I wasn't even sure who it was in the drinking contest with RSM Wilson. Was it Williams? Were they bonding? Or did it show the pointlessness of their situation?
shareI think it shows how Williams is suckin up with RSM Wilson.
shareI believe it was to show how Williams tries to emulate the RSM by playing his game. He had said earlier that "the RSM has the patent on making soldiers, and I'm going to show him I've got it as well". It is symbolic of the fact that Williams isn't the man the RSM is.
shareI always assumed that it was Williams trying to prove that he was better than Wilson - and failing utterly. It shows that ultimately, Wilson is in charge of everything in the camp - or rather, in control... whether it be the inmates or the screws!
shareHaving watched the film again, there is a further comment to make about this... just after this, Wilson goes back to his quarters and drops onto his bed... Williams has dunked his head into the barrel of water, and goes to Wilson's quarters with a bottle for more drink... and find that Wilson is out cold... he gives him a contemptuous look then exits... I think that's the point in the story where Williams realises that he *is* more in control than Wilson, and realises that he can "take over" - after that, Williams is more in control, and as Harris says to Wilson, "You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is! Look at him! He took over days ago! You STILL haven't caught on!" - I think it was the drinking scene that showed Williams that he could take over.
shareIt's been awhile since I've seen this excellent film, but…I must agree with phantomsteve's analysis.
In the book by the same name (it's excellent, by the way—and the movie tracks it perfectly), conflict is the underlying theme throughout the story. The drinking contest is yet another war of wills—and the RSM ultimately lost.
I think more likely he was trying to prove to himself he was better than RSM as he tried to prove to himself he was better than the prisoners he could run up the hill -even though he did it at night in pe kit without pack.
share
It demonstrates the sheer bloody tedium of 98% of Army life and how 98% of that 98% boredom is frequently punctuated by heavy bouts of drinking. It's the boredom of men in base jobs during time of war; there is a telling line during camp inspection when Roberts (Connery says):
"We're all doing time, even the screws."
"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories."
Yep. I just watched it again (and it's been more than 35 years!) and agree with phantomsteve. Williams knows he doesn't have Joe's stamina or Bert's head for liquor, but he's meaner and more devious and more determined than both of them. By the end of the film, he's playing Bert more skillfully than Bert was playing the medical officer and the commandant. Whatever happens after the last scene in the film, Williams has 'won' -- there's 0 chance anybody he went after is coming out of the situation in better shape than they went in...
shareWeak people who have a evil ego like Williams are always trying to prove that they can be just as tough, be proficient on any subject matter, intelligent, have a big mouth, being ruthless, and thinking they have superb leadership skills and know how to motivate people just like anyone else. Then they get so upset and be vindicate when people don't want to be around them because of their attitude. The RSM was losing his touch after 25 years of soldiering because he seem to lost his ability to size up Williams and know what kind of character he really was.
The two prisoners Stevens and Bartlett manage to go over the hill at least four to six times before collapsing. Williams only made one completed trip going up the hill and then going up again on the other side. When he went again, he barely could make it up the hill. He was either in poor phyiscal shape or had some kind of hidden medical condition that cause him to be worn out quickly. Either way it was humilitating for him to be beaten by Stevens and Bartlett when it came to taking the hill.
by - phantomsteve: "I always assumed that it was Williams trying to prove that he was better than Wilson - and failing utterly. It shows that ultimately, Wilson is in charge of everything in the camp - or rather, in control... whether it be the inmates or the screws!"
I think you are putting too much meaning into this. It's a simple drinking game ... a contest develops between the 2 men at the well known working-class/male ethos of 'he who drinks most is the most masculine'.
We see Williams pass out drunk and R.S.M. Wilson stands up from the table and laughs at him and his 'weakness'.
We then see a angry Williams dunk his head in a water bladder to sober himself up and he goes after RSM Wilson to the latters quarters with a glass and bottle for a 'nightcap'. RSM Wilson is equally passed-out drunk but by now the tables have turned and it is Williams who is still standing (and satisfied that he has 'won')
It's just a typical macho drinking game, imho.
I think mainly it's to show that Wiliams, even when blind drunk, will make a pointless effort to show he has won a pointless contest even though strictly speaking he lost because he passed out first. I've seen this occasionally with bullies; if you beat them they will try to change the rules of the 'game' to show that in fact, you have lost.
I think also the scene is there for pure comic relief too; and possibly to make the film seem less 'stagey'.
As for the scene where Williams runs up the hill, I think it is to show that he knows full well the torture he is putting the men through - he has no excuse that he doesn't know how difficult it is when he can barely manage it himself at night in PT kit, let alone in full kit and respirator in the blazing sun.
I think it was purely an *Alpha male* thing. Who could drink the most and could still function the next day. It is an excellent scene.
shareYou're right that that's what the game was; just a dick swinging contest between two alpha males. But the OUTCOME of that game is what's important.
There are two takeaways for the audience for that game. The first is that Williams is not as tough as he thinks he is; he couldn't run up the hill earlier for more than one time, and that's at night in PT gear. Then he can't outdrink the Sergeant Major, a man who's significantly older than he is. So he does a bit of a cheat, dunking his head in the pool to wake up a bit, then going to the RSM's shack to offer him a night cap. When he sees the RSM out cold on the floor, he convinces himself that he "won" the contest. He didn't, of course, but he THINKS he did, and that's the point of his character...he thinks he's better, tougher, and more capable than he really is.
Harris was right when he told the RSM that Williams was running the place, and that he, the RSM, hadn't caught on. The thing is, Williams was doing it under the radar, emulating the RSM and saying all the right things to him while quietly undermining him. We see early in the film that the RSM is not a sadist; when Roberts collapses after his first run on the hill, Williams just tells him to keep going. But the RSM says "that's enough; walk him, put him in the shade, and rest him." He KNOWS the men's limits and won't push them too far. Williams doesn't, which is how he managed to kills Stevens. Notice that it never comes out that he had Stevens running the hill in a gas mask; he knows damn well that if he said he did that, the RSM would kick his ass for it and blame him for what happened.
It's not until they're really in trouble that Williams slips up and shows his true colors to the RSM, when they're in Robert's cell arguing with the doctor. He actually grabs the RSM and says "will you listen to me, we have to stick together". It's then, right then, that Wilson gets it. He walks away, saying he's never seen anything like it, and lets Roberts go to the hospital.
The book does a better job of explaining the aftermath of the whole thing. The RSM resigns, as I recall.
Here's to the health of Cardinal Puff.