MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Haven Kaycee
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
drystyx
This is actually two plots as I remember it.I saw it in the days of antenna TV, when we were lucky if we could make out faces. Antenna TV was why it was necessary to make TV shows and movies (which would eventually go to TV) with very different looking actors, unless it was a plot device to cause confusion.It had a style to it. And I didn't become annoyed by the Ursula character, probably because while the title suggested her character was the forefront, she was actually just the backdrop.Her story about the soldier who may die a virgin, and other soldiers who are constantly near her, is the weaker story here, and is downplayed, despite the title.The strong story, which really became the forefront story, was the one about the loose cannon soldier.The loose cannon soldier dominates the story, especially in a scene where he gives an account of how he destroyed an enemy unit, and is ridiculed by those he gives the account to, until he shows them the proof.It probably would have been a much better film without Ursula in it, although she is talented, and does her best. The fact is that her part is just not really a part of the story here.
taggerez
Yeah, the story is a mess and some of the performances are wacked-out but it has its moments. Has anybody mentioned that Ursula Andress looks grrrrrrrrreeeeat in a wet, white blouse? Derek's films, though lacking coherence, could be visually impressive and this one was ahead of its time with some psychedelic shots that would eventually become tiresome by about 1969. Ron Ely (from Amarillo, Texas) gives a pretty good performance and the U.S. Cavalry uniforms are well done But, Andress is such a dolt that you pray she'll meet a slow and agonizing death. After a low flying Zero strafes a polo match, leaving Filipino corpses strewn about, Miss Andress pouts and whines about needing to take her puppy with her on the long trek to Manila. Pretty boy singer Rod Lauren does his best James Dean and scores with Ursula while the rest of the gang takes out a Japanese tank. Talk about dereliction of duty! Ursula's charms then make him impervious to enemy bullets. As for Richard Jaeckel, I will just have to believe that he was a psycho from the word go."Once Before I Die," you won't understand it but you may love it!
Chris (Asgardian)
It almost defies belief that a movie can be as bad as this one, without it being fun to watch, like any number of Ed Wood films.Put this DVD on if you have unwanted guests, and watch them exit your house, rushing to depart to save whatever sanity they have left.A rotten, lousy waste of time.
frankfob
John Derek has never made a good movie in his life. He's been IN some good ones, but he's never MADE a good one, and there's no better example of his almost complete lack of talent as a filmmaker than this. He takes a potentially interesting story--the guerrilla war waged against the Japanese after their takeover of the Philippines in World War II--and for some reason turns it into a game of who's going to nail Ursula Andress before the Japanese kill everybody. Derek apparently thought that the sight of Andress, his wife (or girlfriend, or whatever she was) at that time, in various stages of undress was enough to draw people into the theaters (it wasn't). Because of that, he obviously paid no attention whatsoever to minor things like having a coherent script, directing the other actors, maintaining a semblance of continuity--trivial matters like that. The only saving grace (professionally, that is) is Richard Jaeckel's performance as a soldier eventually driven insane by the fighting. Jaeckel was always one of the most watchable actors around; he had that cockiness and explosive quality that Cagney had, and no matter how lousy the movie was (like this one), he always pulled it up a couple of notches. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have been able to pull this thing up with a crane. Its infuriating pretentiousness is its main undoing. The dialogue is so Ed Woods-ian in its rambling, nonsensical "what-the-HELL-are-they-talking-about?" absurdity that you finally find yourself wishing that the Japanese would come in, whack everybody and put the cast--and the audience--out of their misery. An absolutely painful experience that makes you wonder, "How in God's name did he get anyone to put up the money to make this thing?" Skip it.