We Were Soldiers (2002)

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers:

Harold G. Moore (book), Joseph L. Galloway (book),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Lt. Col. Hal Moore
Madeleine Stowe	...	Julie Moore
Greg Kinnear	...	Maj. Bruce 'Snake' Crandall
Sam Elliott	...	Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley
Chris Klein	...	2nd Lt. Jack Geoghegan
Keri Russell	...	Barbara Geoghegan
Barry Pepper	...	Joe Galloway
Duong Don	...	Lt. Col. Nguyen Huu An
Ryan Hurst	...	Sgt. Ernie Savage
Robert Bagnell	...	1st Lt. Charlie Hastings
Marc Blucas	...	2nd Lt. Henry Herrick
Josh Daugherty	...	Sp4 Robert Ouellette
Jsu Garcia	...	Capt. Tony Nadal
Jon Hamm	...	Capt. Matt Dillon
Clark Gregg	...	Capt. Tom Metsker

Storyline

In a place soon to be known as The Valley of Death, in a football field-sized clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore and 400 young troopers from the elite newly formed American 7th "Air" Cavalry, were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers dug into the tunnel warren mountainside. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history and is portrayed here as the signal encounter between the American and North Vietnamese armies. We Were Soldiers Once... And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another.

---

Plot Keywords:

soldier | battle | vietnamese | 2000s | air cavalry | 

---

Taglines:

We were... young, brave, husbands, wives, sons, mothers, daughters, soldiers.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sustained sequences of graphic war violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Vietnamese French

Release Date:

1 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

We Were Soldiers Once... and Young

Filming Locations:

Castle Green Apartments - 99 S. Raymond, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$319,086 (Brazil) (9 August 2002)

Gross:

$495,567 (Brazil) (16 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International, Motion Picture Production GmbH & Co. Erste KG, Wheelhouse Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 126 min (cut) 124 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first scenes in Vietnam show a Battalion sign that says "Garry Owen". This was the famous marching song of the 7th Cavalry and is actually one word, "Garryowen".

---

Goofs

When Barry Pepper's character Joe Galloway puts his camera down and picks up a rifle to help defend the position, he places the camera on the ground at the base of a small tree. Later, when he goes to retrieve the camera and start taking photographs again, the camera is hanging from a tree branch. However, a fair amount of time passed and significant activity took place around that area, so anyone could have moved the camera and its changed location is consistent with this.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Galloway: [Narrating; voice-over] These are the true events of November, 1965, the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam, a place our country does not remember, in a war it does not understand. This story's a testament to the young Americans who died in the valley of death, and a tribute to the young men of the People's Army of Vietnam who died by our hand in that place. To tell this story, I must start at the beginning. But where does it begin? Maybe in June of 1954 when French Group Mobile 100 moved ...

---

Crazy Credits

A list of the names of the actual men who died during the battle as well as the city and state where they are from is featured before the ending credits.

---

Connections

Referenced in Battlefield: Vietnam (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"Mansions of the Lord"
By Nick Glennie-Smith and Randall Wallace
Performed by the United States Military Academy Cadet Glee Club
Also performed by Metro Voices
Produced by Nick Glennie-Smith

User Reviews

Seeing the enemy and home in a different light

This film is so different from the traditionally cynical (and rightly so) Vietnam War movies. While it goes without question that this film depicts the bloody and gruesome horrors of the tragedy of the first major conflict of the war, it does so while juxtaposing the story with that of stories of the home front and the enemy. The enemy in this film is not the animalistic, silent enemy we are used to. We hear this enemy speak, we see his love for his family and his devotion to his cause. While being bombarded with images of death and destruction on the battlefield, we are brought back home to see the wives as they face the death themselves.

While of course not a flawless movie, it was without a doubt moving, and I highly recommend it.