Product Description: In 1965, 400 American troops faced an ambush by 2,000 enemy troops in the Ia Drang Valley (also known as the Valley of Death), in one of the most gruesome fights of the Vietnam War. WE WERE SOLDIERS is a detailed recreation of this true story: of the strategies, obstacles, and human cost faced by the troops that participated. The story focuses on the lieutenant colonel that led the attack, Hal Moore (Mel Gibson), and a civilian reporter who accompanied them, Joseph Galloway (Barry Pepper), as well as a number of other soldiers who were involved. This is an unusual Vietnam film in that it also shows the North Vietnamese perspective on the battle; their leader Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu An (Don Duong) is depicted as a brave soldier and smart commander. And in addition to the many gory battlefield sequences--which seem to have been influenced by SAVING PRIVATE RYAN--we also see how the carnage of war affects those left behind, the soldiers' wives and children. Ultimately this is a moving anti-war film, which, by sticking close to the true stories of real soldiers, very effectively brings home the overwhelming horror of war.
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
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO EAN: 9780792182108 Format: Full Screen, Closed-captioned, Color, THX, DVD, NTSC ISBN: 0792182103 Item Dimensions:26 Label: Paramount Languages:EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 SurroundEnglishSubtitled Manufacturer: Paramount MPN: 097363400240 Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Paramount Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 20, 2002 Running Time: 138 minutes Studio: Paramount Theatrical Release Date: March 01, 2002
Customer Reviews
We Were Soldiers is different from other war movies
I just had the pleasure of hosting Joe Galloway at LSU for a class titled The Media and The Military. The class viewed both this movie and The Hurt Locker (both based on experiences of journalists who covered the military). Galloway, the UPI correspondent, who was with Col. Hal Moore and the 7th Calvary during the Ia Drang battles received a Bronze Star with V for his valor in assisting in getting wounded soldiers to helicopters while under enemy fire. So, Galloway lived it, co-wrote the book ... Read More