Comments on: In for the night: The Siege Drama on Film

By: Ben Martin

Ben Martin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:56:19 +0000

Another stunning siege movie worth mentioning (under the category of a non-seige movie that climaxes in a major seige-a-thon) is FIEND WITHOUT A FACE. Also, one of my top ten films of all time (why doesnt Dustin Hoffman ever discuss this epic in his career retrospective interviews) is STRAW DOGS – based on the novel Siege at Trenchers Farm. “I will not allow violence against this house.” OH YES: and what about THE KILLER SHREWS? That’s the film where i learned how to make an impentetrable fortress out of an overturned oil drum.

By: Larry B

Larry B — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:42:23 +0000

Great blog, Richard. I’m a sucker for a siege from way back. Already ordered CHUKA–thank you for that, and I’m going to read your review after I watch it. ZULU might just be THE siege masterpiece. For remembering the Alamo, I go to Republic’s leaner THE LAST COMMAND, only because that’s the one I grew up with on TV (and it has some pretty visceral action I must say).

Nice to see Gordon Douglas’ other siege film ONLY THE VALIANT mentioned. It surprised me when I first saw it for its very early use of a squib/blood bag. And I think no siege discussion is complete without mentioning the excellent, and mega-grim, BATAAN, another violent film for its time. It’s interesting to trace its lineage from THE LOST PATROL, which led to some fascinating reimagings, like BAD LANDS, SAHARA (two versions) and LAST OF THE COMANCHES (stagecoach for tank).

Also worth mentioning: THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA (1989), a kind of Alamo set in Vietnam.

By: TCM’s Classic Movie Blog

TCM’s Classic Movie Blog — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:09:21 +0000

[...] mention the other day in a post about siege movies of the forgotten 1967 western CHUKA prompted some interesting inquiries from readers who had never [...]

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:28:51 +0000

While not literally a siege movie, a good modern film which depicts a cop and his prisoner fighting a squadron of New York’s finest is Bruce Willis’ movie, “16 Blocks”

By: Jerry Kovar

Jerry Kovar — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:10:39 +0000

If you’re a fan of the “siege on the cavalry fort” sub-genre, as I am. Check out ONLY THE VALIANT with Gregory Peck as the hated officer who commands a deserted fort to defend a mountain pass from ticked off Indians. Neville Brand and Lon Chaney Jr. are two of the cavalry men with a vendetta against Peck. Unusual setting makes this a very effective, over looked western. Another is GUNS OF FORT PETTICOAT where cavalry officer Audie Murphy must defend the fort from assorted villains with a handful of hardy women with varying emotional issues. Good stuff.

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:24:11 +0000

A fine list, RHS, and no, you're not the only person who remembers Chuka fondly. As a big fan of the roller coaster career of director Gordon Douglas(Them!, The Detective, Between Midnight and Dawn, among many others)--as well as Rod Taylor's sometimes mysterious career choices, such as they were, this Western remains one of my slightly guilty pleasures. Btw, the propping up of the bodies appears in all versions of Christopher Wren's Beau Geste, (even Marty Feldman's 1977 parody, The Last Remake of Beau Geste). The sequence is truly haunting each and every time. Another siege mentality movie that you might like is Guns at Batasi (1964), about a British colonial outpost caught off guard during the transition from colonialism to nationhood by a coup d'etat that hems in all the visitors and soldiers in a dicey situation, where they proceed to stew in the juice of their own prejudices and human foibles. A couple of fine portraits are created in the course of the movie by Richard Attenborough as a British NCO who is also a martinet of the old school and Flora Robson as a liberal politician.

By: Marty McKee

Marty McKee — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:22:08 +0000

Nice call on SIEGE. The cropped video print I saw does the film no favors and probably contributed to the biggest problem I had with SIEGE, which is that you don’t get a very good sense of the physical layout of the building with its various staircases, drainpipes, skylights and secret panels. It’s quite a suspenseful film with a fine leading-man turn by Nardini, a once-busy actor who didn’t do much film or television in the 1980s, but he probably should have.