A Time to Love and a Time to Die

source: A Time to Love and a Time to Die

It is so obviously easy to recognize here the Erich Maria Remarque's signature. This film offers every minute of its length to show how war is useless, horrible, the fight against the enemy lost in advance. This is definitely a propaganda, anti war film, beautifully done, because of the Doug Sirk's talent, but with no shade at all. Showing the German pacifist side offers less risk than to show real fighters on the front, under the enemy bombs, as the film industry will do later with DAS BOOT. I also prefer DIE BRÜCKE, made one year later or even STALINGRAD - 1993. Also German features. This film is very well documented about many details that only historians know. For instance, after killing civilians in cold blood ( partisans) in Russia - which was very often on the Eatstern front - the soldiers who participated to the fire squad were offered a bottle of vodka. And it shows very well how, in Germany, simple poor men could rapidly become powerful if they became members of the Nazi party. Watch out the scenes between John Gavin's character and his long time friend, a workless dude who suddenly gained much power - district leader. I was amused by the fat German soldier who talks about his wife, at home, waiting for him, a 200 pounds fat wife whom he was waiting to meet again. But once at home he did not recognize her because she lost weight, and because of that, this idiot decided to forget her.... The amusing thing here is that this fat soldier did not lose weight on the front, despite the food deprivation....ha ha ha.

Not your typical Douglas Sirk subject matter here, at least on the face of it. Based on a book by celebrated novelist Erich Maria Remarque, best known for "All Quiet On The Western Front", it uncommonly takes as its subject a German soldier granted leave from the Russian Front. The film commences with three almost immediately jolting scenes, firstly when the German regiment now retreating surrendered territory in the dead of winter, come across a hand protruding from the frozen ice and then learn it belongs to a former colleague. Soon afterwards, we see members of the same troop "volunteered" to execute by firing squad four Russian civilians, one of them a woman, after first making them dig their own graves. This proves to be too much for the already shredded nerves of one of the young participants, who soon afterwards takes his own life. All this in the first 20 minutes. After that however it does settle to recognisable Sirk territory as the story concentrates on young German soldier John Gavin, who to his own surprise is granted a furlough which he uses to try to return to his parents' house only to find they have left and the house itself is now bombed to the ground. What's immediately apparent once he's back home is the town civilians' complete indifference to the returning front-line soldier. No hero to them, indeed he's accused of having it easy compared to the almost daily Allied bombing barrage they're enduring. One plus for him however is that in his search he meets and quickly falls in love with the pretty daughter of his parents' doctor. They decide to marry and to complete their happiness all they need to do it seems is find their respective sets of parents, see out the war and live happily ever after, but remembering the M.O.'s of both Sirk and Remarque, plus there's a big clue in the film title, their stories don't end happily and in fact the climax is a shockingly brutal moment reminiscent of those initial three scenes. Thus the film rams home its point about the futility of war effectively making the point that almost nothing good can come from it. Master cinematographer Russell Metty, under Sirk's direction, shows himself equally capable of filming war-weary soldiers, battlefields and ruined houses as rich socialites in their grand houses in the United States. That said, it is disconcerting to hear everyone, Germans and Russians alike, speaking in crystal-clear American accents. Leads John Gavin and Liselotte Pulver make for an attractive couple whose love story blossoms against the odds and there's a notable appearance by author Remarque himself in a prominent part as a dissenting doctor. Gavin is obviously playing the type of role that Rock Hudson would normally fulfil for Sirk, but I can understand, for reasons of veracity and credibility, why the lesser-known Gavin got the part, although his inexperience does I think show through at times. This is a film where Sirk, more famous for his lush romantic contemporary melodramas gets his hands somewhat dirtier. There's earthy barrack-room humour amongst the serving soldiers, extreme cruelty as demonstrated by the drunken piano-playing Gestapo commandant describing his layer-cake method of mass-killing, depictions of prostitutes and call girls and in that final sequence, blind patriotism which in time of war, ruthlessly fails to acknowledge a life-saving kindness granted to it. A bleak but powerful film then, with a strong anti-war message, effectively but still stylishly directed by Sirk, the better for setting its main characters on the other side of the divide.

It is a lush rendition set In 1944, a company of German soldiers on the Russian front are numbed by the massacres and violence of a bloody war , there Private Ernst Graeber (John Gavin) is given a furlough and he goes back home in Germany, as he finds his home bombed , then hopelessly looking for his parents, but also meets a beautiful girl called Elizabeth Kruse (Lilo Pulver) with whom he falls in love . Both of them attempt to survive from a world full of slaughter , ambition and hatred . The are happily joined, only to be separated when he is forced to return to the Russian front. Born out of the blazing passions of war! The great love story of World War II by the author of "All Quiet on the Western Front"...There Was Nothing Else in the World Now...But Them! No shame, no law, only love and each other...and the thunder of their pounding hearts... This Douglas Sirk's penultimate masterpiece turns to be an interesting and thought-provoking film showing the human side of the enemy , including romance , emotion , thrills , and hardships and horror of an unfinished war, giving a sympathetic treatment of Germans opposited to Hitler' policies. It rests on a sad simmetry between the scenes at the Russian front and the central section in the bombed home-town . An affectionate love story with uncommon compassionate portrayal of Germans that takes place when a long awaited furlough comes through a good soldier : John Gavin and arriving in his half-ruined town he falls in love for a lovely girl : Lilo Pulver who results to be daughter of a political prisoner . This doomed and tragic romance exists non in spite of war, but because of it. This is one of few American films which portray World War II on the German side and the main roles were the German enemy. Based on a novel by prestigious author Erich Maria Remarque , published in 1954, who also wrote other successful war novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front by Lewis Milestone and The Arch of Triumph that were equally adapted ; in addition , playing himself a brief appearance . Starring John Gavin, credited to his real name Dana J. Hutton, gives a wooden acting in his film debut , while Lilo Pulver is better than him thanks to her sympathy , and attractive face . Good support cast , such as : Jock Mahoney , Don DeFore , Keenan Wynn , KlausvKinski, Thayer David , Barbara Rütting, among others. It contains a colorful and superb cinematography in Technicolor by Russell Metty, though a perfect remastering being extremely necessary . Being shot on location in Germany. Sensitive and enjoyable musical score by Miklos Rozsa . The motion picture was well directed by Douglas Sirk . He was a fundamental filmmaker who gave prestigious movies , usually collaborating with similar technicians as cameraman Russell Metty , Production Designer Alexander Golitzen , Producer Ross Hunter and writer George Zuckerman . Sirk directed a lot of classic melodramas such as : Never say goobye , Interlude , Summerstorm , The first legion , The lady pays off , Tarnished Angels , A time to love a time to die , Magnificent obsession , All that heaven allows , Written in the Wind . But he also directed other genres as WWII : Mystery submarine , Hitler's madmen ; Thrillers and Film Noir : Shockproof , Thunder on the hill , A scandal in Paris , Lured ; Historical : Attila with Jack Palance ; Adventures : Thunderbolt and Lightfoot with Hudson and Barbara Rush ; and even a Western : Taza . Rating : 7/10 , better than average . Worthwhile watching.

I can recommend this war film. Despite distracting weaknesses in production quality, the power of the material carries the viewer along very effectively. The scenario is the dying days of World War II from the perspective of a German soldier. This represents unusual material for Hollywood, and romantic leading man John Gavin is odd casting as the hero. Although his flashes of American pearly whites are incongruous, he and indeed all the actors do quite well in their parts although hampered by the forced pace of the direction and the artificial quality of the sound recording. Clearly overdubbed, the dialogue has the quality of a read- through in an indoor studio, despite most of the action being out-of-doors. The cinematography is quite good and the sets impressive as the soldier Ernst moves from the horrors of the Russian front to the heavily-bombed hometown where he returns on leave. Trying to find what has become of his parents, he receives little sympathy from his countrymen and women, who are deadened (or maddened) by the bombardment from the skies they are experiencing. Officialdom is represented by a range of repulsive types, underlining the moral ambiguity the hero is struggling with after his experiences on the front. Where in all this horror is anything worth living for? The answer comes in his developing relationship with the winsome Elizabeth, portrayed by a delightful actress whose name is not familiar to me. What hopes of happiness in the maelstrom of the times? A poignant moment comes when the couple fantasize where they would like to go for a honeymoon, only to reflect that as Germans they would be hated just about everywhere. I found this a memorable film.

The fact that you DO notice the length is indicative that this isn't top-drawer Sirk. It followed on the heels of The Tarnished Angels, another downbeat story contrasting with the largely upbeat fodder that brought belated recognition to Sirk late in his career. The Tarnished Angels was adapted from a novel (Pylon) by William Faulkner and shot in black and white. A Time To Love is adapted from a novel by Erich Maria Remarque (who also plays a supporting role) and is filmed in color so muted that it may as well be black and white. The two leads were relatively unknown in terms of the big screen; John Gavin was never much of an actor but his good lucks ensured a regular supply of television work whilst Lilo Pulver had a long and successful career in German-language films but did appear in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three, shot as the Berlin wall was being erected. The story is slight but none the worse for that and it's certainly watchable.

Melodrama maestro, Douglas Sirk, ditches the Technicolor gaudiness of his 1950s weepies for romance set against the grim backdrop of death and destruction with "A Time To Love And A Time To Die". Yes, many of Sirk's familiar touches are here. But this is not a carbon copy of his hit soap operas. This film is affecting, if overly-long, with two surprisingly good leads in the impossibly handsome John Gavin and the lovely Lilo Pulver. Sirk does gloss up the devastation of war a bit; however, Sirk does allow this movie to have its share of shockingly frank and disturbing moments. John Gavin plays German soldier, Ernst, who returns to his hometown on furlough. What he finds are the tattered remains of his home and goes on a search for his missing parents. During his frantic search, Gavin meets a childhood acquaintance. Among the air raids, bombings and sheer terror, they develop a romance and marry. Knowing that their time together will be short, they milk every moment for what it's worth before inevitable tragedy destroys their romance. Gavin who was cast more frequently for his good looks than his acting chops actually makes a passable lead this time, although his playing a German is a little bit of a stretch. While this is not Douglas Sirk at his finest, it is an interesting project that capitalizes on the popularity of war films while also allowing Sirk to immerse himself in a topic that comes straight from his own past.

This film complements "The Downfall" in putting a human face on the Germans who fought during WWII and the suffering of the people of Dresden during the allied bombing, but it beat the "Downfall" by 47 years!! The problem is that Sirk is a highly underrated director because he shot mostly "melodramas" in the 1950's America, starring the likes of Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman (who was Ronald Reagan's wife at the time!!), so his German films are not even known in America. This is one of them. It's an important film that speaks for the simple people, the common people of Germany, who also suffered on the German side. And the writing credits are not bad, including Erich Maria Remarque who wrote "All Quiet on the Western Front." This film and "The Downfall" should be seen along with "The Fog of War" in which Robert McNamara, who was Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and the Vietnam War, confesses that if the Germans and the Japanese had won the war, he and his superiors would have been tried for war crimes for ordering the fire bombing of both Dresden and Tokyo during the war. War is hell and everyone --bar none-- on all sides has committed atrocities. McNamara, at 87, has the courage to admit that: "Sometimes you have to do evil to do good," as he put it. "The victor writes history..." he added. Films like "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" and "The Downfall" add a bit of revisionary touch to the cracks in that history...

Yes a time to praise Douglas Sirk,this magnificent director,too often forgotten!This movie is arguably his masterpiece.He used to work in Germany before making a career in the USA,and this war that tore apart his adoptive homeland would necessarily urge him to express his pacifism.So,he adapted Erich Maria Remarque ,whose books were burned by the Nazis and who plays a part in the movie. Some people said the title was melodramatic and dumb.On the contrary,it indicates that Ernst's and Elisabeth's happiness will be short-lived,so every moment is to be treasured,and we know their love will never know a humdrum mediocrity. Sirk's camera circles round calcined beams,ruined houses,nightmare landscapes.A sublime shot shows a hearse that stands still in a desert street ,while inhabitants take refuge in the shelters. A subplot is downright fascinating;Ernst meets up with an old friend again:this friend is rather dumb ,good to nothing,but he lives in a luxury flat,having taken advantage of the nazi rising.Later,Louis Malle will focus his whole film on such a character in "Lacombe Lucien". Compare the buddy's attitude with that of Elisabeth when Ernst wants to give her some food.She refuses so proudly he's forced to give it to a *. Back to the front,Ernst will meet death in a very absurd way:understanding -like Elisabeth before him- the atrocity and the stupidity of the war he's waging,he tries to help Russian partisans and his fate is sealed.He tries ,in a last gesture ,to catch his wife's letter that the current sweeps along.Superb.(compare with the ending of Remarque's "all quiet on the western front" made by Lewis Milestone) NB.Sirk's son was probably killed in Russia and the final scenes might tell what had happened to him;Sirk's first wife forced his boy to join the Nazi,partly out of revenge cause Detlef Sierck 's second wife was a Jew.

...in this time of generalizations and terminally low attention spans (not to say inexistent historical memory) people who have been the hollywoodesque cartoonish image of all 1930/40s Germans to be goose-stepping-order-barking-black-uniformed-ss-genocidal-murders could have their insight skills sharpened a bit more by this movie directed by Detlef Sierck (his real name). Actually lots of people in the 3rd Reich must have felt like Sierck himself, who obviously loved his fatherland but hated the Nazis and the way they tried to rape and pervert the very idea of the 'german nation' to their twisted ends...and those who were not lucky enough to expatriate like he did would have lived like the protagonists of this drama, suffering through an unwanted war having to witness both the cruelty of the regime AND the devastations from the war that the regime forced upon its people (the political prisoners forced to clear rubble from the air raids is a TELLING scene indeed!). The only thing that upset me a bit was the censorship forced on the filmmaker which in several scenes has to resort to silly 'visual tricks' to 'avoid' showing swastikas (a tube blocking our sight over the Military Police gorget in one of the first scenes, the queer angle at which a NSDAP member crosses our p.o.v. in the restaurant scene so we can't see the front of his armband)....now think a bit...if a catastrophe strikes and leaves this movie the ONLY proof of semi-historical value regarding WW2 the historians of the future will be oblivious of the centrepiece of nazi imagery...how STUPID is that??? Down with censorship I say, either sexual, political, intellectual et al...