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Braveheart
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Starring: Gibson, Mel Gleeson, Brendan McCormack, Catherine McGoohan, Patrick Lawlor, Sean Marceau, Sophie
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Director: Gibson, Mel	Rating: R	Running Time:
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Category: War	User Rating:	Color SurroundSound

Mel Gibson directs and stars in this Academy Award-winning epic based on the life of legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero William Wallace. Returning to his homeland following the death of an heirless king, Wallace (Mel Gibson) finds the political landscape precarious. Edward the Longshanks, King of England (Patrick McGoohan), has captured Scotland's throne and threatens the freedom of all Scottish people, as tyrannical policies instituted by the English plague the Scots. Initially, Wallace is content to stand by the wayside, yearning for the simple life of building a home and raising a family. However, when the woman he loves (Catherine McCormack) suffers a cruel fate at the hands of English soldiers, Wallace takes a stand against the new rule. With his fierce patriotism and determination, he gathers an amateur but passionately rebellious army. Although this makeshift force may be outnumbered by the English troops, their desperation and love for their land surpass any military maneuvers, as evidenced in the film's breathtaking battle sequences.

Casablanca (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Starring: Bogart, Humphrey Bergman, Ingrid Henreid, Paul Bogart, Humphrey Lorre, Peter Greenstreet, Sydney Veidt, Conrad Wilson, Dooley Wilson, Dooley Puglia, Frank
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Director: Curtiz, Michael	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 8.8/10 (IMDB)	Black & White Stereo

Amazon.com essential video A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. DVD features The two-disc set of this classic boasts new features and a new transfer. In comparing with the previous 50th anniversary edition, the 2003 edition is arguably better, but there is no debate it has a lot more stuff. As the transfer goes, this edition is pristine, the anniversary edition was excellent, and both are far better than anything seen before. The first-rate, 30-minute anniversary documentary is still here; added is a 90-minute biography on Humphrey Bogart made in the mid-'80s. The best... read more Description Considered by many to be the greatest Hollywood movie ever made, this WW2 classic takes place in war-torn Casablanca and tells the tale of mysterious nightclub owner Bogart and his old Flame (Bergman), her husband, underground leader (Heinreid), and other skeletons from his past. Won 3 Oscars - Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay.

Deer Hunter, The
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Starring: Niro, Robert De Walken, Christopher Savage, John Streep, Mary Louise Walken, Christopher Savage, John Cazale, John Dzundza, George Dzundza, George Stoler, Shirley
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Director: Cimino, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 3 Hours 3 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 8.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, The Deer Hunter is simultaneously an audacious directorial conceit and one of the greatest films ever made about friendship and the personal impact of war. Like Apocalypse Now, it's hardly a conventional battle film--the soldier's experience was handled with greater authenticity in Platoon--but its depiction of war on an intimate scale packs a devastatingly dramatic punch. Director Michael Cimino may be manipulating our emotions with masterful skill, but he does it in a way that stirs the soul and pinches our collective nerves with graphic, high-intensity scenes of men under life-threatening duress. Although Russian-roulette gambling games were not a common occurrence during the Vietnam war, they're used here as a metaphor for the futility of the war itself. To the viewer, they become unforgettably intense rites of passage for the best friends--Pennsylvania steelworkers played by Robert De Niro, John Savage, and Oscar winner Christopher Walken--who may survive or perish during their tour through a tropical landscape of hell. Back home, their loved ones must cope with the war's domestic impact, and in doing so they allow The Deer Hunter to achieve a rare combination of epic storytelling and intimate, heart-rending drama. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

English Patient, The
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Starring: Fiennes, Ralph Binoche, Juliette Dafoe, Willem Dafoe, Willem Andrews, Naveen Firth, Colin Wadham, Julian Prochnow, Jurgen Prochnow, Jurgen Merrison, Clive
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Director: Minghella, Anthony	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 42 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Winner of nine Academy Awards and almost every critic's heart, The English Patient (based on Michael Ondaatje's prizewinning novel of love and loss during World War II) is one of the most acclaimed films of modern times. Hana, a nurse (Juliette Binoche), tends to an archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) who has been burnt to a crisp in a plane crash. As their relationship intensifies, he flashes back to his overwhelming passion for a married woman (Kristin Scott Thomas). Meanwhile, Hana begins a new romance with a man who defuses bombs (Naveen Andrews) and Willem Dafoe almost steals the show as the thumbless thief Caravaggio. The intricately layered flashback narrative, sounding the depths of the lovers' hearts, improves with repeated viewings--especially with the sharp picture and digital sound of the digital video disc.

English Patient, The (Miramax Collector's Edition)
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Starring: Fiennes, Ralph Binoche, Juliette Dafoe, Willem Hamrouni, Abdellatif Walker, Amanda Smee, Anthony Merrison, Clive Firth, Colin Firth, Colin Eggert, Fritz
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Director: Minghella, Anthony	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 42 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 7.0/10 (IMDB)	Color DTS Surround Sound

Glory (Special Edition)
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Starring: Broderick, Matthew Washington, Denzel Freeman, Morgan Washington, Denzel Elwes, Cary Freeman, Morgan Finn, John Leitch, Donovan Leitch, Donovan North, Alan
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Director: Zwick, Edward	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 8.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video One of the very best films about the Civil War, this instant classic from 1989 is also one of the few films to depict the participation of African American soldiers in Civil War combat. Based in part on the books Lay This Laurel by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush by Peter Burchard, the film also draws from the letters of Robert Gould Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick), the 25-year-old son of Boston abolitionists who volunteered to command the all-black 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Their training and battle experience leads them to their final assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina, where their heroic bravery turned bitter defeat into a symbolic victory that brought recognition to black soldiers and turned the tide of the war. With painstaking attention to historical detail and richness of character, the film boasts superior performances by Denzel Washington (who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, and Andre Braugher. Directed by Edward Zwick (cocreator of the TV series thirtysomething), this unforgettable drama is as important as Schindler's List in its treatment of a noble yet little-known episode of history. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Additional Features Director Edward Zwick's commentary is informative and intelligent; and separate picture-in-picture commentaries by costars Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman are worthwhile, but segments of Zwick's commentary are needlessly repeated. The 12-minute "Voices of Glory" gives historical context to readings of actual letters from soldiers in the historic 54th Massachusetts Regiment, and a shorter promotional featurette offers behind-the-scenes clips and interviews. "The True Story of Glory... read more

Gone With the Wind
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Starring: Leigh, Vivien Harley, Vivien Mary Gable, Clark Gable, William de Havilland, Olivia McDaniel, Hattie Howard, Leslie Stainer, Leslie Stainer, Leslie O'Neil, Barbara
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Director: Wood, Sam	Rating: G	Running Time: 3 Hours 53 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 8.1/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. The DVD release has optional French subtitles and theatrical trailer. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Last of the Mohicans, The
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Starring: Day-Lewis, Daniel Stowe, Madeleine Means, Russell Studi, Wes May, Jodhi Waddington, Steven Roeves, Maurice Postlethwaite, Pete Postlethwaite, Pete Studi, Wes
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Director: Mann, Michael	Rating: R	Running Time: 122 minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Wildly romantic, daringly exciting, Michael Mann's film of James Fenimore Cooper's novel created a new babe magnet out of Daniel Day-Lewis, he of the heaving pecs and flowing mane. As Hawkeye, he plays an American settler raised by the Mohicans who is forced to serve as a guide for British adventurism in upstate New York. But the British have been outflanked by the French (and their Indian allies); then British honor is betrayed when a band of renegades assaults them during their retreat. Mann captures the viciousness of this era's hand-to-hand combat in startling battle scenes. But he also invests the film with heartfelt romance, as the feelings swell between Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. The ending is a stunner, a long, nearly wordless sequence of battle and loss. Strong performances all around, particularly by Russell Means as Chingachgook and Wes Studi as the evil Magua. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Last Samurai (Widescreen Edition), The
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Starring: Watanabe, Ken Cruise, Tom Watanabe, Ken Watanabe, Ken Goldwyn, Tony Harada, Masato Sanada, Hiroyuki Sugata, Shun Sugata, Shun Fukomoto, Seizo
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Director: Zwick, Edward	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 34 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 7.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com While Japan undergoes tumultuous transition to a more Westernized society in 1876-77, The Last Samurai gives epic sweep to an intimate story of cultures at a crossroads. In America, tormented Civil War veteran Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is coerced by a mercenary officer (Tony Goldwyn) to train the Japanese Emperor's troops in the use of modern weaponry. Opposing this "progress" is a rebellion of samurai warriors, holding fast to their traditions of honor despite strategic disadvantage. As a captive of the samurai leader (Ken Watanabe), Algren learns, appreciates, and adopts the samurai code, switching sides for a climactic battle that will put everyone's honor to the ultimate test. All of which makes director Edward Zwick's noble epic eminently worthwhile, even if its Hollywood trappings (including an all-too-conventional ending) prevent it from being the masterpiece that Zwick and screenwriter John Logan clearly wanted it to be. Instead, The Last Samurai is an elegant mainstream adventure, impressive in all aspects of its production. It may not engage the emotions as effectively as Logan's script for Gladiator, but like Cruise's character, it finds its own quality of honor. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition. DVD features No actor works harder to open a movie than Tom Cruise. His enthusiasm is throughout the DVD extras as he mirrors his samurai character by constantly talking about "loyalty" and "discipline" while working on the film. However as a post-movie experience, the top-line extras with Cruise and director Edward Zwick are repetitive and underwhelming, with too many clips from the film we assume DVD viewers have just seen. The History Channel show is also a pre-release promotional device that misses an... read more Description Epic Action Drama. Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.

Patriot, The
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Starring: Gibson, Mel Ledger, Heath Richardson, Joely Cooper, Chris Karyo, Tcheky Wilkinson, Tom Ledger, Heath Saacs, Jason Saacs, Jason Symansky, Adam
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Director: Emmerich, Roland	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 45 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat's screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clich�s and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop. On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin's anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger's love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Additional Features Like the movie itself, there's little in the supplementary materials for The Patriot that requires more than one viewing, but they're interesting while they last. "The Art of War" featurette purports to be a study of the film's elaborate battle logistics, but it offers only a cursory appreciation of sequence planning and stunt work. The "True Patriots" featurette is much better, examining the painstaking efforts toward authenticity in production design, artillery, and costuming. The visual... read more

Platoon (Special Edition)
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Starring: Berenger, Tom Dafoe, Willem Sheen, Charlie Dafoe, Willem David, Keith Depp, Johnny Dillon, Kevin Whitaker, Forest Whitaker, Forest Todd, Tony
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Director: Stone, Oliver	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours
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Category: War	User Rating: 8.0/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Platoon put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is based on Stone's firsthand experience as an American soldier in Vietnam. Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ), and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side. The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice--pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam. Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director. --Jim Emerson --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

We Were Soldiers
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Starring: Gibson, Mel Leary, Denis Willis, Bruce Elliott, Sam Gibson, Mel Stowe, Madeleine Gregg, Clark Kinnear, Greg Kinnear, Greg Russell, Keri
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Director: Wallace, Randall	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 18 Minutes
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Category: War	User Rating: 7.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com Based on the book by Lt. Col. Harold Moore (ret.) and journalist Joseph Galloway, We Were Soldiers offers a dignified reminder that the Vietnam War yielded its own crop of American heroes. Departing from Hollywood's typically cynical treatment of the war, writer-director Randall Wallace focuses on the first engagement of American soldiers with the North Vietnamese enemy in November 1965. Moore (played with colorful nuance by Mel Gibson) and nearly 400 inexperienced troopers from the U.S. Air Cavalry were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army soldiers, and the film re-creates this brutal firefight with graphic authenticity, while telling the parallel story of grieving army wives back home. While UPI reporter Galloway (Barry Pepper) risks his life to chronicle the battle, Wallace offers a balanced (though somewhat fictionalized) perspective while eliciting laudable performances from an excellent cast. Like the best World War II dramas of the 1940s, We Were Soldiers pays tribute to brave men while avoiding the pitfalls of propaganda. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the Theatrical Release edition.