"The Great Raid"...... WW2 film based on true story & book "Ghost Soldiers" (1 Viewer)

Read the book, "Ghost Soldiers." That is where a good portion of this film will come from. One of WW2's greatest and most successful missions.

Here is a summary of the film, which comes out August 12th:

http://www.miramax.com/thegreatraid/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0326905/


Here is some more info about the book and the raid:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

I've been looking forward to this film for nearly 3 years now - they shot this in 2002. Glad to see that it's finally being released.

Loved the book and can't wait for the film.

I just hope they don't take a politically correct angle and not show how the Japanese actually treated their American prisoners during the Bataan Death March and subsequent imprisonment. It is truly horrifying.

Read the book. It's amazing and heart wrenching.

During my school days in the Philippines, we were all made aware in our history classes about atrocities by the Japanese. I even have first hand account from veterans who survived the march and how Jap soldiers treated everyone.
I look forward to this film and like Tino says, I hope its not gonna be swayed by supposed "public" opinion.

I read the book when it was first released (I was working at a bookstore at the time, so reading was part of my job description .) I immediately had two thoughts about it:

1) This would make a great movie.

2) Hollywood will either never do it or totally ficationalize it because it has clear good guys and bad guys, and the good guys are the American military - which would violate a near taboo on showing American soldiers in a mostly positive light which has been in force - with rare exception - since the Vietnam War. I fear that they'll add wholly invented "nuance" in the form of dialogue and action that will make the Japanese look better and the Americans worse than they really were.

We'll have to see what happens.

Regards,

Joe

I wonder why it has taken 3 years to release it?? I hope its not because of Joseph's thought #2.

I guess it was originally going to be a Cruise/Spielberg collaboration, but they were iether too busy, or the project took a new direction.

As the producers have said, they were ready to release it in fall 2001, then 9-11 happened.

As Michael said earlier, filming didn't take place until 2002.

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808404274

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0326905/business

Been finished for years, releases in just over a month, yet not a single trailer out there?(that I can find) Are they purposely trying to make this film fail?

Sorry, I was remembering what I read wrong. From a preview in EW:

"When John Dahl (Rounders) began his WWII saga in 2002, it was just a period piece. Flash forward three years. 'We finished and suddenly the troops are going off to Iraq. It's not simply this historical movie."

So apparently the war has delayed the release of the film.

I have a copy thanks to my wife's work. It says the usual "Soon to be a Major Motion Picture From Miramax Films", and was published over 5 years ago

Haven't read it...I'll start today.

Hollywood hasn't always been kind to the military (sometimes deservedly so, more often not), but they are especially kind during WWII. But the POWs might present a problem, with Japan being a major customer, especially of Disney. So I can't imagine that stuff hasn't been watered down. I hope we're wrong.

Looking forward to the film,
Chuck

The trailer is finally online:

http://movies.channel.aol.com/movie/...lers&mid=16086

The Great Raid finally open on Friday. Reviews so far are mixed at www.rottentomatoes.com but I loved Hampton Sides Ghost Soldiers so this one is definitely on my must see list.

Looks like another stinker that the studios decided to throw out in August

This film has actually been sitting around the studio for the past few years waiting for a good time to release it given current world affairs.

The public has seemed mixed on war films for the past couple of years, so they decided to give it a release now to see how it will perform.

I dont think it is fair to mock it, or say it "stinks" because it does not meet your expectations of what a movie is. Regardless of how the film is, I think it's more important to remember what the film is based on. I doubt most of us could sustain what these soldiers in the prison camp actually went through.

I agree Josh. I really don't think the American public truly knows how American POW's (and others)were treated by the Japanese during WWII. As I said before, I hope this film pulls no punches. Reading the book, I was horrified and enlightened at the same time.

I hope the film pays justice to those brave young men who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for anyone in or retired from our military services. But the subject matter (in this case POWs) should have NO effect on one's perception or feeling about the quality of the film itself.

From the trailer, this film looks rather poor. And I am a huge war film buff.

And if a film does NOT meet my expectations, I think I am fair in saying it stinks. Isn't that what everyone does? I'm not going to pass it just because of it's subject matter. That would be very wrong.

I hope I'm wrong. I am also a huge World War 2 buff and it would be nice to see a little more about the subject this film deals with, but I don't think - from my first impressions - that this film will be it.

I do agree that this film will shed light on this little known part of history (it has since gained much more attnetion through several books and numerous shows that are now getting the publics attention) but it will still be a little too Hollywoodized to fully do justice to the story. Granted no film can ever fully create what really took place, but give us some perspective.

Regardless of how the film turns out and the publics reaction to seeing it, it is still giving a voice to many of the veterans of this amazing story.

I still think Ghost Soldiers is a better title

Probably sounded too much like a horror film to the suits.