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The Lost Battalion

The Lost Battalion

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $15.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best movie
Review: The lost Battalion is the best movie i ever saw. It is an action packed movie. 1st time i saw it i never stopped watching it. i would recommend this to the men because my mom hates it but it is the BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: The battle sense is amazing. Although I have wathced saving private lion or thin red-line, this movie is much more existing. Also, the battle in WWI is much more realstic than in WWII because there was no tank, airplane, and so on.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best war movies made
Review: Good movies about the "Great War" (as WWI was known before there was a second one) are few and far between. After "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Paths of Glory" the list is pretty short. This film doesn't quite live up to those standards but it's still an excellent film.

In broad terms, the film is fairly accurate in terms of its depiction of WWI combat. The battle scenes come as close to "Saving Private Ryan" level of realism as you can get on commercial television. Be warned that some scenes, especially the "friendly fire" artillery attack, are not for the squeamish.

The supporting cast is a colorful and original collection of characters, devoid of most of the usual war movie cliches. You couldn't look at a character and say whether or not he'd be dead by the end of the movie. It was easy to imagine that these characters had been plucked off a New York street circa 1918.

Rick Schroeder gives a first rate performance as the deeply conflicted Major Whittlesey, torn between doing his duty and the welfare of his men.

There are a few moments where the film hits a false note. Whittlesey's car at the beginning probably wasn't built for 15 years after the Great War ended. The scene where the major receives his orders seems to ignore military protocol. And in a major continuity glitch, Whittlesey's executive office talks about the errant artillery barrage was it had happened that day, when it had happened the day before.

This are just minor potholes in an otherwise first rate effort.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: History personified...
Review: My grandfather, great uncle, and great-great uncle were in World War 1. My grandfather was wounded by gas, and my great-great uncle was killed by a shell.

Watching this movie gave me a better idea of what these fellows really looked and acted like. The scene of the soldier being obliterated gave me a better persepctive of my own relative's death.

I think Rick Schroeder was great, but then again I believe they all did a superb job. The equipment was marvelous and appeared quite accurate right down to the P-17 Enfield rifles.

Very graphic, but curiously little cursing (thank you!). Not a child's movie, but recommended watching for the serious history student.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie! Schroder Shines!
Review: This is a great movie! It is very well done and the performances are fantastic. Rick Schroder rivals Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan! The cinematography is amazing as are the special effects! This movie is not for the light hearted viewer. It is very moving from beginning to end!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best WWI movies ever!
Review: Originally broadcast on A&E in December 2001, it is of course a Fullscreen movie. But don't let that discourage you from checking it out. Yes it really should have been filmed in Panavision, but its really good enough to overlook that.

OK enough of that, The Lost Battalion is a movie about an American Battalion led by the ol' Silverspoons kid actor Ricky Schroeder. Yeah OK, he's over 30 now, but you know, its funny to see a successful kid actor these days that hasn't gone off the deep end.

In the Lost Battalion Ricky is ordered to take his Battalion of troops, mostly made up of new recruits from New York City and one Texan Lt., through the German lines to take and hold a Mill out in the middle if the Argonne Forest. The Battalion made it all the way to the Mill due to American "stubborness", as described by the German commander, ("They didn't withdraw when they were supposed to"). The thing is that he was supposed to be flanked by supporting British and French forces as well. However those attacking forces were forced to hold at their trenches. Thus this left Shroeder's Battalion out there all alone behind enemy lines.

However, this breakthrough created a major thorn in the side of the German forces. In the meantime the German forces had surrounded Shroeder's Battalion and continued to assault them. It had driven the German commanders absolutely beserk as they could not beleive the stubborn defense put up by a Battalion that was low on food, ammo and other supplies that it actually helped bring about the end of the War.

There are several intense fighting scenes where men are showing their greatest under the worst circumstances. Think "Hamburger Hill" in a WWI theme. You have a mis-directed artillery barrage, ala the helicopter friendly fire episode in Hamburger Hill. A flamethrower assualt in the end that winds up disasterous for the Germans. And several other "over-the-top" kind of WWI engagements. Except all of this is out in the middle of some woods. This movie also shows off how carrier pigeons were used to transfer messages from the frontlines back to HQ when out of range from telegraph wire. Too bad they didn't have Nokia phones back then, eh? ("Can you hear me now?")

But anyway, this movie is watchable again and again. Just for the pure action and the determined resistance of a stubborn American Lost Battalion. I'd definately recommend it if you like good WWI action.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent depiction of WW1 warfare
Review: As one who spent 2 years researching the little-known but true story of the last allied soldier killed in WW1, I came to watch this DVD with perhaps more historical context than most. I admit I was prepared to be disappointed. After all, made-for-TV movies so often have a low-budget feel. Would the trenches reveal a soundstage origin, for example? Quite the opposite, in fact. The action scenes (throughout the film) are second to none, and comparisons to Saving Private Ryan (with a much greater budget) are valid. Except unlike Ryan, this film doesn't let up after the first 30 minutes. It grabs you and won't let go. The acting is very good, and I highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Depiction!
Review: Everything I've read about this event since viewing the film (which inspired me to research further) indicates that this was a faithful depiction of events. (In a discussion group on A&E, the son of one of the survivors agrees!) The jerky filming style in the midst of the battle adds to the queasy feeling we should ALL have in the pits of our stomachs at the idea of such devastation. It is WELL acted, avoids almost ALL maudlin sentiment (which can't be said of Private Ryan) and the knowledge that it really happened increases the impact of it. As an enthusiastic viewer of war films and amateur WWI historian, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Suprisingly, quite good
Review: This movie was quite a good war movie, with the special effects reminding me of the battle scenes in "Saving Private Ryan". If you liked this film, check out "Paths of Glory" with Kirk Douglas. Compare Rick Schroeder walking the trench line just prior to the battle, with Kirk Douglas's character walking the trench in "Paths of Glory". Great film making!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Skip this one.
Review: This dog of a film suffers greatly from poor acting, fails to even remotely follow what REALLY happened, and contains an absolute muriad of continuity mistakes. Purists will be offended, while unfortunately most people will be enamured purely by the special effects - which are the only things that make this waste of film watchable


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