Stars: Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Lance Percival

Director: Robert Aldrich

Summary: In November 1942, British and Japanese forces hold opposite ends of a small South Pacific island. A Japanese-speaking U.S. officer is assigned to assist the British Patrol in a dangerous sabotage attempt.

In Robert Aldrich's pulsating World War II thriller, Lawson (Cliff Robertson), an American naval officer specializing in Asiatic languages, is sent to the Pacific theater to assist a group of British soldiers (Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, and Harry Andrews) in a seemingly simple mission--knock out the enemy's key transmitter. But the allied soldiers soon realize they are up against unsurpassable odds and that hopes of survival are sliver thin. Lawson takes charge of the group and devises a daring plan of escape.
Robertson lends the film emotional depth with his portrayal of Lawson as a reluctant hero transforming himself into a leader as the suicidal nature of the mission grows ever clearer. In the tradition of Aldrich's earlier action-adventure extravaganzas THE DIRTY DOZEN and THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, TOO LATE THE HERO features a formidable cast, exotic sets, cataclysmic special effects, and an ever-tightening grip of suspense, making the film a worthy addition to the director's canon of macho, white-knuckle forays deep into the lethal epicenter of war.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on October 29, 2006 12:18 PM

It is World War 2, November 1942 and the United States launches a major naval offensive in the South Pacific. To ensure battle plans remain secret, a Japanese radio installation must be destroyed and so American naval officer ( Cliff Robertson ) is ordered by his commander ( Henry Fonda ) to join a squad of British misfits on a suicide mission to take out the facility. Michael Caine is one of the misfits - a cynical soldier who'd just as likely shoot his commanding officer as obey him. When the misfits hear about secret Japanese plans, the simple suicide mission becomes a war.

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Set on a Pacific island in 1942, Too Late the Herois a hard-as-nails "men on a mission" war movie: a group of British soldiers have to traverse the New Hebrides to destroy a Japanese radio transmitter, then get back to safety while being hunted all the way. Inevitably everything goes wrong, but director Robert (The Dirty Dozen) Aldrich turns the book of WWII movie clichés on its head and springs some unnerving surprises. Even the token American star, Cliff Robertson--echoing William Holden's grafted-on role in The Bridge on the River Kwai--proves less than obviously heroic, while an outstanding Michael Caine brings considerable depth to his usual cynical cockney. Henry Fonda gets heavily billed for a brief guest appearance, but there are star performances such fine British character actors as Denholm Elliot, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser and Lance Percival. This portrait of battle-worn men offers greater complexity than Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, while the jungle trek was more recently paralleled in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. Only the attitudes--more 1970 than 1942--detract from Aldrich's tellingly realistic vision, which with a thoughtfully ironic script and a succession of tense set pieces and brutal firefights, builds to a harrowing climax.

On the DVD: The picture is presented at approximately 1.7:1, reformatted from the original 2.2:1 70mm theatrical presentation. Despite approximately 25 per cent of the original image being missing, this loss is only really noticeable in a few scenes. Apart from the occasional fleck, the print is in superb condition, and despite the lack of anamorphic enhancement the picture is sharp, detailed and has excellent colour. The surround sound (not mono as listed on the packaging) is highly effective, with the tension being increased by a considerable amount of the music coming from the rear speakers. The special features are simply a few static pages of biographical and production notes. --Gary S. Dalkin

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Trivia - 1. Michael Cane Trivia, 2. Film Trivia, Photo Gallery, Biographies - 1. Michael Caine - Star, 2. Cliff Robertson - Star, 3. Robert Aldrich - Director, Production Notes, Additional Text - 1. Quotes
Year:	1969
Release Date:	April 8, 2002
Runtime:	129 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P T D V D 1326
Label:	The Film Collection / Freemantle
Keywords:	Too, War, Run, Late, Hero, Wide, Screen, Suicide
Genre:	War