We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Chris Klein, Greg Kinnear, Madeleine Stowe, Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott Director: Randall Wallace Brand: Paramount Writer: Randall Wallace Producer: Arne Schmidt Producer: Bruce Davey Producer: Danielle Lemmon Zapotoczny Producer: Eveleen Bandy Writer: Harold G. Moore Writer: Joseph L. Galloway DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, THX Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 138 minutes DVD Release Date: 2002-08-20 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Paramount |
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Movie Reviews of We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: An assault on the senses that pulls at the heartstrings.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Those of us who have seen war keep seeing it. In the silence of the night, we still hear the screams." War is hell, and "We Were Soldiers" spends its entire relaying this brutal truth in a story that overflows with patriotic zeal, a convincing sense of chaos, and a harsh depiction of the physical reality of combat conditions. Like Ridley's Scott's "Black Hawk Down," released in the holiday stretch of 2001, writer/director Randall Wallace, in his directorial debut, is careful to remind us of the emotional impact of war rather than sacrificing it for effects and thrills.
It seems that Wallace has learned from previous misfires: the story, adapted from the novel by Lt. Col. Harold Moore and reporter Joseph Galloway, is everything that Wallace's previous script, "Pearl Harbor," was not. Beginning with the introductions to military life as seen through the eyes of various soldiers and officers, we are given a unique opportunity to become involved in their family lives, bearing witness to happier times before President Johnson orders reinforcements into Vietnam.
Mel Gibson is cast as Harold Moore, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, arriving on base with his wife, Julie (Madeleine Stowe), and five young children. Among those singled out by the story to provide emotional connections are young Lt. Jack Geoghegan (Chris Klein) and his expecting wife, Barbara (Keri Russell), Maj. Bruce 'Snakeshit' Crandall (Greg Kinnear), who shows a great deal of devotion to duty, and Sgt-Maj. Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott), who exacts a brutish demeanor as a result of decades of wartime experience.
After a montage of tearful goodbyes that pull at the heartstrings with all their might, Wallace's film nosedives into the hellish combat of the Battle of Ia Drang, as Moore's soldiers are choppered in under heavy fire from the soldiers of the Viet Cong. After splitting into divisions, several men are surrounded, many of whom are seriously wounded, leading Moore to regroup and make attempts to rescue his entrapped soldiers, all the while battling forces surrounding his own.
These brilliantly photographed and acted scenes of battle are some of cinema's most memorable, charged with physical intensity that practically jolts the audience with each explosion and gunshot. Wallace brings the viewer into the experience rather than making him a sideline witness to it, wrapping us in a continuous onslaught of sensory perception, from startling images of bloodshed and mangled bodies, to the non-stop firing of machine guns and heavy artillery.
Accompanying such moments are a constant reminder of the emotional loss and grievances one goes through in times of war. We see young reporter Joe Galloway (Barry Pepper) befriending a Japanese-American soldier in the middle of combat; ten minutes later, he's rushing towards a rescue chopper, his bloodied friend hanging loose in his arms. We see the tear-strained faces of wives informed of their lost husbands. We see these soldiers, once young, their innocence stripped from them as they stare into the eyes of the enemy, and instantly, the emotional magnitude of such an event becomes a stark reality.
But through it all, we see something richer, something well-defined, something forgotten in much of the modern war drivel that has graced the silver screen in years past. "We Were Soldiers" not only packs a physical and emotional punch, but brings to light an overwhelming aura of patriotism that is evident in the heroic acts of its characters, a sense of duty and devotion that makes the movie's dialogue ring true in every way, shape and form.
In playing Harold Moore, Mel Gibson recalls the glory and presence of his performance in "Braveheart;" his ability to juxtapose a stern demeanor with true, heartfelt displays of emotion hasn't lost its luster. The under-used Madeleine Stowe portrays Julie as a strong-willed military wife, while Keri Russell makes good use of her onscreen time. Each of the cast members who make up Moore's cavalry give heartfelt performances, most notably Barry Pepper as Galloway, whose narration bookends the film.
Movies like "We Were Soldiers" benefit from a connection to reality. The inclusion of characters Moore and Galloway serve to remind us of the factual basis for the stunning visual and emotional assault that conveys war and those affected by it. Wallace's film, while being a great tribute to those who fought for a war still misunderstood by many, is a patriotic display of courage, heroism, honor, and the knowledge that for those who have seen war, victory is bittersweet.