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Movies / On DVD / Buffalo Soldiers
Buffalo Soldiers

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Buffalo Soldiers (2003)

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Reviews Counted:110

Fresh:78

Rotten:32

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Overall, this caustic comedy hits more of its targets than it misses.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Comedies

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... 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]

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

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Anna Paquin, Gabriel Mann, Leon Robinson, Dean Stockwell, Elizabeth McGovern

Director: Gregor Jordan

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

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Reviews for Buffalo Soldiers

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Ruthlessly funny, gleefully anarchic black comedy.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/04/03
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Joltingly funny.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
10/19/03
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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 Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
08/27/03
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/16/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/10/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/05/03
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This full-metal blast at the military is dark, rough-hewn, often hilarious -- and a star-maker for the electric Joaquin Phoenix.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
05/01/03
Erica Abeel
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International

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 Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
06/29/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Fresh, funny, and defiantly against these flag-waving times.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
08/07/03
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

An enjoyably savage cautionary tale about what can happen to warlike men in a time of peace.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
08/19/03
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

Film has satirical sting.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
07/24/03
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

Falling far short of a brilliant satire like Three Kings -- but too satirical to be a goofy Army comedy like Stripes -- Buffalo Soldiers still manages enough of both to command attention.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
08/08/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

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

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/26/05
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews

A scathing and very funny indictment of the U.S. military.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
10/10/03
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

It's an enjoyable and occasionally thought-provoking motion picture whose viewership should not be diminished by the unfortunate and inaccurate 'anti-American' label.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
08/08/03
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

A darkly funny, but critical view of military renegades and the system that coddled them.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
08/08/03
Peter Bernard
Peter Bernard
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

...the movie's derision lacks the focus and conviction a good socio-political military lampooning needs to make its point clear.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
08/08/03
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Eventually, the movie's rampant nihilism catches up with it.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
11/13/03
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
 
 
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