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Amazon.co.uk Review
We Were Soldiers, based on the bestselling account of the battle of La Drang valley at the outset of the Vietnam War, is the latest Mel Gibson Braveheart-esque offering where plot and characterisation, rather than the men who lost their lives in the conflict, are the most serious casualties. The story follows Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Gibson) and his platoon through a brief spell at boot camp and then into the battle itself.
In place of the moral ambiguity offered by, say, Platoon or Hamburger Hill, We Were Soldiers presents us with archetypes. Gibson's family man colonel is almost a parody of Patton, a man with so much heart you wonder how he manages to get up in the morning. He's a good Catholic, loves his men, and tells us that he's the first one on the battlefield and the last one off. And if that self-eulogising wasn't enough we have the slow-mo, heavily scored last-one-into-the-helicopter moment to prove it. In uncomfortably jingoistic contrast, the commander of the Viet Cong never leaves his cavernous headquarters as he sends his faceless foot soldiers to their death.
What saves the film are Ryan Hurst's performance as the stoic Sergeant Ernie Savage and Barry Pepper's non-combatant journalist who gets caught up in the action and has to fight to survive, both of whom inject some much-needed humanity into the action. Otherwise there is so little character development before the offensive that you find yourself squinting at the screen trying to work out who just bought the bullet when you really should be feeling every gunshot. Braveheart scribe Randall Wallace's direction is heavy handed and over sentimental--relentless violence masquerades as poignant remembrances of the futility of war--and the only time it ever approaches genuine emotion is the scene where the wives begin receiving telegrams detailing their husband's deaths. When measured against Hamburger Hill and Full Metal Jacket, We Were Soldiers doesn't even deserve to be in the same platoon. --Kristen Bowditch
Product Description
Mel Gibson, Madeline Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris KleinDirector: Randall Wallace
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This is one of my favourite war movies and was thrilled that it was on Blu Ray, but unfortunetly the picture is not of HD/Blu Ray quality.
It didn't diminish my enjoyment of the film, as it was like a slightly better DVD, but in comparison to others Blu Ray conversions, this rates bottom of the pile in the few that I have seen.
5 for the movie/ 1 for the Blu Ray, total score = 3.
It didn't diminish my enjoyment of the film, as it was like a slightly better DVD, but in comparison to others Blu Ray conversions, this rates bottom of the pile in the few that I have seen.
5 for the movie/ 1 for the Blu Ray, total score = 3.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Although the UK version has improved video & audio compared to the USA release, it has several problems:
1. Major problem with the Opening Credits having been completey omitted! The montage of scenes is still there but the film title, cast & crew credits are not overlayed as per the original DVD.
2. Scene captions are also missing - these normally appear as overlays to identify the location, date and time that an event or battle is taking place (I'm not talking about the captions that appear when you fire up the scene selection menu, but the overlayed text that should display as the film progresses). This is also evident in the opening scene when the first line of the narrator's comments appear as typewritten font across the screen, then disappear as if blown away like sand.
3. Special feature documentary plays inside a window approx one-quarter the size of the available screen, rather than filling the entire screen as per the DVD release.
4. Missing the 10 deleted scenes and collection of trailers & TV spots from the DVD (and US Blu-ray).
1. Major problem with the Opening Credits having been completey omitted! The montage of scenes is still there but the film title, cast & crew credits are not overlayed as per the original DVD.
2. Scene captions are also missing - these normally appear as overlays to identify the location, date and time that an event or battle is taking place (I'm not talking about the captions that appear when you fire up the scene selection menu, but the overlayed text that should display as the film progresses). This is also evident in the opening scene when the first line of the narrator's comments appear as typewritten font across the screen, then disappear as if blown away like sand.
3. Special feature documentary plays inside a window approx one-quarter the size of the available screen, rather than filling the entire screen as per the DVD release.
4. Missing the 10 deleted scenes and collection of trailers & TV spots from the DVD (and US Blu-ray).
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Ive seen many of the other Vietnam war films and in my judgement this ranks as one of the best. While other films dwell on the futility of war, cynicism about why they are there, an indifferent high command to the plight of the men, along with the brutalising effect (all very true) which war has on the soldiers themselves, this film tends to dwell more on the professionalism and strong comradeship of the soldiers as a unit without being overtly gung ho. The soldiers realise that they are in a situation where they are caught between the hammer and the anvil, and that they can do little about it, but get on with the job at hand and knowing that they can rely on one another to with their lives as their training has taught them.
What gives this film such strength is that the basis of the story is true - with around 400 american soldiers outnumbered ten to one by the North Vietnamese army in the ensuing battle which is to follow. You feel the rising tension of the situation as the soldiers move into the military zone, coupled with the helplessness of the soldiers wives, some of them with babies who are left behind to wait, and the clumsy even callous way in which the army delivers telegrams of those killed using taxi-drivers.
While I am very wary of the Hollywood war/propaganda machine punching out films depicting the american soldier as good true and invincible, all of which is a huge turn off to me. Its worth remembering that most soldiers (reflective of the communites they come from) are ordinary decent people with wives and families who try to live good lives according to their understanding, and that good is expressed through the comradeship and loyalty to one another and to their unit.
I dont doubt for a second there is a lot of poetic license in this film and "hollywoodisation" of much of what happened, so remember when watching, that the basis of Hollywood is first to entertain and later to educate
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
We Were Soldiers [Blu-ray]
DON`T BUY THIS on blu ray because it is an absolute rip off!!!! Other comments here wil tell you the same so save your hard earned cash and stick with the dvd of what is an... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Etonie E
Unplayable HD DVD'S
From the initial idea that HD DVD;s are somehow going to give a sharper, more defined picture, which is something we all perhaps wish for, it is unfortunately, a format not... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Island pirate
we where soldiers blu-ray
I dont usually write reviews but this is a warning to anyone thinking of buying this film.
Great film on dvd but the blu-ray has some serious problems in the audio department... Read more
Great film on dvd but the blu-ray has some serious problems in the audio department... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Tony M
We were soldier Blue-ray
Lots of reviewers of this film have completely missed the point. They complain that the soldiers didn't question the war and their motivation like they did in Platoon, Apocalypse... Read more
Published 5 months ago by P R Brown
Probably Gibson's best
From the haunting Sgt McKenzie, to the superb acting, this take on an albeit small section of 'We Were Soldiers Once, and Young' by Lt General Harold G Moore and Joseph L. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. Stanford
we were soldiers on blu ray
already have this film on dvd and i was able to borrow a blu ray copy.its a great film and the dvd sound track through a surround is above standard but the blu ray isnt much... Read more
Published 12 months ago by D. abbott
A very refreshing take on Vietnam
Normally I would not like the film. Like saving Private Ryan this film has some amzing batttle scenes but is basically sentimental American drivel. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr Casey
Disappointing audio quality
I rarely write reviews as long as there is nothing serious to complain about. The sound quality of this blu-ray, however, was totally diasappointing which is a shame really for... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Billiards
Excellent
A big movie, unforgettable, based on real facts that it cannot make indifferent to anybody!!.
Published on 23 May 2010 by Fernando Vazquez Contreras
We were Soldiers
Brilliant, numbing, humbling. Provides a true representation of a battle in Vietnam.
Acting / direction etc first class. Read more
Acting / direction etc first class. Read more
Published on 16 May 2010 by Gepe
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