7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris KleinAction | 100% |
War | 65% |
History | 51% |
Drama | 11% |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-ES 6.1 (24-bit, 1509 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
This story is a testament to the young Americans who died in the Valley of Death and a
tribute to the young men of the People's Army of Vietnam, who died by our hand in that
place.
2002's We Were Soldiers, I hoped, would rekindle Hollywood's interest in churning out
high-quality Vietnam War movies, a genre that seemed to dominate the decade of the 1980s.
With films such as 1986's Best Picture winner Platoon, the critically acclaimed Full Metal Jacket, the
gut-wrenching drama and violence of Hamburger Hill, and the ethical drama that is
Casualties of War, the decade pulled no punches in its cinematic representations of the
most controversial American conflict of the 20th century. Alas, the only
meaningful Vietnam
film since We Were Soldiers that I can recall is the unequivocally excellent Rescue Dawn, a film
that is a departure from the "typical" Vietnam movie, focusing almost completely on the human
drama rather than running gun fights interlaced with a morality tale. We Were Soldiers
is a film that mostly steers clear of transparent political themes and simply tells a straightforward,
gruesomely realistic tale of a historical engagement in Vietnam from three perspectives: the
American soldiers, the Vietnamese soldiers, and the families of the soldiers stateside. We
Were Soldiers may be the most divisive of all the major Vietnam War films insofar as its
perceived status as a pro-or-anti-war film, as it is a departure from the obvious anti-war
messages
espoused by the excellent films from the 1980s.
'We will ride into battle, and this will be our horse.'
We Were Soldiers returns to the front lines of Blu-ray in a 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 framed transfer. This is a transfer sure to be as divisive amongst Blu-ray fans as the movie itself. We Were Soldiers sports an intentionally rough look to it that lends a gritty, almost documentary-like feel to the movie. Heavy grain permeates many frames which adds a raw feel to the movie that befits the unforgiving war films of recent vintage. Much of the movie is just the slightest bit soft and lacking in ultimate detail. Colors appear a bit dull on occasion, but they look striking most of the time, as the green fatigues of the soldiers, the green paint on the helicopters, and dense foliage of the battlefield manage to stand out well one against the other. Black levels are very solid, though they appear a bit gray and washed out in places, and skin tones appear naturally pleasant. Detail is generally fine, though not jaw-droppingly good as mentioned above. However, some shots allow us to see the dew on the early morning grass, the fine lines and stitching in uniforms, patches, and the like, the wear and tear on helmets and weapons, and fine lines in faces. The film's more violent sequences and the major injuries of war are more apparent on this disc. This was my second viewing of We Were Soldiers on Blu-ray and in fine detail it surpasses the DVD by leaps and bounds, leaving me shocked by a few images I saw here but never noticed before. There are a few black speckles on the print, though I didn't notice them until 90 minutes into the movie. Taking into account that director Randall Wallace chose for this film a nasty, grisly look, what we see on this disc is well-representative of that vision.
Unfortunately, Paramount has left We Were Soldiers behind in the audio department, providing listeners with no lossless audio option, easily the biggest fault to be found on the disc, but rest assured that both the DTS 6.1 track as well as the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track are excellent lossy mixes. For the purpose of this review, I watched the film in its entirety with the DTS soundtrack. Explosions, of which there are many, rattle and reverberate with a might that truly places the viewer in the middle of combat. Heavy machine gun fire also thumps with a powerful, no-nonsense feel. Helicopters played a key role in Vietnam, and they are crucial to this film as well, and every time they are on-screen, flying by, we feel the rotors reverberating through the room. Dialogue reproduction is good, but the volume seems just a bit disproportionately low to the action, even in calmer, pre-war scenes. Sound directionality is excellent; helicopters fly by outside of a hangar in chapter two from left to right with a seamless ease. In that same hangar, where we would expect to hear a bit more reverberations and echoes, Moore's speech is instead noticeably muted, with little to no rear-channel presence, although a subsequent speech in chapter six heard partially over outdoor loudspeakers has a more apparent rear presence. The first military engagement of the film, found in chapter eight, features a robust, immersive sound experience. You'll feel almost every expended round pound your seat. Every battle scene from there on out is dramatic and intense, a fine sonic experience that is effective and frightening. This is a soundtrack that could have greatly benefitted from a lossless or uncompressed mix. As it is, it is solid and both entertaining and frightening to listen to. Make no mistake, this is one of the finest lossy mixes available on Blu-ray, right up there with Face/Off, but as per my norm, I must subtract a full point for the studio failing to provide a high definition soundtrack on the high definition Blu-ray format.
We Were Soldiers fights its way onto Blu-ray with a decent offering of supplemental
material. A feature-length commentary track with director and writer Randall Wallace starts
things
off. All things considered, this is a standard-fare track. Wallace proves engaging and offers some
fine information and anecdotes, much like one he tells early on about placing his son in the film
and
seeing him brutally killed on-screen so as to relate better to the horror and loss of war. Wallace
also
recounts some
changes made from real life to film (notably the scene between Gibson and Chris Klein found in
chapter four). All in all, despite some dead air, Wallace manages to remain engaging, but never
overly profound or offering any earth-shattering information.
Getting it Right: Behind-the-Scenes (480p, 25:33) is a fascinating behind-the-scenes
look
at the film, highlighted by some vintage clips of an emotional interview with Hal Moore in
Vietnam,
as well as a more recent interview with the famed Colonel. This segment also offers interviews
with various cast and crew members, some raw footage of the making of the film, and a look at
the genuine
emotions that define the film, as well as the "honest," documentary feel of the movie as opposed
to more traditional, slick Hollywood war films. Rounding out the supplemental materials are ten
deleted scenes (480p, 21:20) with optional commentary by director Randall Wallace, the film's
theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:54), and a Paramount high definition promotional piece.
We Were Soldiers, like any War movie worth its salt (and your time), may leave the viewer emotionally drained by film's conclusion, the experience of witnessing the brutality and horrors of combat on-screen is almost as frightening as experiencing it first-hand, or half a world away, as we see depicted through the wives who play an integral role in telling this story. We Were Soldiers may not be the finest war movie, or the most brutal, or the most intense, but it may be the most real, the most emotional, and the most balanced war film in recent memory. Its to-the-point, gut-wrenching approach to war is truly a horrifying experience, one that I have heard described as one of the more authentic films ever created insofar as truly capturing the Vietnam experience. In fact, Hal Moore himself says of the film that it was done "right." One cannot ask for higher praise than that. Paramount has released We Were Soldiers on Blu-ray with a faithful-to-the-source video transfer, an engaging (but not high definition) soundtrack, and some fantastic supplemental materials. Recommended.
2002
Paramount 100th Anniversary
2002
2002
2002
2002
2-Disc Special Edition
2006
Commemorative 20th Anniversary Edition
1998
2001
2000
2014
2019
2016
Ultimate Edition
2002
1977
2006
1988
Director's Cut
2005
2018
2012
1968
2001
1969
2017
2016
1985