Plot: What’s it about?
This film combines the three stories to paint one larger picture about the losses incurred during the conflict in Vietnam. In The Pencil Holder we see the trails and tribulations of a young man who tries to win his father’s attention, but usually is pushed aside or ignored. The father is a colonel (Edward James Olmos) who is raising his son on a base right in the thick of the conflict and just can’t seem to take his focus off the battle and onto his own flesh and blood. The young son passes the time by collection patches of all types and he is always looking for new ones. When a dying soldier is brought into camp and he has a patch the young man needs, the two have a conversation the youngster will never forget. In The Badge we watch as a grandmother (Ruby Dee) sends her young grandson (Savion Glover) into battle in the tradition of those before him. As he passes through the dangerous jungles he soon finds himself alone and under the sights of a band of Viet Cong. The final tale is titled The Player and follows a gifted musician locked in the brutal conflict and the sergeant who discovers him.
I tend to follow movies based within the conflict in Vietnam so when this disc arrived I was eager to give it a spin. I knew that this was a direct to cable movie, but I held out hope as the cast seemed solid and the brief synopsis held my attention. I’ve now watch the film of course and certain sequences more than once, and I would have to say this is an average at best picture. It seems to have a rock solid concept and a strong cast, so what went wrong? That’s an easy one for me to answer as the writing is clearly the main reason this movie never rises above average. The basic ideas for these stories are terrific, but the writer seems to putter out when he got to the dialogue and character interaction. Also dulling the shine at times is the low production values, which try to pass off an ordinary forest for the lush jungles of Vietnam, which just doesn’t work in my eyes. The disc is actually quite good and one of Showtime’s better releases to date, but the movie itself holds back any purchase recommendations I could make. I recommend this a rental to those who are interested in the concept, just don’t expect a war classic.
This film was directed by Joseph Sargent, who has extensive experience in both television and motion pictures including several other combat bases efforts. I can’t blame Sargent for this movie’s average status as he could only so much given the poor writing he was given. Though the writing does log the movie down often, Sargent makes sure the camera is in the best possible location and it seems as though he was able to pull some nice performances from the actors as well. Some of Sargent’s television projects include Star Trek, Gunsmoke, The Long Island Incident, and A Lesson Before Dying, while his feature films include The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three, White Lightning, Coast To Coast, and Nightmares. Though three different writers penned each of the segments, none of them have much going for them, which is sad. Had some talented writers been brought in, this could have been a terrific film. The cast does the best they can with the material, but you can only go so far with bad dialogue. The cast includes Edward James Olmos (The Road To El Dorado), Ruby Dee (The Stand), Savion Glover (Bamboozled), and Frank Whaley (Swimming With Sharks).
Video: How does it look?
The Wall is presented in the original 1.33:1 or full frame aspect ratio and looks much like you’d expect a direct to cable movie to look. The image is sharper than broadcast but lacks the polish of a feature film, though it still looks terrific at all times. The colors look bold and vivid with no signs of errors I could see, and flesh tones appear normal and consistent. The contrast showed just as much quality, with deep and complex shadows as well as no detail loss I could see. I didn’t notice any compression errors either, this is one terrific transfer!
Audio: How does it sound?
This release contains an audio track recorded in “ultra-stereo” and though I am unsure exactly what that means, the audio is always solid so I assume it is a good thing. This is a war movie so some scenes would sound better in a full surround track, but on the whole this is an adequate track, much better than most stereo tracks I’ve heard. The music and effects some through well and never overpower the dialogue which is good of course. Speaking of dialogue, the vocals always sound clear and audible even in the most intense scenes. This release also contains a Spanish language track as well as English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release contains some historical information on the Vietnam Veteran’s memorial, talent files, a trailer for the film, and some interviews with the cast. Five cast members have been included and while the bits are very brief, I was pleased to see the added content.
