Freeper Joanie-f review of "The Great Raid" and what we dare not foget from it

FR ^ | 13-Aug-2005 | Joanie-f

[BillF]

Great movie and great post about a great raid!

The Military Channel had a one hour documentary about the Cabanatuan Raid tonight at 9 pm ET, repeated at 5 am and 1 pm ET tomorrow.

I had seen the Great Raid movie earlier today and I watched the documentary tonight as well. Both were outstanding.

[JimRed]

...now if Hollywood wants a real 'screamer' then do a movie on Grenada...

Grenada was the objective in "Heartbreak Ridge", with Clint Eastwood starring.

[FreeAtlanta]

have been repeating, again and again, here on the forum that I believe that one of the most powerful forces working to bring our republic to her knees is the fact that America arose from Christian roots, but much of the rest of the world doesn't share that foundation or its viewpoints. The genius of our founding fathers, and the grace and generous blessings of God, gave birth to our indispensable national belief that human life is precious, and must be treasured and preserved at all costs.

Except that we currently have an honorable leader, the devouring of our Christian roots makes me think that this proficy might have been partly about us...

Isaiah 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

6From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

7Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

May be this is just the early stages. We surely have been loosing our foundations.

[Jeff Head]

The truth hurts.

[little jeremiah]

BTTT.

[Eagles6]

Joanie, this is great. It will be passed on.

[joanie-f]

Thanks for the kind words, Happygal.

When you have the time, I urge you to also read this comment by Euro-American Scum, a fellow FReeper who is a Vietnam vet himself, and who made a personal pilgrimage to Normandy (and beyond) last year to pay homage to the those who served, and those who offered the ultimate sacrifice, for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day. He adds an extraordinarily moving personal perspective to the entire noble ‘greatest generation’ saga:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461919/posts?page=56#56

[Yasotay]

Clint Eastwood was playing a marine .... most of the scenes he was depicting in Grenada were done by Rangers .... besides True Blue Campus ... Grand Anse was wild beyond any Hollywood movie .... total Americans Rescued in Grenda were over 1000 and at Grand Anse over 200+ rescued by Rangers....RLTW!!!

[joanie-f]

Thank you, dear friend.

[baseballmom]

Thanks for posting this, Jeff.

I saw the movie on Friday. You must see it, and never forget what was done to our prisoners.

An excellent, true story of what was done to our POW's by the Japanese. You will be sick with grief at their inhumanity to their fellow man, and be overjoyed, and overcome with emotion at their rescue.

[joanie-f]

There is no foul language and no sexual content in the movie. But, of course, it being a realistic portrayal of the Japanese treatment of American POWs, there is a good deal of violence – not gratuitous, but very wrenching. I looked away during one particular scene in which the audience is well aware that much blood is going to flow, so, I’m sure that your son will have sufficient warning to avert his eyes if he doesn’t feel he can deal with what is coming.

Since you say he is a mature eleven-year-old, I urge you to take him. He will leave the theater with a genuine appreciation of the sacrifices that were made in his behalf, and a powerful comprehension of the cruelty that courageous, duty-bound Americans suffered at the hands of a barbaric enemy (which might serve him well, should he come across politically correct curricula in the classroom, now or in the future).

[joanie-f]

Great post. I plan to see the movie some time this month.

You may not want to wait too long. The movie is 100% politically incorrect, so may not enjoy a long run.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

...Sacrifice begets Sacrifice:


MEL's -PASSION- sparked by -WE WERE SOLDIERS-

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085111/posts


...Just for the LOVE of it.

.

[joanie-f]

I heard talk radio host Michael Medved giving this movie great reviews and I was planning on seeing it this weekend, but found it is not yet playing in my area. :-(

You may want to seek out a theater somewhere within reasonable driving distance. The movie is 100% politically incorrect, so may not enjoy a long run.

[joanie-f]

Might sound trite, but that's exactly how I see it.

I share your vision, and admire your realism.

When you have the time, I urge you to also read this comment by Euro-American Scum, a fellow FReeper who is a Vietnam vet himself, and who made a personal pilgrimage to Normandy (and beyond) last year to pay homage to the those who served, and those who offered the ultimate sacrifice, for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day. He adds an extraordinarily moving personal perspective to the entire noble ‘greatest generation’ saga:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461919/posts?page=56#56

[garybob]

I saw this movie this afternoon. There were tears and cheers during the movie and total silence leaving the theater. If this film doesn't move the movie-goer, then they have nothing to move.

[joanie-f]

The theater was nearly full and I was just about the only person there younger than 80 years old. The audiance reacted similarly to what was described in the article. Nearly everyone stayed throughout the credits, there was cheering and clapping during the rescue and complete silence when exiting the theater. Lots of tears ... A really wonderful film.

Our audience was much different, agewise. The theater was about half filled, and I would say that maybe twenty percent of the audience were in their late teens, early twenties, and the large majority were our age (in their 40s and 50s).

There were two young (mid-twenties) couples seated in front of us, and both of the young women were deeply moved (brought to tears) more than once. The four of them remained through the rolling of the credits (as did almost all of the audience).

But we live in a rural, very conservative area of the country, so I would imagine this may not be the 'norm'.

[joanie-f]

"The Great Raid" is one of the very few movies I will see this year.

I absolutely guarantee you will not regret it. But don't count on it winning any academy awards (which is all the more reason to see it ... :)

[joanie-f]

The PC crowd will go nuts over the way the Japanese Army was depicted as brutal, torturing murders, which is exactly what they were.

Bears repeating ...

[scottinoc]

Outstanding review, thanks for posting this. I believe this film will rank among the all-time great war pictures, also one of the few films that isn't a let-down after reading the book (Ghost Soldiers).