ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

janewashington88 An interesting new site has declassified information on blackmail and Korean POWs and discusses this film: http://www.koreanconfidential.com/koreanpowfilmnoir.htmlDirector John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate was the best but not the first to explore the issue of U.S. POWs in the 1950-3 Korean War. During the war, Americans had been stunned when many U.S. prisoners collaborated with their communist captors; issued false confessions to germ warfare; and even, in 21 cases, chose to stay behind in China rather than return home. What happened during the war and when the prisoners returned inspired its own sub-genre of Cold War Noir. How realistic were The Manchurian Candidate and these other firms -- and today's hit show Homeland? Click the poster to the right to find out.Check out some of the best, or at least most interesting, Korean War POW movies below. Click on the posters below for more info and view the trailers (you need flash).Don't miss the Bill Dumas documentary on unreturned Korean War POWs.And for perhaps the best actors in Korean War POW movies, see the bottom of this page.One last thing: if you like modern espionage and spy movies, see the films Shiri and JSA in the left column. ...intense noirish thrillers from the new wave of Korean film.

MartinHafer In the 1950s, actor Khigh Dhiegh created a niche playing evil Chinese or North Koreans who were experts at psychological warfare and evil! While he was wonderful to watch and made a great recurring villain on "Hawaii Five-O" and made appearances in the original "Manchurian Candidate" (playing essentially the same sort of fun-loving guy), few would have realized that he had no Asian blood whatsoever! Despite his evil chubby Fu Manchu-like look, he was actually an American-born guy with North African roots! Despite this, I really, really loved watching him every chance I got--and I was excited to see him in a small part in "Time Limit". Quite simply, he was great at being bad! This film is set just after the Korean War. A Major (Richard Widmark) has been assigned to defend a Colonel (Richard Basehart) who is being tried for aiding the enemy. It seems that while in a prisoner of war camp, Basehart was forced to make anti-American statements which were used as propaganda. Why would he do this--especially since he was a good officer?! Perhaps the evil Khigh Dhiegh found some way to brainwash Basehart. Unfortunately, they don't know because Basehart won't talk--and Widmark is having a devil of a time trying to defend a man who won't help himself. So, despite his client's wishes, he wants to dig deeper and interview a variety of people to get to the heart of it.Overall, the film is very well-acted and the plot takes a very interesting turn near the end. Tune in to this one and see for yourself--it's worth seeing.

JerryPH This is a fantastic piece of work. To start things off, the casting is superb with Richard Basehart, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam, Rip Torn, June Lockhart, and Carl Benton Reid. The editing and cinematography are sharp, crisp, and electric. This was filmed in black & white, and I am convinced that color would have ruined the tension which is present throughout the whole movie. What really makes this movie work is the top-notch directing of Karl Malden (the only movie he ever directed). What I absolutely do not understand is why this excellent film is not available for purchase. If you ever get a chance to see this movie, DO SEE IT! Request this film. Maybe one of the movie channels will show it.

herbqedi I had seen Time Limit three times before, always greatly admiring and appreciating the taut court-martial drama. I find it unfortunate that Malden never took another director's turn after such an impressive debut. The acting and direction still hold up well with tour-de-force performances by Basehart and Widmark. These are complemented nicely by dead-on portrayals by Carl Benton Reid, Rip Torn, Martin Balsam, and Yale Wexler as far less humane military characters. Dolores Costello and June Lockhart also give strong performances.But, the reason I write this today is to comment upon how timely Time Limit is to today's POW controversies. In this regard, I consider the 1962 film "the Hook" with Kirk Douglas almost as a companion piece. The questions are the same. How far should a soldier suppress his humanity in the name of the Army Code? How accountable should a soldier be held who defies the code in order to act in accordance with his conscience? How accountable should a soldier be held who obeys orders later judged to be inhumane? All these are central issues in wake of the recent Abu Gharib controversies. Time Limit does an excellent job of examining these dilemmas and convincing those of us who weren't already convinced that there are no easy answers. War, by its nature, is an inhumane activity, ordered by humans and executed by humans who to accomplish their orders must deny within themselves subjugate the very humanity that gives each of us his or her purpose in life. Time Limit and The Hook both provide thoughtful and fairly objective examinations of the issues involved.Time Limit has always been worth watching. Its renewed relevancy just makes it even more so.