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 enlarge | Director: John Irvin
Actors: Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, Frank Whaley, Dylan Bruno, Devon Gummersall
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $4.00
You Save: $5.98 (60%)
New (23) Used (27) Collectible (1) from $3.29
Avg. Customer Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 6742
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 92
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.6
MPN: D91480D
ISBN: 6305161941
UPC: 026359148026
EAN: 9786305161943
ASIN: 6305161941
Theatrical Release Date: June 27, 1998
Release Date: November 10, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Realistic WWII Movie with Outstanding Performances April 24, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
While most war movies have their protagonists as heroes, this one portrays a very realistic picture of war time with soldiers revealing their humanly behaviors when put in such a horrible setting. Manning (played by the incredibly talented Ron Eldard) is neither supernatually heroic nor disgustingly cowardy. And that's why I like it. The movie brings out both the ugly and glorious nature of wars... and makes you shudder...and feel for the men on the battlefield...
A lot like the TV series Combat April 16, 2005
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I loved this movie. It's anti-war, anti-authority, anti-officers.
Super bloody with realistic battle gore. The action is as good as Saving Private Ryan. I really liked Ron Eldrad in the lead role. He reminded me of the Vic Morrow character in the old Combat series.
A gut wrenching story of human endurance December 24, 2004
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
First off let me say men did not wear there hats backwards and the tanks were mostly t-62s of russian manufacturing. Besides these errors the movie stands to show that the common soldier wasn't always a Audie Murphy or John Basilone. Some may think that this man is no less no more than the coward just like oppum was in SPR, but on the grounds of a section8 this man clung on the perils of insanity, but still stood up and bore the burden of a being a heroe. As most cases go during the underratted hurtgen forest campaign a lot of men were bumped up a rank to two because the tremendous losses were so high. If you don't believe reaD "If you survive" by George Wilson. So for many they may not have even wanted the rank but this man survived a patrol and without his opinion a private who should've stayed a private was promoted to a sergeant.I still watch it and realize that when the cost is too great some men prove that they can and will even reluctanty find a calling in god's highest praise of self sacrifice. I mean many veterans i talk too tell me that seeing a wounded man carrying a mortally wounded man off hells battlefield is and always be a heroic sight no matter the medals, or the cost. In conclusion this is in my opinion too good of a movie and belong in the ranks of other great war movies such as to hell and back, saving private ryan, and cross of iron.
Realism not everybody can handle December 8, 2004
26 out of 31 found this review helpful
This is a coldly realistic, well executed though somewhat low budget movie (I think originally done for HBO). Some people complain about technical points, but they are wrong. The technical realism in here is superb.
One point worth correcting, re: bazookas vs German tanks. The StuGG 3 and PZ IV tanks depicted in the film WERE succeptible to US Bazookas, especially the versions available in 1944. What's more, in the scene where they are attacked, they are hit from behind. Almost every Tank in the world at that time (except maybe a Tiger) was vulnerable to a hit from behind.
And unlike in most WW II movies, the tanks in here looked very, very real. They were not round turreted US M48's or even russian T-34s, but rather very realistic looking mockups which looked almost exactly like real PV IV's. The German cannon (not heavy artillery as another reivewer mistakenly referred to them) were equally realistic and terrifying on impact. It was also refreshing to see (unlike SPR) that they made good use of their Mg42 bow and co-ax guns against US infantry. Tanks are scary, scary things, and that is how they were depicted here.
In fact the SOUND and effect of the shells impacting was the most real I have ever seen in any movie. It was one of the only times I have ever seen shell explosions that brought to mind the real thing.
Some people wont like the fact that not all the U.S. troops are portryaed as cliche heros, willing to jump on a grenade to save their buddies. These people have obviously never been in the military.
The military is full of ordinary people, (especially during a time of draft) There is the same proportion of true heros as in real life, that is to say, very few. Under good leadership and the right circumstances, a good esprit de corps can develop where many more rise to the occasion. The Battle of the Hurtgen, while it had it's share of heroes on both sides, was not one of these occasions. It was a slaughter of US troops in which morale reached the breaking point (the only US deserter shot in the war, Eddie Slovak, fled from this battle). Read some of the actual accounts (widely available online, google Hurtgen forst) and you can easily grasp the horror and futility of this immense battle.
Dont like the idea of Ron Eldards character looking out for number one (at least some of the time)? Or the incompetent, detatched senior officers who had no imagination or idea what to do other than send troops into the meat grinder over and over?
Well, stick your head in the sand like an Ostrich, because that is how war is sometimes. Try to imagine yourself facing near certain death in an obviously bungled military operation, with idiots in charge, seemingly determined to feed you to the lions.
I found the technical realism and detail superb, the acting was goood, and the writing was excellent. I think it hits home more if you have ever been in the military. Yes, it was 1944, but people cursed then too. People could be just as cynical as today, especially people on the front lines. Trust me. When do you think terms like SNAFU and FUBAR were coined? The scenery (shot in Eastern Europe) reminded me of the sinister Black Forest in Bavaria where I was stationed in the Army.
The German soldiers were a good combination of scary veterans and hapless draftees, not just the creepy losers as in SPR. The U.S. replacements were very accurately depicted, and their transformation from innocence to desperation, as the realization of the true horror of their circumstances dawns on them, is a true testimetn to war.
If you liked this directors other films, such as the underrated Hamburger Hill, you will like this. If you prefer John Wayne movies where all Americans are super hero good guys, you'll hate it.
 War is not a happy Thing!! November 25, 2004
7 out of 51 found this review helpful
O.K. the movie was pretty bad. It disgraces all of the soldiers that fought and died together in the Hurtgen Forest.I thought this movie was O.K don't get me wrong but, It SICKENED me at the end when they played I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. PEOPLE DIED FOR US!! IT IS NOT A HAPPY THING SO DONT PLAY HAPPY MUSIC. ALMOST ALL OF THE SOLDIERS IN THIS BATTLE NEVER EVEN MADE IT HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!! THEY DIED SO WE CAN BE FREE! SO DONT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT FREEDOM AND DONT PLAY HAPPY MUSIC IN A WAR MOVIE. ITS DISGRACEFUL AND SICKENING!!
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