Richard Burton and Curd Jurgens play rival military officers who are assigned    to execute a daring commando raid on General Rommel's fortress during WWII.      Much of their animosity stems from the fact that Captain Leith (Burton) was      once involved with the wife (Ruth Roman) of Major Brand (Jurgens), but Brand's inability to demonstrate courage-under-fire provokes jealousy, resentment, and shame. Burton and Jurgens give brilliant, tour-de-force performances in their  respective roles and Nicholas Ray's bold, black-and-white 'Scope compositions    lend the film a lyrical beauty. It was in his review of this 1957 film that    Godard famously wrote, "Nicholas Ray is cinema".                               Nicholas Ray---USA---1957---102 mins.