The Great Raid (2005)

Taking place towards the end of WWII, 500 American Soldiers have been entrapped in a camp for 3 years. Beginning to give up hope they will ever be rescued, a group of Rangers goes on a dangerous mission to try and save them.

Director:

John Dahl

Writers:

William B. Breuer (book), Hampton Sides (book)

Stars:

Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes, James Franco

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benjamin Bratt	...	Lt. Colonel Mucci
James Franco	...	Captain Prince
Robert Mammone	...	Captain Fisher
Max Martini	...	1st Sgt. Sid "Top" Wojo
James Carpinello	...	Cpl. Aliteri
Mark Consuelos	...	Cpl. Guttierez
Craig McLachlan	...	2nd Lt. Riley
Freddie Joe Farnsworth	...	2nd Lt. Foley
Laird Macintosh	...	2nd Lt. O'Grady
Jeremy Callaghan	...	Lt. Able
Scott McLean	...	Lt. LeClaire
Paolo Montalban	...	Sgt. Valera
Clayne Crawford	...	PFC Aldrige
Sam Worthington	...	PFC Lucas
Royston Innes	...	Sgt. Adams

Storyline

Set in the Philippines in 1945 towards the end of WWII, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci and Captain Robert Prince, the 6th Ranger Battalion undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, they intend to liberate over 500 American Soldiers from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue mission | philippines | japanese army | prisoner of war camp | u.s. army | 

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Taglines:

The Most Daring Rescue Mission Of Our Time Is A Story That Has Never Been Told.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong war violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States] Official DVD site [Germany]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

Filipino English Tagalog Japanese

Release Date:

12 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El gran rescate

Filming Locations:

Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,376,009, 14 August 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,166,502, 16 October 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,769,311, 15 July 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,Marty Katz Productions,Lawrence Bender Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Cesar Montano (as Captain Juan Pajota) was originally offered to Zoren Legaspi who passed the first screening. But Legaspi turned down the project due to his commitment to GMA-7 for a TV soap opera, and that he could not leave his family for a month's shoot in Australia.

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Goofs

Gen. Walter Kreuger, commander of the Luzon invasion force, who is depicted in two scenes of the film, was a German immigrant (he was born in West Prussia) who spoke with a distinct German accent.

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Quotes

General Kreuger: Henry, I'll be honest with you. This mission appeals more to my heart than to my head.

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Crazy Credits

The first part of the end credits are superimposed over actual footage of the American prisoners following their liberation.

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Connections

Referenced in Hannity & Colmes: Episode dated 12 August 2005 (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Marriage Of Figaro
/"Duettino - Sull'aria"
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Deutsche Oper Berlin and Karl Böhm
Courtesy of Universal International Music, B.V.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

once we started laughing we couldn't stop

Problems with this film:

1) Joseph Fiennes is supposed to be a great leader of men, the last bastion of American authority in a Japanese POW camp. But he's always sick, and the only guy he interacts with is his buddy. He writes his girlfriend that "my love for you is all that makes me strong, and that strength makes the men strong...", but he ignores everyone, and hardly ever gets out of bed!

2) The journey to the camp by the rescue team is drummed up as a glorious, seat-of-your-pants epic. And then suddenly they're just there, no problem. Actually, they set up a base half a mile from the camp and pore leisurely over maps, discussing their plan of attack.

3) The Japanese camp commandant becomes the Terminator at the end, darting out from underneath huts, smirking maniacally.

4) You keep hoping and praying you won't have to hear the letter Joseph Fiennes' girlfriend writes him. Then, at the end, the voice-over of the extraordinarily long, clichéd letter begins---and you realize that God doesn't exist.

5) Benjaminn Bratt as the hard-as-nails platoon leader. You wouldn't follow this man into a Baskin Robbins, let alone a Japanese POW camp.

6) Complete, entire lack of suspense.

Want a good war movie you may not have seen? Try Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory". Leave this mulch-heap alone.