Barry Pepper

Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Flags of Our Fathers (HD DVD) Review by Justin Sluss
Simle Review
Anti-War film with some fighting
Pure Hollywood dreck
Terrible

Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Ryan Phillippe , Jesse Bradford , Adam Beach , John Benjamin Hickey , and John Slattery
Director: Clint Eastwood
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Combat | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]
Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000M4RG42
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn't so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities - and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign - after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history.

As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as "the heroes of Iwo Jima" during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society's genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it's richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood's follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. --Jeff Shannon

Beyond Flags of Our Fathers <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src=" http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/flagsofourfathers/spr.jpg" border="0">
Other World War II DVDs</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/flagsofourfathers/clinteastwoodmug.jpg" border="0">
Essential DVDs by Director Clint Eastwood</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/055338029X.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley</td> </tr> </table> Stills from Flags of Our Fathers (click for larger image) <table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4">

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Product Description

From Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven) comes the World Was II epic Flags of Our Fathers, produced by Eastwood, Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List), and Rob Lorenz (Mystic River), and from a screenplay adapted by William Broyles, Jr. (Cast Away) and Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash).
February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory.
Flags of Our Fathers is based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers, which chronicled the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the flag raisers and some of their brothers in Easy Company. Bradley's father, John "Doc" Bradley, was one of the soldiers pictured raising the flag, although James never knew the full extent of his father's experiences until after the elder Bradley's death in 1994.

Customer Reviews:

Flags of Our Fathers (HD DVD) Review by Justin Sluss.......2007-06-21

The Movie Itself is one part of a pair of films done by legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood about the battle at Iwo Jima in World War II. "Flags of Our Fathers" is one of two films that Clint did about the battle from both side's perspectives. "Letters from Iwo Jima" (this movie's counter-part) tells the Japanese perspective. While this film tells the American perspective I guess you could say, it's primarily about a real life photo that can be found on the cover of this release. The picture is a very patriotic photograph that shows six soldiers raising the American flag after the battle at Iwo Jima. This picture starts a lot of media coverage and hype labeling the three surviving soldiers "war heroes." This film follows the lives during and after that battle of those three remaining soldiers, John "Doc" Bradley (played by Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (played by Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (played by Adam Beach). I'd like to point out that this film is based on true events and the names of the soldiers are real. In fact the original book "Flags of Our Fathers" was written by James Bradley (son of John "Doc" Bradley). This film was also produced by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg.

These three soldiers are brought home labeled as "war heroes" as stated above and soon being used by the U.S. government to help sell war bonds to help the war effort. Which they do accomplish but at the same time there's a lot of demons inside these men that came from seeing such a horrific battle at Iwo Jima. This is especially true for both John Bradley and Ira Hayes who throughout the film have post-war stress induced flashbacks that really got to them on a really emotional level that they can't talk about with anyone or even come to terms with themselves. This movie is not one that glorifies war but instead one that shows the hell that comes with it. So if you're expecting to see a bunch of Japanese get slaughtered you might wanna look elsewhere and seek therapy. That's not what this movie is about. This movie and what it stands for can really be stated best by a quote by the real John "Doc" Bradley, "The real heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who didn't come back". I think after watching this film that Clint Eastwood made you'll have a better understanding for that quote.

Video Quality on this release is presented in 1080p VC-1 encoded on a 30gb HD DVD for the feature film. This film visually is up there with "Saving Private Ryan" in terms of amazing visual CG special effects and such. Even though war as it is portrayed in this film is a very ugly and disturbing thing to watch at times, this release in terms of video quality itself really does offer just an amazing transfer with great picture. The blacks are perfect, no artifacts or pixilation to be found in this video presentation. The cinematography style that this film as well as it's counter-part, "Letters from Iwo Jima" uses might lead some to think the contrast is off but it's just the visual style that Clint Eastwood was going for to show the time period in both films. This release is one of the best in terms of video quality yet from Paramount and I hope it's a sign of things to come.

Audio Quality on this release is the standard Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 @ 1.5Mbps. One thing most important to this sound mix is the fact it's a film about war, World War II at that. So it's kind of expected a movie like this have a great surround mix and I can honestly say it lives up to those expectations very much so. Dialog comes out in obviously the center and front channels as you'd expect in the less intense scenes of the film. When you're in the flashbacks of battle scenes of the film you really notice an awesome surround presence that will make you hear gunfire up close, distant or passing gunfire as well as mortar shells. The surround experience on this release is one that is sure to please any action film fan.

Bonus Materials are included on their very own extra HD DVD and are in High Definition. First off there's "An Introduction by Clint Eastwood" (5 minutes), then "Words on the Page" (17 minutes) which tells us a bit about the original book written by James Bradley. James is the son of John Bradley (played by Ryan Phillipe in the film). This feature offers interviews with James Bradley (again the book's original author) as well as the screenplay writers William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. Next is "Six Brave Men" (20 minutes) which tells the personal stories of each of the six real life soldiers in the photograph and offers interviews with the actors who portray them in this film. "The Making of an Epic" (30 minutes) is your typical making of documentary of a film. It includes interviews with everyone from the producer (Robert Lorenz), director of photography (Tom Stern), special effects coordinator, editor (Joel Cox), art director, costume designer and even the military technical adviser. "The Making of an Epic" is really by far the real highlight of the bonus materials for this film and looks amazing in High Def. "Raising the Flag" (3 minutes) is a short feature about reenacting the photograph that the film is primarily about in the film just as it was in real life. "Visual Effects" (15 minutes) is exactly what the name says, a feature on the visual ("CG") special effects used on this film. "Looking into the Past" (10 minutes) offers up a lot of old historical military video footage of the actual battle at Iwo Jima. History Channel fans will definitely love this while some of the more action film oriented crowd may want to skip this. The last feature included is the original Theatrical Trailer in High Def. This release definitely packs some great bonus materials on it's very own disc and is really impressive.

-- Review written by Justin Sluss of HighDefDiscNews.com

Simle Review.......2007-06-20

If you are thinking that this movie is "Saving Private Ryan" in the Pacific -- it is not.

If you are curious how World War II soldiers dealt with the experience of war, and the efforts of the U.S. government to fund World War II then you may find this movie interesting.

If you are interested in the battle of Iwo Jima take a look at Letters from Iwo Jima or the History channel.

Anti-War film with some fighting.......2007-06-18

I am not sure if anyone else saw this film the same way but I took it as a 90 minute Anti-War film with 15 minutes of battle scenes. Why was there so much time put into having the wrong names of the Marines who raised the flag on the island and the government covering it up? This point seem to be thrown out at you all throughout the film when there was on need for it. It should have been stated to set the record straight and then not brought up again. If they wanted to really honor the Marines they should have focused more on the events that took place during the battle, not the politics of the tour to increase the sale of War Bonds. Also the movie jumped around far too much. The son of one of the Marines who raised the flag was interviewing individuals who were on the island with flashbacks to the tour in the US for War Bonds who had flashbacks of the fighting which took place on the island. Too much time was wasted trying to figure out who was talking to who and at what point in time it was taking place. Someone should have watched "Saving Private Ryan" instead of "Pearl Harbour" before making this film. We have had enough anti-war talk from Hollywood. When is it going to stop? Don't waste your time with this movie, there are better films out there that honor the men and women who have fought for this country. Films like "The Longest Day" come to mind.

Pure Hollywood dreck.......2007-06-15

I held off even viewing the video due to the pre-release hype and spin. I could tell then it was a piece of hollywood revisionist BS, probably
one of the worst movies I have seen in the last 10 years.

While the effort was noble,wrapped in the flag for our veterans, and protected under their halo. The movie stunk. It stunk because Clint was trying to make it relevant. For example the the scene where the publicist for the bond drive rails about lack of money for the war, and the Arabs not giving us enough oil. Huh? Are we talking WWII or Iraq. Old Clint should check his facts. He laments that the factories can't produce bullets etc due to a bankrupt economy. Huh? WE WERE the worlds economy back then, producing more that all our adversaries AND Allies combined. Our soldiers on Okinawa and in the Phllipines would have been suprised to hear that we were out of bullets since they went on to fight unimpeded for another 6 months till the end of the war. The oilmen of the US, then the worlds largest producer and exporter of oil would have been amused too. The extent of the reserves in the Middle East were not known until AFTER the war. The US floated the Allies to victory on a ocean of oil produced in Texas and the mid continent. Period. The movie was pure liberal hollywood BS.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the military and lived on Okinawa, scene of the same kind of vicious fighting as seen on Iwo, only it lasted three MONTHS. Eastwood has made a film worth to stand with the likes of Pearl Harbor. It is filled to the top of a 50 gallon drum with stereotypes and ho hum characters. If all the Marines in real life were so uninteresting then I wonder why the battle even made the papers.

Only someone totally unfamiliar with the Pacific War, the battle, and the central characters, could believe half of the "facts" presented in the movie or sit through it to it's final painful but anti-clamatic ending.

The battle sequences while well done with special effects were totally underwhelming when mutilated by the "artistic" back and forth skipping from past to present and back again.

Marines didn't dare get out of their holes at night much less yell at the top of their lungs else they would have been cut to sashimi by Japanese infiltrators.

The sterotypes were horrible. While Ira was a tragic native american in life succumbing to alcoholism and probable PTSD, the only stereotypical prejudice he didn't endure in the movie was having to stand next to a cigar store indian. Clint missed out on putting a scene in about the prejudice against Black troops too, who by the way, had been allowed to enlist in the Marines by that time in the war due to shortage of men.

The movie failed on so many levels. I know that Letters from Iwo Jima will bet cudos over seas, because any movie showing US military men getting wacked plays well. The same fanaticism and sacrifice for a demi-god displayed by the Japanese is still with us today. I wonder if Eastwood will make THAT connection in the second part of his epic, or just protray them as tragically misled victims. Probably the latter.

Terrible.......2007-06-14

To put it in short, this movie is just terrible. I saw some of Clint Eastwood's other films, which I thought was of high standard. There was no character development in this movie, no depth and it follows a typical recipe, which so many other war movies followed in the past. It leaves no excitement and doesn't stay in one's thoughts afterwards.

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

Average customer rating:

A very good movie
Very bloody movie
63rd anniversary
Outstanding Movie
Quite Possibly the Best Movie of all Time!

Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)
Starring: Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper , and Adam Goldberg
Director: Steven Spielberg
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

War Epics | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Band of Brothers
Black Hawk Down [Region 99]
Braveheart
We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00001ZWUS
Release Date: 1999-11-02

Amazon.com essential video

When Steven Spielberg was an adolescent, his first home movie was a backyard war film. When he toured Europe with Duel in his 20s, he saw old men crumble in front of headstones at Omaha Beach. That image became the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, his film of a mission following the D-day invasion that many have called the most realistic--and maybe the best--war film ever. With 1998 production standards, Spielberg has been able to create a stunning, unparalleled view of war as hell. We are at Omaha Beach as troops are slaughtered by Germans yet overcome the almost insurmountable odds.

A stalwart Tom Hanks plays Captain Miller, a soldier's soldier, who takes a small band of troops behind enemy lines to retrieve a private whose three brothers have recently been killed in action. It's a public relations move for the Army, but it has historical precedent dating back to the Civil War. Some critics of the film have labeled the central characters stereotypes. If that is so, this movie gives stereotypes a good name: Tom Sizemore as the deft sergeant, Edward Burns as the hotheaded Private Reiben, Barry Pepper as the religious sniper, Adam Goldberg as the lone Jew, Vin Diesel as the oversize Private Caparzo, Giovanni Ribisi as the soulful medic, and Jeremy Davies, who as a meek corporal gives the film its most memorable performance.

The movie is as heavy and realistic as Spielberg's Oscar-winning Schindler's List, but it's more kinetic. Spielberg and his ace technicians (the film won five Oscars: editing (Michael Kahn), cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), sound, sound effects, and directing) deliver battle sequences that wash over the eyes and hit the gut. The violence is extreme but never gratuitous. The final battle, a dizzying display of gusto, empathy, and chaos, leads to a profound repose. Saving Private Ryan touches us deeper than Schindler because it succinctly links the past with how we should feel today. It's the film Spielberg was destined to make. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

A very good movie.......2007-06-18

This movie show you went really went on in WWII.

Very bloody movie.......2007-06-09

This is a very bloody movie and thats why i like it!

63rd anniversary.......2007-06-07

It's the 63rd anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy today so in honor of the fact, I watched this movie! Although I have seen it countless times and can speak every line from memory, this movie never ceases to amaze me. The only problem that I have is that the landing on Omaha beach, despite having some of the best special effects, still isn't accurate in terms of the gore (not that that matters anyway). You see, I watched this film with my mom's uncle who is a surviving veteran of the same opening scene on Omaha beach. He saw everything shown in the film 63 years ago and said that it does a great justice to the men who fought and died, but Spielberg got it all wrong. He was touched by the movie but told me that if I could only imagine it infinitely worse, the blood, gore, and death on a larger and more horrifying scale; I would barely be able to grasp what he had to go through. Nevertheless, I love this film.

Outstanding Movie.......2007-05-18

This movie starts with the D-Day landings and that ~20 minute scene reminds you that war is not a "splendid" idea...it's a horrific reality. Once that tone is set, the movie eases off a bit and lets you become enveloped in the concept of several people risking/sacrificing their lives for someone they've never met. That concept is very well developed throughout the movie. -- In addition, the CD includes an interview with Tom Hanks where he says (roughly), it's easy to get a picture of what it was like to be there...but there's no way a guy like me can ever know what it FEELS like to be there. -- As a diabetic who cannot serve in uniform, that accurate statement alone made the purchase worthwhile. -- I encourage people to watch this movie in order to remember what we can do when the chips are down.

Quite Possibly the Best Movie of all Time!.......2007-05-08

There is no doubt that Saving Private Ryan is one of my most favorite movies ever, if not the favorite. It's a great story set in the European theatre of WWII. Great plot. Great acting. Great effects. Great sound. Great emotion. This is just one heck of a film, and you're guaranteed to remember it if you see it. American military service at its finest, folks. My motto is, if a movie can make you cry, you know its really good. The first time I saw this, it made me tear. That's the honest to God truth.

Average customer rating:

Stephen King's Best Film Adaptations Are Not Horror Films
Throught provoking
good book
The most perfect movie I have ever seen.
The Green Mile

The Green Mile
Starring: Patricia Clarkson , James Cromwell , Jeffrey DeMunn , Dabbs Greer , and Bonnie Hunt
Director: Frank Darabont
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Forrest Gump (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
The Sixth Sense (Collector's Edition Series)
Cast Away (Special Edition Steelbook)
Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)

ASIN: B00003CWQU
Release Date: 2000-06-13

Amazon.com

"The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of movies. Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison drama (The Shawshank Redemption was the first) is a very faithful adaptation of King's serial novel. In the middle of the Depression, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) runs death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Into this dreary world walks a mammoth prisoner, John Coffey (Michael Duncan) who, very slowly, reveals a special gift that will change the men working and dying (in the electric chair, masterfully and grippingly staged) on the mile . As with King's book, Darabont takes plenty of time to show us Edgecomb's world before delving into John Coffey's mystery. With Darabont's superior storytelling abilities, his touch for perfect casting, and a leisurely 188-minute running time, his movie brings to life nearly every character and scene from the novel. Darabont even improves the novel's two endings, creating a more emotionally satisfying experience. The running time may try patience, but those who want a story, as opposed to quick-fix entertainment, will be rewarded by this finely tailored tale. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

John Coffey is not like the other death-row prisoners. He absorbs the pain of inmates and guards alike, heals their ailments, rights their wrongs. John Coffey works supernatural miracles. But will this falsely convicted gentle giant stave off his own execution? Tom Hanks leads a powerful ensemble that includes Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey in this powerful, uplifting tale reuniting The Shawshank Redemption s two major creative forces: filmmaker Frank Darabont and author Stephen King.

System Requirements:
Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene (II), and Sam Rockwell. Directed By: Frank Darabont. Running Time: 188 Min., Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Warner Home Video.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Stephen King's Best Film Adaptations Are Not Horror Films.......2007-06-24

This film is wonderful, although the ending is not at all what I had hoped for and I suspect that this might have been a part of why there were mixed reviews- beyond the comparisons with the book. It has a bit of Shawshank in it and some great actors that are familiar to King and Hanks best work.

Throught provoking.......2007-06-24

Usually, i dont like prison movies, but with Good ol Tom Hanks in the lead and the supernatural aspect Green Mile is an exception. This movie is sickening at times (the electrocution) Uplifting (the healings) It is a death row movie. This cast and crew do a great job. the special effects are great. The End gives the viewer something to think about at least it did me.

good book.......2007-06-06

Do you know what it's like to get blamed for something you never did, well this book THE GREEN MILE takes that to the extreme when John Coffey a miracle from God is accused for the rape and murder of two little girls. He really was trying to use the powers God gave him to heal the wounded or as he would say, "take it back." John found the little girls hurt and wounded and he tried to help them but they both died in his arms and that's were the police found John holding the dead girls. Cold Mountain Penitentiary (the green mile) is where John Coffey was sentenced to die from the electrical chair, and this is where basically the whole book takes place. The main characters in this book are Paul Edgecombe, Brutal, John Coffey, and more prison guards. This story takes place over 80 years from start to finish. The problem was that Paul had to put John Coffey a friend, gift from God, and also an innocent man to death. Paul solves this problem by asking John Coffey what he should do because he didn't want to kill an innocent man nor a gift from God. Paul asked, "on my judgment day, when the lord asks me why I killed one of his greatest miracles what will I say, that it was my job?" John just said, "You just tell him it was a kindness you had done." Three major events that affected the plot were John being put on death row, Finding out that John could heal the wounded, and when John died from electrocution. My favorite part in the book was when Percy Wetmore a man who nobody liked squashed Del's mouse just to be a jerk. So once Percy left John healed the mouse and Percy came back the mouse was running around and Percy could not believe his own eyes. I believe that the message in this story is that you should be good to people so they be good to you. This way when you die your not scared because you knew you were the best person you could be. In this book there is always something happening to make you want to keep reading. I would make the book a little bit shorter to improve it but that's the only thing. If you are going to read this book you should like action and entertainment.

The most perfect movie I have ever seen........2007-04-18

Ok, granted nothing can be completely perfect. But I never seem to be able to find a single thing to complain about in this film. It's based of what happens to be the only Stephen King novel I have ever read. While I love just about everything about it, the thing that always comes to mind is how perfectly every major role was cast in this film. Tom Hanks was definitely a wonderful choice for the central character. Nobody could be more perfect for the role of the gentle giant that is John Coffey than Michael Clarke Duncan. I'll never forget that huge reveal of what appears to be the scariest looking man imaginable until you finaly see his face and immediately know he wouldn't harm a hair on your head. Supporting characters are also well cast, especially those of Eduard Delacroix, Bill Wharton, and Percy Whetmore. If you haven't seen this movie I urge you to do yourself a favor and pick it up.

The Green Mile.......2007-03-24

The pinnacle of Tom Hanks' career, under the direction of a Master.

Saving Private Ryan (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

A very good movie
Very bloody movie
63rd anniversary
Outstanding Movie
Quite Possibly the Best Movie of all Time!

Saving Private Ryan (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper , and Adam Goldberg
Director: Steven Spielberg
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

War Epics | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Band of Brothers
Black Hawk Down [Region 99]
Braveheart
We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B0001NBLVI
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

A very good movie.......2007-06-18

This movie show you went really went on in WWII.

Very bloody movie.......2007-06-09

This is a very bloody movie and thats why i like it!

63rd anniversary.......2007-06-07

Outstanding Movie.......2007-05-18

Quite Possibly the Best Movie of all Time!.......2007-05-08

Flags of Our Fathers (Full Screen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Flags of Our Fathers (HD DVD) Review by Justin Sluss
Simle Review
Anti-War film with some fighting
Pure Hollywood dreck
Terrible

Flags of Our Fathers (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Ryan Phillippe , Jesse Bradford , Adam Beach , John Benjamin Hickey , and John Slattery
Director: Clint Eastwood
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

World War II | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]
Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000M4RG4C
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

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Product Description

Customer Reviews:

Flags of Our Fathers (HD DVD) Review by Justin Sluss.......2007-06-21

Simle Review.......2007-06-20

Anti-War film with some fighting.......2007-06-18

Pure Hollywood dreck.......2007-06-15

Terrible.......2007-06-14

Average customer rating:

A good movie.
Oh please
More than a just a movie, its an experience you live through
A TRUE Story and an Excellent Historical War Movie!
An excellent example of an air mobile assault

We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Mel Gibson , Madeleine Stowe , Greg Kinnear , Sam Elliott , and Chris Klein
Director: Randall Wallace
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Black Hawk Down [Region 99]
Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)
Platoon (Collector's Edition Steelbook)
The Patriot (Special Edition) [Region 99]
Hamburger Hill

ASIN: B000068TPN
Release Date: 2002-08-20

Amazon.com

Based on the book by Lt. Col. Harold Moore (ret.) and journalist Joseph Galloway, We Were Soldiers offers a dignified reminder that the Vietnam War yielded its own crop of American heroes. Departing from Hollywood's typically cynical treatment of the war, writer-director Randall Wallace focuses on the first engagement of American soldiers with the North Vietnamese enemy in November 1965. Moore (played with colorful nuance by Mel Gibson) and nearly 400 inexperienced troopers from the U.S. Air Cavalry were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army soldiers, and the film re-creates this brutal firefight with graphic authenticity, while telling the parallel story of grieving army wives back home. While UPI reporter Galloway (Barry Pepper) risks his life to chronicle the battle, Wallace offers a balanced (though somewhat fictionalized) perspective while eliciting laudable performances from an excellent cast. Like the best World War II dramas of the 1940s, We Were Soldiers pays tribute to brave men while avoiding the pitfalls of propaganda. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

A good movie........2007-06-23

THis movie tells of the men who fough and died in the Vietnam Nam War.

Oh please.......2007-06-18

Super American Mel has actually tarnished reality. He superbly recreates what transpired for the first 2/3rd of the movie. But that unbelievably embarrassing charge that hill ending is so far from the truth that it removes any redeemingvalue from this movie--read the book--see what happens the next day as the "relief" force marches back to camp.

I guess Mel thought that the follow up battle, which was even worse than X-Ray, never happened much like he and his father feel the holocaust never happened.

I know some reviewers have said how they got it right and that is true for the grunts, but what does the movie's John wayne message say to those who died at Albany onboth sides?

More than a just a movie, its an experience you live through.......2007-06-17

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.

A TRUE Story and an Excellent Historical War Movie! .......2007-06-11

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.......2007-06-07

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

Average customer rating:

Another great baseball movie!
Still the homerun King
Crystal's "Rewriting of history" is a shameful joke
Excelente
The M&M Race for the Babe's Single Season Record, SUBERB MOVIE!

61*
Starring: Barry Pepper , Thomas Jane , Anthony Michael Hall , Richard Masur , and Bruce McGill
Director: Billy Crystal
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Eight Men Out
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ASIN: B00005M20J
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Amazon.com

61* is an endearing ode to the baseball days of yore when the press was the enemy, salaries were in check, and breaking records with bat and glove took on Ruthian proportions. In 1961 baseball expanded its season from 154 games to 162, allowing weaker pitching into the major leagues and two New York Yankees teammates--the colorless Roger Maris and golden boy Mickey Mantle--to make an assault on the sport's ultimate record: Babe Ruth's 60 home runs. To add to the stew, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced any record set in the last eight games of the season wouldn't count toward the official record; records had to be achieved in 154 games.

Director Billy Crystal guarantees success for his movie in the perfect casting of the leads. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan's religious sniper) is deft as Maris, and Thomas Jane is a perfect Mantle, a superman in a Yankee uniform. Despite the differences between family man Maris and hard-living Mantle, they form a rewarding friendship amid the media and fan frenzy. The shy Maris took the brunt of the storm, even facing boo-birds in his home stadium. Crystal and first-time writer Hank Steinberg keep the pace moving quickly between the field, the locker room, the press box, and the home front. The film never tries to dazzle with more than the facts (and it softens Mantle up a bit), yet it belongs on the short list of grand baseball movies. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews:

Another great baseball movie!.......2007-05-29

I think that I have never watched a game of baseball on tv all the way through. I have been to see some great teams play live, including one of the last games with Nolan Ryan pitching. So you could say I'm not a fan, nor am I a complete non fan.

However, I find that I almost always love baseball movies! Bull Duram, The Natural, The Rookie, The Babe, Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out, etc, etc, etc...

Here in "61" is another great Drama, with comedic moments, but more so a touching film, that explores the trials and tribulations of greatness. Watching this fillm is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours!

Still the homerun King.......2007-03-07

I wasn't alive during the chase. Wasn't born until 20 years later. However my father was and his father as well. From what they tell me, it was a great time for baseball. It was a great time to be a baseball fan. Little did I know that in the summer of '98, I'd be going through a chase of my own. Yes, it was a great moment for baseball, and yes it was great to be a fan.

However, as we all now know, the most respected record in all of baseball was tainted soon after by allegations and denials and by the sheer un-believability that 61 and eventually 70 would fall. As baseball fans we went through enormous highs to then go through an enormous low. Some of us are still stuck down there actually.

So a couple of fans of my father's generation decided to come out with a true story of baseball glory. A real chase of monumental proportions was made available to us in the movie, 61. Some of us younger fans were glad we got to see records being broken, but now the majority of us feel cheated. We didn't get to see records being broken. We got to see records being stolen. So what do we have to look back to? What can we say was the greatest moment in baseball history while we were alive? Right now, I can't think of any. This is why I appreciate the efforts of this movie to tell the true-life story of the real chase between Mantle and Maris for Ruth's record. While I was never ther to witness it for myself, I can certainly paint a picture now thanks to Billy Crystal and to the actors involved.

I don't think I can rate this movie based on performances, but I can rate this movie based on facts and what is real. Something whole and pure was brought back to us some 40 years later to remind us of how pure the game used to be. This film is not the greatest film ever made, but if you're a generational baseball fan, this movie stands right next to the likes of Field of Dreams and others who were true to the sport of baseball.

Crystal's "Rewriting of history" is a shameful joke.......2006-12-30

Crystal's rewriting of history does no one any service. The historical scene about Mantle complaining that he "failed" his draft induction physical is laughable at best. Mantle was selected to the all star team that year! He was MVP later! Mantle was known as the "fastest man to first base" at this time, and his complaint that he couldn't serve is a joke. Boston Red Sox's Ted Williams, while in Korea on his SECOND tour of military duty (WWII was his first), stated when he was crash landed his fighter jet, he ran away from it "FASTER THAN MICKEY MANTLE!" Crystal a draft dodger himslf (Vietnam), should be ashamed of this portrayal of Mantle and rewriting history! Disgusting.

Excelente.......2006-11-07

This was a very fast service and the product filled all my expectatives, i recommed this movie and company.

Un servicio muy rapido y competitivo, lleno todas mis expectativas recomiendo a quien sea esta pelicula asi como la compañia.

The M&M Race for the Babe's Single Season Record, SUBERB MOVIE!.......2006-07-26

The Greatest race between two baseball players is told with the direction of big Yankees fan Billy Crystal & suberb performaces from Thomas Jane as #7 Mickey Mantle & Barry Pepper as #9 Roger Maris in the Yankee's 1961 season as the two marvels race to beat Babe Ruth's 1927 single season record of 60 homers. It's a suberb, enthralling, entertaining movie of America's past Time, It's a grand slam triumph & one of most accurate baseball movies ever made. If you liked "Field of Dreams" & "the Natural" witness baseball history at it's finest in the movies with "61*" "ROGER!" "ROGER!"

Average customer rating:

Surprisingly good film
Not all that bad
(:D) its good for me
OK Movie
Surprisingly Good!

Knockaround Guys
Starring: Jennifer Baxter , Andrew Davoli , Vin Diesel , Shawn Doyle , and Catherine Fitch
Director: Brian Koppelman
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Find Me Guilty

ASIN: B00007LB4C
Release Date: 2003-02-25

Amazon.com

An all-star cast enlivens this mobster movie. Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, Battlefield Earth) plays the central role of Matty, the son of a mob boss (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet, Speed) who's reluctant to give his son a shot at crime. Alas, when Matty and his posse of friends--tough guy Vin Diesel (Boiler Room, XXX), lover boy Andrew Davoli (The Sopranos), and screw-up Seth Green (the Austin Powers movies)--finally get an opportunity, they fumble the job, and a very important satchel of money ends up in a Montana town where the wily sheriff (Tom Noonan, Manhunter) decides he deserves a bonus for his years of public service. The posse's problems get worse when Matty's ruthless uncle (John Malkovich) comes to town to clean up the mess. Mechanical and unimaginative, but the capable performances keep it moving. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Four sons of well-known gangsters come face to face with their own legacy of violence and betrayal when they travel to a small Montana town to collect a large sum of cash.

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly good film.......2007-01-10

Delayed for a few years, but who can tell why? Pretty strong film, Diesel is okay but Seth Green really shines here. Worth a look, certainly.

Not all that bad.......2006-08-12

The story is pretty simple. The son of a wiseguy trusted his friend to bring like 500.000 $ back from somewhere. But his friend, who was flying the plane got a little high on coke and got a little paranoid, so he placed the bag with the money somewhere while he had his plane refueled. Sadly the bag got on another plane by mistake and well.. He and his friends go to the Town the plane went to. I mean it has interesting characters played by great actors like Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, Vin Diesel and finally Seth Green. The movie consists of a lot of profanity, a bit of drug use, a little bit of violence. (something for everyone).. Well and it's just light entertainment. You can't expect too much of this movie. The main problem is that the movie itself isn't sure what it wants to be. I mean, is it a comedy or a thriller or what? My final thought: Even though it's produced by Lawrence Bender (Tarantinos Producer), it is NOT a movie that inherits the qualities of most of his other producing ventures. But it is still watchable and a nice avocation
so lets say 3/5

(:D) its good for me.......2006-06-09

thought it was good didn't think it would be entertaining good job by the actors...

OK Movie.......2005-07-28

I was expecting this to be pretty bad. It wasn't. It wasn't very good either. The story, the pacing and for the most part, the acting (especially Pepper, who was excellent) was good, and it's fairly beleivable. Malkovich is hamming it up as usual, a few of the characters are poorly written, it is in serious need of a good soundtrack, and it's predictable. It ain't Goodfella's, but it's not as bad as the critics would have you believe either.

Surprisingly Good!.......2005-06-14

This is a film that deserves some credit for originality because the story and plot are something that the actors obviously had some fun with. Aside from someone getting killed near the end of the film, this is a film with a sense of humor.

Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Seth Green, and Dennis Hopper give good performances. This is a light film that doesn't take a lot of thought to get, which is okay.

Without going into a plot synopsis (I'm not going to explain something you can see for yourself), I will say that the story unfolds after Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) misplaces a valuable item earmarked for delivery to the New York mob at an airport in Montana. A contingency from New York headed by of Pepper and Diesel appear and set out in search of the lost item. They do this by first finding the biggest badass in the town and then proceed to beat the cr*p out of him.

It sounds like pretty half-baked idea, but then, the story continues to unfold. In the end, there's a little plot twist. One little thing about the movie I thought was cool was that they showed guys - some of the characters - playing handball in the courts outside Central Park. At the end of the film, the Malkovich character has a few things to say about losing at handball (and how much he doesn't like losing) at the end of the film. I could relate.

This isn't exactly a screen epic, but I gave it five stars anyway, because it's a very good 'B' film.

Average customer rating:

Unrealistic and annoying - one slow motion kill after another
Possibly the most realistic Vietnam war movie ever
They were Soldiers, and much more!!
The GORE of WAR
HD ACTION

We Were Soldiers [HD DVD]
Starring: Sam Elliott , Clark Gregg , Denis Leary , Keri Russell , and Madeleine Stowe
Director: Randall Wallace
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000GW8VTO
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Description

The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born lead