the supporting category. Brennan marvelously underplays his role as Alvin's spiritual leader while Wycherly is simply the anchor for the entire film. Mother York says little and moves slowly, but everything comes out through her eyes. The scene where Alvin finally gets home from the war and sees his mother at the train station is especially touching: his face lights up completely and her "I'm right glad to see you, son" is the equivalent of other people crying and screaming for joy. In addition to Cooper winning his first Oscar as Best Actor, William Holmes receives one for Film Editing. This is one of those movies I never get tired of seeing and it remains the ideal film to watch on Memorial Day.
Rating: 
Summary: Not just your average "gung-ho" war film.
Review: Gary Cooper gives an Academy Award-winning performance (Best Actor, 1941) as Sergeant Alvin C. York, a Tennessee hell-raiser-turned-pacifist Christian-turned-war hero. York's journey toward immortality (he won the Medal of Honor for his actions in France) began with a drunken brawl in a Kentucky tavern, and ended when he single-handedly captured 132 German soldiers on the fields of Flanders during World War I. The acting in "Sergeant York" is fabulous. Cooper is simply superb as the reticent, conscience-stricken York. He is ably supported by Walter Brennan as his pastor, Rosier Pile; and Joan Leslie as his girlfriend Gracie. "Sergeant York" is much more than just a "gung-ho" war film; it explores with great sensitivity and relevance (even by today's standards) the eternal human conflict between personal beliefs and public responsibilities. In my book, this will always rank as one of the greatest films ever to come out of Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: Give me that old time religion!
Review: Gary Cooper's first Academy Award winning performance (his other award was earned from "High Noon") is in one of the most memorable films to come out of Hollywood. World War I had been one of the most unpopular wars ever fought by the United States. Even though President Woodrow Wilson promised to keep the country out of the war, the pressures to enter were just too great. Even near the war's conclusion in 1918, uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict was quite prevalent; the United States was in need of a hero to keep the morale up. This film is based on the true life story of Alvin York, a Tennessee native who at first objected to his induction into the army due to religious beliefs. This gifted sharpshooter played a significant role in helping to win the war for the Allies. This film has everything needed to be a cinematic classic whose popularity will endure for generations to come.
Rating:
Summary: A great classic movie!!
Review: This movie is based on a real life story about a man who is saved by Jesus Christ and then goes off to war. Unlike the war movies made today, the plot revolves around the man's faith in God, (which might be why they never show this movie on the networks, although its a classic). Sergeant York gets saved in a church after being struck by lightening, and after he is saved he is drafted, and spends time reconciling doing what Christ commands with killing people during time of war. (This isn't an easy thing to reconcile, and perhaps especially for a newly saved person, even if most movies act like its nothing.) After reading the bible however, York finds the answer, and goes to war, becoming one of America's great heroes, and in the end, he and his future wife are greatly blessed by God. If all this sounds too heavy, it isn't. Sergeant York is from Tennessee and the movie is actually quite light hearted. I also enjoyed hearing the hymn 'Give me that Old Time Religion'. One of my favorite movies, and worth getting if you are tired of the trash they put on tv, and want some films with Christians in them.
Rating:
Summary: The true message is often lost on the viewer
Review: I give the movie 5 stars simply because I think the true message of the movie, which is often lost on viewers is good. This is a movie about how the United States government allowed bully men to completely disallow one mans religious belifs as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. It shows how a young man Alvin York is threatened should he not give up his anti-killing, anti-war views. For Quakers and other pacifists, the movie is a sad example of how the United States Constitutional protection, of the minority view, has and probably still is often ignored and even denounced. This young man wasn't being asked to defend his own country the United States of America, but was being forced to go to a foreign land and fight their war. The movie is pure war propaganda. The ONLY saving grace is that Sergant Alan York seems to be allowed to keep what little dignity i.e. humblness he may have had before he was sent off to kill. He craves returning to his simple life and avoiding the hype that post wars often bring. Gary Cooper is a great actor, and I have seen and enjoyed many of his movies. And I also remind myself that when this and most war movies were made that they were propaganda tools and that people were living in different times. Just hope we learn from the past.
Rating:
Summary: How wonderful!
Review: I was not familiar with this movie when I decided to watch it one day on Turner Classic Movies. When it was over, I sat there astounded at how great it was and that I had never heard of it before. It uplifts the soul to watch a movie like this. I highly recommend this treasure to all.
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