Outstanding and historically close too

Rating: 10/10 (17 August 2005)

It was both great entertainment and great historical lesson too. Even though I knew the outcome of the raid, I was enthralled with the story's tension and plot. (Much like in Ron Howard's ,"Apollo 13" movie) The love interest of the story was fictional, but did not take away from the power of the true story, it enhanced it. The musical score added a touch of reverence and respect to the movie, similar to the musical score in "Saving Private Ryan", "Band of Brothers" and "We were Soldiers Once". I especially loved the transition between B/W and color.
As far as historical lesson goes - well done. I especially loved the actual footage at the end of the movie. Showing the photos and movies with the real people, and short synopsis of the raid's statistics, and footage that showed the rescued POW's return trip home - from beginning to end was magnificent. My only wish was a little more information of the what became of the actual characters featured in the film.
I plan to buy the DVD when it is released.