|
 Movie A+ |
Video A | Audio A+
| Extras B+ | Recommended!
Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam
Elliott,
Chris Klein, Keri Russell, and Barry Pepper
director Randall Wallace | Paramount
2002 | Action - War Drama | R | 138 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
anamorphic
widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio
| Dolby Digital EX 5.1
Summary: Mel Gibson is U.S. Army Colonel Hal
Moore, a
graduate of Harvard and a pioneer of the helicopter-inserted infantry fighting
units, also known as "air cavalry".
After training his men for what was then an experimental concept, he is given orders to go into Vietnam.
It was 1965, very early in the American conflict in Vietnam. Almost immediately upon their arrival,
Colonel Moore's Brigade is
ordered to find, pursue, and destroy the Viet Cong deep in the mountainous highlands of
Vietnam. Being a natural leader and quick-thinking commander,
he takes his troops into one of the most violent battles in U.S. Army
history.
What is amazing about this movie is that it is
based on a true story. Even more so, that it supposedly tells the
real story of the Vietnam conflict from the perspective of the men who
fought on the front lines and their families as they anxiously await word
of their husbands and fathers. I believe it when this production
touts itself as the most realistic portrayal of war. The acting
performances were top notch across the board, as were the visual and audio
designs. The special effects portraying war-time violence is one of
the best I've seen to date. It is extremely graphic and exceedingly
violent. But that's the nature of war. The sound design is
also superb, with full use of the Dolby
Digital EX 5.1 format. Your surround sound system will be taxed
to its limits, while you dodge the sounds of ricocheting bullets and
explosions.
So if you're ready for one of the best war movies
ever made, I highly recommend We Were Soldiers. Though these
days, we are frequently reminded of the sacrifices that the men and women
of the armed forces make to keep our country free, We Were Soldiers
helps us remember those men and women in the Vietnam War who fought for
our country and the families that they left behind, because they were
doing what their country was asking of them. But more importantly, as
we learn from this movie, they were fighting for one another.
Special Features: In terms of bonus
features, there's not an abundance, but this DVD has got the features that
really count. Bonus materials include: commentary with director/director
Randall Wallace, "Getting It Right" behind-the-scenes
featurette, 10 deleted scenes with commentary
DVD released on 8/20/2002 | Reviewed 8/20/2002
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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the
video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-"
or better. Only the highest number of channels of surround sound
format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1). If there are both Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed. All
DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback
systems.
Let us know what you think about this DVD review, write to us at
Staff@TimeForDVD.com.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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