The Forgotten | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vincente Stasolla |
Written by | Vincente Stasolla |
Produced by | Henry J. Simonds Vincente Stasolla Laura Berning |
Starring | Randy Ryan David McMahan Salim Rahman Stephen Kilcullen Malcolm Barrett B. Ouyang Janan Raouf; the dying soldier portrayed by S. Gregory Rudder |
Cinematography | Learan Kahanov |
Edited by | Joel Hirsch |
Music by | Joel Goodman |
Distributed by | Domestic: Emerging Pictures International: KOAN, Inc. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Forgotten is a 2003 American Korean War film directed by Vincente Stasolla and starring Randy Ryan. The majority of the film was shot in Pennsylvania. The film chronicles the story of two tanks that get lost behind enemy lines in the beginning of the Korean War. [1] Facing the crew is an inexperienced commander, the mounting tension between a motley assortment of soldiers, and the general confusion of the "forgotten war" itself. [2]
In October 1950, during a decimating North Korean Army assault, a U.S. Army tank platoon retreats. The remaining two tanks become lost behind enemy lines. Corporal William Byrne, an idealistic, God-fearing young enlistee, becomes the platoon commander after the platoon sergeant dies. Fighting against the unseen enemy and waning esprit de corps, the tanks crisscross the unfamiliar Korean landscape. Death, dissension, and a wounded North Korean PoW test the wills of Cpl. Byrne and crews. Meanwhile, struggling to maintain his faith, Cpl. Byrne escapes the war by remembering his wife and the delusions of his morphine-medicated mind.
The Forgotten received several awards, namely "Best Feature" at the Sedona Film Festival, "Grand Jury Selection", and "Best Narrative Feature" at the Artfest Film Festival.
Writer/Producer Vincente Stasolla has stated that there were several reasons for making The Forgotten. One was the importance of shedding light on the Korean War itself. Though historians consider this particular war less understood and less well-remembered than other wars, its cost in human terms is undisputed:
About a million South Korean civilians were killed, and several million were made homeless. More than 560,000 United Nations and South Korean troops and about 1,600,000 communist troops were killed or wounded or were reported missing. [3]
Stasolla had a personal connection with the war, as his uncle had served. And, he was influenced by seminal filmmakers like Samuel Fuller (The Steel Helmet and Fixed Bayonets), who was well known for making limited budget war movies. [4] David Lean (The Bridge Over the River Kwai) and Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) also influenced Stasolla.
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure.
A Walk in the Sun is a 1945 American war film based on the novel by Harry Brown, who was a writer for Yank, the Army Weekly based in England. The book was serialized in Liberty Magazine in October 1944.
Pork Chop Hill is a 1959 American Korean War film starring Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, Rip Torn, and George Peppard. The film, which was the final war film directed by Lewis Milestone, is based upon the 1956 book by U.S. military historian Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall. It depicts the first fierce Battle of Pork Chop Hill between the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division and Chinese and North Korean forces in April 1953.
The Battle of Osan was the first engagement between the United States and North Korea during the Korean War. On July 5, 1950, Task Force Smith, an American task force of 540 infantry supported by an artillery battery, was moved to Osan, south of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and was ordered to fight as a rearguard to delay the advancing North Korean forces while more US troops arrived to form a stronger defensive line to the south. The task force lacked both anti-tank guns and effective infantry anti-tank weapons and had been equipped with obsolete 2.36-inch rocket launchers and a few 57 mm recoilless rifles. Aside from a limited number of HEAT shells for the unit's 105 mm howitzers, crew-served weapons that could defeat T-34/85 tanks from the Soviet Union had not yet been distributed to the US Army forces in South Korea.
The Regimental Combat Team 31 (RCT-31), commonly referred to as Task Force Faith of the "Chosin Few", is a United States Army unit known for its role in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War where 90-95% of its force was killed, wounded, and/or captured on the eastern side of the reservoir.
The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion conducts amphibious and ground reconnaissance in support of the 3rd Marine Division and Marine Forces Pacific (MarForPac), operating in the commander's areas of influence. The battalion is based out of Camp Schwab, a satellite base of Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler. It is geographically located on the Okinawa Prefecture in Japan.
Einar Harold Ingman Jr. was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Third Battle of Wonju in the Korean War.
Ernest Richard Kouma was a soldier in the United States Army during World War II and the Korean War. He rose to the rank of master sergeant and received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 31 and September 1, 1950, during the Second Battle of Naktong Bulge in South Korea.
Ernest Ivy "Boots" Thomas Jr. was a United States Marine Corps platoon sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism while fighting for and at the base of Mount Suribachi. Two days later he was a member of the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. He was killed eight days after that.
Harold George Schrier was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who served in World War II and the Korean War. In World War II, he was awarded the Navy Cross for leading the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi, where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. In the Korean War, he was wounded in North Korea during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir while commanding a rifle company.
Charles W. Lindberg was a United States Marine Corps corporal who fought in three island campaigns during World War II. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was a member of the patrol which captured the top of Mount Suribachi where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on the island on February 23, 1945. Six days later, he was wounded in action.
William Joseph O'Brien was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II during the Battle of Saipan.
Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck. The cinematographer was Joseph Biroc.
Legend of the Patriots is a remake of the 1975 South Korean drama Comrades. Its production was spawned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. The story centers around the lives of eleven Korean soldiers fighting in the Korean War. Director Kim Sang-hwi remarked that the series is not about the ideologies of South and North Korea, but rather focuses on the struggles of ordinary people who lived through the war.
The Hill 303 massacre was a war crime that took place during the opening days of the Korean War on August 17, 1950, on a hill above Waegwan, Republic of Korea. Forty-one United States Army (US) prisoners of war were murdered by troops of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) during one of the engagements of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.
Screaming Eagles is a 1956 American historical war film directed by Charles F. Haasd starring Tom Tryon, Jan Merlin and, in her film debut, French Miss Universe 1954 runner-up Jacqueline Beer. It was released by Allied Artists.
The Eighth Army Ranger Company, also known as the 8213th Army Unit, was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army that was active during the Korean War. As a small special forces unit, it specialized in irregular warfare. Intended to combat the North Korean (NK) commandos who had been effective at infiltration and disruption behind United Nations (UN) lines, the Eighth Army Ranger Company was formed at the height of the Battle of Pusan Perimeter in September 1950 and was the first U.S. Army Ranger unit created since World War II. The company went into action as a part of the 25th Infantry Division during the UN advance into North Korea in October and November. It was best known for its defense of Hill 205 against an overwhelming Chinese attack during the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River which resulted 41 of the 51 Rangers becoming casualties.
The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army active during the Korean War. As a small special forces unit, it specialized in irregular warfare.
The Reluctant Heroes is a made-for-TV movie and war film set in the period of the Korean War. It was directed by Robert Day and starred Ken Berry, Jim Hutton, Trini López, Don Marshall, Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell and Warren Oates.
The 8th Engineer Battalion is a brigade engineer battalion (BEB) of the United States Army, which traces its history back to 1916. The battalion is based at Fort Cavazos, Texas, as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division.