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Buffalo Soldiers (2003)
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
Screenwriter: Eric Axel Weiss, Nora Maccoby
Producer: Rainer Grupe, Ariane Moody
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 6, 2004
Reviews
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.
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.
...a dark, entertaining and thought-provoking film that could be recommended to pacifists and militarists alike.
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.
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.
This blazingly irreverent comedy hits its machismo targets over and over again to the point of overkill.
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.
The storyline becomes too idiotic and lacking enough funny or relevant moments to fly as a cutting edge satire.
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.
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.
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