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MOVIES / ON DVD / BUFFALO SOLDIERS
Buffalo Soldiers

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Buffalo Soldiers (2003)

71%
71%
78%
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N/A
71 %
Reviews Counted: 109 Fresh: 77  Rotten:32 Average Rating: 6.5/10
 
Consensus: Overall, this caustic comedy hits more of its targets than it misses.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Synopsis: Joaquin Phoenix stars in this dark service comedy as Ray Elwood, an Army clerk stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Part of a company made up almost entirely of ex-convicts and high school dropouts, Elwood takes advantage of his daft commanding officer,... Joaquin Phoenix stars in this dark service comedy as Ray Elwood, an Army clerk stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Part of a company made up almost entirely of ex-convicts and high school dropouts, Elwood takes advantage of his daft commanding officer, Col. Berman (Ed Harris), by selling heroin and stolen Army supplies wholesale. However, when a member of the company dies and an autopsy reveals a remarkable amount of drugs in his bloodstream, far more intense scrutiny is brought down on the base in the form of Sgt. Lee (Scott Glenn), a tough and savvy Vietnam veteran who immediately surmises that Elwood is the brains behind the base's black market operations. Unfortunately, Elwood has just happened upon the biggest score of his tour and now must unload two trucks full of arms and 30 kilos of heroin just as Sgt. Lee has begun to orchestrate his downfall. Based on Robert O'Connor's novel, BUFFALO SOLDIERS is cynical but not irreverent; it doesn't treat its characters irresponsible and often idiotic behavior lightly nor does it judge them. Director Gregor Jordan has done an excellent job of adapting the tone of the original novel to the screen, and, aided by excellent performances from Mr. Phoenix and Mr. Glenn, makes BUFFALO SOLDIERS a thoroughly enjoyable satire. [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Anna Paquin, Gabriel Mann

Director: Gregor Jordan
Screenwriter: Eric Axel Weiss, Nora Maccoby
Producer: Rainer Grupe, Ariane Moody

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 6, 2004

[DVD Details]
  • Buffalo Soldiers
  • Joaquin Phoenix (SIGNS, GLADIATOR) leads an all-star cast in a wickedly funny comedy that entertains in the edgy tradition of PULP FICTION. A U.S. soldier with nothing to fight but boredom as the Cold War winds down, Ray Elwood (Phoenix) enjoys the rush of trading anything he can get his hands on in West Germany's booming black market ... while his inept commander (Ed Harris, THE HOURS) is none the wiser. Everything is perfect ... until he starts dating the new sergeant's daughter (Anna Paquin, X-MEN 1 & 2). But before he can pull off one last big score, Elwood's escalating personal war with Sergeant Lee (Scott Glenn, TRAINING DAY) will send him deeper into a deadly mess ... that may not have a way out!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  • Reviews

     
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    4/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    12/30/06
    Empire Magazine
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    N/R

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    06/24/06
    Time Out
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    N/A

    Joltingly funny.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    10/19/03
    Tim Robey
    Daily Telegraph
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    3/4

    There's a high-energy look, powering a tone of sorta satirical deadpan comedy, but problems arise when the director tries to mix his hip cynicism with a fully rounded story.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    08/27/03
    Ian Waldron-Mantgani
    UK Critic
    N/R

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    08/05/03
    Guardian [UK]
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    4/5

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    07/16/03
    Matthew Turner
    ViewLondon
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    4/5

    Ruthlessly funny, gleefully anarchic black comedy.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    07/04/03
    Nev Pierce
    BBC
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    N/R

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    06/10/03
    Rich Cline
    Shadows on the Wall
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    N/A

    Buffalo Soldiers is like M*A*S*H for the Reagan/Bush era generation that never knew a war like Vietnam. Both films offer a slap in the face to the establishment and display irreverent, savage satire.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    06/29/08
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org
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    4/5

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    12/06/05
    Film Threat
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    3.5/5

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    12/06/05
    Film Threat
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    7/10

    ...a dark, entertaining and thought-provoking film that could be recommended to pacifists and militarists alike.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    06/26/05
    Dragan Antulov
    Draxblog Movie Reviews
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    N/A

    May ultimately be a tad too calculated to truly shock, but manages to navigate between bad taste and Sgt. Bilko with skill and infectious glee.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    01/21/05
    Andrew Wright
    Portland Mercury
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    2.5/4

    It's not the dark comedy it wants to be -- that would be M*A*S*H with a more modern setting and more gruesome consequences -- but it's worth a look.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/14/04
    Lawrence Toppman
    Charlotte Observer
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    2.25/5

    This blazingly irreverent comedy hits its machismo targets over and over again to the point of overkill.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    04/16/04
    Kent Turner
    Film-Forward.com
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    3/5

    Aims to be a parable of man's self-destructive nature, and at times it succeeds. Unfortunately, it pulls punches at exactly the times that it should be hitting the hardest.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/01/04
    Brian Mckay
    eFilmCritic.com
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    C

    The storyline becomes too idiotic and lacking enough funny or relevant moments to fly as a cutting edge satire.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    02/16/04
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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    3/4

    Imagine if Robert Altman's M*A*S*H had been stifled back in 1970... and you can see the absurdity of the current climate.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    01/21/04
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing
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    B+

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    01/17/04
    Nell Minow
    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
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    N/A

    You won’t see too much red, white and blue on this DVD transfer of Buffalo Soldiers, but what little there is sure looks great.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    01/11/04
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine
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