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:

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

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

Richard Joson plays his own grandfather.

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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

Lt. Colonel Mucci: Captain Prince, how did we do?
Captain Prince: Got 'em all sir.

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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

You Go To My Head
Written by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots
Performed by Victoria Hamilton
Published by Toy Town Tunes, Inc. (ASCAP) and Gillespie Haven Music (ASCAP)
Produced by Sourcerer

User Reviews

The Great Raid proves that history is always more compelling than fiction

This film expertly balances the need for authenticity with the need for compelling drama. It starts out great, slows slightly in the middle, and finishes off with the best filmed action sequence I have ever seen. The raid itself is choreographed and paced perfectly, so that the viewer understands exactly what is happening, why it is happening and who is doing it. Many aspects of this film have never been done before in a war movie. The craft is also expertly balanced - the film looks, sounds and feels accurate and not bounded by Hollywood conventions. Simply put, it will go down as one of the very best modern war films, among those who can tell when a film is exceptional.