Keith Simon

I saw the movie as US Marine Corps Captain just off active duty. The initial night ambush scene was absolutely terrifying. The final night assault by the North Vietnamese was equally horrific. While some Vietnam War Veterans like Colonel David W. "Hack" Hackworth criticized the movie, it DOES show the breakdown in US Army discipline in non elite units in Vietnam. The movie shows how horrible, cruel and destructive all wars are. I think of Ukrainian soldiers who have no way home except death or victory against the Russians. No army can survive when discipline breaks down. There is NO glory in war. It is legalized MURDER on a grand scale. Old men who send young men and women to their deaths. What can Israeli soldiers look forward to but only more death and destruction.

Totally inaccurate. Full of mistakes because the producers were too inept to hire a military advisor. Mistakes galore. The province in Vietnam is pronounced Quang TREE not Quang Try. Soldiers are required to communicate using "pro words" like "Out" after finishing sentences. Look no further than the movie, Platoon for a very accurate account of the Vietnam War.. This was because the story was written by a Vietnam vet, Oliver Stone who was smart enough to bring in Captain Dale Dye and his Warriors advisors. Hard to believe the effort that was made to make such a flawed movie. I'm writing this after just 30 minutes watching this movie. As a retired Marine officer I can safely say that I have no explanation for why the producers would not have hired a technical advisor. A total waste of time. Other reviews point out other errors.

This forgotten film is an amazing story of the development of the teamwork needd by any crew of a Navy Ship. It traces the story of an attack troop transport, APA ship, the USS Belinda,, commandec by a highly decorated (Navy Cross) former destroyer commanded by Captain Jebediah S. Hawks and who resents his new assignment as well as an ex-merchant mariner Lieutenant Dave MacDougall who is the number 3 officer and landing boat (Pappa boats commander. Despite their personal friction, the two have plenty to keep them busy as the only experienced officers on board during the ship's shakedown cruise. Over time the almost laughable incompetence gradually improves, but the crew remains far from perfect when the ship sees action, landing troops on enemy beachheads. Few anticipate the challenges in store at Okinawa bit by the time of this battle the crew have become a team. You will wonder if the ship can survive the horrific kamikaze attacks. I had similar experiences as a US Marine Officer on the USS Newport, LST 1179, so I speak from experience of watching a team develop under non-combat experiences. Like the Belinda our ship was once dead in the water from the failure of 2 engines. We moved the 2 good engines engine by cutting down into the engine spaces with the help of embarked Seabees engineers. All hands helped and we were no longer Marines and Sailors but a united team. I highly recommend this film.

I kept thinking that this movie was an SNL-style farce. The so-called "military advisor" for this movie, Don're Walker, allowed a general to wear a uniform with 1st Lieutenant bars instead of stars and his medals in the wrong order of precedence. The Marine Officer's hair is far too long for any actual Officer and his camouflage cover (hat) is squashed down on his head. The Production company should have hired a company like Captain Dale Dye's "Warriors." The acting was horrible ans often over-done. How anyone could believe that an alien civilization would not be able to intercept and analyze all cell phone calls is really stupid. IT mocks the sophistication of computer systems made by humans let alone aliens. FUNNY in its pathetic attempt to be serious . I am amazed thjs movie ever saw the light of day.

This movie accurately follows the story of the Battle of Gettysburg. Unlike what some reviewers have said, its NOT a pitch for the "Lost Cause." Stellar performances are given by Martin Sheen as Confederate leader Robert E. Lee, Tom Berenger as Lee's right hand man, Lt Gen James Longstreet, Stephen Lang as Confederate Division commander, George Picket. (Lang would go on to nail Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the prequel, "Gods and Generals.) Jeff Daniels is brilliant as self-taught idealist college professor turned warrior, Col Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Sam Elliott portrays Union Cavalry division commander, Buford and it was Buford's stopping and holding the Confederates from getting into the town of Gettysburg that allowed the Federals to occupy a series of hills that are known as the Fishhook. At the southern end of those hills was Little Roundtop where Colonel Chamberlain ably led the Federals 20th Maine Regiment. While the dialogs seem long to us, they are fairly accurate for that era and a lot of the dialogs follow the original 1976 Pulitizer Prize-winning book, 'The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara which I enjoyed as a young US Marine lieutenant. The movie was filmed on the actual Battlefield with actual buildings used such as the barn that was used as a field hospital. The cast of re-enactors did their level best and you could see that their hearts were in their portrayal. It is said that Lee might have had a minor heart attack and his decision to attack the Union Center was not well thought-out and hopeless as Lt General Longstreet well understood. Longstreet wrote of his objections to this charge in his autobiography for which he would be condemned as a traitor. He also became the model for the "reconstructed (former) Confederate General, also to his eternal condemnation by Southern "Lost Cause" advocates. Yes - its a long movie but worth your time. A good movie like this is a "time tunnel" to an early day.