OT: The Great Raid
 

http://www.apple.com/trailers/mirama...reat_raid.html

Quote:

Tag Line: The most daring rescue misson of our time is a story that has never been told.

Well, seeing as how I'm a Filipino, I'm plugging this movie for you guys to see. :) Aside from Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes and James Franco, also starring is Cesar Montano, one of the better Filipino actors.

It's out on theaters here tommorow... watching it... :)

I remember seeing the preview for this a while back. I am not a big Bratt fan for sure, but te movie looks excellent.

Glad to see a fellow FLIP around here. :D Looks like its gonna be a good movie, and an homage to the vets of that forgotten chapter of the Pacific War.
If only they could make a movie on Bataan and Corregidor then it would all be set.

You're pinoy? You serious? Cool. :)

Yeah, a movie on Bataan and Corregidor would rock.

The book the movie was based on is pretty good, though I felt it was fairly light, and though it was amazing what was done, I felt it was a little bit of hype calling it "The Greatest Raid Ever" etc. But hey, that's what Hollywood is about.

http://tinyurl.com/73exq

As a side note, I think a movie about either the Fall of Corregidor or the Fall of Bataan (and the subsequent 55,000 man, 28 km death march) would be a better film about the heroism of the Americans and Filipinos who fought the Japanese in WW2.

There is a good bit about Bataan and the death march in the Ghost Soldiers book, Neon, since some of the prisoners in the camp that were rescued came from there.

I'm looking forward to the movie, too, after reading the book, but it does irritate me every time they call it the greatest raid ever. I don't know why they had to do that. The story speaks for itself.

Watched the movie. The first hour dragged, but as soon as the raid was underway, the movie was top notch.

If they got the numbers right, then it probably would be the greatest rescue mission ever conducted by the US Army (as was said in the final part of the movie), about 120 US Rangers against 300 Japanese troops, with an estimated 1000 half a mile away, held back by less than 100 Filipino troops at a chokepoint bridge. They managed to pull out about 511 POWs, most of them sick, tired and unable to walk.

They suffered a total of 2 Ranger casualties and 26 Filipino Casualties. The way the movie portrays the raid was simply amazing.

The images in the first hour of the movie are more or less on the dot. The Japanese, knowing that they were on the losing end, were on pillage and burn mode. The scene where a turncoat Filipino would have something cover his face, as he pointed out memebrs of the underground was right on.

All in all, the first half would pobably get a C(despite the nice historical walkthrough), just because it felt so dragging. The raid itself and the closing scenes would get an A+ (for tugging the heart strings)

Oh, and stick around for the credits, they show wartime footage of the actual Rangers (and the characters played by Bratt and Franco).

All in all, highly recommended for anyone who wants to have a renewed sense of patriotism. Two thumbs up!

Turns out my wife went to high school with the daughters of the author of the book on which the movie is based.

Here's a link to the author's hometown paper covering the local premiere of the movie.
Kinda neat I thought.
http://www.clevelandbanner.com/NF/om...68+[cr=gdn

It was based on the two books, actually, and the movie points it out....

The Great Raid on Cabanatuan and Ghost Soldiers.

Free preview on the base Tuesday, but I was at softball. :(

Oh, and Cesar Montano is the guy who plays the Filipino captain who holds off the Japanese in the Bridge. :)

Are there alot of books on the war over there by Fillipino historians and vets on their experiences?

Bump! :)

Pretty good performance by the guy.

Yeah. Hopefully, he'll be able to get some more bit roles in Hollywood. Heh. He's like our version of Ken Watanabe.

He did remind me of Ken. Actually thought they were related at first.