Free Download The Battle

Free Download The Battle

Union soldiers march off to battle amid cheering crowds. After the battle turns against the Union Army, one soldier runs away, hiding in his girlfriend's house. Ashamed of his cowardice, he finds his courage and crosses enemy lines to bring help to his trapped comrades.
In the days of '61 how many of the brave soldiers were urged to deeds of valor and heroism by thoughts of "the girl he left behind." This story tells of the transforming of a pusillanimous coward into a lion-hearted hero by the derision of the girl he loved. The battle takes place outside her home, and he, panic-stricken, rushes in, trembling with fear, to hide. She laughs in scorn at his cowardice and commands him to go back and fight. Her fortitude inspires him and he manages to rejoin his company before his absence is noticed. Ammunition is low and somebody must take the hazardous journey to procure more from another regiment, which he volunteers to do. This undertaking cannot be adequately described, for the young man faces death at every turn. The most thrilling part of his experience is where the opposing forces build bonfires along the road to menace the powder-wagon.
Sweethearts Charles West and Blanche Sweet have fun at an 1861 dance; then, he and the other men, including Robert Harron, are off to fight for the Union, in the Civil War. Women and children cheer the departing throng - but they don&#39;t get far, as the war rages just outside town. In the first conflict, Mr. West becomes panic-stricken, and goes AWOL. He runs home to Ms. Sweet, scared witless. Sweet is somewhat crazed, herself, and practically throws him out; obviously, she is ashamed of her boyfriend. Luckily, he manages to gather his wits, and return to the front before he is missed. He goes just before being discovered by wounded Union Commander Charles H. Mailes, who arrives at Sweet&#39;s home to recuperate. On the battlefield, West gets a chance to prove himself, after a tragic event… <br/><br/>Though less than twenty minutes long, this is an &quot;epic&quot; film. The cast of extras is very large; memorably, many of them march by (presumably) G.W. Bitzer&#39;s camera as they go off to war. Cheering crowds, and warring soldiers, are all over the screen. &quot;The Battle&quot; is one of the better early films directed by D.W. Griffith. The battle sequences are excitingly staged; and a stagecoach ride thrills. The story of cowardice during wartime is bold; Griffith had just explored the theme with &quot;The House with Closed Shutters&quot; (1910; but, in that instance, Walthall&#39;s &quot;cowardly&quot; character had been drinking heavily; West&#39;s character is truly stricken by fear. Charles Ray would play a similar coward in 1915.<br/><br/>West and Sweet get a chance to emote… and, over-emote. The total lack of understanding Sweet shows West is a little hard to understand; it looks like she may have been playing a little &quot;mad&quot; herself. Probably, Griffith was directing the two to express some extra craziness for entertainment value. Harron is at his usual best. Familiar faces include Donald Crisp as the Union soldier first in line, to the left, when West joins up; and, look for Lionel Barrymore steering the stagecoach just after Harron expires on the battlefield. <br/><br/>****** The Battle (11/6/11) D.W. Griffith ~ Charles West, Blanche Sweet, Robert Harron
Battle, The (1911) <br/><br/>*** (out of 4) <br/><br/>A Union soldier (Charles West) loses his nerve during his first big battle and runs of to his girlfriend (Blanche Sweet). She, embarrassed by him being a coward, throws him out so to regain his dignity he decides to cross enemy lines and rescue a couple friends (one played by Robert Harron). This is perhaps Griffith&#39;s best known Civil War short because the word &quot;epic&quot; belongs here even though the films run under twenty-minutes. While the stories might be the most important thing to many war shorts from the director that&#39;s not the case here because God knows how much money they spent on the battle sequences, which feature hundreds of extras as well as some pretty explosive scenes. The battle scenes are certainly the main reason to watch this and you could say these were a blueprint of what we&#39;d eventually get in The Birth of a Nation. West turns in a very good and believable performance as a young boy who simply doesn&#39;t know how to handle the situation he&#39;s in. Sweet on the other hand has a strange character to deal with because of how wildly she goes when throwing her boyfriend out. You might also want to look closely for a young Lionel Barrymore playing the wagon driver.

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