Casualties of War

I enjoyed the movie. I also enjoyed pointing out the mistakes of the movie as Hollywood doesn't do the military very well. But the story was great and movie good. Five stars for Michael J. Fox's performance.

Casualties of War is a story about hate and racism. It follows a small group of American soldiers who are fighting an insurgency in Vietnam where they can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. That confusion leads them to consider all Vietnamese as the enemy and inhuman. The result is a war crime. The movie is about how each individual soldier reacts to what happens and how that creates a moral dilemma. That was the best part but halfway through it began dragging out scenes for dramatic effect which got really annoying.

The quintessential capstone on the 1980s Vietnam War film.Casualties of War is a brutal motion picture with stellar cinematography and exceptional performances.Overlooked by audiences when it came out in ‘89 possibly due to Vietnam film fatigue and an inability to see Michael J. Fox as anything other than a comedic actor, but there are dramatic riches to be found in this production but they are obviously tragic in nature.Simply put, this is a crime story about the kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of an innocent Vietnamese girl by a squad of brutalized, angry, soldiers during the Vietnam War and one man who can’t go along with it but fails to stop it. It is based on a real incident which De Palma had wanted to make into a film for many years.This is not an action movie. Although CoW has several combat scenes. Living with the psychology of the soldiers particularly Fox’s character as they descend into war weary, criminality is the main thrust of the film. It’s how war desensitizes one to others suffering until one finally becomes the perpetuator. The dialog and pacing of the film resembles a play to some extent, which the writer, David Rabe, had written several of before this film. This may be why some folks don’t end up liking the movie as it has melodramatic touches here and there. But in my opinion, it works to the movie’s strengths, especially with the music, because it gives the film that touch of a dreamlike quality, as if events are tragically remembered rather than being felt in real time. Additionally, the acting was superb by all involved especially the Vietnamese girl.I rate this product 4 stars as The Blu-ray has no commentary track and it does not have the extended cut which looks to be a better film based on the deleted scenes. Also De Palma should have staged one of the combat scenes much better than what ended up on screen. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it.Casualties of War is worth your time if you’re looking for a different type of war film.“You Emerge from Tragedy Equipped Against Lies” -Howard Barker

This movie was compelling for me because I could imagine myself in the place of MJFox's character and suffering through this immense predicament. Rooting for him was like rooting for myself. Not saying I would have been as heroic, but I would hope that this movie inspires all who watch to take up the good fight in all the situations in life where we are called to fight evil. And if you believe altruism is for suckers, then you are evil.

It is a harrowing plot and this is not really a war movie, per se. It does deal with issues that come up in a war and how each individual acts with subjected to the peer pressure and the pack mentality. Of course, Sean Penn and Michael J Fox are great, that's why their names are so recognizable. In this movie, Sean Penn has the stage to himself, for all practical purposes. As the borderline psychotic Squad Sergeant, he turns in a performance that will scare the stink out of you. Not that there is anything "Boo!" scary about the character, it's his whole presence that dominates everyone around him. Michael J Fox's performance starts out rather mechanical and "Called in!". He really doesn't begin to do any real acting until the hooch scenes where the horrors of the movies occur. At that point, Fox seems to get into his character's psyche and begin turning in the performance he is capable of. From there until the end, Penn and Fox are the two Alpha males searching to test the other and make the other back down. A first rate movie that should have had more honors bestowed upon it than it did.Any good Vietnam memorabilia collection is incomplete without this film, in my opinion. I am very glad I stumbled on to it and I think you will be too.

I watched this movie long ago and don't remember all the scenes, but I just got it in the mail today and thought I should say a few things about this movie. I like it and it has plenty of action in it and all, but unlike some other low-star reviews, this movie does not portray ALL American soldiers as murderers and rapists. In Vietnam, there were a few GI's who were a little f**ked in the head and what they did to quite a few Vietnamese villagers in revenge for their buddies being killed went far beyond the ways of justice. Take the My Lai incident in '68 when 2Lt. Calley's platoon was responsible for murdering over 500 villagers, including rape cases on a few people too. Not every American soldier in that platoon decided to get involved, but there are a few nutcases that decided to not let anything stop them in their goal of vengeance. So I remember that this movie didn't recklessly place the average American soldier in the level of some wannabe criminal. Soldiers like Michael J. Fox's character in the movie made their attempts to stop these crimes from taking place, but they still happened, and this movie, which is a pretty big action-thriller, will remind everyone of that.

Una pelicula clasica muy buena pero el doblaje en español es el de españa y la verdad para los latinos se escucha raro ojala la puedan vender doblada al español latino

In questo film del 1989 Brian De Palma, prendendo spunto da un fatto realmente accaduto (il rapimento, lo stupro collettivo e infine l'assassinio di una inerme ragazza vietnamita operati da un gruppo di soldati in missione) e riferito in un articolo del "New Yorker", getta uno sguardo impietoso sulle atrocità della guerra del Vietnam.Bravi tutti gli interpreti, in particolare Michael J. Fox e Sean Penn, nei panni il primo della giovane recluta che non riesce a fermare i commilitoni e il secondo in quelli del sadico sergente ideatore della "bravata".Stupisce come autorevoli critici abbiano potuto parlare di "un cattivo film" in cui la critica alla guerra viene fatta "in modi ipocritamente e provincialmente americani" (Morandini) o ritenere il lavoro del regista "stranamente enfatico e insincero" (Mereghetti). Nulla di più infondato. Al contrario, si tratta di un film riuscitissimo, proprio perché schietto e antiretorico.Il Mereghetti arriva perfino a definire "pessima" la colonna sonora di Ennio Morricone, laddove credo che il termine più appropriato dovrebbe essere "splendida", perché si tratta di una vera e propria elegia (che il maestro non a caso include regolarmente in tutti i suoi concerti dal vivo), uno degli esempi più fulgidi dell'arte di questo grande musicista italiano.Ottima questa edizione UK, sostanzialmente identica a quella distribuita in Italia, con l'audio sia in italiano che in inglese, francese, tedesco e spagnolo (con sottotitoli in varie lingue, fra cui l'italiano) e numerosi interessanti extra.

Tout d'abord l'on voit d'un mile loin que "la toile de fond" (paysages et intérieurs) est fausse. D'autre part, après un certain nombre d'années, impossible de tourner un film "réaliste" sur la guerre du Vietnam qui se veut vraisemblable. Deuxièmement, les personnages agissent eux aussi de façon invraisemblable. Le sergent Sean Penn décide tout à coup d'enlever la jeune femme vietnamienne et ses subordonnés lui obéissent comme ça, puisque c'est écrit dans le scénario: bref, rien des points de vue dramatique et psychologique ne prépare la 'story' du film, qui se développe "sans mobiles". Ajoutons, pour bonne mesure, qu'il y a trop de sang: ce qui est 'justifié' dans les gores semi-comiques, pas dans le film d'un grand metteur en scène, aussi baroque qu'il soit.Non, nous sommes loin de la perfection de l'Apocalypse de Coppola.Une fois n'est pas coutume: et Brian De Palma, après, s'est fait pardonner avec - par exemple - Femme Fatale.Mais Casualties of War ne marche pas!

DVD défectueux

Handlung:---------Während des Vietnam Krieges hat Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) eine abscheuliche Idee. Um die Moral seiner Kameraden zu steigern soll eine Dorfbewohnerin von den Soldaten entführt und vergewaltigt werden. Eriksson (Michael J. Fox), ein Soldat dieser Gruppe hat sich jedoch dem Ganzen wiedersetzt und will seine Kameraden wegen dieser Tat vor Gericht bringen. Der Truppe gefällt dies allerdings weniger und sie versuchen nun dies zu verhindern.Kritik:------In diesem 1989 entstandenen Kriegsdrama zeigt Brian De Palma in harten Bildern einen Film der auf wahren Begebenheiten beruht.Er zeigt auf brilliante Art und Weise den Kampf für Gerechtigkeit des jungen Eriksson und den Hindernissen die er dabei begegnet.Michael J. Fox in der Rollen von Eriksson ist wie für diese Rolle geschaffen. Durch sein jünglisches und unschuldiges Aussehen verleiht er der Figur dieses Soldaten die nötige Glaubwürdigkeit.Obschon ich jetzt nicht unbedingt ein großer Fan dieses Schauspielers bin muß ich schon sagen, daß er durch diese Rolle meinen Respekt gewonnen hat. Fox agiert wunderbar in diesem Film und zeigt daß er schauspielerisch mehr drauf hat wie somancher glaubt (ich gehörte auch dazu).Der absolute Highlight war aber Sean Penn. Er spielt den kaltblütigen Sgt. Tony Meserve einfach Meisterhaft. Im Verlauf des Filmes entwickelt man regelrecht einen Hass gegen Penn obschon er ja "nur" seine Rolle spielt und das ist für mich ein Zeichen dafür, daß hier ein Genie am Werk ist. Jede Sekunde seiner Präsenz ist mit viel Feingefühl und Talent gespielt und obschon man die Figur von Meserve hasst, ist man von dem damals 29 jährigen Sean Penn einfach nur fasziniert.Der Rest des Casts konnte auch Gefallen jedoch muß ich sagen, daß sie wegen Fox und Penn ein wenig in den Hintergrund gelangen da es für jeden der Nebendarsteller unmöglich war aber auch nur in der geringsten Weise an die beiden heranzukommen.An dieser Stelle möchte ich aber Thuy Thu Le hervorheben, die die Rolle des jungen vietnamesischen Mädchen spielt. Man merkt es ihr nicht an, daß dies ihre erste Rolle war (info imdb), stattdessen sieht man eine gute Schauspielerin die sich in ihrer Rolle wohlzufühlen scheint.DVD:---Ausstattung:Die Ausstattung ist durchaus OK und bietet einige interessante Features.Folgende Extras sind enthalten:- Making of- Trailer- Kapitelanwahl- Szeneanwahl- Deleted Scenes- Interview mit Michael J. Fox- FilmographienBildDas Bild war für ich ganz in Ordnung und zeigte keine Verschmutzungen.TonBei dem englischen O-Ton fehlte es ein wenig an Dynamik und Räumlichkeit die gerade bei dieser Sorte Film wichtig ist (Schußwechsel, Bombeneinschläge, etc). Die Dialoge waren allerdings perfektMeine Wertung:-------------Film: 7.5/ 10DVD: 7/ 10Fazit:-----Wer den Film noch nicht gesehen hat sollte dies so schnell wie möglich nachholen und sich den Film schnappen. Allerdings würde ich die Extended Version empfehlen da hier ca. 6 Minuten mehr zu sehen sind.