A bit about me - I love the cinema. From the latest blockbuster (dragged along by my 15 year old so...
A bit about me - I love the cinema. From the latest blockbuster (dragged along by my 15 year old son), to my preferred arthouse films, I just enjoy the experience.
Update (May 2005) - my son is 19 and at Uni now! How time flies...
Member since:12.02.2001
Reviews:49
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"Buffalo soldiers" was one of a few movies whose cinema release was postponed due to the events of 9/11. I recently re-read an old copy of Empire magazine from 2002, which included a piece about the film as being about to be released.
Viewing it now, it's a little bit difficult to understand exactly why. The movie is about mavericks, the military, and there are some explosions, but it's not about any of the subjects you might have expected to cause horror around that time (or any other time, come to that) It's not about terrorism, or ethnicism or religion, it's not even about New York. But then Hollywood got so jittery around that time, about so many subjects.
The backdrop for "Buffalo soldiers" is in fact Germany. It centres on the US army, based there in the 1980s, at the time of the Berlin Wall coming down. These are men who have very little to do in the line of real work, some of them turn to pursuits like basketball. Some, on the other hand, see it as the perfect opportunity for a bit of blackmarket drug dealing, weapons dealing - anything as long as it makes you some money. The mainman as far as this area of activity is concerned is Ray Elwood, played by Joaquin Pheonix.
Mainly, the troops are portrayed as drug-addicted louts. Whether they are involved in illegal activities or whether they are just doing their job - they come across as yobs with too much time on their hands. Ed Harris is great as a feeble Colonel, who doesn't really have a clue about what's going on around him. The hard-nosed Sergeant Robert E Lee (played by Scott Glenn), on the other hand, has his suspicions, and starts to investigate things - a bit too thoroughly for Elwood's liking. Anna Paquin as is his daughter represents the love interest, and as Elwood is the one interested in her, this means that Lee has all the more reason to watch him closely, and even dislike him.
Comparisons can obviously be made with M*A*S*H and Three Kings, perhaps even Catch 22.
It's a deeply disturbing film. I found it to be anti-hero, anti-American no doubt, in fact anti- a lot of things. But it's a surprising film as well, and an enjoyable one to watch. In the edn, I'd describe it as a war movie for people who don't really like war movies, or at least don't like the bits showing the war and battles.
The movie is from the Australian director, Gregor Jordan. The script is by Eric Weiss, and is actually an adaptation of a novel by Robert O'Connor.
Good score from David Holmes 98 minutes
The Video is avialable for £8.99 from amazon.co.uk DVD £14.39
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Production Year: 1957 - Drama - Director: Leo McCarey - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Cathleen Nesbitt, Deborah Kerr, Cary Grant, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Fortunio Bonanova
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
It's 1989 and bored US soldier Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is finding some original ways ... more
to keep himself busy. Tuck on duty as Batallion Clerk at a US Army base in West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall Elwood is maintaining a lucrative side...
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Apr 19th, 2004
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