We Were Soldiers (2002)

Director:

Randall Wallace

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

1 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | History | War

Tagline:

Fathers, Brothers, Husbands & Sons.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Battle | Vietnam | Vietnamese | Major

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Lost Patrol (USA) (original script title)
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young (USA) (working title)
Wir waren Helden (Germany)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

138 min | Argentina:140 min | Germany:126 min (cut) | Spain:143 min | Turkey:124 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Vietnamese | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (appeal) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

Was originally scheduled for a 2001 release but was pushed back so Chris Klein could work on American Pie 2 (2001).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When an A1 Skyraider drops napalm on the attacking NVA troops flames erupt about 30 feet behind where the napalm is dropped.

Quotes:

[first lines]
French Captain: Anything?
French Lieutenant: No, Captain.
French Captain: Fucking heat. Fucking grass. Fucking country.
[Vietnamese bullet hits him in the head]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Battlefield: Vietnam (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Sgt. MacKenzie

Hits close to home....

"We Were Soldiers" hit close to home because my dad and his friend Donald were in this very same battle. In 1965, my dad had just graduated from high school in Wichita, Kansas. He volunteered to enlist in the Army because there was practically nothing waiting for him there...

My dad was stationed with the 1st Cavalry. The "Valley of Death" was where he fought his first major battle and lived. I'll never forget the scenes in this movie because my dad didn't have to be alive and well today. After seeing this movie, there has not been one day where I wondered what would have happened to me if he didn't live to see it.

I am eighteen now, and my dad suggested that I see this and gain an idea on how gruesome the battle was and how he managed to live through it. I cried at the end, the same thing I did when I cried at the end of "Platoon", because I think of so many of those who may have been friends with my dad...who never lived to see the next day after that battle ended. I think of those who came back scarred deeply, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually.

And I will continue to cry for them....cry as deeply as I can...