El sargento York

..SGT.YORK...yeah, it was released during WW2,to help the war effort, but it was a true story of the backwoods young man who really did not want to to go to war..and kill others in combat, which at first got him in some trouble.... But, did become a true hero and earned an Oscar for star Gary Cooper. The BEST part of the movie is before..York is drafted and first decides to hide in the hills ...Ward Bond, Walter Brennen are just two favorites that play important roles. The beautiful outdoor scenes in wonderful black and white, in the first of the film is unforgettable along with the fun and realistic setting of York's pursuit of his future wife and a piece of farm land,and the troubles he encounters before...going to war. Another 194O's classic with a lot of heart and soul, along with lots of entertainment value!.

Many of the best films have portrayed real-life events -- and Sergeant York is no exception. Gary Cooper as Sergeant York delivers an Oscar-winning performance as a Tennessee hillbilly who, for personal and religious reasons, doesn't want to kill anyone and refuses to join the war on the Western Front in WW I. After much soul searching, he eventually dons a uniform and ships out to France. Using uncanny marksmanship skills acquired from years of living in the back woods, he prevents his platoon's position from being overrun by the enemy by methodically mowing down a few dozen German soldiers. One of Sergeant York's secrets to shooting accuracy is wetting down his sights with a bit of saliva to prevent glare. He emerges from the war as a hero, marries his favorite girl, moves into a house given to him by the State of Tennessee as a symbol of their gratitude, and lives happily ever after. Great stuff, and all true. A stunningly moving film that everyone should see.

Gary Cooper was the ultimate American hero, a gentle giant whose humble charm and subdued sex-appeal exuded no less than humility and decency. Sure there was Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck, but Coop was the 'folk', the everyday man every American could relate to while still admiring him. He wasn't the man you better had as a friend but the one you couldn't picture as anything but one.

And all throughout his career, he'd portray nice and decent fellows that would incarnate American values during times they were much need: the Great Depression and war. Today, Cooper is still the only actor who has three characters featured in the AFI Top 100 "Heroes and Villains", all heroes of course. There is Lou Gehrig from "The Pride of the Yankee" and "Sergeant York" and Will Kane from "High Noon", for which he won his two Oscars for Best Actor. And his role as "Sergeant York" in Howard Hawks' movie of the same name, released at the war fever's peak, is known for having prompted many viewers to enlist. I guess that's what you call "inspiration", one of the good sort.

I often mention Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" and how its commercial success also stirred a wave of hostile comments and even violent actions against Arabs. I wouldn't dare to make comparisons between the two real-life figures played by the two Coopers, however, it's interesting to see that the two films that praised American values and the pride of belonging to a 'great' country and even portrayed men who didn't exactly "enjoy" their heroism, elicited different reactions, which reveals a sort of double-edged sword nature in patriotism. And "Sergeant York" is nothing but a patriotic movie.

The first act notably is a continuous exaltation of the good book's teachings as well as the frontier spirit. It opens in some shackle town over the hills of Tennessee with Pastor Pie (Walter Brennan) struggling to make his voice heard while men outside ride horses and shoot at trees. One of these hell-raisers is Alvin York, apart from his marksman skills he's a good-for-nothing hillbilly in your typical overalls, the son of a widowed mother (Margaret Wycherly) struggling to ensure their impoverished family a living. Anyway, something is just lacking in his life and booze sure doesn't look like the right answer.

Comforted by the pastor's words, he tries to give his life a meaning and spend sixty days of hard-labor to earn enough money to buy his fiancée Gracie (Joan Leslie) a land. Basically, the whole first act shows (none too subtly) the coming to a realization of a man that being skilled with his hands isn't enough. On a stormy night, he's stuck by a bolt of lightning and has an epiphany, he joins the church and sings along with the folks. "Gimme that old time religion". Whatever Hawks' stance about religion is it does portray it with as much fervor as the brandishing of the American flag, a country built by pioneers, as if both were sides of the same American soul's coin.

I gather the film is showing this American soul as something deeply rooted in the natural environment and if it wasn't for the pioneers, the homesteaders who tamed the wilderness, America wouldn't have been the same, the Bible just kept them away from turning wild between themselves. That's a way of figuring it, and while I'm not American, I guess "Sergeant York" does justice to these values, maybe too much as sometimes, the grandstanding poses with the mystical cinematography and Max Steiner's religious themes were so insisting it flirted with propaganda. Brennan was good (despite these damn distracting eyebrows) but I wish the film didn't sanctify Wycherly who played every single scene with heavy-handed solemnity, and not the warmth of Jane Darnell's Ma Joad.

The film wonders too much in the realm of religious quests and such that by the time the war sequence starts, we have the feeling it's all these values that made York get rid of the German machine-gun nest and arrest more than a hundred of prisoners by himself rather than simple bravery. It sure owes a lot to the way his hunter instinct played and the tragedy of watching his comrades getting shot, but the film did such a good job as portraying as a simple man working by the book, that never is the simple fact that he was a man with guts and courage brought up without carrying religious or patriotic undertones. It's got to be about the flag, the book and the upbringing in good old Tennessee.

"American Sniper" had the same frustrating tendency to insist on one man's righteousness, starting with flaws that never fooled. At least "Sergeant York" had the merits to highlight the moral conflict within a man who didn't want to kill but could find the answer in the Bible, you know what they say about rendering to Caesar. And because the man questioned that before, because it was Cooper, and because there was something truly honest about him, I could accept its preachy moments. Besides, I have a hard time believing that destiny or God didn't move in mysterious ways indeed when they waited for one month before the end of the conflict to give York a chance to shine and become one of the most decorated and celebrated military heroes of American history.

I just don't want to believe that it all has to do with belonging to a certain country or a certain religion. This review is written one hundred years exactly after the end of that deadly conflict, on November 11th, 1918. None of my ancestors died in this conflict (not to my knowledge) but this review is respectfully dedicated to all its victims, civilians and soldiers, French, American, British, German... from the "Sergeant Yorks" to the cowards.

The authentic portrayal of mountain life, an honorable protagonist portrayed by a great actor in his finest role, hard decisions in the time of war mixed with a healthy dose of levity, not to mention an outstanding supporting cast are just a few of the reasons why this film has always been my favorite movie. I am aware that this was a WWII propaganda film but I'm just idealistic enough that I buy the whole package.

"Sergeant York" is my favorite classic movie. Gary Cooper stars as Sergeant Alvin York one of the most revered hero's in World War I. The movie takes you through his life from the days when he was a lot less responsible. When he drank a lot and had a short fuse, but ends when he become a hero of the war. The black and white picture enhances the beautiful cinematography in the film. Keep in mind most of the film revolves around his life before the war and so you get to see a lot of the fantastic scenery.

Gary Cooper won himself a well deserved Oscar for the film, but there were some other fine performances in the film. Walter Brennan, the star of almost 200 other films, plays York's small town Pastor, Rosier Pile. Young Joan Leslie plays the part of Gracie Williams who later marries York. Then there is Ward Bond in one of his many films (Over 250 of them I believe). Now a little for the trivia books. Cooper was 41 when he made this film and Leslie was only 16, but this is fairly consistent with the true ages of York and Gracie when they were beginning their relationship. So the film tries to be very accurate and honest. You won't find that in a modern film.

If you have not seen "Sergeant York" then you have yet to see one of the most touching films of all time. It is as much an attention holder today as it was back in 1941 and makes an excellent Memorial Day film which is in fact the best time to try and catch it if you happen to have cable and some of those classic film channels.