We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)

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:

Woman's point of view.......2007-07-19

I have probably seen every war movie made because my husband likes them. This one dealt also in the story lines of women getting the news from other wives that their husband weren't ever coming home not just the men out there in the field as some movies. I thought it was very good. It did hit a little close to home though with what all our country is going through now.

Not the best.......2007-07-18

I usually like Mel Gibson films especially "The Passion of the Christ," "Braveheart," the series of "Leathal Weapon" and "Mad Max." As a war film however, this film had a lot of defects. Obviously, this was not filmed in Southeast Asia. I know because I used to live there. The folliage and plants give away the location. They should have at least filmed it in the Hawaii Islands like in the case of "Tears of the Sun." This film is not even in my top 10 list of best war films, maybe in my top 30 if I stretch.

Great movie and it's true..........2007-07-08

While many of the reviews will focus on the story, all I would add is that this starts to put in place a very important turning point in the second Vietnam War..(This movie pays attention to the previous French attempt to fight on this ground). For me one of the most notable and telling scenes from this movie was in the deleted section when Hal Moore met with McNamara and informed him that this was not going to be an easy fight and that it was the wrong fight. This movie and the book stand as a shining example of the courage of the American soldier and the stupidity of their political leaders.

My favorite war movie of all time.......2007-06-27

We were soldiers is my favorite war movie, and that says something because it had to beat out Braveheart, Glory, Gettysburg, BlackHawk Down, WindTalkers and the Great Raid. What makes it so special is the courage and character of Hal Moore. I read the book, and the movie is very accurate. It also teaches me the history of the Vietnam war through the eyes of someone who is not trying to tear this country down. Best movie made about Vietnam by far.

A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war........2007-06-26

Mel Gibson does it again, moving well above and beyond the "typical" expectations of the war movie genre. There is not much I can add that hasn't already been said about the story itself. I would just say that the great strength of this film lies in its focus on the soldiers as real people, with real lives, real families, real personalities, etc. Gibson did an excellent job of emphasizing the emotional and psychological trauma of war, both for those in the battle and those waiting at home for news.

This production was gritty, realistic and hard-hitting, similar to the Private Ryan/Band of Brothers standard for graphic portrayal of war violence. Actors like Gibson, Kinnear, and Moore gave extemely believable performances, with Harris Pepper's character only marginally less convincing. Finally, I enjoyed the absence of political commentary or moralizing about the war overall. The only criticism that came across was directed toward the military leaders who put the 7th Cav. in that position in the first place. Beyond that, Gibson just told it like it was. Very well done indeed.

Average customer rating:

Graphics, Story, Blu-ray, get it!
subpar transfer
Into the Valley of Death
Dedication to One's Loyalties Against All Odds
Irresistibly watchable

We Were Soldiers [Blu-ray]
Starring: Sam Elliott , Clark Gregg , Denis Leary , Keri Russell , and Madeleine Stowe
Director: Randall Wallace
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000K7UG34
Release Date: 2007-01-23

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 leader committed to his troops. His target: the La Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind…dead or alive. We will all come home together."

Customer Reviews:

Graphics, Story, Blu-ray, get it!.......2007-05-31

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.

subpar transfer.......2007-03-18

this film looks terrible on my 1080p hdtv. this blu-ray disc looks worse than some of the regular dvds that get upscaled to 1080i thru my regular player. paramount should be ashamed of themselves.

Into the Valley of Death.......2007-02-01

Mel Gibson's WE WERE SOLDIERS is a provocative war film. It works effectively as an action war film but that is a rather simplistic assessment. What makes this film effective is the camaraderie that flourishes and intensifies amongst the American soldiers, their valor, heroism and Mel Gibson's sincere performance as the dedicated Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore who is the first man on and last man off the field of battle. The film is both intense and emotional and we also get to see their families stateside adding another perspective to this military engagement. Perhaps the film's greatest strength is its intimacy of putting the viewer in the center of this frenetic encounter where staying alive for the good of the whole involved reflex-like action tinged with a great deal of energy and emotion.

Dedication to One's Loyalties Against All Odds.......2007-01-12

What I like about this movie is how both sides are depicted in this vicious engagement during the Vietnam War. You get a genuine feeling of conviction for the ideals being fought for by both opposing officers in command. The fighting is fierce and the North Vietnamese are going to hold their ground at all costs. The Americans will try and take the ground until ordered otherwise. This film examines the nature of war through the eyes of both men in charge on the field of battle. Barry Pepper in a very colorful role represents every man's instinct to survive.

Irresistibly watchable.......2007-01-08

Well it is Mel all right; he started getting gung ho with whit "Brave heart" hand has been gearing up ever since. The only problem I have with this movie is I can not figure out what he has to say even when he tells you. With the probable exception of "All Quiet on the Western front", most war movies just use war as a back drop to their main purpose as in "Apocalypse Now" (an updated "Hart of Darkness"). This movie has the look and feel of an updated "Green Berets" Pluck out John Wayne and plug in Mel.

We know the base story is of the stand off of the NVA at Ia Drang November 1965 against overwhelming odds, with a little help of superior technology. The uniforms and equipment look pretty authentic. The terrain was well done also; it could be the real thing as much as California. Not all of Vietnam is swamp.

Even though there is a lot of action (more phosphorus than C4) this is not just a shootemup movie. They also focused on the wives back home, showing how they had to cope with the situation. There were also some cursory sub stories as a combat photographer getting more than he expected.

I have the same conundrum as others do that have not been there. The Vietnam I was in (67-68) had a few firefights; but most of the time it was our spies against their spies and there was no front. When we tangled both sides lost an even average of 15% but if you could find them and drop something on them you got your 15% from a safe distance. I was in the special reactionaries and trained for just the situation this movie depicts. I was the RTO and was supposed to fight out and retake the base to not let the NVA get a foot hold. However it never came.

One thing you can say about this movie is that you will get involved and almost forget that it is a movie.

Average customer rating:

Superior war film that looks great in HD
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

We Were Soldiers [HD DVD]
Starring: Sam Elliott , Clark Gregg , Denis Leary , Keri Russell , and Madeleine Stowe
Director: Randall Wallace
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD 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 leader committed to his troops. His target: the la Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."

Customer Reviews:

Superior war film that looks great in HD.......2007-09-16

Being a child of the Vietnam era who elected NOT to fight, resisting the pressure of two parents who were WWII Vets (who relunctantly supported me when Walter Cronkite finally broke-thru Gen. Westmoreland's babble), I am surprised how much this film affected me. It is a great war film, but the scenes of the wives back home receiving their "We regret to inform you.." Western Union telegrams is both horrific and poignant. In comparison, "Apocalypse Now" seems almost cartoon-like. Forget the bad press about Mel Gibson: he gives a performance worthy of George C Scott's Patton, (and Sam Elliot once displays his remarkable talent), and I totally agree with another review who compares this film to Zulu - a film I defy to watch and not be moved and brought to tears. This is my first HD film and if the others I purchase match the video and audio content of We Were Soldiers, I feel justified in my purchase of my new DVD player!

Unrealistic and annoying - one slow motion kill after another.......2007-06-24

There are hundreds (at least it seems that way) of deaths shown in slow motion. It gets really annoying. Ruins what could have been a good movie.

Possibly the most realistic Vietnam war movie ever.......2007-06-14

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!

They were Soldiers, and much more!!.......2007-05-15

I like this movie, and especially on HD. Overall, the story was good, and it was just passionate scene with Mel and Pepper at the end. I bought this for my HD Collection and I'm happy to say that it was worth the purchase! Although, its not the best HD DVD Movie that I own, it is certainly a great movie about a war. Keep me at the edge of my seat! Good war movies, and I hate war movies, but it drew me in every minute. Atleast give it a watch to see if you would like it before you by the Standard or HD version.

The GORE of WAR.......2007-05-14

Warning do not eat anything during this film (because of the gory scenes)This HIGH-DEF WAR FILM does not hide anything,the pictures talk for themselves An absolutely Brilliant FILM only to be surpassed from the sound,amazingly detailed and directional the best gunshot sounds i have ever heard on film,you can tell with closed eyes which weapon is being fired and from where.You are virtually captured in this war film.At the end I crept out from behind my couch to check the floor of my Home Cinema for blood stains and the walls for bullet holes.It dosen't get more realistic than this unless you are a soldier

Average customer rating:

Woman's point of view
Not the best
Great movie and it's true...
My favorite war movie of all time
A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war.

We Were Soldiers
Starring: Mel Gibson , Madeleine Stowe , Greg Kinnear , Sam Elliott , and Chris Klein
Director: Randall Wallace
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000069HSP

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Woman's point of view.......2007-07-19

Not the best.......2007-07-18

Great movie and it's true..........2007-07-08

My favorite war movie of all time.......2007-06-27

A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war........2007-06-26

We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Collection)

Average customer rating:

Irresistibly watchable
Camaraderie and Heroism
Dedication to One's Loyalties

We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Collection)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GLDOXS

Customer Reviews:

Irresistibly watchable.......2007-02-18

Camaraderie and Heroism.......2007-02-09

Heroism and camaraderie seem to go hand in hand in the better war films. Cy Endfield's ZULU and Andrew V. McLaglen's THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE come to mind. Somewhere, WE WERE SOLDIERS fits in that category and stature of film.

Mel Gibson's WE WERE SOLDIERS is a provocative war film. It works effectively as an action war film but that is a rather simplistic assessment. What makes this film effective is the camaraderie that flourishes and intensifies amongst the American soldiers, their valor, heroism and Mel Gibson's sincere performance as the dedicated Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore who is the first man on and last man off the field of battle. The film is both intense and emotional and we also get to see their families stateside adding another perspective to this military engagement. Perhaps the film's greatest strength is its intimacy of putting the viewer in the center of this frenetic encounter where staying alive for the good of the whole involved reflex-like action tinged with a great deal of energy and emotion.

Barry Pepper as journalist Joe Galloway and Duong Don as Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu An give standout performances. Dean Semlerand's cinematography and Kevin Kavanaugh's Art Direction were essential to the look and overall effectiveness of this film.

Dedication to One's Loyalties.......2007-02-02

Mel Gibson Ultimate Collection (Braveheart / Payback - The Director's Cut / We Were Soldiers)

Average customer rating:

Mel Gibson Ultimate Collection (Braveheart / Payback - The Director's Cut / We Were Soldiers)
Starring: Mel Gibson
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000M3439Y
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Amazon.com

Braveheart
Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning 1995 Braveheart is an impassioned epic about William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish leader of a popular revolt against England's tyrannical Edward I (Patrick McGoohan). Gibson cannily plays Wallace as a man trying to stay out of history's way until events force his hand, an attribute that instantly resonates with several of the actor's best-known roles, especially Mad Max. The subsequent camaraderie and courage Wallace shares in the field with fellow warriors is pure enough and inspiring enough to bring envy to a viewer, and even as things go wrong for Wallace in the second half, the film does not easily cave in to a somber tone. One of the most impressive elements is the originality with which Gibson films battle scenes, featuring hundreds of extras wielding medieval weapons. After Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky, Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight, and even Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, you might think there is little new that could be done in creating scenes of ancient combat; yet Gibson does it. --Tom Keogh

We Were Soldiers
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

Product Description

Payback - The Director's Cut
In Brian Helgeland's new director's cut of the film, Mel Gibson portrays Porter, a career criminal bent on revenge after his partners in a street heist pump metal into him and take off with his $70,000 cut. Bad move, thugs. Because if you plan to double-cross Porter, you'd better make sure he's dead. Porter resurfaces, wading into a lurid urban underworld of syndicate kingpins, cops on the take, sniveling informants and deadly gangs. Porter wants his money back. And the way he sets out to get is assures that, from beginning to heart pounding end, Payback pays off big.

Average customer rating:

Woman's point of view
Not the best
Great movie and it's true...
My favorite war movie of all time
A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war.

We Were Soldiers [Region 2]
Starring: Mel Gibson , Madeleine Stowe , Greg Kinnear , Sam Elliott , and Chris Klein
Director: Randall Wallace
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006BT9R

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Woman's point of view.......2007-07-19

Not the best.......2007-07-18

Great movie and it's true..........2007-07-08

My favorite war movie of all time.......2007-06-27

A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war........2007-06-26

Average customer rating:

Woman's point of view
Not the best
Great movie and it's true...
My favorite war movie of all time
A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war.

We Were Soldiers [Region 2]
Starring: Mel Gibson , Madeleine Stowe , Greg Kinnear , Sam Elliott , and Chris Klein
Director: Randall Wallace
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007JQTI

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Woman's point of view.......2007-07-19

Not the best.......2007-07-18

Great movie and it's true..........2007-07-08

My favorite war movie of all time.......2007-06-27

A very gripping, intensely human look at the reality of war........2007-06-26

Average customer rating:

A Very So-So Release....
Upscaled DVD

We Were Soldiers - HD DVD

Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

HD DVD

ASIN: B000KC1RE6

Product Description

We Were Soldiers HD DVD

Customer Reviews:

A Very So-So Release...........2006-12-05

Disc Picture:
Colors are fairly balanced in the 2.35:1 VC-1-encoded HD DVD picture, with deep reds and greens. While some scenes can look finely detailed, there are many that are poorly focused and occasionally smeared. Shadow delineation is not great, and blacks look downright milky. The result is an image that is very flat with little dimensionality. The picture really is not very good.

Soundtrack:
This is the first HD DVD to include a "5.1 EX Dolby® Digital Plus" encoding, but because the HD-XA1 does not include 6.1-channel analog out, and we do not yet have a reference processor that includes an HDMI input for audio, I was not able to evaluate the quality of the matrix center back surround channel. Because the DTS® ES(tm) encoding can be transmitted over S/PDIF, however, I could evaluate it. While the mix is quite good, fidelity can be limited, with a slightly thin presence. Dynamic range is fantastic and the timbre of various guns is delivered very well. The split surrounds play a very prominent role, and the discrete center surround of the DTS track is very welcome for the improved surround imaging, but the decreased fidelity of the DTS track is noticeable in a edgy ringing that is especially audible in the vocal range.

Upscaled DVD.......2006-11-12

We were soldiers on HD-DVD is basically the DVD recorded at 1080p/i. Unfortunately this means that instead of the incredibly clear picture you get with movies like King Kong, this movie seems kind of fuzzy and not as sharp as an HD-DVD movie should be. I watched this movie on my upscaling DVD player a while back and this looks exactly the same. The content on the disc is also less as they don't have the deleted scenes that included something I really liked with Mel Gibsons character debriefing his superiors and them ignoring his feedback. Great movie though, if you haven't seen it it's a great war movie.

We Were Soldiers (wide screen) / A Bright Shining Lie [2 DVD]

Average customer rating:

We Were Soldiers (wide screen) / A Bright Shining Lie [2 DVD]

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Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EPPC9A

DVD:

DVD

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