Demarcation * SPOILERS *

This was the scene where Steiner's platoon attempts to cross no man's land to make it back to German lines.

* * * SPOILERS * * *

I just wanted to acknowledge this brilliant movie scene. The sign of great film making is the ability to manipulate the emotions of the viewer. I have watched this scene several times on youtube and each time I can't help myself but hope they make it this time; I still get emotional watching them trying to return.

Some techniques that Peckinpah used ...
1. The music was very well done. At the start of the scene you have that snare drum just building this incredible tension. Then when the machine gun fire starts you hear that epic main score and finally at the end of the carnage, when Steiner is staring down Triebig it goes back to drums. But this time the drums have a primal beat to it, this makes it clear that it is no longer about the army or war, Steiner wants revenge (or justice). Finally, it goes to dead silence as Treibig screams, 'It was all Stransky's doing. I had no part in it!', Triebig's shout rang out over the silence in an eerie way setting the mood.

2. Peckinpah's trademark use of slow motion was very effective. Notice that while the visuals are in slow motion the sound is in real time so as a man is turning slowly and getting riddled w/bullets you hear the pop-pop-pop of the machine gun and the screams in normal time. While this violates the laws of physics it artistically draws out the carnage and really gets to me. An amateur would have both the visual and audio in slow motion, that is where you get that horrible sounding distorted low pitched ....'nooooooo' that you see in so many other movies. Peckinpah also, uses rapid changing of angles to show the POV of the machine gunner so that you can see why they could make such a mistake especially at the urging of officer Triebig.

3. Finally I have to recognize the actors. The only way that scene works is if you care about the squad like Steiner did, and are horrified by their fate. The actors certainly developed the characters of the soldiers and portrayed the carnage really well. Get shot, fall down, get up, get shot again and fall over barbed wire - OUCH! I especially liked the way that Pvt Kern dies screaming with his eyes open, oh that was so painful to watch. My only regret in this scene was that Private Dietz was not in it; I hated that awful scene with the Russian women; I thought Dietz's death in that scene was poorly done and hard to believe. However in this scene, demarcation, the thought keeps replaying, 'this is not fair, they can't die like this, they have been through so much.'

* honorable mention to the actor who portrayed the gunnery Sgt that destroyed the squad. I felt sorry for him as he was caught in the middle. He didn't say much but he was so sincere, "we are sorry". Peckinpah also used him to torture us viewers even more because he gave us false hope that the carnage would end sooner and perhaps most of the squad would be saved. "They look like prisoners, there are German soldiers with them". He finally did disobey orders but only in time to save a few of Steiner's men.