Based on the first-hand experience of director Oliver Stone, this is powerful, intense and starkly brutal. Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing, it is a dark, unforgettable memorial to every soldier whose innocence was lost in Vietnam.
Winning a raft of awards, not least of which four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, Oliver Stone's Platoon was a box-office smash heralding Hollywood's second wave of Vietnam war films. Where predecessors The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979) were elaborate epics, Platoon simply showed the daily reality of the war from the point of view of ordinary soldiers. Stone's own service in Vietnam gives his work a unique authenticity. Charlie Sheen gives his best performance to date, enduring a series of increasingly large-scale and bloody battles which retrospectively make one wonder why Saving Private Ryan was hailed as so new. Against this gruelling verity the film falters over the symbolic conflict between good and evil sergeants played by Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger. Even though this was also based in real life, it strikes a too conventionally Hollywood-like note in a film which otherwise maintains much of the raw power of Stone's other film from 1986, Salvador. Johnny Depp fans should look out for an early appearance by the star. Stone would return to Vietnam with the more sophisticated Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven and Earth (1993). On the DVD: The 50-minute documentary "Tour of the Inferno" goes beyond the usual "making-of" to present a personal account both of the film and of Stone's own time in Vietnam. Likewise the two audio commentaries--one by Stone, the other by Captain Dale Dye, fellow veteran and military technical advisor--range between the making of the film and the degree to which the actors came to inhabit their parts, to their own wartime experiences. Both commentaries bring a fresh level of appreciation and understanding to the film. Also included is the original trailer and three TV commercials, together with well-presented stills galleries of behind-the-scenes photos and poster art. Following a credit sequence marred by dirt on the print, the anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 image is sharp and clear. The many night scenes are very dark but remain easily comprehensible. The three-channel Dolby Digital sound is suitably raw and powerful, though an early sequence featuring rain in the jungle suffers from very distracting repeated drop-outs in the left channel. --Gary S Dalkin
A fascinating insight to the most memorable players to have graced the fabled New Zealand national rugby team and some of the best tries ever scored on a rugby pitch. On this unique action-packed programme sports broadcasters Keith Quinn and John Macbeth present a dynamic selection of the most memorable tries and powerhouse players who have graced the New Zealand team. The list reads like a Who's Who of Rugby Union's greatest including George Nepia Colin Meads Zinzan Brooke Grant Fox Sean Fitzpatrick Jonah Lomu and the present day demigod Christian Cullen. With footage from the inaugural Rugby World Cup up to 2000 this is a DVD that fans of free flowing exciting rugby will cherish.... All Black rugby at its best!
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