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The General's Daughter (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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253 comments in total

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28 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
Lots Of Pluses and Minuses, But Entertaining, 3 March 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

This was an excellent drama marred only by a little too much profanity and the normal Hollywood obsession of portraying the United States military as corrupt. (I have a news flash for filmmakers: there are some honest men in the military....really!!!) Feminism in the armed forces is another "agenda" item in this film.

There are many pluses, however, with this movie that should be noted. . The acting is excellent with a deep cast featuring John Travolta, James Cromwell, Madeline Stowe, Timothy Hutton, James Woods, Clarence Williams III, Leslie Stefanson and more.

I loved the dialog between Travola and Woods. It reminded me of the film noir films of the 1940s. The general's daughter, Stephanson, is a bit hard-edged in here but it's understandable when you find out why she acts the way she does. The characters the actors are all interesting and the story hooks you in right away. The cinematography is great. This looks stunning on DVD.

There are no lulls in this film and the action isn't overdone, either. Very entertaining.

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26 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
Great movie unfairly savaged by critics., 30 March 2005

Author: john from nashville

THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER is movie that has been done before. But it knows this and is able to look past it's cliché's and have fun with the genre. A cop(Travolta) is called to an army base to investigate the death of a general's daughter after she has been raped and beat to death and left naked and tied to the ground with tent stakes. It's a ghastly sight and everyone wants him to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. The problem is that EVERYONE has something to hide or is hiding someone who has something to hide. This has an all-star cast and they are terrific. The story is well written and the cast has some fun with it along the way. Director Simon West knows how to tell the story with a slight tongue and cheek flavor and still maintain the very serious nature of the subject matter. The action sequences are very well choreographed and the climax is pretty intense. So if you are looking for a familiar but really good, intense, and exciting action murder mystery THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER is well worth seeing. No matter if the critics thumbed their elitist nose's at it. They're loss is our average Joe's gain. ***1/2 out of 4.

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Disturbing Thriller, 7 January 2007

Author: mjw2305 from England

A beautiful army officer is murdered in compromising circumstances that the fort MacCallum officials would rather keep quite. John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe are the investigators into the murder, and it's seems that someone wants to keep the truth hidden.

Travolta and Stowe both capture the necessary elements of their characters and they are well supported by James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Clarence Williams II and James Woods.

This suspenseful mystery thriller delivers the disturbing truths of the story very well, it does have its flaws, but they are largely forgivable due to the captivating delivery and direction.

7/10

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13 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
A Rainy night In Georgia, 19 December 2003

Author: sol1218 from brooklyn NY

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

******SPOILERS****** One rainy night in Georgia a young women is found murdered at the Ft. McCullen Army Base. She turns out to be the bases commanders Lt. Gen Joseph Campbell, James Cromwell, daughter Capt. Elisabeth Campbell, Leslie Stefanson. Elisabeth worked in the Pys/Opps department on the army base which is into manipulating and playing with peoples minds. Assigned to the case are Warrant Officers Paul Brenner and Sara Sunhill, John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe, to find the murderer.

There are a number of fingerprints found on the murder site that belong to Col. Robert Moore, James Woods, and he's arrested and put into lock-up. Later because the officer, Col. William Kent, Timothy Hutton, in charge of lock-up wasn't told the reasons for Moore's incarceration he's released to his quarters. Brenner and Sunhill go to Moore's house to re-arrest him and find him dead, he shot himself. The trail of Capt. Campbell's murder leads the investigators to West Point where they find out that Capt. Campbell was brutally raped in a military exercise some seven years ago. The rape, with the help of her father Lt. Gen.Campbell, was covered up for the good of the military as well as the academy.

Elisabeth Campbell over the years developed a deep and bitter resentment against her father Lt.Gen.Campbell for not trying to find and punish those who beat and raped her. Working in Pys/Opps she used what she learned there, in mind games, to play with and torture her father's mind over his betrayal of her for his love of the army. One of those games that she was playing on her father seemed to have gone terribly wrong the night she was found murdered.

Ridiculously contrived story about the going's on behind the scenes in the US military. John Travolta acts in the movie more like a vicious thug then an army investigator brutalizing and intimidating everyone that he comes in contact with in regards to the murder investigation, from generals to privates and this guy is only a warrant office! The best thing that you can say about Travolta's acting in the movie is that he dropped that very unconvincing and annoying southern accent that he used early in the film; who did he think he was playing? Gomer Pyle USMC?. The accent was so phony that it almost got him killed earlier in the movie when he tried to set up some militia type, by selling him arms. The on the ball militia man got wind of him just by listening to Trovolta talk as well as his stupid and obnoxious actions when he was dealing with him.

The way the movie treated the US military was the biggest crime in it. There's nobody in the movie that you could consider normal including it's star John Travolta. With a surprise ending that was so contrived, in the light of the serious subject matter, that it came across almost as a comedy. With the only normal and stable person in the army as well as the movie turning out to be the murderer.

The only good thing that one can say about "The Generals Daughter", in light of how it insulted and demeaned the US military, is that it was based on a not true story.

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19 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Screen Play Took Away From the Book, 17 October 2002
Author: Sambarb337 (Sambarb337@cs.com) from Orange County California

Before renting the movie, I listened to Nelson Demille's audiobook. The book got me hooked. I got up at 4:00 a.m. and treked out to the car to pick up the last few tapes.

Overall, as a father, the effect of this book was to make me realize there are certain things that a father can't say, actions a father can't take if that father wants to avoid destroying the trust between himself and his daughter. It's not just a question of career over family.

It's a question of being in touch with emotions, and understanding feelings.

The compromise General Campbell made in West Point, to not stand up for his daughter, to not rock the boat, to ask his daughter to forget, was more understandable in the book. All the West Point Brass was pressuring him to not destroy the school. Convince his daughter not to make a stink.

I find few movies as good as books. Books allow me to use my imagination. The whole rape area, as I envisioned it, was much more rural, much more out of the way.

Paul's confrontation with the General in the end, his getting the general court martialed seemed just too politically correct. After all, if you go for the general, go for the West Point staff that was pressuring the general to shut the incident up. Go for them all.

John Travolta and Madeline Stowe did a fine job. However, the sexual tension and underlying passion between them was pretty much avoided between the book and the movie. That made a big loss.

Nelson Demille is a great writer. I look forward to reading more of his works.

It's hard to turn a great book into a good movie.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Very mysterious, 15 July 2000
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

The General's Daughter may be flawed, but thanks to the acting, it's hardly a matter. John Travolta gives a good performance and James Woods gives an even better one, showing that one scene with back and forth dialougue can make one film pretty interesting. Still, a good mystery, with the plot set in good place for one of Travolta's best pics. A-

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Overly Talky, But Well Made, 12 June 2006

Author: jonathon_naylor from Manitoba, Canada

Overly talkative and overly complex, "The General's Daughter" just doesn't know when to quit. Still, there's no denying it is a well-made, well-acted effort from director Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). John Travolta stars as Warrant Officer Paul Brenner, determined to get to the bottom of the murder of a respected base commander's daughter. Of course very little is as it initially seems as Brenner peels back one layer of lies after another -- some surprising, others less so. The final truth is so bizarre and disturbing that even the most experienced viewers won't guess it. More focus and a shorter running time would have helped this one.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
An Ugly Painting set to emotive music..., 17 June 2000

Author: Aberlass from Scotland

A surprisingly stylised and artistic approach to an old theme. The smoky yellow colour tints, especially during graphic violence are very beautiful, therefore the subject matter is even more disturbing. The colour is sumptuous throughout which holds the viewers attention, even in the more routine sequences. The actors performances are rather mismatched, because some are realistic, Cromwell, & interesting, Woods, and others are plastic, Stowe, or complacent, Travolta. The plot is a traditional tale of integration and violating those the established dont want integrated, resulting in retrobution. Despite the clashes in acting style & limitations of plot, this film works! I cannot explain why, maybe a magnificent cinematographer is all a film needs, but it is riveting viewing.

My Rating: 7/10 When I had just seen this film I said 8/10, but over time I digested it and realised that the performances irritated me too much to maintain my initial opinion. The main problem is Travolta, his trademark being - wonderful charisma, which some films need, but this film did not need that, I prepose that he was wrongly cast in this film. It is this aspect that dulls it's memory. But I do recommend that you see this film if you like instantaneous impact & buzz and dont care who the actors are.

Who Should Watch this Film? This is an 18 Certificate, UK, you do need to be over 18yrs to understand it. There are a few behaviours regarding 'Ms Campbell' that only maturity will reveal any understanding about. Basically, men & women get the same package here, there are no subplots or romances or shoot-em-ups, it's a serious narrative. It's a film about army rape. Women will cope with the subject material because it's shot exquisitly & is very respectful towards women, and men will cope with it because problems are worked through and are solvable. If you can handle the basic premiss of the plot, then you will be surprised by the colour & sound of the film. It has the most stunning soundtrack I have encountered for a long time. The traditional African songs will blow your mind, because they do not match the visuals. I am recommending this film for the music & colour alone. It is this that will really make you think deeply.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Great film, 6 June 2007

Author: ati7500 from United Kingdom

It is a must seen movie :

- First time viewer will be surprised by the ending. - second time viewer will be a woman considering that the road is still long to fairness and that everyday is a challenge.

- Relation between daughter and fathers are exploited on a very personal level.

Travolta is very convincing and suitable in uniform.

Inspiring film for those who see it : if the message does not hit you, it will leave an impact.

Big plus is the sound track very adapted to the story.

LyLy

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Performances are wonderful but direction is not., 21 November 2006

Author: TheGame2k2 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

John Travolta rules on this performance and steals the show very easily but Simon West really shouldn't have been the director of this movie.

Simon West ruled on finding the right tones for the more emotional scenes but his action scenes are really uneven and don't quite as well.

Story is about the murder of a female Army Captain Elizabeth Campbell who is also the daughter of a well respected commander, Lt. Genernal Joseph Campbell. Warrant Officer Paul Brenner and his partner Warrant Officer Sara Sunhill are sent on the case to find the murderer and then finds out a load of secrets about Elizabeth being raped during a mission practice when she went to West Point.

Being a Staff Sergeant with the Army, i love all military movies and i got into this movie as well. Like i said before, direction is one of the downfalls of this movie, while being a box-office blockbuster, you notice a lot of flaws in the direction when it comes to action and some of the intense scenes like the rape scene.

Emotion is great in this movie, because Simon West is great on emotional movies. Simon West for the most part is great on tension but there were a few scenes that felt overblown and some not blown-up enough. The rape scene is not well set up when compared to the story that the instructor is giving. It's suppose to be dark because night missions in the Army are always dark, and i know West Point very well, they are not going to have helicopters flying all over the place. And the instructor is even describing it as dark and difficult to see and yet we have lights all over the place in that scene.

Like most movies, this movie ignores some of the rules of the actual army, if we saw a warrant officer pushing so many people of lesser rank around like John Travolta is, he wouldn't be a warrant officer for much longer.

This movie has a great story, it's just so wonderfully written by the original writer of the novel Nelson DeMille and the screenplay is truly brought to life by Christopher Bertolini.

Overall, it's a good movie, with a few flaws to worry about. But the performances and story really make up for those flaws.

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