The Lost Battalion

Amazon.com

The true World War I story of an American unit that was surrounded by German troops and pounded mercilessly for days (at times even by its own artillery) is vividly portrayed in this made-for-television film starring Rick Schroder. Playing a patrician New York City lawyer commissioned a major and sent into combat, Schroder commands a battalion composed of New York wiseacres as well as so-called "apple knockers" from the West. The plot is straightforward (and will be familiar to those who know World War I history), but the film rises above what could have been a clichéd telling of the story of Major Whittlesey and his heroic men. The action sequences, shot tightly with hand-held cameras, owe a debt to Saving Private Ryan, and the surreal horror of World War I, in which armies killed with machine guns yet communicated by carrier pigeon, is conveyed very well. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews:

Nomination for best war film ever?.......2007-09-11

Mud, dirt, smoke, blood, dust, confusion, bad communications, privation and the scream of the wounded. As any grunt can attest, these are the realities of the foot soldier (okay, throw in the bad chow and wet socks). These are the things Hollywood oftens misses, because they are not glamorous. Many reviewers have compared this to "Saving Private Ryan," which was a Hollywood War story. This film is in a whole other class, this is a soldiers' story set in wartime. I think a better comparison might be "Hamburger Hill" No matter, forget comparisons - this film stands on its own as one of the best War films ever made. That it is a true story about a little known portion of the War that shaped the map we know today, makes it an imperative history lesson. That it depicts, realistically, what the citizen-soldiers of our country overcome with resiliency and determination, in every war, in the name of freedom, makes it a "must see" movie.

If the Bullets Don't Get em the Gas Will.......2007-08-28

Excellent gritty WWI movie. Ricky Schroder does a stand out performance and the rest the cast is good as well. For a TV movie the production is first rate. Any fan of war movies should catch this one. Even fans of drama will probably enjoy it. It does a great job of showing what trench warfare was like and the type of commanders they had. You will feel like you are with them up to your calves in mud and shells exploding about you. It shows the heroism and futilelity of their efforts. You get an inkling also of the statistics of soldiers that died from disease and other maladies during that time. Overall a brilliant movie and I highly recommend it.

Best War movie you never heard of.......2007-07-18

Was totally suprised by the quality of this film. One of the few movies to capture World War I in the trenches, and done so without the typical extra's presented by hollywood. A must see for anyone with even a casual interest in military history.

An unexpected find........2007-07-15

I came across the movie on cable and was immediately drawn in. It was exactly like seeing Gettysburg. Here was this epic battle recreation that I had no clue was even being made. Both are great, and really try to give you the feel of the times and battle.

I haven't bought Gettysburg, yet, I may, but The Lost Battalion I got right away. Its a great story, and at first I didn't know how factual it was, and it was nice to learn that it is factual. There's a wealth of minor things that I would have liked done a little different, but they're easily overlooked.

Suprising...........2007-05-04

I saw this movie coming on A&E or some other channel and thought it couldn't be good. It had RICK SHROEDER in it for crime's sake! And it was a made for tv movie. Well boy was I WRONG! This movie sucks you in with its realism and its insistence on detail. Small minute details are attended to as this story of the 1918 conflict unfolds in a most horrific (and true to life) manner.

This particular version is very crisp and clear. I actually like it better than the Made For TV version that I originally saw...

Buy it!

Average customer rating:

Not in English
Very Touching Movie
Not for the completely prudish or timid
Excellent - this is definitely a classic
Very Poignant

For A Lost Soldier
Starring: Maarten Smit , Jeroen Krabbé , Andrew Kelley , Freark Smink , and Elsje de Wijn
Director: Roeland Kerbosch
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000687FH
Release Date: 2002-05-31

Customer Reviews:

Not in English.......2007-09-14

The movie is OK, but they don't tell you it is not in English. Amazon lists the langauge as English, and there is some, but most of the movie is in Dutch or German with subtitles.

Very Touching Movie.......2007-09-09

This movie was very beautiful and touching. Looking at it through "American" eyes might make some a bit uncomfotable, but if you look at it on a deeper level, you see that it's not about predatory behavior, but about connectedness and identity.

Not for the completely prudish or timid.......2007-06-26

While the movie was done with a lot of sensitivity, there is one particular scene that intimates quite a bit. However, I applaud the writer and director for leaving it in. The movie slowly touches on a very tough and sensitive topic, but succeeds at doing it in such a way so that you are left to make your own decisions. That takes skill. Acting was fairly good by the youth. Adults were less impressive, but not enough that it diminished the movie.

Excellent - this is definitely a classic.......2007-04-19

This is a classic movie with a very good "simple" look at life in the Netherlands. Like all good movies, it does not shy away from mixing religious scenes with secular. Good father-son type movie, though it has subtle controversial elements in it that will be offensive and suggestive to some, concerning the actual relationship between the boy and the Canadian soldier. If you look at the overall theme, however, there is a very basic element of friendship that is lost in much of modern life.

Very Poignant.......2007-01-10

I found this film very tastefully done considering the subject matter. You can imagine how it could really happen. Those looking for sordid exploitative films can look elsewhere. I can recommend it to anyone with an open mind to alternative European cinema. This depicts a tale that Hollywood does not have the guts to tell. This is a very different coming of age tale.

Average customer rating:

building a bridge...
EXCELLENT!!
Boring and pointless
Good picture and sound quality

Pioneers In Ingolstadt
Starring: Hanna Schygulla , Harry Baer , Irm Hermann , Rudolf Waldemar Brem , and Walter Sedlmayr
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Manufacturer: Fantoma
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000AGQ68
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Description

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's first film to be invited to the Cannes and New York Film Festivals, "Pioneers in Ingolstadt" is the story of a group of young German recruits whose assignment is to build a wooden bridge in the town of Ingolstadt. They seek relief from their boredom with alcohol, acts of brutality and sexual escapades with the local women. Alma (Irm Hermann) and her friend Berta (Hanna Schygulla) welcome the excitement that the new arrivals bring to their lives, but while Alma picks up passing soldiers, Berta searches for true love. Heavily influenced by the theater of Bertolt Brecht and the Hollywood melodrama of Douglas Sirk, the film alternates between perverse comedy and melancholy. "Pioneers in Ingolstadt" announced the arrival of a fierce new cinematic talent, a talent that the New York Times' Vincent Canby dubbed the most original since Jean-Luc Godard.

Customer Reviews:

building a bridge..........2007-03-05

Fassbinder's unique adaptation of the fleisser story is something of a bridge in his career as a film director.. You can see elements of his previous movies in 'Pioneers ingolstadt' but you can also see that it looks forward to his later melodramas.. The unique camera work and lighting (pre michael balhaus) highlight the sexual frustrations and the battles that are being waged in this town.. Fassbinder creates a mood that lasts the whole movie.. The movie once again adresses the impossibility of love... and it shows how you can use the needs of other people as a weapon against them.. It is not Fassbinder's easiest work - but one of his most important..

EXCELLENT!! .......2006-02-26

This is the best review for this film that I have ever seen, so I wanted to share it here! (Source listed at bottom)

Why anyone of their own free will should elect to employ the most difficult accent in the British Isles to imitate plausibly - Northern Irish - is beyond me. Criticism over; the rest is rave. A squad of outsiders (with sort-of-Ulster burrs) cause upheavals in the lives of the (central Irish brogue-laden) inhabitants of a small '20s Bavarian town when they arrive to build a bridge. Town, surrounding hills, river and bridge are evoked in turn by a simple and superbly versatile set, which the squaddies and the local moat-swimming club move over, under and through as required.

The several strains of the plot - the girl who wants to go with a soldier and picks the most casually misogynistic of the lot, the one whose flirtatious savvy deserts her and is led into the game, the middleclass lad trying both to be one of the boys and to find lurve - are beautifully orchestrated by author Marie-Luise Fleisser and pitched to perfection by the ensemble. Any worries of tokenism surrounding the Gate's Women in World Theatre season are more than dissipated.

Written for City Limits magazine.

Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.

Boring and pointless.......2005-03-31

I have seen various Fassbinder movies and this one is clearly the weakest. Somebody tell me the point of this movie.

Pioneers in Ingolstadt is about a group of Germany army recruits stationed in the small Bavarian town of Ingolstadt to build a wooden bridge. The movie summarizes the interactions of various recruits with the local population from sexual encounters with the women and evoking jealousy amongst local men. Then, the bridge is built and they leave at the end.

As said, I watched this movie and at the end, asked myself what it was about. Some of the material doesn't make sense either. The soldiers wear swastikas on their berets. [...] Also, there is a BMW in the movie which appears to have been manufactured well after World War II.

If you want to see some of Fassbinder's better works, watch movies like Martha and Katzelmacher. This one will disappoint.

Good picture and sound quality.......2001-07-16

yeah this is what they should be like - colours are good, the sound is clear. Why can't all DVDs be of this quality??? the film is great of course. But I believe that buying a DVD is a bit of a risk - you don't know know if the quality of the transfer is going to be lousy (Querelle, Mirror) or good. What I hate most about DVDs is when the picture contains no movement, then it becomes like a still photo. Am I the only one who notices these things? BUY VHS if you care about picture quality.

Average customer rating:

building a bridge...
EXCELLENT!!
Boring and pointless
Good picture and sound quality

Pioneers in Ingolstadt
Starring: Hanna Schygulla , Harry Baer , Irm Hermann , Rudolf Waldemar Brem , and Walter Sedlmayr
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Manufacturer: Fantoma
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005KH2D
Release Date: 2001-07-10

Description

Customer Reviews:

building a bridge..........2007-03-05

EXCELLENT!! .......2006-02-26

Boring and pointless.......2005-03-31

Good picture and sound quality.......2001-07-16

Average customer rating:

For a Lost Soldier
Starring: For a Lost Soldier
Manufacturer: Phantom
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002JC5UM
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Album Description

Asian NTSC/All Code DVD release of 1993 Dutch drama directed by Roeland Kerbosch & starring Maarten Smit & Jeroen Krabbe. English subtitles. 89 minutes. Fejui. 2003.

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