ROUGH RIDERS (1997)
A Film Review Copyright Dragan Antulov 2003
Spanish-American War, just like Boer War, was one of the first armed conflicts to be captured on film and, just like Boer War, it was all but completely ignored by filmmakers in next hundred years. There are many reasons for that, but most obvious one is in the way Spanish- American War differed from the popular perception of warfare in 20th Century - it was simple, one-sided and brief affair with relatively little bloodshed and even less inspiration for heroic dramas. The other reasons have to do with politics in 20th Century; what was supposed to be "splendid little war" is now viewed as naked imperialist aggression, and, thanks to Castro, the most spectacular chapter of that story is set on the island now associated with American humiliation. Yet, despite all that, Ted Turner decided to use his television network resources to mark 100th anniversary of the war with three-hour film. ROUGH RIDERS, directed by John Millius, depicted the most extraordinary and most celebrated episode of the entire war.
The film's nominal protagonist is Theodore Roosevelt (played by Tom Berenger), probably one of the most important and colourful personalities in entire American history. In 1898 he was Assistant Secretary of Navy, and he tried to steer administration of President McKinley (played by Brian Keith) towards the hard, aggressive stance towards Spain. Once the war had been declared, Roosevelt was so enthusiastic about it that he decided to form his own volunteer cavalry regiment. The answer to his call was beyond belief - tens of thousands of volunteers applied and only some 600 were selected. The film shows how this group of people, made out of people of different ethnicity, age and social background, slowly transformed into something resembling military unit. First problems for "Rough Riders" appear when they are to embark on ships bound for Cuba, and there they are experiencing inadequacies of logistical system and US Army's lack of experience in modern warfare. But the real test would come when they finally face Spanish troops and engage in famous Battle of San Juan.
In 1990s Hollywood felt obliged to give "politically correct" revision of American history in its films. Compared with them, ROUGH RIDERS with its more traditional and unapologetic approach towards American take-over of Spanish colonial possessions, seems almost surreal. That approach wouldn't surprise anyone familiar with the previous work and political views of director John Millius. In THE WIND AND THE LION, made more than two decades earlier, Millius portrayed Theodore Roosevelt as embodiment of all American virtues and his aggressive militaristic and imperialistic policies as the right path for American prosperity and political hegemony in 20th Century. Roosevelt also embodied all virtues Millius is obviously very fond of - militaristic masculinity, strong individualism, personal bravery and tendency towards resolute action. All those virtues were on display in Spanish-American War, or at least were portrayed that way by most of the contemporary chroniclers of that particular war. Millius, therefore, didn't feel right to bother the audience with any kind of modern, revisionist interpretation. ROUGH RIDERS looks exactly like it could have looked like if 1898 American filmmakers had modern technology at their disposal. Millius is completely concentrated on "Rough Riders" - all the complicated political events leading up to war are all but ignored, Cuba is nothing more than exotic setting for Roosevelt's great moment of glory and Spanish are nothing more than faceless enemy.
At first glance, all this might look like a cheap (and, considering the century past, pointless) propaganda, but ROUGH RIDERS is functioning as very entertaining, interesting and at times even educational film. Character of Theodore Roosevelt, no matter how colourful and larger-than-life, simple wasn't big enough to fill three hours of time, so Millius gives space to some of Roosevelt's equally colourful brethren-in-arms. Gary Busey obviously enjoys the role of former Confederate General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler, although Millius probably went overboard in his attempts to remind audience that Americans went to war against Spain with Civil War still in living memory. Others actors don't stand out that much, except Adam Storke in his, in the context of Millius' worldview, subversive portrayal of cynical war correspondent and future novelist Stephen Crane. Yet, their roles are more than adequate, and Millius, just like in CONAN THE BARBARIAN, shows great skill in directing combat. The charge against San Jual Hill is one of the most spectacular and most effective battle scenes recently seen on American television. Unfortunately, Millius got carried away during it and succumbed to Hollywood's at times very annoying tendency to get creative with some historical facts. As a result, Roosevelt and his men have to deal with Spanish soldiers being equipped with Maxim machineguns and being assisted by German advisors - all that might create more intense drama, but in reality Americans were the only side using machineguns during the battle.
Yet, despite those inaccuracies, ROUGH RIDERS is in a way more honest film than many that came from Hollywood in 1990s. It represents its author's worldview with such candour, clarity and conviction that it could be appreciated even by those viewers who have opposing philosophical, political and ideological views.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
Review written on November 4th 2003
Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax http://film.purger.com - Filmske recenzije na hrvatskom/Movie Reviews in Croatian http://www.ofcs.org - Online Films Critics Society
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