Saints and Soldiers

Customer Reviews:

Plays well in SLC; others beware.......2007-05-15

If you factor in a one million dollar budget (the equivalent of paying $3.82 for a new car), and if you sufficiently lower your expectations accordingly, then this movie is easy enough way to pass the time. The battle scenes are fairly well done, although relying heavily on the Saving Private Ryan/Gladiator style jerky cinematography. I have to admit that seeing the M1 Garand in full throat is always stirring to me, even if the rest of a movie is sort of cheesy.

And that's what this movie is. Other reviewers (the ones who may not be Romney supporters) have noted the cornball dialogue. It's really shameful, and it's difficult to see why even with a million-dollar budget, that the film-makers couldn't have provided a better script. I just about turned the movie off when Deacon was reunited with an old Sunday School chum. Give me a freakin' break!

For a more potent, more ambiguous, and less preachy vision of religion in war, readers are encouraged to check out To End All Wars. Or for that matter, Sergeant York with Gary Cooper!

Excellent work of recreating a little-heard of piece of history........2007-03-07

I have to admit, I had never heard of the events this movie is based on until I watched the movie. However, this made the movie even more interesting to me. After watching the commentary in the special features, I do not think this movie could have been made much better. To begin with, the movie recreates a true story, thus limiting the liberties the producers could take with the story. Then to make this movie on a small budget and still make it look as good as it did, I am impressed.
This movie is not without its faults, however. There were such things as German soldiers walking only yards away the footprints of the American soldiers in the snow without seeing those footprints. Maybe something similar happened in the actual event, but the movie could have been a little more realistic and simply not have had the German soldiers walk so close to the Americans' hideout.
Even so, I found the movie to be rather intriguing. The main character is quickly shown to be a Christian haunted by memories from. A good portion of the movie is a sort of gradual revealing of exactly what it is that haunts him. One thing that I found really meaningful was how the ending played out. As a Christian myself, I found it a little easier to understand the main character (yes, I have forgotten his name!) and I was able to see the ending in a different light than a non-Christian might. The best way to explain this without giving away too many details is by saying that it shows the literal explanation of the Bible verse that says, "No greater love is this, that a man should lay down his life for his friend."

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and for several reasons. First, it was about WW2 history, specifically some WW2 history that I was previously unaware of. Second, there was plenty of action and surprises, regardless of what other reviewers might say. Third, although it is never stated or really even implied, I personally think that this is a Christian movie. In showing true history, the producers also showed the good side of true Christianity.
Once again, i really enjoyed this movie and I highly recommend it. If you do see it, I would suggest you also watch the following commentary. Enjoy.

Clashing Symbols.......2007-02-19

Saints and Soldiers is an excellent example of how one botched element can spell the difference between a home run and a routine out to deep center field. I was stunned to learn that this movie was made for a million dollars, on screen it looks like a full-budget feature film with plenty of production value. The sense of place is compelling; the snowy woods are beautiful and forbidding all at once. We feel tremendous empathy for this band of unfortunate soldiers at war with both the elements and the German soldiers who surround them.

A scroll at the movie's start states that the story is based on actual events. This increasingly commonplace technique does not add value. Indeed, it is true, to one extent or another, of all stories. Further, it is intended to add weight, drama, and validity to what we are about to see. Unless the story is literally accurate, this seems like a cheap device. In war there are a thousand stories like this, where ordinary people achieve extraordinary things as they find themselves in inconceivable situations. It is the responsibility of the story to generate its own drama.

The no-name cast does a very credible job and certainly deserve to get more work based on their performances here. The problem is with the ham-fisted symbolism of the script, and the really shabby dialogue. The symbolism is high school English stuff and revolves around the character of Deacon. Deacon was a missionary in Germany before the war, but is also the group's best marksman! Gosh, how ironic. Deacon's humanism transcends the goodies versus baddies mentality that drives everyone else - when he inevitably dies the director actually has the nerve to pose him on the ground ala Jesus on the cross. Starting with a great story and reducing it to blatant manipulation of this sort is the kind of twaddle we are used to in big budget pictures.

Worse still is the dialogue itself. The smallest amount of care would have eliminated many phrases that did not come into fashion for at least 30 years after the war ended. I fully expected Deacon to say, "Oh ma gawd, I am so totally sure, my rifle jammed, oh whatever, Heather!" This is sloppy at best. Also questionable was the stereotypical British paratrooper who would have been more comfortable on an episode of Fawlty Towers than in this film. Director Ryan Little would do well to remember that the British were fighting the Germans for many years before the Americans showed up.

A good film that missed being great. But then if your outfit only has one rifle, you have to make your shot count.

Deeply Moving.......2007-01-28

It takes a lot to move me and this movie did it. This movie really digs into the emotions of the heroes who served us and who to this day are suffering the physical and emotional scars so we could live such a great life in the greatest country on earth. I really connected with the characters and could not imagine anyone else playing their parts; especially Corbin Allred. His Staff Sgt. looked a lot like my grandfather who was in the China-Burma-India Theater in WW II. I served in the Marines in the mid-1980's and when I see a WW 2 vet nowadays, I always go up and speak to him and I have never met one that has not appreciated it. Please do the same. God bless our WW II heroes and thank you to the makers of this film.

Must have........2006-12-22

Good story. Audio and Video quality is excellent. I consider it one of the best in my collection.

Up from the Ashes DVD - SAINT - DELIVERANCE - ONCE DEAD - ULTIMATUM

Average customer rating:

Up from the Ashes DVD - SAINT - DELIVERANCE - ONCE DEAD - ULTIMATUM

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Live footage and clips from the Up From the Ashes concerts I & II. Featuring Saint, Deliverance, Final Axe, Once Dead, Ultimatum, Holy Soldier, and more.

Saints And Soldiers [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg. 4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

On the Battlefield, Personal Survival and Bonding are Essential
A Good Little War Film
soldier as saint?!

Saints And Soldiers [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg. 4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Ryan Little
Manufacturer: Excel
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: A handful of fighting men must defy the odds to save their own lives and thousands of others in this drama set during World War II. In late 1944, a band of nearly a hundred American soldiers are making their way through a wooded region of Belgium when they are ambushed by German forces in a battle that became known as ?the Malmady Massacre.? Inspired by a true story, Saints and Soldiers was the first feature film from Ryan Little a Utah-based filmmaker who previously made a number of short subjects relating to issues of faith in the Church of Latter Day Saints. Special Features: Trailer(s)

Customer Reviews:

On the Battlefield, Personal Survival and Bonding are Essential.......2007-02-04

So many films about war, and especially about WW II, focus on the 'good guys' (read Allied troops) versus 'bad guys' (read Germans) and the monumental confrontations that have gained heroic monikers like D-Day, Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, etc. The film crews spend millions to re-enact these epic battles. At times the individuals within the massive units are brought into focus ('Saving Private Ryan', etc) but primarily they are frontal decoration for the Big Effects created to stun the audience.

Then comes along a small scale independent film like SAINTS AND SOLDIERS and while the battles are there and realistically created, this time they are background settings for this intimate story of the survival of four men and how that survival and a concerted mission serve to allow each to become wholly vulnerable despite all the societal taboos for honest, fragile emotions in men at war. The only other film of this scale and intent that comes to mind is the Peter Berg 1992 film A MIDNIGHT CLEAR.

The story of SIANTS AND SOLDIERS revolves around true events - the massacre of US soldiers at Malmedy, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Four young soldiers escape the German horror: Deacon (Corbin Allred), a lad without vices who had been a pre-war missionary (? Mormon) in Berlin and speaks the language; Medic Steven Gould (Alexander Niver) who was forced to give up Medical School to go to war; Gordon Gunderson (Peter Holden) who has bonded with Deacon; Private Shirl Kendrick (Lawrence Bagby) who is a simple Mississippi boy who has never been kissed. Joining them early on is the parachute entrapped Flight Sergeant Oberon Winley (Kirby Heyborne) who has urgent intelligence gained from reconnaissance during a shot-down plane mission. Together these men survive the cold of winter, lack of food and shelter and adequate arms, and set out on a mission to help Winley deliver his coded intelligence to the Allied troops, a fact that could save thousands of lives.

Along the way we learn the various secrets about the individual men's lives back home and their psychological baggage that accompanies them in the snow forests of Belgium. Each has a burden and each learns from the others, agonizing as some are lost, yet compelled to complete their task: Deacon copes with the fact that he mistakenly destroyed a mother and children in a raid, disillusioned Medic Gould has lost faith in a higher being because of the sights of the war and languishes over Deacon's humanity to even the Germans, Gunderson is obsessed with defending Deacon's near fall into shell shock, etc. The now five men are propelled along the course of the war growing from each other's spirits.

The photography for this low budget film is utterly magnificent and was shot by the director Ryan Little himself. The story, based on fact, was altered and adapted for the screen by Geoffrey Panos and Matt Whitaker. The actors are true to ensemble acting - all sensitive, each well performed. And while it is difficult to isolate individuals, the work of Alexander Niver and Corbin Allred is extraordinary. Crowning this deeply moving film is the powerful, sensitive, beautiful musical score by J Bateman and Bart Hendrickson. This is one of those perfectly written, directed, acted, photographed, and scored little wonders that restore faith in the integrity of movies. Highly Recommended for all audiences. Grady Harp, February 07

A Good Little War Film.......2007-02-04

I really enjoyed this film. Despite the rather glaring mistake(no members of the 101st airborne division were involved in the Malmedy massacre), this film ranks with the best of the movies about WW2. It tells the story of 5 soldiers who must band together under difficult circumstances, and it does so with a lot of skill, heart, and even humor.

soldier as saint?!.......2007-01-25

Is it my imagination or do most war films feature a character named "Sarge?" The characters always talk tough to one another, ask where their buddy is from, play cards, smoke precious cigarettes, and beat the odds. One hails from Brooklyn, another from the Louisiana bayou. One is a pacifist with moral qualms, another a hardened atheist. Despite the many awards this film won, I found it predictable and mediocre. Four American soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines, and when they are joined by a stranded British paratrooper they realize that they have vital information that they must smuggle back to the Americans. So they trudge through bitter snow and accomplish the task. No, that was never in doubt. Along the way they encounter a Belgian housewife in an abandoned farmhouse who feeds them. Nice. One of the soldiers, Deacon, a former missionary, speaks German so fluently and without an accent that he gets them past Nazi soldiers. Hmmm. The film does humanize the soldiers, though, including a sympathetic Nazi, so they are thus not only warriors but also saints.

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