We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition) | 
| Director: Randall Wallace
Actors: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $1.31
You Save: $11.67 (90%)
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Rating:  569 reviews
Sales Rank: 1618
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Full Screen, Thx, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 138 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 097363400240
ISBN: 0792182103
UPC: 097363400240
EAN: 9780792182108
ASIN: B000068TPN
Theatrical Release Date: March 1, 2002
Release Date: August 20, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 564 more reviews...
 Amazing! June 28, 2009
L. Warrlock
This film is one of a kinda and i encourage everyone to watch it. If you are in the military, had someone, family of or simply a proud supporter you will most defiantly enjoy this film. I personally know it gave me a new respect for what my grandfather did in Vietnam and what my husband is doing in Iraq. So i do really encourage everyone to buy this movie it is sooo wonderful and you will not regret it at all. remember those who have died for us and who proudly support us even now!
"Where the metal meets the meat." June 28, 2009
Florida Libertarian (Titusville, Fl)
"Where the metal meets the meat." That line says it all.
That is what this movie is about. Put together very well.
The writing, directing and acting all came together in this
one. If you are looking for a great war movie, this is it.
Not as huge but just as good as Saving private Ryan.
 Some Good, Some Bad June 26, 2009
Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
With the cast, and hype of this film at the time of its release, I expected something more, something akin to "Saving Private Ryan".....but it wasn't to be.....although this DVD wouldn't be part of my collection if I didn't like it. Also, I hear the Blu-Ray version is excellent so that's tempting to buy.
"We Were Soldiers" had things I appreciated that are rare in today's action films: 1 - a pro-military film concerning a Viet Nam war battle; 2- fairly tame language. This is not pro-Viet Nam War. Hollywood would never do that, but at least it shows the soldiers in a solid, valiant light. It's also refreshing to see good references to God and prayer.
It's this film that I thought the violence was overdone, not "Saving Private Ryan." The action here doesn't start for 40 minutes, but when it does it loud, it's heavy and it's continuous over most of the next 95 minutes.Shorter periods of the violent scenes would have made this much better, maybe even an "excellent" film.
Madeline Stowe had a memorable scene delivering message of war deaths to their spouses. That was touching stuff. But, mostly, this is an action film and the battle scenes are gruesome at times, particularly near the end of the film.
 We were soldiers blu ray edition May 30, 2009
Jairo Rojas V
This movie it's great, the picture it's clear and the sound it's amazing. There are some scenes were the clarity it's not that good, showing grain and black distortion, bit most of the film looks very good.
Blu-ray: Great movie with sub-par video and audio May 25, 2009
MetallicRaider17 (Jackson, NJ United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
First off let me say that this is one of my favorite war movies of all time. I owned this previously on DVD and I have seen it at least a half dozen times.
PQ - The picture quality on this one was rather disappointing. I don't mind grain and actually prefer if over DNR. However, the image was soft throughout most the picture and quite honestly was only marginally better than my upscaled DVD of this movie. I would say that this and 28 Days are the worst Blu-rays I own in regards to picture quality. Both on Blu-ray only offer a slight upgrade from an upscaled DVD.
AQ -I first knocked one point off for no lossless track. I then knocked a second point off becuase I had to frequently adjust the volume. The action scenes were great and you feel like your in the movie. The dialog during these scenes is suprisingly good as well. The problem is when you go to the non action scenes you can barely hear the dialogue. Hence my one point deduction for this issue. I also knocked another point off for a flaw in the DTS audio track. I noticed towards the end of the movie that I was getting audio spikes. A couple of examples are when Mel Gibson returns home to his wife at the door and when the credits were rolling. I noted that my Pioneer Elite receiver was stating +4 for volume, it would go up for a second or two and then back down. This typically takes place at the begginning of the movie and I know it is encoded within the Blu-ray. I noticed this issue about 3 - 4 times so I was kind and only deducted one star for this issue.
Extras - Basically the same as the DVD release. Nothing really to add here other than the fact they are average in quantity. However, the content on the commentaries and some of the special features are really good.
Overall - If you have the DVD and a good to high-end upscaling DVD player then this is probably not worth an upgrade. However, I highly recommend this movie on Blu-ray or DVD.
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