zardoz-13 Director Julian Amyes' movie "A Hill in Korea" is a low-budget British combat epic about a patrol of English Army soldiers on a reconnaissance mission in 1951. Nothing about it is light-hearted and happy-go-luck. Nobody serves as comic relief. Everything is appropriately grim and gritty as these Brits find themselves outnumbered and out gunned by the enemy. Things don't look too bad for them at the outset. They repulse several front assault charges, but eventually the fighting takes its toll and the men begin to disintegrate. At one point, they have to contend with an enemy tank and successfully knock it out of action with a bazooka. The patrol consists primarily of white Britons. One turns psychotic, while another behaves like a coward and sabotages their wireless. Gradually, they begin to die one by one, but at no point does the film indulge in heroics. Aside from being the first British film about their troops in Korea, this war movie isn't extremely memorable. Nevertheless, the cast is first-rate. Look for future British stars and sturdy character actors, among them Michael Caine in his film debut, Robert Shaw, Stanley Baker, Stephen Boyd, Robert Brown, George Baker, Percy Herbert, and Harry Andrews. After our heroes retreat from a village that the North Korean put to the torch, they take refuge in a Buddhist temple atop a hill and fight it out with the enemy. Scenarists Ian Dalrymple and Anthony Squire derived their screenplay from Max Catto's novel. You can tell that this isn't one of those war is a glorious enterprise movies when U.S. pilots show up like the cavalry and then accidentally bomb the Brits. The action covers three days and two nights. The minor but interesting film virtually recycles Malcolm Arnold's orchestral score from "Bridge on the River Kwai." Future James Bond director Peter Hunt of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" edited this black & white 81-minute saga. Harry Andrews and Michael Caine would later work together again in "Too Late The Hero" and "The Battle of Britain." Robert Brown would later replace Bernard Lee in the James Bond franchise as 007's boss M. Stephen Boyd would win an Academy Award for "Ben-Hur." Robert Shaw would appear in "Jaws" and "The Sting" at the height of his career after trying to kill 007 in "From Russia with Love." For the record, not only did Michael Caine serve in the Korean War, he also provided technical advice for the filmmakers.

Spikeopath A Hill in Korea (AKA: Hell in Korea) is directed by Julian Amyes and adapted to screenplay by Anthony Squire, Ronald Spencer and Ian Dalrymple from the Max Catto novel. It stars George Baker, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Michael Medwin, Ronald Lewis, Stephen Boyd and Victor Maddern. Music is by Malcolm Arnold and cinematography by Freddie Francis.Out of British Lion Films, film is based on real events. Story follows a small group of British soldiers serving in the Korean War, who while out on routine patrol find themselves boxed in on all sides by the Chinese army. Against the odds the men, from different walks of life, must stand together to stand any chance of survival. A Hill in Korea is more concerned with the conflict amongst the group of soldiers than it is with the enemy. 16 men, 10 of which are National Service conscripts, laugh, bicker, get scared and stand tall in readiness for what fate has in store for them. The upper crust and the working class thrust together makes for potent character dynamics, and of course it's a time when heroes and villains are born. This is a place where men apologise for getting injured, where they are told to fire their weapon instead of making love to it! And a place from which we know some will not return...One of the very first films to deal with British troops in Korea (if not the first?), it inevitably has a familiarity about it if you be someone who often indulges in the War genre. However, the traditional flavours make this very appetising and the screenplay isn't shy of intelligence. Be it "friendly fire" or monologues about the futility of it all, film doesn't cop out. It's also very funny, with some absolute zingers delivered with caustic obviousness. Then there's the roster of great British actors that fill out the cast, with even the likes of Michael Caine (a real life servant in Korea) and Robert Shaw in secondary support slots. While Amyes keeps his camera up close for impact and Francis tones down the lighting to keep things sombre.Well worth seeking out by fans of Brit war movies. 7/10

Theo Robertson The Korean war seems to have posed a bit of a problem with film makers . It wasn`t untill Vietnam that screenwriters and directors tried to profound statements on the nature of conflict and wear their anti war sentiments on their sleeves. To all intents and purposes you could rewrite any Korean war film script without any problem . Indeed you could change the place names and you`d have the exact same story , and that`s the problem with A HILL IN KOREA , it could be set during the North African campaign of 1941 or the Burma campaign of 1942 or the Italian campaign of 1944 and it`d be the exact same film. The only telling difference is if it`d been set during the Second World War it would have starred John Mills.It`s the casting of this film that makes it memorable, we have early roles for stalwarts of British cinema in the 60s and 70s: George Baker , Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker and Percy Herbert . And very early appearances by Robert Shaw , Stephen Boyd and Michael Caine ( Caine actually being an UN soldier in the Korean war ) who would all make it big in Hollywood. Sadly that`s the only memorable aspect on this film about " The forgotten war " . Forgotten that is except for the people who survived it

Bishop-11 Stalwart little "Sunday Afternoon" war film with all the right ingredients - excellent cast of British character actors with requisite mix of seasoned pro's (Andrews, Landis, Maddern) and young up & comers (Boyd, Shaw, Caine), simple but gripping plot with salty "it's-a-dog's-life-in-the-army-but-orders-is-orders" dialogue, well staged action scenes, "friendly" US planes bombing British troops etc etc. Well worth an hour or so of your time.