Plot: What’s it about?
This story is based on a novel with the same name and is about a batallion of men that are ordered to take over a hill in the Guadalcanal. The movie deals with this concept through the eyes of several of the men in the batallion. Each man that narrates the story holds a different rank in the battalion. You see the movie mostly from the eyes of James Caviezel’s, private Witt. You also get narratives from Nick Nolte, the Lt. Colonel of the battalion, Sean Penn, a first Sergeant, Ben Chapelin, private Bell and Elias Koteas, Captain Staros. There are several well known actors in this one, but only Sean Penn and Nick Nolte really take center stage that you may recognize. You will see cameos from John Travolta, Woody Harrelson, George Clooney and John Cusack. Cusack plays more of a pivatol role in the cameo appearences though. The acting is first rate in this movie. The main characters may not be as well known as the others, but they do a great job none the less. Don’t let the lesser names fool you. They can act. You learn how some men deal with the war physically and psychologically and how it changes them throughout the course of the movie. The cinematography in this movie also stands out with the acting and directing of this movie. This movie was directed by Terrence Malik and he rarely does movies anymore and this was the first one of his that I have seen. A job well done.
When I sat down to watch this movie I had an idea on what to expect, but I mostly heard negative things about this movie being hard to follow and too long. After enjoying this nearly three hour movie I didn’t find it too lengthy or hard to follow at all. I guess after being blown away in the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan people wanted the action to start right away as well in this one. But when the battles make it to the screen you will not be disapointed. This is the kind of movie that you need to pay attention to and really follow where the movie takes you. It is not as gut wrenching or entertaining to me as Saving Private Ryan, but you shouldn’t be disapointed either. I highly recommend at least a rental to witness this one for yourself. If you like the genre then you may want to purchase this one and with the free shipping and coupons at Reel.com you should be able to pick it up for less than $20.
Video: How does it look?
This is one of the rare 16×9 enhanced widescreen pictures from Fox. This is an excellent transfer as well and the best looking transfer of a DVD from the folks at Fox yet. The jungle scenes were crystal clear and you could see the mist and smoke in some of the scenes so well that it made you feel like you were there with the men. Definately nothing wrong in this department of the DVD.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital soundtrack of this movie was excellent as well. The subwoofer gets a lot of attention in this one. Maybe the most attention in a movie that I can recall. When the troops hit the mountain side with heavy artillery you can feel the bass thunder through the room. Even as the men are talking and the bass turns to the background it is deep and tight. Definately reference caliber. The surround channels get a lot of attention as well in the jungle sequences and when a couple of planes fly by. In one specific scene I ducked because you could see the tracers from an enemy gun come at the camera and then hear it as it whizzes by your head. Cool stuff!!!
Supplements: What are the extras?
All you get here are 11 Melanesion musical tracks from the movie. The least they could have done for this fine movie was to add a couple of theatrical trailers and some filmmaker and talent bios. That would have made this package a little more attractive to the consumer.
