You really need to read the book

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2004)

Don't get me wrong, this is a good move. I gave it a 7 out of 10. But the book is so far superior to the movie that words would fail me if I were to try and compare the two. The book is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the peacetime army before World War II. It is NOT a love story or a war story for that matter. It is both and at the same time neither. An examination of the nature of humanity better suits it.
I always have to stifle a giggle when people start talking about the "greatest generation", as if the subsequent generations just don't measure up. And before you start whining, what the W.W. II generation did was nothing short but save the world--literally and I am eternally grateful to them for that. But they are no better than the Baby Boomers or Gen X. James Jones in his brilliant book proves it.
In vivid detail he describes the daily life of not only the average "dog face" soilder, but the officers too. You'll learn about the whore houses of Hawaii, the gambling sheds, the heavy drinking--things I'm sure your grandfather never told you about.
Read the book, then see the movie.