It’s not an exaggeration to callLewis Seiler’s 1950 pictureBreakthroughone of the most authentic infantry combat films ever made. 75 years later, the raw and uncompromising appeal of thisWorld War II drama, which most of its contemporaries missed out on, still impresses.ForBreakthrough, heroics and flashy action are secondary, as Seiler chooses to keep post-D-Day events realistic by dropping you right into the mud and rural terrain with the guys who actually lived through Normandy. The film’s key to success for this realism is its two bold creative choices: the first is that it casts veterans from the actual 1st Infantry Division (nicknamed “The Big Red One”), and the second is that it weaves real, harrowing combat footage into the film’s narrative.
What Is ‘Breakthrough’ About?
Breakthroughfollows an Army infantry unit—including a freshly minted Lieutenant Joe Mallory (John Agar,Sands of Iwo Jima),the battle-hardened Sergeant Pete Belle (Frank Lovejoy), and their war-weary superior, Capt. Tom Hale (David Brian) —through the grim aftermath of D-Day. The story is simple in an almost skeletal way: training, combat, survival. ButBreakthrough’s most lethal weapon lies in its on-the-ground details, brought about by the aforementioned creative decisions. When packaged together, the film delivers a layer of lived authenticity that you simply will not experience in polished recreations of its time.
Admittedly,Breakthroughmay not be the best in terms of plot or even dialogue, as it does not offer an intriguing investment in its characters’ journeys to write home about, nor does it include memorable rousing speeches to motivate the audience to root for the onscreen heroes and what they are trying to achieve. In fact, deconstructing the Nazis and their agenda or even fostering a counter-narrative takes a backseat. Seiler, likeDon Siegelwith hisHell Is for Heroes, is focused on showing us what the job his soldiers signed up for entails. What he promises and delivers on is a bit-by-bit human depiction of the battlefield, from orders that sometimes have to be made within seconds to whispers of frightened soldiers and someone’s occasional curse to lots of combat. Even more immersive is that he takes us through the countryside, just like what happened to some of his cast members during the war. You can feel them as if reliving it all—foxholes, barbed wire, sun-scorched hedgerows. In this way,Breakthroughimmerses viewers in history withSeiler’s statement reading simply: this is what war looks like on the ground.
Why ‘Breakthrough’s Realism Trumps Any Re-enactment
Don’t get me wrong—Breakthroughis not a sleek picture, and there are times it feels like a training reel gone off-script. But that’s its strength, becausewar is rarelya choreographed affairregardless of the efforts spectacle-focused pictures often put in to make it one. To Seiler, the film’s plot elements are secondary to immersion—he wants us to feel the mud, tension, and claustrophobic dread of war and what it carries before we start translating the information into any scripted arc. His shots capture men wading through flooded craters, exhausted eyes gleaming under shellfire, and their panic when things get thick. Withabout a third of the film’s footage being archival newsreels, it’s the authentic feel it creates that lingers, setting the bar for the realism that later immaculately crafted war films likeSam Mendes'1917andChristopher Nolan’sDunkirkcommit to.
By taking us into the trenches,Breakthroughforces us to follow John Agar’s second Lieutenant Mallory, who’s just starting out with little experience but who becomes particularly resourceful, adding to the film’s immersive relevance.This character-led narration works particularly because the film is not keen on following a particular plot.Instead,Breakthroughoffers a realistic depiction of war as a sequence of noise, then silence; chaos, then numbness, often with dire consequences.
‘Breakthrough’ Triumphs Because of Lewis Seiler’s Bold and Steady Direction
It’s difficult to authoritatively tell who shines the brightest—Agar, Lovejoy, or the company of real soldiers who blend into the background with authenticity—which is a testament to the film’s powerful cast. But far from typical war heroes of their time, the soldiers are depicted as wearied bodies trying to follow orders under impossible stress. In his refusal to romanticize the war, Seiler deploys another brave decision—restraint. His film doesn’t have shouting rants or dramatic emotional crescendos accompanied by music to oversell his point. He chooses to stay low and close to the ground; even his cinematography doesn’t stay for long on wide panorama shots either. His lens is focused on the faces and actions of soldiers who would rather be at home with their families but are forced to be on the battlefield fighting for survival. With no keen eye for spectacle, Seiler craftsBreakthroughto absorb, not to entertain.
You will be disappointed if you walk intoBreakthroughexpecting dated effects and stock dialogue. But you’ll be rewarded in spades if you want to see war for what it is, because Seiler serves a rare confrontation of war captured with raw, emotional honesty. You’ll experience war horror smothered in routine with no hero worshiping or narrative convenience. The film’s characters are just ordinary men in extraordinary situations, forced to make incremental decisions against simmering fear. InBreakthrough, you’ll find the origin ofgritty war films likeSaving Private Ryan,The Pacific,andBand of Brothers.It didn’t just walk so they could run — it charged through the mud, crawled under fire, and never flinched.
