Soldier's Girl

Amazon.com

Cable networks like Showtime are diving into risky material that mainstream movie-makers shy away from--and Soldier's Girl demonstrates the payoff of such risks. Barry Winchell (Troy Garity, Barbershop), new to an infantry base in Tennessee, gets taken to a nightclub for drag performers by an obnoxious fellow soldier, Fisher (Shawn Hatosy, Outside Providence). There he meets Calpernia (Lee Pace), a transgendered performer, and feels an immediate attraction. But as Winchell's relationship with Calpernia develops, his relationship with the repressed Fisher grows dangerous to his career in the military--and possibly to his life. Based on a true story, Soldier's Girl tackles its delicate subject matter directly but respectfully, with compassion and intelligence. Garity, Pace, and Hatosy all turn in compelling, complex performances, steering clear of stereotypes. Director Frank Pierson (screenwriter of Dog Day Afternoon) skillfully avoids easy answers or obvious solutions and was deservedly nominated for an Emmy as a result. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The true story of Soldier's Girl, which takes place in Fort Campbell, KY, tells the heart-wrenching story of the life and tragic death of soldier Barry Winchell. His love for Calpernia Addams, a beautiful transgendered nightclub performer was misunderstood by fellow soldiers and eventually leads to his brutal death. The outstanding performances by Lee Pace and Troy Garity will draw you into this emotional and powerful film.

Customer Reviews:

A politically charged story told as a romance (one of the best romances out there these days).......2007-06-18

Soldier's Girl, based on a true story, is one of the most compelling love stories ever portrayed on the big screen. It is the story of an Army infantry soldier who falls for a transgendered performer at a drag club. Barry Winchell is forced near Calpernia by circumstance, and is surprised by his own interest in and desire for her.

The unlikely romance is beset by tensions originating from Winchell's obsessive-compulsive, Ritalin-addicted barracks roommate. The roommate, Justin Fisher, is the one who dared Winchell to talk to Calpernia in the first place. He's a lonely, conflicted redneck who is searching for friends while alienating nearly everyone around him. Soldier's Girl is as much the story of Winchell and Calpernia as it is that of Fisher's explosive temper and confusion about the world.

Winchell is a simple, courteous man who wants to succeed in the Army, keep the peace, and protect is right to a private life. He's Fisher's only true friend, even as Fisher needles the company to create trouble for his friend. Winchell's desire for a career in the Army is at odds with his "deviant lifestyle"--and Fisher has prompted a company sergeant to launch an off-the-record investigation to root out out the "homosexual" hiding in their midst.

The love story is Calpernia's first relationship with a man as a woman, so she's doing as much soul searching as her Army boyfriend, who much reconcile his love with the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy of the US military. (Calpernia herself was enlisted in the Navy at one point, right out of high school.) The behind-the-scenes interviews and documentary about the real life Barry Winchell enhance the presentation of this politically charged romance. The movie makers elected to portray a political drama as a love story. to point out the consequences of military policy in a subtle manner, and allow the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions.

Absolutly Brilliant Documentary.......2007-05-12

Simply one of the most heartbreaking storys to hit the Transgendered world. Everyone who played in this movie was absolutly brilliant with their roles. You could sense that the actors actually felt in their hearts as if they themselves lived the lives of their character. The interviews are as interesting as the movie. Calpernia Adams is the one of my most admired women on the planet. Her strengths and support to both men and women brings out the passion of her incredable journey in making this world a better place.

Soldier's Girl.......2007-05-06

The movie started out slow. The charters played there parts every well. I also liked the music that was played during the movie. It was tromatic off and on threw out the movie. It was a excellent movie!

A sad but triumphant story.......2007-03-31

This true love story of Calpernia Adams and her boyfriend, is very moving. This movie clearly presents the discrimination,harrassments and consequences of being transgender in a small non-accepting town. Lee Pace provides a very convincing portrayal of Calpernia and Troy Garrity delivers very good as her boyfriend. In the end it shows Calpernia's resolution to move forward in life.

Absolutely Amazing.......2007-01-20

heartfelt, crying, love.

I LOVE this movie, def worth the money, amazing period.

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God

Average customer rating:

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God
Good overview of the life of Saint Joan of Arc
Secularized story just doesn't cut it - skip this one
Documentary of Joan of Arc
The Warrior and Saint

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God

Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

ASIN: B000EU1OXI
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Description

Joan Of Arc: Child Of War, Soldier Of God An illiterate peasant girl, Jeanne d'Arc emerged at 17 from an obscure corner of war-torn France, rallied a demoralized army and changed the course of history. Inspired by "her voices," she stunned the English invaders, brought about the coronation of the Dauphin and dazzled even her persecutors with her wit and grace. Now go beyond the image of this legendary heroine and discover a fascinating young woman struggling to achieve her own vision in a brutal and dangerous world. Running Time: Approx. 60 Minutes Color/NTSC/Stereo 05-51626

Customer Reviews:

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God.......2007-08-23

I thought it was a wonderful bio about Joan of Arc that I've never knew before. Well done.

Good overview of the life of Saint Joan of Arc.......2007-07-17

This is a well-done documentary that gives a good overview of the life of Saint Joan of Arc. If you do not know much about the life of Saint Joan this is a good place to start and will teach you the highlights of her life. Even if you already know her story, you will still probably enjoy it as I did. I especially liked the French accents and the way they refer to her as she was called in her native tongue: Jehanne. They also did a good job in choosing an actress that fits the historical descriptions of Saint Joan. Most importantly, unlike so many modern books and films, this one does not try to explain her life apart from God and her supernatural Voices. There are some minor historical mistakes like what caused her capture (it was a drawbridge raised not gates closed), but overall a good docudrama that most will enjoy.

Secularized story just doesn't cut it - skip this one.......2007-05-16

As a St. Jeanne d'Arc devotee, I was please to see a new dvd with positive reviews; one even claiming this was the best movie on St. Joan out there. WRONG!!!! I rated this documentary with two stars instead of one because it does cover many actual events in her life. Unfortunately, it does so from an entirely secular and skeptical point of view. No credit is given to God or the Faith; only to Jeanne herself and how her personal beliefs motivated her. Not THE Truth, but her own personal beliefs. It is quick to point out the miraculous nature of many events in her life, but portrays them as extraordinary human events, with certainly no credit to anything divine. Yeah right. Like a 16 year old peasant girl in male-ruled Europe just happened to get on a horse and lead her country to victory after victory. Nope, nothing special there! Anyway, another disturbing aspect of the documentary is several of the "experts" exhibit their own biases and beliefs when they interpret Joan's own words for themselves. For example, they claimed that Joan's visions were not actually Saints; she simply said they were later on during her trial to avoid persecution. Poppycock!

So skip this biased film. It isn't worth the money, and it certainly is not worthy of the Saint herself.

Documentary of Joan of Arc.......2007-03-08

Interesting documentary of Joan's life. It is very much like the Movie by LeeLee Sobieski. For those interested in the subject, it is a comfortable viewing and informational.

The Warrior and Saint.......2006-08-19

Based on the actual testimony of Jeanne d'Arc, this marvelous film is part re-enactment and part documentary, combining quality acting and cinematography, and interviews with people like Siobhan Nash-Marshall, author of "Joan of Arc: A Spiritual Biography," and Kelly DeVries, author of "Joan of Arc: A military Leader." It also shows paintings from the era, and the resemblance of the actors to some of the artwork, especially Michal Havelka, who plays the Dauphin Charles, is remarkable. Lucie Vondrackova's portrayal of Joan is moving and believable, and Tomas Karger is excellent as Alencon. Anna Paquin does the voice over as Joan, and Alfred Molina pulls the story together with his narration.

Producer/director Pamela Mason Wagner has brought the many dimensions of this account into a cohesive one-hour docudrama, which was presented by Faith and Values Media for the Hallmark Channel, and filmed in France and the Czech Republic. If you know nothing about Joan of Arc, you will learn a lot, and if you are familiar with the life of this incredible saint, whose strength was her submission to God's will, you will appreciate how well her story has been told.

Joan was only 13 when she started to hear voices guide her, and 17 when she became a warrior for France. This illiterate teenager led an army, stood her ground against Bishop Cauchon's difficult questions for weeks, and changed history. In a closing statement, the narrator states "Joan's story is an inspiration to anyone who believes in following your Voice, even if it consumes you."

The DVD Special Features include a biography, timeline, and "Important People and Events," but you need a PC capable of playing DVD-ROM to access them, which I do not have, so cannot comment on them.

Also highly recommended for further viewing is Carl Dreyer's silent masterpiece "The Passion of Joan of Arc."

Average customer rating:

ACHTUNG! CHEESE ALERT!

SS Girls (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Lucic "Benny" Bogoljub , Gabriele Carrara , Marina Daunia , Vassilli Karis , and Macha Magal
Manufacturer: Exploitation Digital
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B0008FPISQ
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Customer Reviews:

ACHTUNG! CHEESE ALERT!.......2005-06-15

I had a good time with SS GIRLS. It's not bogged down with grim, sordid torture scenes, instead offering a heaping platter of cheesy chuckles served up by a harem of naked Euro-sluts. Some of the badly dubbed dialog is absolutely hysterical. Of particular note is the astonishingly overwrought "performance" - if you can call it that - of Gabriele Carrara as the demented SS officer Schellenberg. Other than running about 10 minutes too long (director Bruno Mattei, who also co-scripted, tacks on a pointless soliloquy by a minor character near the end), SS GIRLS hits all the right Eurotrash notes. There's oodles of female nudity (with some lesbianism and S&M in the mix), a number of scenes in very bad taste (that thankfully don't get TOO revolting), and loads of unintentional humor. Mattei even tosses in a bit of action in the form of a Russian tank attack.

Average customer rating:

THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER
Starring: Nelson Eddy , and Rise Stevens
Manufacturer: Classicline
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ASIN: B000HKL80O

Product Description

Brand new, factory sealed, fully licensed DVD manufactured in Brazil. NTSC format. Playable on any North American DVD player. Full screen black and white image. Original English dialog with optional subtitles in Portuguese. Portuguese subtitles can be easily turned off. The following review appears in Amazon for the VHS edition: "After their seventh teaming in Bittersweet did not fare as well in the box office the previous year, MGM decided to split Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald for their next films. Nelson was given his choice of leading lady and he picked Rise Stevens of the Metropolitan Opera. Rise Stevens had appeared with him on radio so Nelson's motives weren't completely to hurt Mayer financially. They worked well together here and maybe they could have been a screen team themselves. Rise Stevens had a good gift for comedy, very much like that other singer/actress Irene Dunne. But after The Chocolate Soldier and an appearance in Going My Way with Bing Crosby, she left the silver screen. Eddy and Stevens look so good and sing so beautifully on stage, but that doesn't account for Eddy's all consuming jealousy over his wife. His Othello act doesn't even need an Iago for a boost, he's creating all kinds of imaginary lovers for Stevens. The two leads have some nice duets together, particularly the My Hero duet from Oscar Straus's Chocolate Soldier. But the big hits of this film are Moussorgsky's Song of the Flea and another song While My Lady Sleeps written by Bronislau Kaper and Gus Kahn. Both were standard items in Nelson Eddy concerts. Eddy recorded both, however the version I have of the Song of the Flea is in English and in The Chocolate Soldier, Nelson sings it in the original Russian. It was a good teaming Eddy and Stevens and since right after this Jeanette and Nelson would be doing their last film together, I Married an Angel, it's unfortunate Stevens and Eddy did not do a few more films together themselves."

DVD:

DVD

DVD