Spanish-American War, just like the Second Boer War, was one of the first armed conflicts to be captured on film and, just like the Second Boer War, it was all but completely ignored by filmmakers in the next hundred years. There are many reasons for that, but the most obvious one is in the way the Spanish-American War differed from the popular perception of warfare in the 20th Century - it was a 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 the 20th Century; what was supposed to be a "splendid little war" is now viewed as naked imperialist aggression, and, thanks to Fidel Castro, the most spectacular chapter of that story is set on the island now associated with America's worst humiliation. Yet, despite all that, Ted Turner decided to use his television network resources to mark the 100th anniversary of the war with a three-hour film. Rough Riders, directed by John Milius, 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 the entire American history. In 1898 he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he tried to steer the administration of President McKinley (played by Brian Keith) towards a hard, aggressive stance against 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 up of people of different ethnicities, ages and social backgrounds, slowly transformed into something resembling a military unit. The first problems for the "Rough Riders" appear when they are to embark on ships bound for Cuba, and there they are experiencing inadequacies of the logistical system and the US Army's lack of experience in modern warfare. But the real test would come when they finally face Spanish troops and engage in the famous Battle of San Juan.
In the 1990s, Hollywood felt obliged to give a "politically correct" revision of American history in its films. Compared with them, Rough Riders with its more traditional and unapologetic approach towards the 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 Milius. In The Wind and the Lion, made more than two decades earlier, Milius portrayed Theodore Roosevelt as the embodiment of all American virtues and his aggressive militaristic and imperialistic policies as the right path for American prosperity and political hegemony in the 20th Century. Roosevelt also embodied all the virtues Milius is obviously very fond of - militaristic masculinity, strong individualism, personal bravery and a tendency towards resolute action. All those virtues were on display in the Spanish-American War, or at least were portrayed that way by most of the contemporary chroniclers of that particular event. Milius, therefore, didn't feel the need 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. Milius is completely concentrated on the "Rough Riders" - all the complicated political events leading up to the war are all but ignored, Cuba is nothing more than an exotic setting for Roosevelt's great moment of glory and the Spanish are nothing more than a faceless enemy.
At first glance, all this might look like cheap (and, considering the century past, pointless) propaganda, but Rough Riders is functioning as a very entertaining, interesting and at times even educational film. The character of Theodore Roosevelt, no matter how colourful and larger-than-life, simply wasn't big enough to fill three hours of time, so Milius 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 Milius probably went overboard in his attempts to remind the audience that Americans went to war against Spain with the Civil War still in living memory. Other actors don't stand out that much, except Adam Storke in his, in the context of Milius' worldview, subversive portrayal of the cynical war correspondent and future novelist Stephen Crane. Yet, their roles are more than adequate, and Milius, just like in Conan the Barbarian, shows great skill in directing combat. The charge against San Juan Hill is one of the most spectacular and most effective battle scenes recently seen on American television. Unfortunately, Milius 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 machine guns and being assisted by German advisors - all that might create more intense drama, but in reality Americans were the only side using machine guns during the battle.
Yet, despite those inaccuracies, Rough Riders is in a way a more honest film than many that came from Hollywood in the 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 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on November 4th 2003)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/47093-rough-riders
Critic: AAA
