The Great Raid
Tags: realism, violence, inspiring, murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
In 1944, American forces were closing in on the Japanese-occupied Philippines. The Japanese held around 500 American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March in a notorious POW camp at Cabanatuan and subjected them to brutal treatment and summary execution, as the Japanese view surrender as a disgrace. Many prisoners were also stricken with malaria.
The film opens with the massacre of prisoners of war on Palawan by the Kempeitai, the Imperial Japanese military's secret police (though factually, it was committed by the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army).
Meanwhile, at Lingayen Gulf, the 6th Ranger Battalion under Lt. Col Mucci is ordered by Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger to liberate all of the POWs at Cabanatuan prison camp before they are killed by the Japanese. The film chronicles the efforts of the Rangers, Alamo Scouts from the 6th Army and Filipino guerrillas as they undertake the Raid at Cabanatuan.
Throughout the film, the viewpoint switches between the POWs at Cabanatuan, the Rangers, the Filipino resistance and the Japanese.
In particular, the film covers the resistance work undertaken by nurse Margaret Utinsky, who smuggled medicine into the POW camps. The Kempeitai arrested her and sent her to Fort Santiago prison. She was eventually released, but spent six weeks recovering from gangrene as a result of injuries sustained from beatings.

Review: I knew almost nothing of this film before I saw it but based on a couple comments I had heard, I went with my dad to see it tonight.Some people commented on how slow the movie is during the beginning, and although that is true, it is there to give you time to develop a story and actual care about the characters.
While Hollywood has gone after the Nazis and the European campaign in World War II over and over again, ad nauseam, little has been produced depicting the Pacific Theatre or the thousands of Americans and others who perished there.In fact, only a handful of motion pictures have touched on the subject over the last two decades, namely Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun," Terrance Malik's "The Thin Red Line," and the Nicolas Cage bomb, "Windtalkers." The best film in this genre was probably 1957's "Bridge On The River Kwai," which won Oscars for David Lean and Alex Guinness, among others, but that was almost 50 years ago.Now John Dahl ("Rounders," "Joyride," the TV series "Tilt") has shed some light on a little-known rescue attempt in the waning days of the conflict in the Philippine Islands.
"The Great Raid" is a fine little film, smart, patriotic and fairly historically accurate.The film begins with a crisp narration (accompanied by actual film footage) of the quick successes of the Imperial Japanese Army in the days following Pearl Harbor.
Even this movie skirts the terror with a simple voice-over in filling in the background story of a group of surviving prisoners held for over three years.Receiving word of mass killing of American POWs by the Japanese, top brass in the Pacific orders a raid on a camp still behind enemy lines, led by Army Ranger Lt. Col.
Prince (James Franco, "Spiderman," "Spiderman 2").Military minutia abounds with the planning and execution of the assault, which pits a handful of rangers against over 200 battle-hardened Japanese troops, led by sadistic Maj. Nagai (Motoki Kobiyashi).The movie also shows the strong relationship between the Americans and Filipinos which was not the greatest in the years after the Spanish-American War, but was cemented against the common Nipponese enemy.
Nice composition between rangers, prison camp and the occupied capital of Manilla, where civilian nurse Margaret Utinsky (Connie Nielson, "Gladiator," "One Hour Photo")is working with the Filipino underground resistance.This is no "Saving Private Ryan," and the acting sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, but the strength of the story, the fact it was inspired by true events, and the historical importance of the film, make this one a must-see, even for casual fans of the genre.
Its three interconnected story lines -- the prisoners in Cabanatuan, the Rangers, and the underground movement in Manila (including a nurse played by Nielsen who smuggles in Quinine to prisoners) -- give a fairly accurate and well rounded portrait of the landscape of war in the Philippines, although by the end of the film you do feel as if you've only seen the tip of the iceberg.The acting is lovely.
Don't expect the next "Paths of Glory" or "Bridge on the River Kwai" or that calibre of film-making, but I hope that this does well because in its own way it's different from so much of the mindnumbing junk that is out there, it attempts to portray a war story smartly, chose to tell a story that doesn't spell out big money, and without being overbearingly in-your-face patriotic, it pays homage to and shares the experiences of the American and Filipino men and women who endured the hell that was World War II in the Philippines..
Like the film's prisoner of war, quinine was the saving prescription for my mom's malaria-stricken body.The Great Raid is an army flick, similar to the scores I've seen in the past 50 years.
The valiant efforts of the underground that smuggled medicine to the ill and dying prisoners; the array of authority figures in the military who made heart-rending decisions about strategy and tactics; the rescue mission that galvanized a unit of 120 special rangers who had yet to see the extreme fires of combat; the unlikely relationships that bound survivors in their fate.Some high points of the painful, two and a half- hour mendacity tensed you to the edge of your seat ----- the brutality of the Japanese, not withstanding the execution of ten prisoners for one escapee; the burning funeral of a hundred Filipinos, many of them women and children villagers, near the Cabanatuan Prison; the spectacular, surprise invasion of the Japanese camp; the courage of the Filipino Guerrilas and their exemplary warrior spirits led by Captain Pajota, as their steeled defense of a bridge held the Japanese and their tanks captive and effectively severed an avenue of retaliations to the explosions and attack in their war camp.
"The Great Raid" is the portrayal of a rescue mission to save five hundred of those POWs at the Cabanatuan camp before they're killed by their captors, as the Americans begin to close in during the closing days of the war.As far as I can recall there haven't been very many movies depicting conditions in Japanese POW camps.
Especially after seeing the movie, I think it is even more important for war veterans and heroes alike, to come forward with their extraordinary stories, to inspire us all, and to remind us that there are honorable people out there.
Problems with this film: 1) Joseph Fiennes is supposed to be a great leader of men, the last bastion of American authority in a Japanese POW camp.
You wouldn't follow this man into a Baskin Robbins, let alone a Japanese POW camp.6) Complete, entire lack of suspense.Want a good war movie you may not have seen?
This is a movie which fails on all levels: Directing, Actors, Storyboard, Music, Camera What a waste of money to produce such a movie.Directing: this is the worst directing I have seen for years; a good story wasted with bad directing, the people whether in the POW camp or in the camp of the ranger supposedly to free the Prisoners of War (POW) are all depressive; as director you show the clash between the two parties, one who are the heroes rescuing others, full of motivation, vs those in the prison - but no, this main theme is wasted.Actors: James Franco from Spiderman 1+2, bad actor, unclear speaking, uninspired, other actors are either 2nd or 3rd class actors, just bad.
The prisoners look sad, depressed, but it never touches me, why, because I don't believe them - good actors convince me.Storyboard: good moments are wasted for nothing, the whole happens at sunset, and then during the dark night - near sunset they rub on the ground toward the POW camp, after the sun has set (not showing the slowness of the actual sunset), all of the sudden it's dark, and people watch of their watches for the start of the raid, the entire suspense of getting closer to the POW camp during sunset is not used to show the challenge in that, neither we are shown really how the troops actually reach the fences, because we just see darkness .
I rarely have seen such a bad storyboard, where moments to portray depth is wasted, instead banalities are captured on celluloid or digital hard-disk.Music: it's nice, but it's way too dramatic for the bad performance of the movie, and the music is completely out of sync of what's happening on the screen; heroic music meanwhile the raid is over, but all the prisoners still have to walk to the next village, instead of a sunrise, it's still dark, and the whole situation anything but clear, we hear fanfare - man, I can't believe how misplaced music can be.Camera: this cameraman I would have fired after 10 mins, this is a blunt beginner, there are no closeups, none, people are seen like from distance, no emotion, no intimacy, that's what the entire movie is lacking, it is not convincing.
Just returned from an early screening.I read "Ghost Soldiers", and I think that the producers of this movie did a very good job of keeping the film as close to the actual story as is possible under the limitations of cinematic limitations.As a New Mexican with family and friends who were at Batann and in the Death March (some survived, some didn't), and a former NM National Guardsman, I have always had a keen interest in this and any WWII Pacific Theater story.There were many New Mexicans at Bataan, and they still honor them to this day there.
outside of Santa Fe to drill for years.The father of my mother's best childhood friend was a Colonel in the NM National Guard (200th Coastal Artillery) who died in a camp there, and the father of my own best friend, who had never had a cavity in his life, lost all his teeth in a Japanese camp, and my uncle escaped capture and fought with the Filipino guerrillas for years.In today's poly-cultural, politically correct world, Hollywood types don't usually like these kinds of stories, because they shine the light on another culture's brutality, so bravo to Ben Bratt.
Maybe this is some comfort to American audiences with short attention spans and even less education (or exposure, even to recent American history), but it left me wondering if the story of this raid will ever be made into a movie for grown-ups.No American soldiers looked or talked or interacted in 1945 the way these actors portrayed them; they did not line up and sound off like soldiers in a 21st century Army recruiting ad, and they did not have perfect teeth, perfect hair, and perfect Los Angeles non-accented diction or speech patterns straight out of this year's crop of war films and television dramas.Those islands were hot and dirty and crawling with bugs, and as far as I know there were no dry-cleaning facilities nearby to keep everyone's uniforms so clean and squared away.
Early on the movie, we are shown the real life war atrocity at an island POW camp where Americans are forced into air raid shelters and then immolated.The Sixth Army's commanding officer, General Kreuger (Vietnam veteran Dale Dye, Captain, USMC (Ret), who was the film's military adviser) has intelligence from "stay behinds" (Americans who fled into the hills after the surrender) and Philippine guerrillas that the Cabanatuan POWs are in grave jeopardy as the Sixth Army closes in.Kreuger turns to Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt, commander of the 6th Ranger Battalion.
Gibson and Utinsky carry the torch for each other and wonder if they will ever be reunited.Thus, the movie moves on three fronts: Mucci and Prince and the 120 Rangers who must cross 30 miles of enemy held territory to Cabantuan amidst thousands of Japanese soldiers; Gibson and the POWs at the camp; and Utinsky and the Filipino underground.Some critics have complained that the movie is a bit slow and talky.
Prince's Rangers are dependent upon Captain Juan Pajota, a skilled guerrilla leader who scouts and leads the Rangers into enemy territory, and then is tasked with holding off several thousand Japanese troops while the Americans raid the camp.The desire for historical accuracy is also very impressive in this film.
John Dahl has done his share of good films over the years but none of them came close to this film about American POW's being held in Japan and the soldier's that risked everything to get them out.Knowing the history of what these men went through, you go into the film expecting to see images that will be hard to watch.
This movie shows the realities of life both within a group of elite Army rangers given a daring, overwhelming rescue assignment and life within a Japanese POW camp in the Phillipines, survivors of the atrocities of the Bataan Death March who've felt both abandoned by their country and hopeful of rescue.
They must have made this movie very accurate to the real thing because I was sitting next to an old couple in the theater and they were crying throughout almost the entire film, so I believe that they might have actually been in World War 2.
I've read the book and seen the film, & i can honestly say that this is the war movie of the year.in terms of story, script and acting...clever writing...plus the fact that it really did happened, and our veterans consider the Raid in Cabanatuan a very dangerous mission but turned out to be the most successful one, very excellent film!
will reminds you of the saying "live and learn" and never forget your history!...Please be informed that in the book, their Sgt. didn't die...He did survive and saw him once at History Channel rekindling the his memorable WWII experience...Just a very excellent film............for those of you who loves war movies, this is a must see movie...it really is good..
Based on actual events, The Great Raid tells of the rescue of 500 American POW's interred in the Philippines by the Japanese.
To be a prisoner of the Japanese during WWII was to suffer.These 500 Americans were scheduled for execution by burning as hundreds of prisoners had perished before them.Another overlooked fact about the war in the Pacific was the bravery of the Philippine people, both their soldiers and civilians.This movie hasn't been a big hit so far, but it deserves to be..
This is an excellent movie showing the daring rescue of POWs from the brutality of the Japanese POW camp of Cabanatuan.I have not read the book, Ghost Soldiers, so I cannot tell whether it is an accurate representation of the book.
Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, the 6th Ranger Battalion aims to liberate over 500 American prisoners-of-war from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever, and audacious it sure was!
The actual war footage, and the fact that the raid was based on a true story is all that keeps this film from being ignored.
It has good acting, well-written plot, and what I consider to be important, perfect pacing.The various threads of the story (the nurse in Manila, the soldiers making their way to the POWs, the POWs) are followed until at the end, of course, all the action converges on the raid itself and the aftermath.Cesar Montano, who is already a well-known actor in the Philippines, does a good job as the Filipino guerrilla leader (trivia: some of the words he says when fighting the Japanese are in fact, pretty crude swear words; they are not translated into English with subtitles).I rank this film up there with "the greats" of war films, like Mel Gibson's The Patriot..
The best part of the movie is the post-credits actual footage of the aftermath of the rescue.After such great recent WWII dramas as "Saving Private Ryan" and "When Trumpets Fade", Dahl chose to follow the model of a sub-par war flick like John Woo's "Windtalker", where he tried to force a romantic interest into a situation where it was totally out of place.Hampton Sides provided plenty of plot and action in his book "Ghost Soldiers" that a good screenplay could have drawn from, unfortunately it did not occur.I will say, the actual rescue scenes are energized and exciting but it is too little too late in the movie to prop up this cinematic failure.Costume design!!!
This is their story as excerpted from the novels 'Ghost Soldiers' and 'The Great Raid on Cabanatuan'.The action of the movie takes place over five days in January 1945 during which time a battalion of Army Rangers finally lead a successful raid on the POW camp in Cabanatuan to free the remaining American prisoners after their survival of the Bataan Death March and three years of beastly, brutal incarceration.
A Action/Drama/War based in the Philippines during world war two about a battalion of rangers including Lt. Colonel Mucci(Benjamin Bratt,Miss Congeniality) and Captain Prince(James Franco,Spider-Man).Who are ordered to set out on a mission to liberate 500 American soldiers(POW's) that have been in a Japanese POW camp for 3 years including Major Gibson(Joseph Fiennes,Enemy at the Gates) and Captain Redding(Marton Csokas,xXx).Benjamin Bratt(Lt. Colonel Mucci)did a great job this is definitely the best movie he has done so far.James Franco(Captain Prince)showed me that he is not just a mediocre actor he is much much more and I expect big things out of him.Joseph Fiennes(Major Gibson)was exactly what I expected him to be he was great!!.Marton Csokas(Captain Redding)has really come along way from his "xXx" days he gave a very solid performance and he did a good job thinning out his accent.I am surprised that John Dahl(Director)was able to pull "The Great Raid" off the only real credible thing he has done was "Joy Ride" and I really didn't like that movie at all.The screenplay was great one of the things that bothered me however is that I think that soldiers in world war two would have used a little fowler language but I wasn't there so I cant be certain.The raid scene when the rangers were rescuing the POW's was excellent it is on a par with the last battle scene in "Saving Private Ryan".The storyline was great I have a feeling that it was pretty close to what really happened but again I wasn't there so I wouldn't know.I really liked how at the end of the movie they showed a bunch of footage of the real Lt. Colonel Mucci and Captain Prince and all of the pow's it showed how well the actors had there characters down.Best actor/actress-James FrancoYou can not afford to not see this movie-Jake HydenI gave this movie a 9 out of 10Rated-(R) for strong war violence and brief language.9/10.
Released in 2005 and directed by John Dahl, "The Great Raid" is a WWII war flick based on the real-life rescue of Allied POWs and civilians from a Japanese camp near Cabanatuan City in the Philippines.
Methodical Movie of Men at War and POW's Waiting it Out. It was a Risky Thing, No Not the Raid that Liberated Over 500 American POW's from the Brutal Japanese Prison Camp in the Philippines, but the Way Director John Dahl Approached the Story.