Inchon (1981)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Robin Moore (screenplay) and
Laird Koenig (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 September 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

LOVE. DESTINY. HEROES. War Changes Everything.

Plot:

A noisy and absurd re-telling of the great 1950 invasion of Inchon during the Korean War which was masterminded by General Douglas MacArthur. |

Plot Keywords:

Invasion | Inchon | Douglas Macarthur | Korean War | General

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Barbara Hallsworth
Ben Gazzara	...	Maj. Frank Hallsworth
Toshirô Mifune	...	Saito-San
Richard Roundtree	...	Sgt. Augustus Henderson
David Janssen	...	David Feld (scenes deleted)
Kung-won Nam	...	Park
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Turkish Brigadier
Rex Reed	...	Longfellow (scenes deleted)
Sabine Sun	...	Marguerite
Dorothy James	...	Jean MacArthur
Karen Kahn	...	Lim
Lydia Lei	...	Mila
James T. Callahan	...	Gen. Almond
Rion Morgan	...	Pipe journalist

Also Known As:

Inchon! (South Korea) (working title)
Oh, Inchon! (South Korea) (working title)

Runtime:

South Korea:140 min | USA:105 min (edited version) | USA:140 min | USA:140 min (premiere version)

Country:

South Korea | USA

Language:

English | Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Inchon, South Korea

Company:

One Way Productions

Trivia:

Was never released on home video or DVD.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film is supposed to take place at the beginning of the Korean War in 1950 even though the extras in the press room scenes all have late-1970s clothing and haircuts.

Quotes:

[opening title card]
Titles: This is not a documentary of the war in Korea but a dramatized study of the effect of war on a group of people. Where dramatic license has been deemed necessary, the authors have taken advantage of this license to dramatize the subject.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Weirdsville (2007)

A bit of Anti-Communist Agitprop

I recall the one weekend that this movie was in theatrical release. I was on a first date and there were absolutely no date-worthy movies playing. A bunch of well-dressed students (whom I later guessed to be Moonies)were lined up to see this one. Upon investigation I saw the producers were raffling off a Rolls Royce to all who bought a ticket. "Ooohh," she said. "Wouldn't it be fun if we won a car by going to see a movie?" OK, so I relented.

In retrospect even if we had won the car it wouldn't have been worth it. It wasn't even laughably bad. It was just pathetic, watching Sir Laurence's career spiraling down the money pit. Just a few short months after watching him flounder in "The Jazz Singer," here he was with an inch of pancake makeup spouting religious homilies.

It was a time when MacArthur was out of favor and the Cold War was in full swing, so the Reverend Moon was determined to use the latter to rectify the former. I am certainly not an expert on the military history of the Korean War so make no claims as to its historical accuracy. But with the over the top moralizing here I sat there knowing I was being manipulated, brainwashed, whatever.

And, on cue, the proselytizing for the Unification Church began as soon as the final credits rolled.

Uck, what a sickening experience. I never went out with her again.

Fortunately Sir Laurence rebounded shortly after with Clash Of The Titans and a few other not-quite-so-bad performances on made-for-TV movies so we aren't stuck with this as the last impression of this great actor.