Rating: 
Summary: More honest than "Saving Private Ryan"
Review: This is a poignant film about a reluctant hero who changes from a self-doubter to a leader. The Hungarian setting doubles as an excellent stand-in for the unknown Hurtgen Forest Battle on the Belgian/Germany border. Although war is an evil enterprise, it can bring the best and the worst out of people.
Rating:
Summary: If you liked "Saving Private Ryan", you'll enjoy this movie.
Review: Like "Saving Private Ryan", this movie offers a realistic account of battle during WWII. Excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Sleeper!!!
Review: I bought this DVD on a lark and thoroughly enjoyed it. A very tough movie to watch but true to the grit that the director uses to frame the whole movie. I could have done without Dwight Yoakum grossly overplaying his part but the rest of the movie was terrific. Definately not a pro-war movie.
Rating:
Summary: a horrifing look at the life of a soldier in world war II
Review: A violent look at the campaign in the Hurtgen Forrest in 1944 with great sets, characters,acting and accuracy of world war II. END
Rating: 
Summary: "Platoon" set during WW2. Worth watching.
Review: This is a pretty decent look at the "forgotten front", otherwise known as the battle for the Huertgen Forest. This is one of those episodes that doesn't find frequent mention in the history books, but strangely it wound up with its own movie. When I watched this, I couldn't help being reminded of the Vietnam flick "Platoon." The emphasis here is on showing the gritty, unglamorous side of infantry combat, and it's well done. Heroism, cowardice, mud, blood and fratricide are all featured in this story of a scared G.I. who's determined to survive the war at any cost, even if it means the loss of his honor. The story opens with a young private, brand new to the war, who is the sole survivor after his platoon attacks a German position and is wiped out. His survival is qualification enough to earn him a promotion to sergeant, and not long after, to lieutenant. He wants neither. All he wants to do is survive at any cost, and he doesn't care what his superiors or subordinates think about it. The action scenes are generally believable and well done, even if some of the mock-ups of the German tanks aren't. Several of the scenes are particularly intense and bloody, a little reminiscent of Private Ryan, but not to the same degree of utter carnage. In general I thought the acting was okay, but seeing Dwight Yoakam as a light colonel was a little surreal for me. The ending, in my humble opinion, was a little corny, and didn't do justice to the rest of the movie, which otherwise might have rated four stars instead of just three. Still, it's definitely worth watching for anyone who likes war flicks.
Rating:
Summary: A gut wrenching story of human endurance
Review: First off let me say men did not wear there hats backwards and the tanks were mostly t-62s of russian manufacturing. Besides these errors the movie stands to show that the common soldier wasn't always a Audie Murphy or John Basilone. Some may think that this man is no less no more than the coward just like oppum was in SPR, but on the grounds of a section8 this man clung on the perils of insanity, but still stood up and bore the burden of a being a heroe. As most cases go during the underratted hurtgen forest campaign a lot of men were bumped up a rank to two because the tremendous losses were so high. If you don't believe reaD "If you survive" by George Wilson. So for many they may not have even wanted the rank but this man survived a patrol and without his opinion a private who should've stayed a private was promoted to a sergeant.I still watch it and realize that when the cost is too great some men prove that they can and will even reluctanty find a calling in god's highest praise of self sacrifice. I mean many veterans i talk too tell me that seeing a wounded man carrying a mortally wounded man off hells battlefield is and always be a heroic sight no matter the medals, or the cost. In conclusion this is in my opinion too good of a movie and belong in the ranks of other great war movies such as to hell and back, saving private ryan, and cross of iron.
Rating:
Summary: Realism not everybody can handle
Review: This is a coldly realistic, well executed though somewhat low budget movie (I think originally done for HBO). Some people complain about technical points, but they are wrong. The technical realism in here is superb.
One point worth correcting, re: bazookas vs German tanks. The StuGG 3 and PZ IV tanks depicted in the film WERE succeptible to US Bazookas, especially the versions available in 1944. What's more, in the scene where they are attacked, they are hit from behind. Almost every Tank in the world at that time (except maybe a Tiger) was vulnerable to a hit from behind.
And unlike in most WW II movies, the tanks in here looked very, very real. They were not round turreted US M48's or even russian T-34s, but rather very realistic looking mockups which looked almost exactly like real PV IV's. The German cannon (not heavy artillery as another reivewer mistakenly referred to them) were equally realistic and terrifying on impact. It was also refreshing to see (unlike SPR) that they made good use of their Mg42 bow and co-ax guns against US infantry. Tanks are scary, scary things, and that is how they were depicted here.
In fact the SOUND and effect of the shells impacting was the most real I have ever seen in any movie. It was one of the only times I have ever seen shell explosions that brought to mind the real thing.
Some people wont like the fact that not all the U.S. troops are portryaed as cliche heros, willing to jump on a grenade to save their buddies. These people have obviously never been in the military.
The military is full of ordinary people, (especially during a time of draft) There is the same proportion of true heros as in real life, that is to say, very few. Under good leadership and the right circumstances, a good esprit de corps can develop where many more rise to the occasion. The Battle of the Hurtgen, while it had it's share of heroes on both sides, was not one of these occasions. It was a slaughter of US troops in which morale reached the breaking point (the only US deserter shot in the war, Eddie Slovak, fled from this battle). Read some of the actual accounts (widely available online, google Hurtgen forst) and you can easily grasp the horror and futility of this immense battle.
Dont like the idea of Ron Eldards character looking out for number one (at least some of the time)? Or the incompetent, detatched senior officers who had no imagination or idea what to do other than send troops into the meat grinder over and over?
Well, stick your head in the sand like an Ostrich, because that is how war is sometimes. Try to imagine yourself facing near certain death in an obviously bungled military operation, with idiots in charge, seemingly determined to feed you to the lions.
I found the technical realism and detail superb, the acting was goood, and the writing was excellent. I think it hits home more if you have ever been in the military. Yes, it was 1944, but people cursed then too. People could be just as cynical as today, especially people on the front lines. Trust me. When do you think terms like SNAFU and FUBAR were coined? The scenery (shot in Eastern Europe) reminded me of the sinister Black Forest in Bavaria where I was stationed in the Army.
The German soldiers were a good combination of scary veterans and hapless draftees, not just the creepy losers as in SPR. The U.S. replacements were very accurately depicted, and their transformation from innocence to desperation, as the realization of the true horror of their circumstances dawns on them, is a true testimetn to war.
If you liked this directors other films, such as the underrated Hamburger Hill, you will like this. If you prefer John Wayne movies where all Americans are super hero good guys, you'll hate it.
Rating: 
Summary: War is not a happy Thing!!
Review: O.K. the movie was pretty bad. It disgraces all of the soldiers that fought and died together in the Hurtgen Forest.I thought this movie was O.K don't get me wrong but, It SICKENED me at the end when they played I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. PEOPLE DIED FOR US!! IT IS NOT A HAPPY THING SO DONT PLAY HAPPY MUSIC. ALMOST ALL OF THE SOLDIERS IN THIS BATTLE NEVER EVEN MADE IT HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!! THEY DIED SO WE CAN BE FREE! SO DONT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT FREEDOM AND DONT PLAY HAPPY MUSIC IN A WAR MOVIE. ITS DISGRACEFUL AND SICKENING!!
Rating:
Summary: Good intentions, fair execution...3.5 stars
Review: This is the only WW2 movie to focus on the bloody mess that was the Hurtgen Campaign of 1944. The battle scenes are well done for a low-budget movie, but this movie is not a very accurate portrayal of the brave G.I.s who squared off with the German troops in the Hurtgen Forest. For example, the American attack is almost laughable. An officer blows a whistle(!) to signal the atack & then they walk casually towards the German position. Hmm...Also there is no way that officers would ever put up with so much insubordination from any soldier. The scene where the ammo dump explodes is more like a cheap fireworks show. The cast is good enough but the script is a disappointment. The dialogue just doesn't sound right for a 1940's setting. The four man commando-style attack at the end is a little over-the-top. My favorite scenes were the ones showing the German 88s firing. You get a feeling why the American troops were terrified by these huge artillery guns. I also enjoyed the scene showing what it was like to lead a patrol through the forest. The best scene (except for the fat idiot yelling the whole time!) is Ron Eldard & his squad attacking the 88s & literally burning the Germans out of their positions. This is not a bad war movie, but it's no masterpiece either. I think it's definitely worth owning if you're a WW2 buff but I suggest you rent it first before buying.
Rating:
Summary: Very good movie
Review: Although not as good as SPR, this movie really lets you see the dark side of the allied successes in WW2. It also could go wrong and this part of the war is the forgotten one. At the hurtgen forest 20.000 soldiers died in 3 months, for nothing more than a straight line on the map. This movie shows the terror and the inhumanity of that battle in a very realistic way.
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