Average Rating: 
Rating:  - 5 stars only because...
I can't give it 6. This is probably one of the top 5 movies ever! Cooper is phenomenal. The real Alvin York, probably America's least known hero, told Hollywood that he would allow them to make the movie if Cooper portrayed him, they told the whole story, and no glamour girl portrayed the women. This movie hits the mark. While it does show how President Wilson abused the rights of the religions that are against fighting and war, I believe the message of a man's convictions and how he must kill to save other lives is powerful and applicable in today's society. Believable presentation of York's life before, during, and after the war is the hallmark of the movie. A classic for generations to come.
Rating: - A great classic movie!!
This movie is based on a real life story about a man who is saved by Jesus Christ and then goes off to war. Unlike the war movies made today, the plot revolves around the man's faith in God, (which might be why they never show this movie on the networks, although its a classic).Sergeant York gets saved in a church after being struck by lightening, and after he is saved he is drafted, and spends time reconciling doing what Christ commands with killing people during time of war. (This isn't an easy thing to reconcile, and perhaps especially for a newly saved person, even if most movies act like its nothing.) After reading the bible however, York finds the answer, and goes to war, becoming one of America's great heroes, and in the end, he and his future wife are greatly blessed by God. If all this sounds too heavy, it isn't. Sergeant York is from Tennessee and the movie is actually quite light hearted. I also enjoyed hearing the hymn 'Give me that Old Time Religion'. One of my favorite movies, and worth getting if you are tired of the trash they put on tv, and want some films with Christians in them.
Rating:  - Not just your average "gung-ho" war film.
Gary Cooper gives an Academy Award-winning performance (Best Actor, 1941) as Sergeant Alvin C. York, a Tennessee hell-raiser-turned-pacifist Christian-turned-war hero. York's journey toward immortality (he won the Medal of Honor for his actions in France) began with a drunken brawl in a Kentucky tavern, and ended when he single-handedly captured 132 German soldiers on the fields of Flanders during World War I. The acting in "Sergeant York" is fabulous. Cooper is simply superb as the reticent, conscience-stricken York. He is ably supported by Walter Brennan as his pastor, Rosier Pile; and Joan Leslie as his girlfriend Gracie. "Sergeant York" is much more than just a "gung-ho" war film; it explores with great sensitivity and relevance (even by today's standards) the eternal human conflict between personal beliefs and public responsibilities. In my book, this will always rank as one of the greatest films ever to come out of Hollywood.
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