Tears of the Sun (Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Antoine Fuqua
Actors: Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser, Eamonn Walker, Johnny Messner
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $0.36
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Avg. Customer Rating:  265 reviews
Sales Rank: 4342
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 121
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 09751
ISBN: 1404902740
UPC: 043396097513
EAN: 9781404902749
ASIN: B000095WW8
Theatrical Release Date: March 7, 2003
Release Date: June 10, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
While it offers nothing new to the military action genre, Tears of the Sun distinguishes itself with fine acting, expert craftsmanship, and seriousness of purpose. Its familiar "extraction mission" plot is essentially similar to that of Black Hawk Down, involving a crack team of U.S. Special Ops commandos struggling to rescue innocent missionaries amidst the bloody horror of Nigerian ethnic cleansing. With Bruce Willis as their grizzled, no-nonsense commander, the skillful team enters a hot zone that gets even hotter when their "package"--an American national (Monica Bellucci) who runs the isolated mission--demands that 70 Nigerian villagers be included in the rescue. Willis's uneasy conscience leads him to defy orders and expand his mission, and in an ambitious follow up to Training Day, director Antoine Fuqua escalates tension and strike-force with considerable emotional impact. Originally considered as a potential entry in Willis's Die Hard series, and released on the eve of America's war with Iraq, Tears of the Sun admirably avoids jingoism with its rousing story of personal good vs. political evil. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Loyal veteran Navy S.E.A.L. Lt. A.K. Waters (Bruce Willis) is sent into the heart of war-torn Africa on a hazardous mission to rescue Dr. Lena Hendricks (Monica Bellucci) a U.S. citizen who runs a missionary. When the beautiful doctor refuses to abandon the refugees in her care Lt. Waters finds himself having to choose between following orders and the dictates of his own conscience. Together they begin a dangerous trek through the deadly jungle all the while being pursued by a rebel militia group with only one goal in mind: to assassinate Lt. Waters unit and the refugees in his care.System Requirements:Starring: Bruce Willis Monica Bellucci Cole Hauser Fionnula Flanagan Eamonn Walker Johnny Messner and Nick Chinlund. Directed By: Antoine Fuqua. Running Time: 121 Min. Color. Copyright 2003 VPD Inc.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 043396097513 Manufacturer No: 09751
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| Customer Reviews: Read 260 more reviews...
 Contradictions Blur September 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is its contradictions that make Tears of the Sun challenging to judge and which no doubt account for the wide disparities in opinion. On the one hand are the pitfalls of corny dialogue, logical stretches, and a weak performance by Willis. On the other hand is the drama of the faintly addressed but seething issues of human rights, multilateralism, and the limits of military power. Tears doesn't deal with these complexities with the finiteness of a film like Platoon, nor does it possess the visual beauty of a film like The Thin Red Line. To its credit, there are fine performances by Monica Bellucci and others, and the film avoids the condescending and even racist view of Africans in Black Hawk Down. But most significantly, and not to give anything away, viewers should look for a single scene that is as brutal, vengeful, compassionate, and poignant as any in the finer combat films. Perhaps Tears doesn't quite reach the nobility its script aspires to, but this successfully done, difficult, and powerful scene is redemptive of the effort and leaves the viewer with an image--and something to thing about--he'll recall long after seeing the film.
Price of conscience September 5, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Like BLACK HAWK DOWN, TEARS OF THE SUN is ultimately a Hollywood action film with a strong military basis. But like BLACK HAWK, I highly recommend it for its outstanding production values and as-good-as-you're-likely-to-get portrayal of the difficulties of direct action intervention in African ethnic cleansing.
TEARS lacks BLACK HAWK's tight, no-nonsense script, but Antoine Fuqua has crafted a visually beautiful, and his control over the long-take, wide-angle action sequences is flawless. Despite its intentions to be politically meaningful, TEARS is at its best when the bullets are flying. The sets, scenery (with Hawaii filling in for Nigeria) and costumes are all impeccable. And this extended, director's cut is better paced and more fleshed out with regards to backstory.
Bruce Willis leads a solid cast, and even when the script is failing them, he and his squad of Navy SEALs share a genuine chemistry on screen, both in tactics and personality, that you couldn't fake with lesser actors. Monica Bellucci, though an exceedingly talented actress, stumbles with her English lines.
Though it will ultimately be dismissed as right-wing, "Republican" propaganda (just like BLACK HAWK), TEARS is ultimately too noble in its intentions (naive, even), to stoop to that. Willis and his soldiers, like the best of Frank Miller's heroes, are out-gunned and out-numbered, and still try to do the right thing. It makes the film's finale emotional, even despite its stilted writing.
Neither really good or really bad, but worthwhile for a few reasons August 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Tears of the Sun" (2003) tells the story of a squadron of Navy Seals lead by Bruce Willis who are on mission in Nigeria to remove a beautiful American doctor (Monica Belucci) from a Christian village before evil Islamic militants move in and annihilate 'em all. Belucci insists that "her people" go with them. Willis initially refuses but later has a change of heart. Since there are too many to remove via helicoptor, they have no choice but to lead 'em out on foot to the Carmeroon border. Will they make it out alive?
I remember seeing a scene or two while channel surfing a few years ago and it perked my interest. What I saw had an ultra-serious vibe and seemed to have depth as well. It looked like my cup of tea because I'm a huge fan of the original "Apocalypse Now." The icing on the cake is the presence of Monica Belucci, who's definitely one of the most beautiful women to ever grace God's Earth. Seriously, her face is incredible!
Well, I've seen it twice now and, despite all the positive items it has going, I can't help but find it kinda disappointing. I've already listed the positives so allow me to cite what doesn't work:
After seeing the film twice now I only remember two characters -- Willis and Belucci. Every other character is totally forgettable. This isn't the case at all with, say, "Apocalypse Now" wherein the viewer knew and remembered every single member of Capt. Willard's team after seeing the film once, not to mention the major peripheral characters. Another good example would be "Last Of The Mohicans" (1992), which has a similar theme (i.e. good people being chased through the forest by evil villains).
The mistake of "Tears of the Sun" is that it jumps right into the thick of the jungle story without allowing the viewer to get to know anyone. As already noted, the theme is heavy and the vibe is fittingly serious, including the score, but because we aren't emotionally tied to the characters the picture comes across too heavy-handed and melodramtic.
I should also add that the 2-hour film is fairly slow moving and that the big-action sequence doesn't take place until the finale. The problem with this "exciting" climax is that the viewer, once again, doesn't care what happens at this point because we don't really know the characters and therefore have little emotional attachment. I just got done watching the ending and I was quite bored -- lazily strumming my acoustic guitar, looking around the room, etc.
Although the story takes place in Nigeria the picture was obviously shot in Hawaii. The difference in geography is enough that the film loses points for realism, but who can deny the beauty of Hawaii? So maybe it gains the points back.
The Director's Cut merely adds the deleted scenes from the Special Edition dvd to the film. In other words, unless you absolutely love the film it's not necessary to buy the Director's Cut; just watch the deleted scenes. Speaking of the deleted scenes, there's one quietly potent scene where a black American talks with a black Nigerian. It has great dialogue and should have never been cut.
BOTTOM LINE: I'm not sorry I bought "Tears of the Sun" because it has so many attributes, including the ultra-serious vibe, cinematography, score and Monica Belucci. But this is far from a good film. At the same time, it's not bad. It's just okay. Check out "Rambo" (2008) if you want to see the same theme done in an effective manner.
 Tears of the Sun on Blu-Ray August 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tears of the Sun is one of the best war movies I have seen years. It is amazing how real a movie becomes on Blu-Ray.
Navy Seals August 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A film that is thought provoking. A SEAL team commander is put in a moral dilemma, and must act outside the "box". SEAL fans should enjoy.
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