Rating: 
Summary: Gung Ho!
Review: Some movies really don't age well.GUNG HO! is a creaky old warhorse. It tells the story of the Second Marine Raider Battalion from its formation shortly after the Pearl Harbor to its first mission, a raid on Makin Island. The battalion is a volunteer outfit, so the first question the movie asks of its young stars is "Why do you want to kill Japs?" The Kentucky hick and the Brooklyn toughie and the ordained minister all pretty much say the same thing - because I don't like them. The film follows the recruits through training and graduation to deployment and finally battle, with a short detour for a sloppy little romantic subplot. GUNG HO!, released in 1943, is based on actual events. The Marines' successful raid was big news back in those bleak days.
This is more a curiosity, a study of the value of propaganda on public morale, than a historically accurate document. Some of its inconsistencies are pretty jarring, though. For instance, Colonel Thorwald (Randolph Scott), the commander of the battalion, gives an inspirational speech at the beginning of training. He exhorts his men to "Cast out all prejudices, racial and religious," and learn to act as a, well, band of brothers. The men may have taken it to heart, but you can't help but notice there are NO people of color, save for a Filipino volunteer, in the unit. The only African-American in the whole movie is a cook on the transport submarine. It probably wasn't noticed when the movie was released, but it does seem a little ironic now.
Col. Thorwald delivers a few more "Some of us are going to die for democracy and freedom and equality" speeches, which are set in stark contrast with the behavior of the Japanese defenders. Fighter pilots laugh as they strafe ground troops. A badly wounded GI, begging for water, is brutally bayoneted by a Japanese soldier.
If you like standard issue war movies, I guess you'll like GUNG HO! Be warned, though. On the cover of the dvd case it looks like Robert Mitchum is pictured next to Randolph Scott, and it seems like they're co-starring. Mitchum has a relatively minor role in this one, much smaller than those played by the likes of Alan Curtis and Noah Beery, Jr.
And the dvd appears to have been transfers from a handy print. There are splotches and splashes and scratches throughout the whole thing. A bargain bin purchase at best.
Rating: 
Summary: Interresting War Propaganda Film.
Review: This is first and foremost a WWII Era War Prop movie. It was made when the war in the Pacific was going bad for America and the U.S. wanted to boost morale back home. Therefore expect the Americans to be Brave, Intellegent, etc. One of the interresting things to note is the positive focus on China. If you are interrested in History it is worth reviewing but this is not Pearl Harbor. Enjoyable film but not one of the must owns. Eroc
Rating: 
Summary: A guilty pleasure if you love B & W war movies!
Review: When I was very little I watched this for the first time and thought it was one of the greatest war movies ever made. Now I see it for what it is: a corny yet patriotic propaganda relic from the 1940s. It was one of Robert Mitchum's better early roles before becoming a star with his oscar-nominated performance in "The Story of G.I. Joe", and Randolph Scott does a good job as well. The movie is based on the true story of the "Gung Ho Battalion"-the 2nd Marine Raider commandos, led by Lieut. Col. Evans Carlson, who raided the Japanese base at Makin Atoll as a diversion to the U.S. landings on Guadalcanal. The movie has typical cliches of Hollywood war movies of the era, like a soldier pulling the pin from a grenade with his teeth, but this movie is very entertaining. As for picture quality when looking for this on dvd, I don't know which company offers the best picture quality. As for the best bargain, however, You cannot beat American Home Treasures "Legendary WWII Movies" dvd, which cost only a few bucks and includes this movie as well as "Go For Broke!" and "The Immortal Battalion", all enjoyable despite the poor picture quality. If you want to seperate the facts from legend, then I suggest you read George W. Smith's book "Carlson's Raid".
Rating:
Summary: Standard-Issue World War II Propaganda
Review: While watching this film, it may help to remind yourself not to view it through 21st Century eyes. This was made for consumption by a nation at war and, in war, soldiers must dehumanize the enemy in order to kill him. This is what made the casual racism of this and other films of the period (the enemy is referred to as "Jap" and "monkey") acceptable to the general public at the time. Today's audiences may (and should) find the references repugnant.
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