Straight Into Darkness (2004)

Western Europe, 1945. The gentle, thoughtful, and sensitive Losey and the mean, base, and vicious Deming are two radically contrasting American soldiers who desert their platoons during the... See full summary »

Director:

Jeff Burr

Writers:

Jeff Burr (story), Jeff Burr,

Stars:

Ryan Francis, Scott MacDonald, Linda Thorson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Francis	...	Losey
Scott MacDonald	...	Deming
Linda Thorson	...	Maria
James Le Gros	...	Soldier (as James LeGros)
Daniel Roebuck	...	Soldier
David Warner	...	Deacon
Liliana Perepelicinic	...	Anna
Gabriel Spahiu	...	The Lunatic Priest
Rebecca Denton
Nelu Dinu	...	Nelu
Mihai Verbintschi	...	Buchler (as Mihai Verbintshi)
Ion Bechet	...	Sergeant
Iulian Baltatescu
Okan Kayam	...	Darius (as Okan Kaian)
Andrei Dumitrescu	...	Andrei

Storyline

Western Europe, 1945. The gentle, thoughtful, and sensitive Losey and the mean, base, and vicious Deming are two radically contrasting American soldiers who desert their platoons during the final days of World War II. The pair stumble across a ragtag group of orphans who have been trained as ruthless killers. The two soldiers, the orphans, and the two adults who serve as surrogate parents to the children are forced to make a desperate stand against a Nazi tank battalion who have them trapped inside an old crumbling building.

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Plot Keywords:

american | forest | lifting someone into the air | child uses gun | bloody body of a child | 

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Taglines:

In War The Only Glory Is Survival.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

German English

Release Date:

19 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antimetopoi me tin Kolasi

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chuck Williams Productions, Silver Bullet

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan George and Jenny Agutter were also considered for the role of Maria.

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Goofs

Deming smashes up the face of the MP and swaps dog tags so that it will appear that he is dead. However, given that he does not change the uniform or helmet and only places the tags on the body and not around the neck), it is still possible that the body will not be identified as his.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Losey: The world can be a beautiful place. If you just look at it right.

User Reviews

Mediocre "B" war drama saved by action packed ending

This movie is about two American deserters in WWII. Apparently they were court-marshaled for an accident involving a flame-thrower, but not too much is revealed about that, with the exception of the same flash-back annoyingly popping up every 10mins. As they travel the European countryside, not very much interesting happens to them. The two actors are your typical unknown amateur actors who sound like they are reading their lines rather than speaking them. And when the reach a strange orphanage, the story gets weirder before it gets any good.

I thought the direction really wasn't that good, with the exception of the action sequences, which were up to the standard of any other good action director. But the rest left something to be desired. Some movies with small budgets can sometimes pull of really great things, and you are surprised to find out that it was a small budget. This one doesn't and reeks of a B-movie all over it.

If you really love war movies and are desperate for another one, check this one out, I am sure you won't be too disappointed. But the rest of you can pass on this one, you won't be missing much.