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 enlarge | Director: Randall Wallace
Actors: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $2.36
You Save: $10.62 (82%)
New (51) Used (82) Collectible (3) from $2.36
Avg. Customer Rating:  546 reviews
Sales Rank: 1437
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Thx, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 138
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.2
MPN: 097363400240
ISBN: 0792182103
UPC: 097363400240
EAN: 9780792182108
ASIN: B000068TPN
Theatrical Release Date: March 1, 2002
Release Date: August 20, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 More than a just a movie, its an experience you live through June 17, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
As many of the previous reviewers mentioned, the reality of this movie made it more than just a movie in itself. Being the most accurate and realistic Vietnam movie Hollywood has ever produced, it has turned into a invaluable tool for Husbands, Sons and Fathers to be able to truly show their families just how horrific being in a combat situation was for them. It can really open the eyes of some people that couldn't understand why Vets are still strugling to deal with the after-effects the war had on them mentally. This is just my experience as a 34 year old father and husband and how it effected me watching this movie with my father.
I was not in the Vietnam war, but my father flew the Huey right through the thick of the battles, exactly as it shows in the movie. He has also been a Bell Helicopter employee all his life.
I watched this movie with him when it came out on DVD, I saw it in the theatre and finally convinced him to come over and watch it with me when it came out on DVD. See, my dad is not a big movie fan, he has a ranch here in Texas and isn't much impressed with all the Hollywood flair and glorification they used in the other movies. I could tell this was different when about 1/3 of the way through I looked over and he was intently watching the movie and had not said one word. When it was over, he simply said "Wow, I never thought a movie would hit so close to home, that was pretty darn close to real".
That's when a movie became more than "just" a movie. We watched it again, but this time he told me stories I have never heard about his tour, details of how Mom and him lived on base like that, things I never knew but am very thankful that the movie brought back memories he had forgotten and I heard a part of his life I had only speculated about.
It was great listening to him point out parts of the movie and explaining how accurate a certain part was and how that's just how it was like on another part. There were some really incredible events that he lived through over there, I mean amazing stories I would have never known about. I never even knew he had been that involved in the action, he never really would go into detail, but this movie have him a picture to use to help me visualize the fear and horror that he and the other front line soldiers had to endure.
This movie still had some Hollywood flair to it, but when a movie can create that kind of impact on someone, and create an unforgetable evening spent with my father learning about his past, it is worth 5 + stars to me. We watched it 3 times since then, and those moments spent with my father are forever going to be remembered by myself.
Amazing movie, one of the best ever put on film, period.
Possibly the most realistic Vietnam war movie ever June 14, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
As many of the previous reviewers mentioned, I am a war movie fanatic. I was not in the Vietnam war, but my father flew the Huey right through the thick of the battles, and has been a Bell Helicopter employee all his life.
I watched this movie with him w en it came out on DVD, three times in a row, and once again on HD.
Dad's not a movie type guy, and no Vietnam movie ever impressed him because of too much Hollywood flair and glorification. This was completely different, he said it was the most realistic Vietnam war movie he had ever seen.
It was great listening to him point out parts of the movie and explaining how accurate a certain part was and how that's just how it was like on another part.
This movie still had some Hollywood flair to it, but when a movie can create that kind of impact on someone, and create an unforgetable evening spent with my father learning about his past, it is worth 5 + stars to me. Especially when I had such high expectations after Braveheart and the movie still impressed me, that is why I am a Mel Gibson fan.
Great movie, one of the best!
A TRUE Story and an Excellent Historical War Movie! June 11, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
WE WERE SOLDIERS is a great war movie that has tense battlefield action as well as tear-jerking moments over the families left behind.
The DVD cover should have described this film as the TRUE STORY that it is! That is what makes this movie interesting, it is the TRUE STORY of the first official battle between US troops and North Vietnam Army troops!
This is soldier against soldier, both sides wearing their distinctive helmets and uniforms. This is not the typical Hollywood version of evil US troops fighting civilians and the enemy disguised as civilians, (which, come to think of it, is the very problem that we now have with the War on Terror, that the terrorists often disguise themselves as civilians).
Sometimes the writing in WE WERE SOLDIERS seems a little corny, cheesy, or melodramatic, but if you listen to the informative Director's Commentary, he explains that most of those moments are directly from the real life book, WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE... AND YOUNG, by the real life main character, played in the film by Mel Gibson.
The movie has a lot of very nice, family moments, and there is plenty to like in that the characters all honor traditional family values and wanting to keep the family together -- but which soldiers will come home again?
The Bonus Features add about 40 minutes of interesting documentary and Making Of material, and often it is surprising how similar the final movie version looks compared to the old footage of the characters and places in the story! Many characters seem to be just generic, made up characters, until you watch the Making Of footage and see that most of them are named and based on real life soldiers, and often they even seem to look like the real life people did, too!
There is about 20 minutes of Deleted Scenes, which are all good, too. Most of these should have been kept in the film, in my opinion, because they add a lot of good character development.
Like most Mel Gibson movies, WE WERE SOLDIERS can get a little graphically violent, but I don't mind as long as they are portraying historical violence in a realistic way. The films that Mel Gibson directs are more intense, as well as historical, like APOCALYPTO, and Mel Gibson's best film, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, but WE WERE SOLDIERS is still very good. Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition) The Passion of the Christ (Definitive Edition)
The film makers did an excellent job of staying true to the material, and this is a very interesting, entertaining, tense, and heartfelt film!
An excellent example of an air mobile assault June 7, 2007
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
We Were Soldiers is about a Lieutenant Colonel Harold Moore(played by Mel Gibson), commanding officer of one of the infantry battalions, the 1st of the 7th, of the 1st Calvary Division, during a fight in the Fall of 1965,since the book was written by Colonel Moore, now Lieutenant General (retired). Colonel Moore comes off looking pretty good. Maybe he was, maybe that's why he made Lieutenant General.
All I can say is Hollywood sure loves napalm (it isn't anywhere near as effective as shown in the movie; the Air Force must have paid to have the movie made. All I can say is that I never had a Phantom stay on station longer than ten minutes and you had to cease firing all artillery and mortars before they'd come in. All for one or two 500 pound bombs. Just not worth it.
Artillery on the other hand could crank out 60 105mm rounds per minute sustained fire with a battery of six howitzers. . That's with just with the direct support 105mm howitzers in direct support of the infantry battalion, not counting any 155mm or eight inchers.
This movie is primarily about the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. As far as I could tell it was fairly realistic, except that:
I never saw the first tracer round fired and no one showed an illumination fire mission. Useful when you're fighting at night. They did show the infantry firing their 81mm mortars and their four deuces. I used these primarily for illumination fire mission, of course I was in Viet Nam somewhat later, in 1969 and 1970, and had some twenty batteries of artillery that could shoot for me.
As an artillery officer I'm appalled at how poorly they used their artillery fire support. I would have relieved my forward observer if that had been mine. Maybe artillery needs to hire a better PR firm.
All-in-all an entertaining movie.
The movie is rated R for a reason. A lot of blood and guts.
Gunner June, 2007
Graphics, Story, Blu-ray, get it! May 31, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great movie, the graphics are uber crisp and clean. One of the best of the HD generation. The story is classic and Mel does a great job as the main character. I do wish the studio had of included the lossless PCM audio instead of just Dolby Digital, but hey, the sound was fantastic anyway.
If you've got BD, get this one. It's also out on HD-DVD, can't speak to that version but it's probably equally as good.
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