We Were Soldiers (2002)

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers (WGA):

Harold G. Moore (book) and
Joseph L. Galloway (book) ...

Release Date:

1 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | History | War

Tagline:

Fathers, Brothers, Husbands & Sons.

Plot:

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Battle | Vietnamese | 2000s | Vietnam War

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Lt. Col. Hal Moore
Madeleine Stowe	...	Julie Moore
Greg Kinnear	...	Maj. Bruce 'Snake' Crandall
Sam Elliott	...	Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley
Chris Klein	...	2nd Lt. Jack Geoghegan
Keri Russell	...	Barbara Geoghegan
Barry Pepper	...	Joe Galloway
Duong Don	...	Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An
Ryan Hurst	...	Sgt. Ernie Savage
Robert Bagnell	...	1st Lt. Charlie Hastings
Marc Blucas	...	2nd Lt. Henry Herrick
Josh Daugherty	...	Sp4 Robert Ouellette
Jsu Garcia	...	Capt. Tony Nadal
Jon Hamm	...	Capt. Matt Dillon
Clark Gregg	...	Capt. Tom Metsker

Also Known As:

The Lost Patrol (USA) (original script title)
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young (USA) (working title)
Wir waren Helden (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence, and for language.

Runtime:

138 min | Argentina:140 min | Germany:126 min (cut) | Spain:143 min | Turkey:124 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Vietnamese | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (appeal) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Castle Green - 99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

875,000 feet of film was shot - roughly 150 hours. It took the editing team 6 days - day and night - to watch it all.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When helicopters are landing or taking off, the sound effects are that of turbine engine RPM being increased or decreased as during engine start-up and shutdown on the ground. RPM is relatively constant during takeoff and landing. (This seems to be a common mistake in many films using helicopter sound effects.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
French Captain: Anything?
French Lieutenant: No, Captain.
French Captain: Fucking heat. Fucking grass. Fucking country.
[Vietnamese bullet hits him in the head]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Saturday Night Live: Jon Stewart/India.Arie (#27.14)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Mansions of the Lord

Entertainment, or factual account?

It's quite sad to read some of the reviews of this film. "full of clichés" "typical weak war film" etc. I would like for the writers of such comments to look at the film they "coughed up their reddies" for, and ask what they were really after? Do they know what the film was about? The director's aim was to create an honest depiction of a real life event. To tell the story of a battle and war in a way that would make people who weren't there understand what it may have been like. To bring home the stark realisation of how scary the battlefield would be, and explore the wider picture of how families, and even the enemy were affected by events too. Many of the words used by the dying men are documented as being the actual words. In the editors commentary, he explains "these were the true dying words 'tell my wife I love her'. In that situation, it is the reality of what is on people's minds. I'm sorry they couldn't have come up with something more melo-dramatic for the theatre audience." The line that really bought it home for me though was that soldiers who had fought in that battle thanked the director. They said he had managed to show the realities of an event in their lives that they had, to that point, never managed to fully explain to their families. If the people who were there say this is a realistic account of events and emotions, then that's the best accolade a film can have. I was scared and moved by it and would recommend it highly. PS. to the plot critics out there... would you rather they sexed up a true story? Surely that would be a grave tragedy.