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:

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

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Taglines:

A heroic tale of courage and triumph.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to shoot this film Mark Consuelos had to take time off from shooting the soap opera All My Children (1970) in 2002. His role of Mateo Santos was then temporarily recast with Kurt Caceres

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Goofs

The beach where the Americans landed is written as "Calasio". There is no place in the Philippines with that name. The correct place is "Calasiao" (in the Province of Pangasinan). Also, the front line where the prisoners were brought safely to is not "Talevera". Again, there is no place in the Philippines with that name. The correct name of the place is "Talavera".

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Quotes

Captain Prince: Somethings you just have to take on faith.

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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

Superb War Movie Done Right

THE GREAT RAID does everything right, on all levels, especially by framing itself with real footage from those times which, in some cases, features the actual events and participants. The acting is uniformly excellent, the pacing is flawless, and the historical context does not short-change any aspect of the story, be it cruelty and horror in war or bravery and nobility in suffering or even dignity and honor in combat. This is in many ways a movie made the way they used to make movies, but without the rah-rah patriotism or sneering social commentary. What it brings home simply by presenting the story in a straightforward manner is what we used to be capable of, what we once were and stood for, and what we fought against, and why. To be reminded of this is sobering, if not harrowing. Definitely one of the best movies my family and I have seen in a long time, it's recommended whole- heartedly for everyone. And Benjamin Bratt turns in a mature, restrained performance that marks him for great things on the big screen.

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:

The Great Raid

Filming Locations:

Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,376,009, 14 August 2005

Gross USA:

$10,167,373

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,777,375

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