Great Raid, The (2005) [Blu-ray]
Action | Drama | War

The most triumphant rescueiin U.S. military history

The inspirational true story of the most triumphant rescue mission in U.S. military history bursts onto the screen through the revolutionary new Blu-ray Disc technology. As World War II rages, the 6th Ranger Battalion is sent 30 miles behind enemy lines to liberate over 500 American prisoners of war. Follow the exploits of these heroes in awe-inspiring 1080p.

Experience every sound of the mission in 5.1 48kHz, 16-bit uncompressed audio that practically brings the battle into your living room. The courage and strength pf these real-life heroes is brought to life once again through the magic of Blu-ray High Definition.

User Comment: Greg Eichelberger from San Diego, 3 August 2005 • While Hollywood has gone after the Nazis and the European campaign in World War II over and over again, ad nauseam, little has been produced depicting the Pacific Theatre or the thousands of Americans and others who perished there.

In fact, only a handful of motion pictures have touched on the subject over the last two decades, namely Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun," Terrance Malik's "The Thin Red Line," and the Nicolas Cage bomb, "Windtalkers." The best film in this genre was probably 1957's "Bridge On The River Kwai," which won Oscars for David Lean and Alex Guinness, among others, but that was almost 50 years ago.

Now John Dahl ("Rounders," "Joyride," the TV series "Tilt") has shed some light on a little-known rescue attempt in the waning days of the conflict in the Philippine Islands. "The Great Raid" is a fine little film, smart, patriotic and fairly historically accurate.

The film begins with a crisp narration (accompanied by actual film footage) of the quick successes of the Imperial Japanese Army in the days following Pearl Harbor. Gen. Douglas MacArthur - thanks to Roosevelt's decision to devote more to the European effort through the Lend-Lease to Churchill program - is forced to evacuate the Philippines and retreat to Australia.

Meanwhile, thousands of American troops are trapped by the swift-moving Japanese forces on the islands of Bataan and Corrigidor and are compelled to surrender. While WWII German brutality is everywhere in motion picture, few have addressed the stark horrors of the Bataan Death March. Even this movie skirts the terror with a simple voice-over in filling in the background story of a group of surviving prisoners held for over three years.

Receiving word of mass killing of American POWs by the Japanese, top brass in the Pacific orders a raid on a camp still behind enemy lines, led by Army Ranger Lt. Col. Mucci (Benjamin Bratt, "Law & Order) and Capt. Prince (James Franco, "Spiderman," "Spiderman 2").

Military minutia abounds with the planning and execution of the assault, which pits a handful of rangers against over 200 battle-hardened Japanese troops, led by sadistic Maj. Nagai (Motoki Kobiyashi).

The movie also shows the strong relationship between the Americans and Filipinos which was not the greatest in the years after the Spanish-American War, but was cemented against the common Nipponese enemy. Nice composition between rangers, prison camp and the occupied capital of Manilla, where civilian nurse Margaret Utinsky (Connie Nielson, "Gladiator," "One Hour Photo")is working with the Filipino underground resistance.

This is no "Saving Private Ryan," and the acting sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, but the strength of the story, the fact it was inspired by true events, and the historical importance of the film, make this one a must-see, even for casual fans of the genre. It will not make much money, but it was very important that it was made.

Summary: Small tale told in a big way.

User Comment: eckmanmj-1 from United States, 18 August 2005 • I knew almost nothing of this film before I saw it but based on a couple comments I had heard, I went with my dad to see it tonight.

Some people commented on how slow the movie is during the beginning, and although that is true, it is there to give you time to develop a story and actual care about the characters. This is definitely not a movie for people with near zero attention spans from the MTV Generation.

This movie also doesn't rely on gimmicks such as CGI or what I call "shaky camera syndrome" where the filmmakers insist on making the audience nauseous by running around with handy-cams (ala Bourne Supremacy).

I really enjoyed the story and thought all the roles were well acted. The final raid scene is amazing. They did a really good job of explaining exactly what they wanted to do beforehand and when it actually happened, you understood where everyone was running to and what they were trying to accomplish.

Excellent movie, and highly recommended. Definitely one of the best movies so far of the year, I'm just sad that almost no one has heard about it and the movie has received so little promotion. I doubt this picture will even make $20 million here.

And one more thing, I thought it was a very tasteful and respectful thing to do at the end during the credits where they showed archival footage of the real soldiers being rescued.

Summary: Pleasantly surprised.

User Comment: elsewhere9000 from Los Angeles, California, 5 August 2005 • This film expertly balances the need for authenticity with the need for compelling drama. It starts out great, slows slightly in the middle, and finishes off with the best filmed action sequence I have ever seen. The raid itself is choreographed and paced perfectly, so that the viewer understands exactly what is happening, why it is happening and who is doing it. Many aspects of this film have never been done before in a war movie. The craft is also expertly balanced - the film looks, sounds and feels accurate and not bounded by Hollywood conventions. Simply put, it will go down as one of the very best modern war films, among those who can tell when a film is exceptional.

Summary: The Great Raid proves that history is always more compelling than fiction.

[CSW] -3.1- I felt that two and a quarter hours was a little too long for this movie. Although it was not enough to make you loose interest too much screen time was devoted to only mildly interesting subplots. Although I was thoroughly impressed with the brutality and deprivation I never developed a really close connection with any of the characters. I don't know why the acting seemed a bit flat and one dimensional but it did. It was based on true events which are not often cited in the history books and the number of prisoners captured verses the number freed might give you partial understanding of why. This movie is worth renting but it is not one of those movies that you will want to see over and over again.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.

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