“American Sniper” turning into a litmus test
From paying home, but wanted to share here as well to get some thoughts. Although I can guess from you guys.
I think the very first movie I saved to my DVR was “Taking Chance.” Since then I recorded 7 seasons of the TV show Psych as well. I’ve watched every one of those episodes no less than 5 times, but Taking Chance remains locked in time on my DVR at about 3 minutes. I just can’t watch it. I tried, but couldn’t do it. Same with Lone Survivor (I was QRF at Bagram when that went down) even though I’ve been at events with Marcus on numerous occasions. Never seen RESTREPO either, despite knowing some of the guys. I even hung out with Josh Person (who like myself lives the lumberjack beard life) who some may remember from “Generation Kill” which (again) I’ve never seen.
And so it is with American Sniper for now anyway. Judging from my friends, coworkers, people in my church, and even Mike and Mike on ESPN from this morning (not to mention box office receipts) I guess I am pretty much an Army of One. Again, I would LOVE to see it, support it even, but I think it would probably make me a bit tense, and I have enough issues sleeping as it is. Some day if the wife takes a trip for a few days I may lock myself in the basement and watch them all back to back to back.
Nonetheless, I’ve been following everything on it, and it really is turning into a litmus test. This is from SCPR.org:
Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” is breaking box office records, but it’s also getting Americans to talk about how Hollywood portrays the military. We wanted to hear what people who have actually been to war think, so we sent Off-Ramp contributor Robert Garrova to his local American Legion – Post 280 in East Pasadena.
Erik Quiros served with the Unite States Army in Iraq. He says Hollywood’s portrayal of the military often mirrors society’s view of war.
“In this latest rendition of Chris Kyle and American Sniper I’ve been hearing that he’s an American hero. And people are saying things to the contrary and that kind of bothers me when I hear that.”
Quiros says he doesn’t really agree with pegging “American Sniper” as a propaganda film, as some have chosen to do. “It can’t be a propaganda film because it shows the negative consequences of being a veteran,” he says. “I feel that any movie that essentially shows a consequence to combat and to war really does a good job.”
Mark Castanon served 13 years in the active duty army, with two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan. “You gotta understand Hollywood,” he says. “Hollywood’s all about entertainment value, so I take what Hollywood puts out about the military with a grain of salt.”
Well, he’s not wrong (although some in Hollywood have been awesome that I will discuss below.) There have been some ABSURD war movies out there in the recent past. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah” and every time I see Mark Cuban on TV all I can think of is him funding that asinine movie “Redacted”. I guess Hurt Locker was OK, although my friends said it had some ridiculous scene with an EOD guy running alone through the streets. Um. Yeah, that doesn’t happen.
Anyway, if you aren’t following the entire thing, the best place to get all of it is from Twitchy, which is admittedly a right-wing aggregator of Twitter, so they aren’t without their biases to be sure. Some are Hollywood, others just media people, but a sampling of the idiocy…
Michael Moore: My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse
Alternet writer Max Blumenthal: I haven’t seen American Sniper, but correct me if I’m wrong: An occupier mows down faceless Iraqis but the real victim is his anguished soul
Seth Rogan (who is backtracking now) comparing it to a Nazi propaganda video: American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.
Howard Dean: There is a lot of anger in this country, and the people who go see this movie are people who are very angry … I bet you if you looked at a cross-section of the Tea Party and people who go see this movie, there’s a lot of intersection.
Salon.com (always good for lunacy): Hey, #AmericanSniper fans: Questioning the Iraq War actually *is* patriotic.
There are tons more out there, and you can see some of them BY CLICKING HERE. I know Jesse Ventura said something as well, but I’m not even going there.
But, I do take issue with Mr Castanon in one small portion, there are some in Hollywood who are AWESOME about this. Obviously Gary Sinese always deserves mention. Kid Rock, James Woods and comedian Jim Gaffigan all came out swinging against those railing against the movie. I know Dean Cain has said some great things about the movie as well, and the aforementioned Mike and Mike were incredibly gracious this morning.
But by far my two favorite citiques of these clowns were from actual snipers.
First, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer:
I’m sure that his grandfather who died serving this country is rolling over in his grave knowing that his grandson is using him to justify him calling U.S. service men cowards. I’d be willing to bet that at some point during his grandfather’s service, he was watched over by U.S. snipers, and probably had his life saved more than once by U.S. snipers during the war.
I served as a Marine sniper for three years, and I believe the film American Sniper depicted what we do perfectly. A sniper’s primary goal is to eliminate ground threats for U.S. guys on the ground. Is that what a coward is? A person whose goal is to save the lives of his warrior brothers?
No, cowards are people who didn’t have the guts to serve, and are happy to sit back in a free and protected country and call our service members cowards. I find it funny that this Moore guy would only say this after Chris Kyle was killed. I’d have loved to see him say that to Chris’s face.
My ABSOLUTE favorite though was from this sniper named “Sikes”:
Good afternoon there sweetheart, I hope this finds you alive and well. You can thank our men and women of the armed forces for that, by the way, and that also includes us cowardly snipers….
It’s typical of “men” like you to criticize the intestinal fortitude, focus, discipline and patriotism of a sniper. It must stem from an inferiority complex or something. But hey, it’s okay cupcake. We snipers are thick skinned and the efforts of world class turds such as yourself to portray us in a negative light only makes us laugh. If you and I were in the same room, I’d throw you a smile and gently pat you on the head knowing you’re nothing more than a mouth breathing, Crisco sweating waste of space not even worthy of being in the presence of a sniper. It’s almost funny how people like you preach things like ‘acceptance’ and ‘not passing judgement’ or ‘labeling people’, but then are the first to do so when a person is in some way dissimilar from you.
Look, I wasn’t a sniper. It was only when they came out with the M68 red dot thing I could get expert. With an ACOG I could see stuff too. But with 20/400 eyesight, I was much more comfortable with my M203 grenade launcher. But knowing snipers were out there covering us was a GREAT thing. (Not as great as an A10 rolling over our heads, but I’ll not digress.)
Anyway, reports are that theaters are packed seeing this movie. I know a group from my church went to see it last weekend and they had to sit in the front row because it was packed everywhere else.
So, have you seen the movie yet? Are you going to? What was your reaction if you went, and if you didn’t is there a specific reason, or just not interested?
BTW: Not unrelated, I honestly wrote this entire thing while listening to this on repeat:
Category: Politics
Restrepo (and Korengal) are on Netflix…
Did you really post your SSN as part of your name on a public forum?
You had better Google that. Irony being I was at a time that we stenciled our seabag(s) / duffle(s) (I was able to call it both terms) with the full SSN. Then came the age of “data loss”, the VA slipping mine out (with others) *twice*.
Damn, you got me lol. You must be way to much of a Bourne series fan to know all of that.
I’m part of your Army of One apparently. I haven’t been able to watch any military type movie since I came back. I know why but I won’t get into it here. I’ll be skipping this one too although it sounds like a military movie that was finally done right. Maybe one day I’ll get over my issues and watch this one but I just can’t do it now.
I can watch WWII Korea, Vietnam flicks all day long and it doesn’t bother me, any conflict other than mine. I get physically ill when something from Iraq/Afghanistan is shown. I have never seen Restrepo, This film, or any other film from our generation. It really has a negative effect on me and avoidance has been the easiest way to cope with that.
I feel exactly the same way. I could sit back and easily watch a film about ANY other conflict. To be honest, even Iraq doesn’t really bother me too much. I’ve got Lone Survivor, Zero Dark Thirty and others saved on my box and ready to go; they’ve been there for months now unwatched.
Anything from/about AFG I avoid. I even tried watching youtube clips. Not interested.
Interesting point: The film ‘Fury’ prompted a pretty strong reaction from me, despite being a WWII film. I’ve never even been a tankie, but some of the scenes in that film really got to me.
I’m a tanker and it took me a whole quart of whiskey to get to sleep after I watched Fury. Haven’t touched a drop since though, so I guess some good came out of it. We were never on tanks when I deployed, but it was a very relatable and intense movie, but I think that was the first war movie I’d seen since I got back.
American Sniper was very well done, and I had no issues getting through it. I thought it was very well done, and really does well with the PTSD aspect too.
I had to crack out on my migraine meds during Fury, as it had my anxiety levels (and thus instant migraine) skyrocketing. Excellent movie though. Went and saw it a second time a few days later. Can’t watch decent portrayals or OIF/OEF though. Bad ones like Hurt Locker are fine just because they are so damned bad, you can spend the whole movie ridiculing them.
I have not seen it and I doubt I will.
Not really my cup of tea, per se.
In the category of “Will see it some day, but not today.” For reasons similar to your, TSO.
It is gratifying to see the popularity of this movie. I am more hopeful today than I have been for a long time that the Republic may survive the current mess. Not unscathed and not without some very hard work. But it appears that enough people are finally awake to make it happen.
The entertainment value of watching the left come unglued over this movie is, well, priceless.
“It was only when they came out with the M68 red dot thing I could get expert.” Too funny. I would guess that the red dot is right there with the claymore’s admonition: “FRONT TOWARD ENEMY.” Yeah, I know, but it always struck me as funny anyway.
Well, I’ll be the first one to say that my tours in both Afghanistan and the Middle East (Kuwait) were both pretty uneventful. What keeps me away from most military movies is that they often fail both as a realistic portrayal of military life and also as movies.
“Lone Survivor” lacked any real point other than “this happened” and the ending was so stupidly Hollywood that it ruined the rest of the movie for me.
“Zero Dark Thirty” I actually kind of liked but it was still a long, plodding chore of a movie to see. The thing I liked about it is one of the few movies that was courageous enough to show that you don’t win a war playing by Marquess of Queensberry rules – when the enemy is as mean and as tough as our enemies are, you have to be just as mean, just as tough and if that offends the delicate sensibilities of the civvies back home, screw ’em. That may or may not have been the point of the movie but I still liked it.
The casting of Chris Pratt as a SEAL was a little jarring. “Andy” from Parks and Rec? Really?
“Hurt Locker” was OK, it showed the enemy to be the kind of vicious murderers that they were but I thought the “war is a drug” stuff was waaaay overdone. And you already mentioned the idiotic part of the main character running loose in Baghdad.
“Act of Valor” wasn’t so much a movie as it was a recruiting commercial. Oh, and it sucked donkey balls, too. It was like a comic book only less realistic.
“We were soldiers”: Great book. Terrible movie. Really awful. Stupid, even.
The last movie I think I saw that portrayed the military in what I thought was an accurate way, and also worked as a movie, was Black Hawk Down. Still probably one of my favorite “war movies.”
I really like this comment Martin. I agree on pretty much everything you’re writing here.
I hated Hurt Locker and Zero Dark. Didn’t see LS and have no intention of it either. The same goes for Kyle’s movie.
As many other grunts, I was privileged to run missions alongside SF personnel on several occasions and one thing that always struck me was how they lived up to the mantle of Quiet Professionals. One time we were sitting in the back of a Bradley with the ramp down waiting to SP when an SF guy struck up a conversation with us. He asked us how we liked the Bradley, and confessed that he’d be scared shitless to ride in one because he’d be too worried about getting hit by an RPG or IED and not being able to get out.
That completely floored me. Here’s a guy who represents what most of us infantrymen wanted to be deep down and he’s telling us that he admires us for doing what we do. It was incredibly humble of him, and I noticed that same humility in the other operators that we worked were lucky enough to work with.
Kyle (RIP) and Luttrell are bonafide heroes, but they strike me as a little too happy to get their stories out there. In some ways it struck me as bragging, and I don’t like that. Both of them are extraordinary men with extraordinary stories and I’m glad the military recognized them with the awards they earned, but I’m not going to enrich these guys by buying books and movie tickets when so many people never get the chance to share their stories, or the stories of their friends who didn’t make it back, simply because they weren’t part of some sexy spec ops unit.
I’m glad people are seeing this movie in droves and speaking well of soldiers. I hope they take the message of this movie and use it pressure shitbag politicians into taking care of soldiers and vets. But I’ve got no interest in seeing myself.
I joked to our EOD guys in Afghanistan that they should name their MRAP The Hurt Locker. He told me if I ever mentioned that movie again, he’d punch me in the face. Hard. I was joking; he was not. That movie was a slap in the face to the EOD community. Plus it was really bad anyways.
The only thing I liked it that movie was one scene were the EOD guys who aren’t Jeremy Renner are scanning their surroundings for threats while Renner disarms a VBIED. Hajjis are all watching from nearby and there was real tension as to what would happen next. I thought that scene did a good job conveying that kind of moment, but it was undermined by the fact that there was a platoon of infantry nearby hiding in a house instead of providing security like they would in real life.
I won’t see it, although I am glad people are making Mrs. Kyle rich. She deserves it.
But the idea that this stuff (Lone Survivor, etc.) is entertainment – I find that perverse.
It’s entertainment only for fools. People who support the military and want to understand what these men and women go through, watch these movies for information, to try to get some kind of handle on what is going on over there that we aren’t seeing on the MSM. And from what I’ve heard from the few vets I know…the vets watch these movies as a type of catharsis. I could be wrong there, and it would be better to read what our vets here are saying, then to take my opinion on that side of it.
Moe,
Most of us DO NOT see it as entertainment!
Read my comment below!
Perverse is probably a poor choice of words. Sorry. I meant….I guess I just meant I do not think it’s entertaining. Not trying to be esoteric, just expressing my view.
I am lucky enough to have an Oscar evaluation copy of the movie at home, thanks to a wonderful friend. But I have not seen the film yet either for a variety of reasons. Mostly I have a hard time with movies where I know what happens to people, where I know I will see a depiction of good people being killed where I know that in spite of the courage and honor of a particular life it will be taken by the end of the film. These days my video entertainment is stupid comedies or fantasy like Walking Dead because it’s a kind of bubblegum for my brain… WIth respect to assclowns in Hollywood I’ve been stating it for 40 years that entertainers are nothing more than that. People who get paid outrageous sums of money for reciting words that they are not capable of writing, admittedly some of them are damn good at expressing someone else’s emotions but that hardly makes them the stuff of hero worship. The people who are truly without talent yet have made a lot of money in Hollywood know they are talentless hacks and they are scared to death the gravy train will end if they are exposed so they rant and rave about stuff they nothing about and use their celebrity in a pathetic attempt to remain relevant to society at large. They are not, and their words reveal them as the cowards they are. Spineless turds without character or honor. Litmus test? I don’t know about that, but I do know I have no problem with people arguing about the application of US Military power as a projection of policy but I have a huge fucking problem with anybody denigrating those service members who do their duty to project that policy. They are not and should not be the objects of criticism even if one disagrees with the national direction of the foreign policy that places them in harms way. I have seen that all before in the 70s and it’s something I never wish to see visited upon my younger… Read more »
TSO…maybe you should see the unseen with your combat buddies and you can all get a little liquored up, have an old fashioned kicking it to the curb session and move on. I
don’t know combat so, grain of salt for my suggestion…
Side note…I read Sikes’ thing last weekend and If I were to run into THAT guy, all drinks would be on me.
As we know, many on the left have great criticism of everything and even when they claim they are convicted, their actions show absolutely nothing to support it and keep living thusly whilst trashing the rest of us. (Like AGW.) Fuck them.
Seeing it today.
As a Cold War Vet serving during the Vietnam War and after I don’t have any real issues other than that of mainly seeing it as a Patriotic gesture to piss off a bunch of libs !!!
I live to do that !!!
More fun than a barrel full of Nurses !!!
I will see American Sniper. I was diappointed in both Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty. Two movies (more documentary than movie in both cases) that I was impressed with (I can’t say enjoyed) were Restrepo and Severe Clear. I liked Act of Valor.
“Doctor, it hurts when I go like this.”
“Don’t go like that.”
If pain and bad memories are likely to be triggered by seeing one or another movie, then, by God, don’t see it. Why would you do that to yourself? Seriously.
Saw American Sniper. Loved it. Cried like a little girl at the end. I’ve never heard a theater so quiet after a movie.
Great article TSO.
I am not a fan of such movies, not because of a dissimilar belief, but because they tear at my soul.
Perhaps I will watch the movie some day …
Just posted on Drudge:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2015/01/29/nbcs-mohyeldin-suggests-real-american-sniper-racist-who-went
well, if it IS a litmus test, that bozo just failed it.
I haven’t seen it yet. I may wait.
But I spent several months watching “EOD Team”, a documentary made with little to no comment by an indie film group, shown on G4 channel, of a Navy EOD team at work. I finally understood the tension that causes battle fatigue, because the film team did not try to whitewash anything. (Disclaimer: no, I did not catch the Pdst.)
I tried to watch ‘Hurt Locker’ later on, and could not, because it was boring and unreal. There was no tension. A fictional account like that cannot hold a candle to reality.
While I have no dog in this fight, if there is a controversy of any kind, it is out of proportion to the message of the film and the book: that there are people who are asked to do a crappy job and they do it because they know what will happen if they don’t do it.
TSO, go see it. I had Chief Kyle as my over watch back in 04, and owe him my life for at least 2 shots he took. It isnt the easiest movie to watch, but I went with my best friend the other day and thought it was awesome. Only complaints I had with it, are a scene at an auto shop where a guy gave kyle a horrible salute and told him he “should really come on down to the VA”. Yeah, said no vet, ever! Also, Kyle’s spotter was nonexistent in the movie, but id guess that was to not detract from Kyle.
Smitty? That does indeed happen. Perhaps not with any regularity in your neighborhood, but I have had more than a few veterans invite me to visit a VA, with pretty much exactly those words. I just look at them like they’ve lost their minds.
What do the Iraqis think of the movie? Here’s what one moviegoer in Baghdad thought:
“Mohammed says one of the film’s opening scenes, when Kyle spots a woman and child who appear to be preparing to attack U.S. troops during the initial invasion of Iraq, had the entire audience on the edge of their seats.
“When the sniper was hesitating to shoot [the child holding the rocket-propelled grenade] everyone was yelling ‘Just shoot him!'” he said.”
http://www.kens5.com/story/news/world/2015/01/29/baghdad-moviegoers-american-sniper/22518333/
Yep-we’re the barbarians……
Did you read the rest of the article? From what was written, the movie was very popular over there, what with the packed theaters. Lots of positive comments.
They also quoted several folks who watched the movie more than once, and saw Kyle as someone who killed terrorists, not Iraqis. I’m guessing they’re thinking about ISIS.
I never saw a single movie theater over there in 21 months deployed (two separate tours). I did see a lot of hajji burned dvds though. So Im guessing they were all watching bootlegs? If not, i tend to doubt the veracity of that article.
Yeah, I’d guess bootlegs too. I know when I was in Kuwait we had bootlegs of “Team America: World Police” within a day or two of it’s release in 2004.
Yeah, I remember those when I was in A-Stan, every Bazaar had bootleg copies of the latest movies, I still have my bootleg copy of “The Fantastic Four ” with about ten minutes of some dickhead snoring in the theater it was filmed from as well as my copy of “The Duke of Hazard ” (No shit, that’s what is printed on the cover jacket!).
I was in Baghdad in 08 to 09 and I can tell you for a fact that those haji dvds were pirated and burned to dvd. The interwebs did exist somewhat over there remember.
Lol that is what Im saying, it had to be a bootleg and not in a theater. Pretty sure theaters don’t exist over there.
I was also in Baghdad in 08-09, up north on the Sadr City/Sha’ab border, where were you at by chance?
Yep, saw it, and loved it. It pains me to start a movie review by saying a movie was good, first of all, because it avoided crap, but, that’s where I have to start because of the crap Hollywood puts out. I get nervous watching “war movies” because I have become hypersensitive to certain things, among them, but not exclusively:
– A suspicion some Hollywood weenie will try to sneak in “anti-war” message, i.e., crap
– Historically or technically inaccurate crap
– Preachiness, chest thumping, or overly maudlin crap.
But “American Sniper” did not simply avoid that kind of crap, it was really a superior telling of a man’s story. There were a few times I shook my head because it was so realistic and brought back memories, but it was the story, brought to life by superior acting and a great script, that floored me. These were real people in a real situation. I wondered how they would handle “the end” and can only use the term “brilliant.”
Act of Valor WAS a recruiting commercial. Bandit Brothers were filming Seals and SWCC’s for commercials and videos, then decided to put a movie plot around it.
Really? Looked to me like once Rosalyn Sanchez showed up, any further pretensions of having a plot went out the window. Don’t get me wrong, she may be Puerto Rico’s second greatest export, but that movie was just an excuse to show bombs ‘n bullets.
I call BS on Act of Valor having a plot. That “Navy SEALs” movie with Charlie Sheen from the early 90’s had more of a plot than Act of Valor. It was a better movie, too.
I want to see it, but I don’t think I can. I’m a wimp when it comes to movies like this. I would like to read his book, though.
This resonated with me as a USAF Brat. Some of you who have Brats may find it an intersting read to share with them.
http://hamptonroads.com/2015/01/rothdouquet-military-kid-relates-american-sniper
The more I think about ti, the further I’m convinced that these “Hollywusses” are doing what Psychologists refer to as “Projection”, the same thing I’ve alluded to another critter regularly featured on TAH. “Projection” is described by Freud as when one is so afraid and intimidated by their own thoughts that they project it onto others. Here we have a movie about the Military Exploits of Chris Kyle, an American Warrior who risked his life to save others versus the sniveling snotnosed Santorum-sniffing pampered creampuffs of Hollywierd who rarely go anywhere other than each others’ mansions and boutiques and refer to any and all of the USA outside of NY and CA as “Fly-over Country” full of us uncivilized barbarians. Maybe the Santorum-sniffing creampuffs of Hollywierd realize what cowards they truly are and they’re projecting? Just a thought…
I went to see the movie with my son.
Good movie. Not a Hollywood BS movie.
Go see it you won’t be disappointed.
I saw it, but I get very nervous watching anything Desert Shield/Storm, or Iraq. Most of the time I’m good, but I have had to wLk out of the room or change the channel more times than I can count. Same way with cop shows/videos, sometimes these things hit too close to home. I almost exclusively watch this stuff at home.
Walk not wLk. Stupid tablet keyboard!
I hate movie theaters. I’ll see it later.
It wasn’t until I saw Hurt Locker that I really understood why my dad (who did 4 tours in Vietnam) won’t watch Vietnam movies. The only one he actually saw was “Good Morning Vietnam” and he thought that was ridiculous.
Chief Kyle was a real cowboy from old Texas stock, brought up on honor, self reliance, keeping your word, and fighting evil. He traded his saddle and hunting rifle for BUDS and the SEAL team. Being from West Texas, I grew up with people like the Chief. I was heartbroken when he was taken before I got to shake his hand. He was the real deal. Anyone who doesn’t see the movie, read the book. I saw American Sniper with my wife the weekend after the general release. Clint Eastwood did the book and Chief Kyle’s life the best service that any movie director could, perhaps topping his brilliant Gran Torino. As others have stated, many noticed that packed audiences consisted heavily of prior service, older citizens. I agree that never before had I experience the silence, lack of talking and cell phones, and what could be described as “reverance” throughout the movie and following. It was outstanding, 4-oh, a solid Bravo Zulu. Perhaps some should view Chief Kyle’s book and the movie in the same light as the Medal of Honor; given to some as a tribute to many. Chief Kyle was a SEAL who came down from overwatch when he saw that Marines were getting killed because they were not trained as well as he in the entry and clearing of buildings. He died trying to save vets from PTSD. No doubt, Taya Kyle will see very comfortable income from the movie and book. Rest assured that after her family is taken care of, veterans of war are a special focus of her efforts. She takes it personal. If there are any doubts, google for “Taya Kyle NRA Houston Speech” and was the YouTube video of her touching speech to the 2013 NRA convention. Swift, silent, deadly and keep your mouth shut may have been an honorable practice in the days when the warrior ethos was respected and maintained. But, in this day of “progressive” anti-constitution politicization of everything, perhaps more stories of sacrifice and service need to be told. BTW, I too hail from Odessa, Texas. That… Read more »
TSO, I watched it in my hooch last week. it was difficult and I, like you, generally avoid movies like this. I had to pause it several times to regain my composure but I finished it. Since I was thought the looking glass, so to speak, I decided to watch “Lone Survivor” with the same results. I’m glad I did but I will probably never watch either again. I told myself that these great men deserved to have their story told and I owed it to them to watch it even if it caused me mental pain.
Restrepo is another beast altogether. I watched it once when NatGeo or whoever first aired it and I now own it but I will never watch it again…can’t
I’ve seen Blackhawk Down numerous times since first watching it at the Fort Benning theater while on a main post pass in OSUT. Ordered Restrepo a few years ago and watched it a number of times as well. Let’s just say that I had to piece together the latter. Twenty beers or a fifth of liquor plays hell on the memory. Both movies require the surround sound to be cranked up in complete privacy.
Haven’t watched any of the SEAL movies, or anything about Iraq. Went through a period while in TOG where Youtube and alcohol were mixed. Kenny Chesney’s “Who You’d Be Today”, Green Day’s “When September Ends”, Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby”, and Trace Adkins’ “Arlington” were a few of the videos in constant rotation. I have no desire to commit the emotions I feel watching those to a 90-minute or more movie. Made it about twenty minutes into the first episode of Over There before deleting the series for a few reasons.
Like many others here, “my” war seems to have the most effect on me–other war movies are usually fine. Notable exceptions are Hamburger Hill (reminds me of the pride and camaraderie Rakkasans have) and Gardens of Stone (reminds me of my own conflicts while serving in TOG; relieved to have a break while feeling guilty as hell that others were doing the fighting while I was doing the final honors).
As for the M68, I dislike it for qualifying. Had one in the 101st and struggled to hit 23. Got to TOG and shot 38 first time around with a worn-out M16A2 and iron sights. Traded that in for an M4 with ACOG and rarely shot below Expert since.
“Gardens of Stone” remains one of my favorite military movies of all time. It’s not a “war” movie and there’s no combat in it, but it is the only movie I’ve ever seen that comes close to capturing the almost father/son relationship between NCOs and soldiers.
I have to admit that I also like the fact that with the exception of the main character Jackie Willow, officers are pretty much relegated to minor supporting characters (and Willow spends most of his on-screen time in the movie as an enlisted man in the movie anyway.)
The other great thing about Gardens is that it doesn’t fall into the trap of reducing soldiers to cardboard cutouts (if anything, it’s the civilians who come across as clichés, like the anti-war lawyer that James Caan decks at a party.)
Agreed, Gardens of Stone is a great movie. James Caan’s character reminded me somewhat of my first squad leader in TOG: a veteran of DS and OIF 1 who had spent 11 years in the 101st and had a legitimate star over his CIB. While set during Vietnam, the sentiments of some of the characters were similar to some I saw between 2004 and 2008: Soldiers trying to avoid going to war and Soldiers trying everything to get to a combat unit. Idealistic young men who wanted to experience the worst, despite personally seeing the way some come home through Dover and the grief families feel in Arlington (ANC).
We buried one of our own–SSG Hake–who had left the company as I arrived (though I never met him, the graveside service was especially somber). Right after I left, a Soldier I’d briefly led was lost–CPL Joseph Hernandez. I pass SSG Hake’s picture every day at work as he was in the same brigade, while CPL Hernandez was listed on the rolls of KIAs at RC-East HQ. Needless to say, I went out of my way to pay respects to that little sheet of paper upstairs most nights.
There was a rumor in TOG about James Earl Jones being banned from ANC for urinating behind a tree during filming. No idea as to the truth, but his character, and that of the 1SG, are memorable.
I like a good war movie. American Sniper was excellent. Hurt Locker extremely mixed. It got the feel of Baghdad right. When they drive through the streets it was right almost to the last detail. But the story and stunts they pulled.were idiotic.
Green Thumb, just saw your question in this post:http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=39799
Spent the first year doing CinC and Escort, a brief time in Firing Party (trained but never fired in ANC), and the bulk of my time as a Black Sheep. Started as CTL, moved to NCOIC; all Standard Honors with the exception of a day or two filling in as Full Honors.