For war movie buffs only, I would say.

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 1999)

If you are a war movie buff, as am I, then I would definitely recommend that you see this film. My only caveat would be to rent it and watch it over the span of two nights. The reason for that is because the internal dialogue the soldiers are having with themselves during this 3 hour movie is a bit pretentious. Those slower moments are beautifully offset by the spectacular camera work, however, which accompanies those "Deep Thoughts".
There were several scenes which struck me in a way that no other war movie has done. They were both combat and non-combat scenes, and the effect they had was to put me right there in that setting. The combat scenes as they are attempting to take a steep hill with hidden Japanese machine gun nests seemed exceptionally realistic. I felt as scared and confused as the soldiers. If you aren't into war movies, then I would pass. If you are willing to give a war movie a chance and three hours of your time, however, then I think you will find this worthwhile. I gave it an "8" out of 10.