Reviews

Just watched this again after several years, and frankly, there isn't much I can add to the many reviews already posted except to agree: SOFG is one of the very best films produced on the Viet Nam war. It heads the very, very short list of films that I recommend to people who ask what's the best film about that war. (It joins WE WERE SOLDIERS and THE ODD ANGRY SHOT at the top.) I speak as a former Marine Tet Vet (got my own Purple Heart at Hill 34). The writing is (mostly) spot on and the production crew clearly paid attention when the military advisors spoke. Lee Ermey, bless him, delivers his usual almost-over-the-top performance without even acting. Hauser is almost as good, and manages to avoid the overacting so common among civilian actors doing war films. It almost seems petty to pick on the few technical errors: Ermey at one point refers to himself as being on a LRRP mission (the Army's recon team) when he's Marine Recon, and the magazines on the M-16 rifles seem to hold thousands of rounds...no one ever seems to need to reload. It's NOT being picky to point out two of the most glaring errors: The VC did NOT shoot their way into the US Embassy and start killing secretaries and staff; nineteen sappers broke into the embassy compound and all were killed outside on the grounds. And the Tet Offensive came as a complete surprise only to the news media. But SOFG does manage to stay away from the clichés and sermons that Hollywood seems determined to deliver in its films about the Viet Nam War, and that's what makes it so watchable. It's a just darned good action film.

Just caught this one again recently. It's difficult to write an honest, objective review of a movie that's this bad. Hard to believe that anyone remotely connected to the military had anything to do with the script or direction of this turkey. Ever war movie cliché ever uttered turns up here somewhere. Hard to decide if Tommy Sands' performance as the hard-as-nails rookie lieutenant is howlingly funny or just outrageously bad. This is Hollywood's version of war. It's watchable only if you don't mind being clubbed over the head with the "message" every few minutes (that being "why can't we all just get along?") As a lifelong fan of Sinatra, I'm hugely disappointed.

As a 40-year fan of the 007 films, I have to confess that I'm prepared to accept the fact that a few of the films have been real clunkers. I'm afraid that DIE ANOTHER DAY may be one of them. It's a great story spoiled badly by cartoonish stunts. The computer-created special effects in this film drag it down to a level somewhere between MOONRAKER and a Wile E. Coyote cartoon. The computer animators seem to have been carried away by their enormous budget, and some of the gags in this film are simply beyond all belief. Great stunts are exciting when the viewer can believe that an actual person is performing them and that the stunts lie within the realm of actual physical possibility. Let's face it, the special effects, gadgets, gimmicks, and outlandish stunts have taken over, and the story exists only to move us from one stunt to the next. The best part of the film was Bond's customary visit to Q (John Cleese does a wonderful job of replacing the late, much-loved Desmond Llewelyn). In the background we see many of the gadgets and paraphernalia from 007's past missions: Little Nellie from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the underwater sled from THUNDERBALL, and many others, each of them a reminder that once upon a time, these were genuine action movies that called upon some great stuntmen to perform their craft. The action film has become make-believe. I'll be generous and give it 7 stars, largely because of Halle Berry's wonderful performance. Otherwise, it was a great disappointment to me.

Leonard Maltin makes the error of reviewing this as though it were a typical Hollywood film. It's not. It's a just a "ski film" aimed at an audience of skiers, and as such it's among the best of the genre. Willy Bogner may be best-known these days for his line of ski clothes, but even many skiers are unaware of his reputation as a world-class skier and ski filmmaker. His camerawork and skiing were behind many of the spectacular skiing stunts in the James Bond films. None of the performers in "Fire And Ice" are actors per se. But the cast is a virtual Who's Who of the freestyle ski world in the 1980's. Their on-snow antics combine with Bogner's cinematography to make this a visual treat. The plot, such as it is, serves merely to move the story along. Don't look for high drama here. Just sit back and enjoy some amazing skiing and stunning mountain photography.

Redford gives a low-key performance as a thoroughly unlikable member of the US Ski Team in the late 1960's, and he doesn't become any more likable as the story unfolds. Perhaps that's why the film gets such mixed reviews. The Olympic and racing sequences have an almost-documentary look to them, and for good reason. The story goes that IOC officials refused permission for the film crew to shoot during the actual Olympic events; the producers got around that inconvenience by giving hand-held cameras to cast members so they could shoot crowd scenes and background footage on the sly. It's hard to like David Chappellet, and making him a more sympathetic character might have been easier, but I think it's a much better story as-is. As we know all too well these days, world-class athletes aren't always aren't always the charming heroes we'd like them to be.

Regular viewers of The History Channel will quickly recognize Ed Hermann as the host and narrator of many of their programs, and as a spokesman for Chrysler/Dodge commercials. It's easy to forget that he's a prolific and talented actor. "Harry's War" is one of his best. Harry Johnson does something we've all wanted to do: level the big guns at the IRS! David Ogden Stiers is great as the IRS supervisor who has forgotten the "servant" part of Public Servant. "I'm the United States Government, Johnson. Who are you?" he says. Like so many other bureaucrats, he's forgotten who he really works for, and Harry sets out to remind him. This little gem of a film should be broadcast every year at tax filing time. Good luck trying to find a copy on tape!

Much of the credit for the genuine feel of this film should go to two former Marines who had "been there, done that": Russ Thurman and Dale Dye. Dye's method of running the actors through a mini-boot camp helps raise this film to the level of "Platoon" and "Saving Private Ryan", his more widely-known achievements. Seen largely through the eyes (or lens) of the handheld camera of the mostly-unseen "Mopic", it gives viewers a different perspective on bonding that happens when men put their lives into each other's hands almost daily. Its ring of truth comes from endless tiny details that only former grunts would ever notice. When someone asks this former Marine which are the best Viet Nam films, "84 Charlie MoPic" and "The Odd Angry Shot" are at the top of a very short list.

Terribly underrated, and generally unknown in the US. Although the film deals with Australian troops in Viet Nam, this could very easily have been any of the US units. Any of us who served on the ground there will recognize these men as buddies we knew. The combat sequences in this film are among the best ever filmed, and until "Platoon" came along, it was one of the few films that portrayed the combat experience in Viet Nam as it really was. Like "84 Charlie MoPic", it's a small film that tells a large story without beating you over the head with its message. When people ask me which are the best films about that endless mess in Viet Nam, this is one of the first films I refer them to (along with "MoPic"). My VHS copy is just about worn out; I never tire of its grim humor and honest story. (USMC, Viet Nam 67-69)