The Great Raid Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Two proud races, brothers-in-arms... A daring mission that will earn them the respect and admiration of the entire world.
A heroic tale of courage and triumph.
The Most Daring Rescue Mission Of Our Time Is A Story That Has Never Been Told.
Set in the Philippines in 1945 towards the end of WWII, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci and Captain Robert Prince, the 6th Ranger Battalion undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, they intend to liberate over 500 American Soldiers from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever.
| Benjamin Bratt | Lt. Colonel Mucci |
| James Franco | Captain Prince |
| Robert Mammone | Captain Fisher |
| Max Martini | 1st Sgt. Sid "Top" Wojo |
| James Carpinello | Cpl. Aliteri |
| Mark Consuelos | Cpl. Guttierez |
| Craig McLachlan | 2nd Lt. Riley |
| Freddie Joe Farnsworth | 2nd Lt. Foley |
| Laird Macintosh | 2nd Lt. O'Grady |
| Jeremy Callaghan | Lt. Able |
| Scott McLean | Lt. LeClaire |
| Paolo Montalban | Sgt. Valera |
| Clayne Crawford | PFC Aldrige |
| Sam Worthington | PFC Lucas |
| Royston Innes | Sgt. Adams |
| John Dahl |
6.90 out of 10 (4732 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Heroism and Gallantry
posted on 10 Aug 2009I had seen the trailers for this movie and read the book"Ghost Soldiers" which came out few years ago. This movie is perhaps one of the finest war epics I have seen and I must say I have seen many. I was unable to speak I was so overtaken with emotion when I came out of the theatre. Even now I am completely overtaken by the sheer ability of the men involved in the raid on the POW camp. It must stand as on of the greatest war stories ever told. The dedication along with the discipline necessary to carry out this effort to extract a forgotten and enslaved group of Americans must go down as one of the most heroic and gallant actions of the war. Staying close to the real story is often difficult in a movie but this was incredibly most like a docu-drama that I have ever seen. Hats off to the actors and everyone involved in this outstanding movie.
We Should See More of this Kind of Movie
posted on 07 Aug 2009I found found The Great Raid one of those wonderful war movies that rarely get made any more, mores the pity. It's based on a true story of a mission to rescue survivors of the Battan Death March from a Japanese POW camp by a force of US Army Rangers and Phillpine guerillas. The Japanese atrocities are not sugar coated in any way--to multicultural political correctness here. Nor are the Amercian and Phillipine soldiers any less than heroic. It was an inspiring, often suspenseful story of men winning eternal glory by putting their lives on the line for their fellow men. Even the love story that was tacked on was, in my opinion, well understated and had an appropriate, nonshaltzy ending. I highly recomend this film.
Solid, if stilted storytelling
posted on 05 Aug 2009As a veteran who served at Camp O'Donnell in the 80's, I had to see this film. My fiance had emailed me the reviews from Amazon so I was very excited about seeing it.
I'm afraid I expected too much. The film does accomplish its most important job, which is to reveal the (mostly unknown) story of the Filipino/American experience of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
However, the writing is so second rate as to make the movie nearly tedious. Joseph Fiennes, Connie Nielsen, and Cesar Montano go to town with what little they're given.
Unlike previous reviewers, I found much of the story and dialogue bordered on cliche. I understand the story was inspired by historical events, but the writing fails to convincingly convey the bonds formed between soldiers, the fear, the heroism. It weakly rehashes all the old World War Two themes with unfleshed stereotypical characters (the young, innocent GI in the camp, the inexperienced captain with the brilliant plan, the stubborn, but admirable officer, the saint kissing, inexperienced soldier, the mother hen, look after his boys 1st Sgt). The camera shots are straightforward, the sound competent...the whole feel of the film made for tv drama. Despite the wonky story which departs so much from the book, the last Thin Red Line did a much better job of conveying the FEEL of war in the South Pacific.
I was relieved that the women were portrayed as smart and strong. I was relieved that the atrocities of occupied RP were revealed, but not exaggerated. How disappointing that it was not filmed in the PI! What kind of underfed, wimpy carabao were those supposed to be?
Finally, the writers made no bones about their opinions of the Europe first strategy. They almost seem to want to decry the US for not handling the occupation sooner. And they made no effort to humanize the Japanese. It would be hard to achieve the last, but not impossible and in revealing the horror of the occupation, would have been worth the effort.
If you're a WWII veteran, a fan of the RP, or a fan of war movies in general, you'll appreciate this film. I'm just not so sure you can't wait to see it on video.
A story worth telling but not told well
posted on 13 Jul 2009I like a good war story but this is not one. The film has a Disney look and the characters all look like they're acting. It feels like it has all been done before and a lot better, especially by David Lean. With a feel of a Hollywood set,combined with a make-shift love story, I never became involved, except when the shooting starts in the last 20 minutes. Up until then, I had my finger on the fast forward button a great deal. The actual war footage, and the fact that the raid was based on a true story is all that keeps this film from being ignored. Such an event deserves to have been given a better director. I did enjoy the bonus materials much more as they had interesting interviews with the real POW's, and the time-line of the pacific war was a good synopsis of what occurred. Too bad the film was not as captivating.
One of the great untold stories of World War II
posted on 08 Jul 2009This film is a pretty faithful recreation of the rescue of American POWs from Carbanatuan prison in the Philippines. Even knowing the story pretty well from "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides (which is a great book) the film still managed to create an air of suspense.
The story centers US Army Rangers march 30 miles behind Japanese lines and with the help of Filipino Resistance fighters free over 500 POWs who were scheduled to be executed by their Japanese capturs. The movie also shows the bravery of civilians, American and Filipino, who risked their lives smuggling medication and other things to the POWs.
One of the best war movies I've seen
posted on 05 Jul 2009Saw this on Saturday night. This is an excellent war movie on the raid to rescue over 500 starving, sick American Pow's in the Phillipines in 1945. Actually most of the fighting in the movie takes places in the final thirty minutes. The rest of the movie concerns the planning of the raid and life in the prison camp seen from Ralph Finnes view, as well as Margaret Utinsky's (played with conviction by Connie Nielson) role as a former Army nurse now part of the Filipino guerrilla movement. This movie is a brutal and honest portrayal of POW life under the Japanese and includes graphic portrayals of executions and mass murder. The final 30 minutes is very well done, concerning the actual execution of the raid itself. The only downsize of this picture is the lack of character development of the Ranger's soldiers. Benjamin Bratt as Col Mucci ( he does look like the real Col M) come off as somewhat wooden in the film. This is powerful war movie which will make you proud to be American. If you don't know already this is not fiction but is based on actual events and people with little Hollywood fudging. Just go out and see it you won't be sorry you did.
A Great War Movie
posted on 05 Jul 2009The Great Raid separates its self from your standard war movie fare. It doesn't have the main actor / actress that will win Oscar awards, it doesn't have the best musical score, and to top it all off, it doesn't run over 3 hours long.The movie clocks in at around 2 and a half and it does a good job at what it's trying to do. It develops the background and the characters and throws in the plot so people will feel for the characters. In the end, it ends with some solid action, though the action takes a back seat to the story. While the movie uses less known actors, the acting is still solid and the movie is short quite well.This movie has what it takes to do well, but was dumped and shows that the media doesn't understand what makes a movie good or bad. If you like war movies, I would highly recommend this movie.********
Reviews from professional critics are disappointing...
posted on 03 Jul 2009Having read "Ghost Soldiers" I was interested in seeing this movie but on opening day not a single theater in my county was running it. Eventually a Regal theater in the next town had it and I went to a matinée where every other moviegoer (all 15 of them) was over the age of 75. No, this isn't a moneymaker, but it is a salute the greatest generation....Of course that's why the professional reviews were so poor. Professional reviewers today are not of the greatest generation, they're of the 60s generation. The 60s generation condemns the film as "propoganda" with "negative Japanese stereotypes", when the reality is Japanese brutality was much more horrific than shown in this film. I'm sure the use of the word "Jap" in the film also made them cringe. (As an aside, it's Japanese-Americans who are on a crusade to rid the world of the term, not Japanese.) In my opinion, this film is better than Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line. It's the best American made Pacific War film I have scene since Empire of the Sun. Read one of the books on which the film is based and then go see it. The differences are minimal.This movie should be required viewing in all high school classrooms.
utterly disappointed
posted on 01 Jul 2009Hearing what this film was about and finding out it was a true story left a larger impact on me then the entire film did. This was a run of the mill Hollywood War film, i was very surprised not to See Jerry Bruckheimer's name under the producer credits. I had pretty high expectations after finding out that John Dahl was directing this film since i was a follower of his work since "Kill me again" but what i was left with was over an hour of boring Hollywood war stuff and then when the Raid was initiated on the camp in the end it was a five minute Un- Dramatic shootout that you would find in any large budgeted action flick. And the performances were extremely dull especially from the horrid Benjamin Bratt, (dude stick to T.V.). And a very disappointing turn from the young but usually talented James Franco but both Connie Nielson and Joseph Fines gave decent performances. Also to blame was the stupid dialog, I really coundn't be any more disappointed, and the only reason i give it a 4 is because the story of the film let me know about the brave soldiers who rescued the POW S and i have the up most respect for them. But just rating the film itself it's lucky if it's a 2
The Greatest Rescue in U.S.Military History
posted on 27 Jun 2009Late January, 1945, World War II: at the point at which this film begins, the horrible toll of war has already happened - the infamous Bataan Death March, in which thousands & thousands of American & Filipino prisoners eventually died. The film, from director Dahl, doesn't shy away from impressing this point, including showing an example of Japanese military brutality in the early going - burning some prisoners alive. From the outset, we seem to be instructed, or reminded, that war is not a matter of just heroism, exciting action scenes, or battle strategy - though this is how it culminates in this particular true story of rescue. But the majority of the film concentrates on the brutality; it's not a pleasant picture of what the POWs endure, nor should it be. Likewise, there is a parallel storyline taking place in the nearby city of Manila, controlled by the Japanese, where members of an underground who smuggle medicine to prisoners are all targets of the oppressors. Quick gangster-style executions are not unusual.The aforementioned death march hangs like a pall over all the proceedings and the American military, which had ordered the soldiers to surrender, thereby inadvertently causing all their eventual deaths, seem compelled (or shamed, depending on how you see it) to mount some unusual rescue attempt of about 500 prisoners. It's mentioned that this plan has no real strategic significance, no pragmatic value; it's a decision of the heart, not the head. Specially-trained army rangers form the unit which will carry out this raid, all anxious and willing to do what is right. This is about glory all right, but not the kind we may think; it's not about publicity, cameras, medals, and so on. It's about the personal glory each soldier will feel inside, knowing he did something right. This is spelled out by Bratt's Lt. Colonel Mucci; Bratt, with whom I was familiar with for lightweight characters, surprised me in this picture. He seems to play older than he is, a man who had chosen to be a warrior and leader of men. His speech to his rangers before the mission was true-to-life and inspiring at the same time. Franco plays the captain under his command in charge of the strategy and the mission.Besides the expected interest in seeing these historical events play out, this film can be instructional, as well. I'd forgotten, for example, about the strong bond forged between the Americans and the Filipinos (the guerrilla fighters) during this struggle against the Japanese oppressors. When some might question why it's necessary to relive such past events in the context of today's completely revamped modern world (why bring up past hates, past tragedy?), it also relives & reminds of past alliances and mutual respect. Of course, I doubt any descendants of the death march victims would want such history ignored or forgotten. The DVD I acquired was packaged with the book by William Breuer.
Magnificent story!
posted on 21 Jun 2009Having had the misfortune of reading books before movies and end up disappointed because the director could not do the impossible, that being to place the book as it is before my eyes, I chose to read the books involved after seeing the movie. This is the most amazing movie, very much in character with other great movies concerning World War II. The fact that it dealt with the Philippines and the men we left there in camps through the war gave it the same in your face reality as "Schindler's List"; I found myself flinching during some of the more graphic scenes in the movie. The movie illuminates the power of the human spirit during the darkest and most harrowing times, and the strength that abides in men's hearts to attempt the impossible. I came out of the movie eager to read more about this event. And it reminded me of how profoundly grateful I am to everyone who has ever chosen to go into harm's way to fight evil and protect what is good in this world. Bless everyone who was involved in this project! It tells such a magnificent story that we should all know.
A movie really deserving it's title
posted on 19 Jun 2009Before I saw this movie, I'm actually quite jittery because I've heard people who have seen the movie say that it's really not that great of a movie. Then I read in the papers some raves about the movie, coming from some well-known and respected Hollywood reviewers. So I said to myself, what the hell, why don't I just see the movie and judge for myself. I'm so glad that the doom sayers didn't get the best of me.This movie is one for the books. I really liked how the movie was done. I've seen war movies which left me scratching my head and wondering if all those gruesome and barbaric scenes can actually happen. That is not the case in this movie. You will actually believe that all the events portrayed in this movie really happened. The battle scenes are riveting but not out of this world.The cast did their part in fleshing out their parts. I know that some say that the actors are duds. But I think that considering that the parts that they played are those of famished and sick POWs and tired and depressed soldiers, you don't really expect them to act like actors.There are some misspelled names of places like towns where the events occurred but if you consider the totality of the film, you'll be willing to forgive those lapses.To the cast and crew, hats off to all of you!!
True account of Historical WWII Rescue
posted on 17 Jun 2009I feel that this is an important film for people to see regarding the little known but most impressive rescue attempt made during WWII. I went with some friends who enjoyed it very much also and considering that we were women going to see a war movie, we did not know what to expect. We were treated to a satisfying and moving entertainment experience and also learned new things about what the previous generation had to go through. We already know about the horrors of war and it was moving to see the heroic exploits undertaken by some very brave men to save their comrades from Japanese annihilation. There were good character developments as well as action sequences. THe newsreel and actual footage that bookends the film add to its impact as one can compare the actual characters with their counterparts in the film. History classes in schools should be taken to see the film.
Boring, boring, boring...
posted on 17 Jun 2009Absolute crap. Stilted dialog, no connection with the characters, discombobulated plot line. Watched about an hour and finally turned it off.Funny to see the high rating this has received. Gotta think that the paid shills are having a field day on this one.And now when I try to submit a comment, IMDb tells me this has to contain ten lines of text. Let's see, how can I further describe those precious 60 minutes of my life I lost while watching this stinker? It's a shame they didn't do a better job, because the true story is, I'm sure, quite compelling. But this film failed to capture that feeling. Too bad. Don't rent it, and certainly don't buy it.
A Great Movie to see
posted on 17 Jun 2009This movie is one of the best I've recently seen. When I first sat down and the movie started, I thought "this is no Saving Private Ryan". And it isn't. But, it is not far from it. The action is very good, the acting believable, and the sense of truth is definitely there. Unfortunately (at least here in Boca Raton, Fl), the movie theatres downplayed it, the critics barely reviewed it and gave it not-so-good reviews and it was barely in the theater. If you saw it you were one of the lucky ones. My wife who doesn't really like this kind of film, came out of the theater and stated,"That was a wonderful movie". Boy, was I shocked. To hell with these over-paid "professional" critics and do yourself a favor. Judge a film by your standards. GO see this film. You won't be sorry. I can't wait to see it on DVD.
Very well done and educated snapshot of a country at war
posted on 07 Jun 2009This was a great film, and a nice escape to reality from all the superhero, fantastical, and over-hyped movie star fare we've gotten this summer.The biggest accolade I can offer this flick is that it sticks to history in ways rarely seen in Hollywood films, and even then it's not dry or boring, not inaccessible to those not particularly versed in history. It shows beautifully how exciting and thrilling real history can be. The liberties it takes aren't too offensive (I can't say much without spoiling the story, but although the "romance" in this film didn't exist, it's not particularly gratuitous or hard to believe, and there were many wartime romances between people who met in the occupied Philippines), but on a whole they valiantly stuck to the stories. It doesn't revel in clichés or surrender to the cheap thrill of pyrotechnics, which so many war films do. Since it looks to true events for inspiration, there's a happy lack of predictibility and "been there, done that". Not to say that there are any talk-of-the-summer plot twists, but it keeps you on your toes because you're dealing with life, and is often surprising. The film brings you down to the level of its characters, and it doesn't treat you like an outsider.As a Filipino American and history buff, I was thrilled and proud to see so many Filipino actors in the film (particularly the wonderful -- and gorgeous -- Cesar Montano) and to finally see this little known but mammoth part of WWII recalled on such a public scale. The film takes place over 5 days in January, as the Rangers prepare to take the camp. Its three interconnected story lines -- the prisoners in Cabanatuan, the Rangers, and the underground movement in Manila (including a nurse played by Nielsen who smuggles in Quinine to prisoners) -- give a fairly accurate and well rounded portrait of the landscape of war in the Philippines, although by the end of the film you do feel as if you've only seen the tip of the iceberg.The acting is lovely. There aren't any "Oscar" scenes or the like, just solid ensemble acting, and the leads, Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Cesar Montano, and Connie Nielsen, are excellent for what they're given. The writing doesn't try to over-dramatise or "soapify" anything, it stays level headed and just plays. It felt a lot like a less ridiculous "Gettysburg" or a much tamer "Black Hawk Down" or a much MUCH shorter "The Longest Day". Surprisingly, for a war film, there are relatively few "what I'm here for" speeches, which is refreshing. The ones it does have aren't particularly irksome or obnoxious. It's not particularly violent (except for the unnerving opening scene -- a recreation of the Palawan massacre -- and one scene in the camp, I'd have given it a PG-13 rating), but it IS disturbing. And although they hardly began to show the full extent of the atrocities committed, the point is made clear, heartrendingly I might add. Two scenes, involving Filipino underground workers and another at the camp, had me in tears.Honestly, this is NOT for people looking for a testosterone fueled action flick. The action is strictly historical (except for a hand to hand fight at the end which I doubt happened). At times it feels like a documentary, and other times it's like watching a memoir. Neither is this film the "rah rah" flag waving fest the advertising makes it out to be (thank goodness). In fact it pays great homage to the work of the Philippine people, underground resistance (a portion of the film which seemed a bit out of place in the film but which had me enamored and on edge), and guerilla fighters, all of which touched me deeply. As a Hollywood studio film goes, it's an academic, nearly blow by blow accounting of the events surrounding the raid on the Cabanatuan prison camp, but because of the nature of the story and not because of empty manipulation, it is intense, inspiring, and exciting. Don't expect the next "Paths of Glory" or "Bridge on the River Kwai" or that calibre of film-making, but I hope that this does well because in its own way it's different from so much of the mindnumbing junk that is out there, it attempts to portray a war story smartly, chose to tell a story that doesn't spell out big money, and without being overbearingly in-your-face patriotic, it pays homage to and shares the experiences of the American and Filipino men and women who endured the hell that was World War II in the Philippines.
A great piece of WWII History is finally told!
posted on 27 May 2009This is one WWII movie you can't pass up on, if for anything else, it's historic signifigance that up till now seem's to sometimes be on the back shelf behind the Normandy Assault and other European Theater triumph's!
A huge surrender to the Japanese (because they simply had nowhere else to go) followed by the Bataan Death March, The overwhelming odd's against them, and the greatest successful military rescue in United States History can be seen in this film.
Let us not forget the underground that helped keep a multitude of POW's alive by smuggling food and medicine to them, coupled with the help of the Philippine guerilla fighter's who fought bravely to help support the libertation of the POW camp. Our country owe's you a great thanks!
The story: This movie was based off of 2 books, "The great raid on Cabanatuan" and "Ghost Soldiers" which are account's of a 5 day mission by the 6th Rangers to rescue 511 POW's from the Japanese's pow-camp in the Phillipine's. They face overwhelming odd's as they attempt to become part of the most successful rescue operation in U.S. history. There is a small romance story underlying between a man in the camp and a woman in the underground, but I won't give any more than that. It's a small part of the story and does not saturate us with sap as did the movie "Pearl Harbor".
Two things stand out to me that many may not realize. The first is the fact that it took nearly 3 years to rescue these POW's. Once the war in Europe was in full force, the Pacific Theater and the men that were captured there as POW's seemed to be put on the back shelf by top brass officials. It wasn't that they were not going to rescue them, only that they seemed to not be a priority.
The second are the actions of the Japanese army. I have always heard how "honorable" the Japanese are when it come's to military tactics, integrity, and courage. However, this is never demonstrated during wartime. Their treatment of the prisoners as well as the people who were on the islands they invaded is no less appalling than the SS/Nazi's treatment of Jews in the Concentration Camps during the holocaust. Barbaric and Cowardly, I have yet to see how their way of fighting and their treatment of enemies captured, as well as even their own people, is anything but "honorable".
A great film that graces the likes of Benjamin Bratt, Connie Neilsen, Joseph Fiennes, and James Franco. A great true story about friendships, courage, torture, vinidcation, and even more importantly...hope.
The Great Raid
posted on 14 May 2009A Action/Drama/War based in the Philippines during world war two about a battalion of rangers including Lt. Colonel Mucci(Benjamin Bratt,Miss Congeniality) and Captain Prince(James Franco,Spider-Man).Who are ordered to set out on a mission to liberate 500 American soldiers(POW's) that have been in a Japanese POW camp for 3 years including Major Gibson(Joseph Fiennes,Enemy at the Gates) and Captain Redding(Marton Csokas,xXx).Benjamin Bratt(Lt. Colonel Mucci)did a great job this is definitely the best movie he has done so far.James Franco(Captain Prince)showed me that he is not just a mediocre actor he is much much more and I expect big things out of him.Joseph Fiennes(Major Gibson)was exactly what I expected him to be he was great!!.Marton Csokas(Captain Redding)has really come along way from his "xXx" days he gave a very solid performance and he did a good job thinning out his accent.I am surprised that John Dahl(Director)was able to pull "The Great Raid" off the only real credible thing he has done was "Joy Ride" and I really didn't like that movie at all.The screenplay was great one of the things that bothered me however is that I think that soldiers in world war two would have used a little fowler language but I wasn't there so I cant be certain.The raid scene when the rangers were rescuing the POW's was excellent it is on a par with the last battle scene in "Saving Private Ryan".The storyline was great I have a feeling that it was pretty close to what really happened but again I wasn't there so I wouldn't know.I really liked how at the end of the movie they showed a bunch of footage of the real Lt. Colonel Mucci and Captain Prince and all of the pow's it showed how well the actors had there characters down.Best actor/actress-James FrancoYou can not afford to not see this movie-Jake HydenI gave this movie a 9 out of 10Rated-(R) for strong war violence and brief language.9/10
Prisoners of Miramax
posted on 23 Aug 2009Some films just get made simply because so much time and money has been wasted developing them that it almost seems unthinkable not to make them even though everyone at the studio has long since lost interest. Case in point The Great Raid, one of Miramax's infamous shelf-hoggers. Initially intended as a Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise vehicle before they got a better offer from the Martians, it finally went before the cameras in Australia and China in 2002 with the less than A-list combo of director John Dahl and an underpowered cast headed by Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Joseph Fiennes and Connie Nielson only for Harvey Scissorhands to spend three years tinkering with the cut (Disney later claimed that, like the 45 other films still on the shelf at the time they parted company, the Weinsteins shelved it so it wouldn't affect their performance-related bonus and severance pay), by which time it had cost some $70m or more. Junked in a few theatres to no discernible business in their let's-wreck-the-joint-for-the-new-management spree when they started their new company, it never made it across the Atlantic, quietly sneaking out onto DVD when no-one was looking.
While it's easy to see why Spielberg and Cruise bailed - not enough drama, no big star role - the end result certainly isn't anything to be ashamed of. Based on the most successful rescue mission in US military history, when a group of untested Rangers rescued 500 prisoners of war in Cabanatuan in the Philippines before their Japanese captors could kill them, it's the kind of film you're surprised wasn't made decades ago. Even the casting of Fiennes seems strangely reminiscent of James Fox (an actor his career seems to be aping more and more lately) in the undervalued King Rat and even if the film is never quite as stark, it surprisingly avoids historical revisionism or excuses for the Japanese. The opening sequence, though not excessively gory, is genuinely shocking in its callousness, and unlike Pearl Harbor the film makes no attempt to water down the brutality of the Japanese Army to those they deemed inferior races, Allied prisoners and Filipino civilians alike: it's hard to see this selling many tickets in Japan.
Curiously its biggest problem is its historical accuracy: the determination to (for the most part) avoid phoney heroics unfortunately isn't matched by an ability to make the long march to the camp particularly dramatic, the Rangers themselves barely registering as characters for much of the movie. At times this puts more weight on the prison camp sequences and a subplot with Connie Nielson's doctor smuggling drugs to the prisoners through the local underground (true but playing more like demographic-inspired fiction at times) than they can bear, with much of the middle of the film sagging, especially compared to the surprisingly powerful ending. As with most P.O.W. films, the actors look too healthy despite their best efforts and the desaturated photography has become too much of a war movie cliché to impress anymore, but there's a sincerity to the film and a pride in what these men did that carries it over many of its rough patches: it's hard not to feel moved by the lengthy archive footage of the real liberated prisoners and their rescuers at the end (the 2-disc director's cut DVD also includes also a couple of powerful documentaries with veterans). One niggle though: while most of the cast make credible enough soldiers, filmmakers really should stop casting Dale Dye as officers - he may be the only real soldier in the picture, but he never convinces as one on screen and his cameos are starting to get as annoyingly gratuitous as Michael G. Wilson's in the Bond films.