very realistic.

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 1999)

This is the most realistic war movie that has probably ever been produced. Realistic, in that sometimes I felt that I was actually in there ducking, dodging, running and crawling. As they were waiting at the bridge for the tanks it gave an eerie feeling. I am not a veteran so I can only imagine, the "waiting" for the enemy which you know is coming would be quite harrowing, as against being in the thick of the action where you don't get time to worry.
Purists may complain that certain events would not have happened, but those are just technicalities that do not detract from it being a superb film.(to the layman in any case) Although, I think I spotted a mistake too. (not a military or historical one, just a minor production one) Just before they came across the guarded radar, there was a long distance shot of them walking across a field in formation. I counted 8 of them. (It looks like the filmclip used when they first began their mission.)
War veterans don't like to talk about some of their experiences, and having watched this movie I can understand why. Many would have seen and done things that they now regret, such as murdering prisoners of war, acts of cowardice, the making of crucial decisions that resulted in the loss of our mens lives, inaction or hesitation and just being plain "scared".Other war veterans would have many painful memories of the loss of friends and relatives, and just the ugliness and horrors of war.I understand that the age range of those that went to war were 18 to 21yr olds. Unbelievable! They were just "kids".
This movie has an R16 rating, however I have no worries about my 11 and 9 year old daughters viewing it, when it comes out on video.
For the realistic depiction I give it a 10 out of 10. For this movie I give it a 9 out of 10.