Read the book? Don't bother watching the movie.

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2003)

Gen. Moore did an astounding job of documenting the battle in the Ia Drang. He gathered a lot of testimony from others who were there, and collated it all in the book "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young." After reading this book, I should have known that the film would let me down. Gen. Moore is proud that the movie is more accurate than almost any other previously released. While that may be true, I feel that it has been butchered by the editing process. The movie runs long already, but it needs to be a lot longer to really get the feel for it. The deleted scenes that make it to the 'Special Features' section of the DVD add much to the film, and should be watched. Even with these scenes, only a few characters are developed, and there is very little impact made to the viewer. After experiencing both the book and the movie, I keep wondering if the benefits of awareness generated by Hollywood marketing outweigh the blood money made from creating an inadequate historical representation. I guess if the movie helps people to understand the soldiers' position in war, then the benefits do outweigh the negatives.
Bless all of our soldiers who have fought and died for us!