Fort Graveyard (1965) User Reviews (3)

A Military Jazz Funeral

[boblipton · 6/10 · 10 November 2019]

It's August of 1945 and Japan is still fighting in China. Sergeant Toshiro Mifune is ordered to an advanced position, along with a troop just out of training... as military musicians, although all they seem to want to play is "When the Saints Go Marching In." Mifune is ordered to take that unit, a cook and a gravedigger who spent a quarter of a century as a civilian mortician, and take a fort that has fallen under the control of the Chinese guerrillas.

It's a movie that rocks from farce to satire to deadly combat drama under the direction of Kihachi Okamoto. Learned viewers will recognize the debt it owes to BEAU GESTE, although Mifune is no Lejaune, but a trained professional who cares about the inept musicians in his impossible mission. It's one of many movies that came out about that time about the futility and stupidity of the Second World War to comment on the Viet Nam War. Like most of them, its uneasy mixture of comedy and tragedy do not quite meld, but it's a valiant effort, and it's always good to see Mifune in warrior mode.

Fort Graveyard (1965)

[wolfy-07326 · 8/10 · 31 May 2021]

You cannot help liking the characters in this movie. In the 1960's there were many good films about the absurdity and brutality of war. This Japanese film ranks highly among the likes of the American films Catch 22 and Mash. What a fantastic statement for world peace, which has been ignore by many nations since the first and second world wars, an excellent movie.

Best example of the Japanese war movie industry

[searchanddestroy-1 · 20 October 2012]

I did not know the film maker. I must admit that I am not so used to Rising Sun Country directors. I already saw some war features from this side of the world, in black and white and also in wide screen, like this one. The topic has already been told just above, so I won't repeat it.

A beautiful, poignant and action packed war movie where the characters are fully described and hold you all along this film. A very sad tale too. I know that American film makers and producers would never show us this kind of ending. You can also watch some humorous sequences.

Yes, an unforgettable film which stay in your memory long after watching it. A must see. Even for non war movies buffs.