Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3089 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-10-22
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

Overseen by Lt.Col. Hal Moore US Army(Ret) himself no less
The battle seen in this film takes place in the La Drang Valley, Vietnam known to the North Vietnamese soldiers as the Valley of Death,over a period of only 3 days although on watching it I never realised this at first.The film begins as usual with the formation of the squadron from mainly raw recruits, trained up by Sam Elliot, who plays an RSM answerable only to Lt.Col Moore played by Mel Gibson who states from day one he will lead from the front with Elliot, a battle-hardened sergeant of many campaigns.Before the men finish their training properly they are sent off to Vietnam but not before the most experienced third of the squad are taken away,a decision made by those in higher authority who play with other peoples lives.The group are lifted into the battle zone and fight against N.Vietnamese veterans where many lives are lost on both sides.The heartlessness of war is seen clearly when the wives of the fallen American soldiers are informed of their husbands deaths by telegrams from the Secretary of State of the War Office delivered by The Yellow Cab Company.This task is one then undertaken by Madeleine Stowe,playing Gibsons wife. Much good acting from Greg Kinnear,Keri Russell,Don Duong and producer Randall Wallace has done a good all round job. The computer work is excellent and Music by Nick Glennie-Smith,an important often ignored facet is spot on.

Bringing you there
In my opinion, this is the best war movie ever. It has a gritty realism that will bring you as close to the battlefield as you would ever want to be and yet it is laced with powerful human stories that you will remember for years to come. No other war film I have ever watched has evoked the emotions that this film has produced in me.
I am so grateful to everyone involved in bringing this important story to the big screen. I think that the making of this film has been achieved in such an exempary way that it can be seen as a worthy memorial to all those who were there in 1965.

I can't imagine myself wanting to watch this twice.
America tries to take over where France failed in Vietnam. US soldiers prepare for combat, using new idea of 'air cav' -- i.e. helicopters. They say goodbye to their wives. They fly out to the 'Valley of Death'. Many get killed as the Vietnamese almost overrun their position. Wives of dead soldiers receive telegrams. The US counter-attack, aided by much air support. America withdraws, believing it has won the battle.

That's the basic story. After so many films about US adventures in the Far East -- 'The Thin Red Line', 'Apocalypse Now', 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket' etc -- I feel this film adds nothing to our understanding of war, although it's useful to see the highly organised, subterranean approach of the North Vietnamese strategists. Even the battlefield action seems flat. I got the impression that most of the arc of the story was concocted around the battlefield action, yet so much of it seemed hackneyed. We really don't need to see more recruit-training sequences, tearful scenes of wives receiving tragic news etc etc. And any movie that makes Madeleine Stowe look this drab has to be questioned.

Watch it once, by all means. But would you really spend any more time on it?