I really love this movie. Great Military Action, great actors all around and awesome music ("The Boys are Back in Town" performed by Bon Jovi)
This is a movie I remember seeing when it came out, on video. I've seen this at least 5 times over the years. Recently picked it up on Blu-Ray!
About the Movie:
The movie is about "The Teams", groups of Navy Seals organized by President John F. Kennedy to handle guerrilla-type operations on Sea-Air-Land, hence SEAL. The movie depicts the Seals training regimens and a couple of missions leading up the final mission to Beirut, Lebanon to destroy American built Stinger Missiles that have fallen into the terrorist's hands. For a more detailed summary and review of the Blu-Ray disc see the High-Def Digest and/or Amazon.com.
The Actors:
Micheal Biehn, a very good actor which never made it to the A-List despite being in some of the biggest hits of the 80s! Most known for his roles in The Terminator (James Cameron), Aliens (James Cameron) and The Abyss (James Cameron), see a pattern developing? Also for this flick, Navy Seals, K2: The Ultimate High, The Rock and Tombstone! A very underrated actor who always turns in a great performance.
Charlie Sheen, a good actor who did hit the A-List with many, many films to his credit. My favorites of Sheen's are: Young Guns (w/ Emilio Estevez), Red Dawn (w/ Patrick Swayze), Major League, Men at Work (w/ Emilio) and Cadence. Also, a very memorable scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Jennifer Grey (who was also in Red Dawn)! Spoofed military movies in Hot Shots along with one of his most famous roles in Wall Street with his father Martin Sheen, one of the best scenes in that movie.
Rick Rossovich, who is most remembered for Top Gun and Navy Seals. Checking the IMDB, I see he was also in The Terminator, which I have no recollection of him in that movie. Bill Paxton was also in The Terminator for a brief scene.
Bill Paxton, most remembered for Aliens, Navy Seals, and Titanic. Paxton has probably been the most successful actor from this film, with Sheen being the only exception. Has been in U-571, Tombstone, True Lies, Apollo 13, Twister, Vertical Limit, and Weird Science ("CHET"). Paxton is a great character actor who is always great in every film he's in.
Dennis Haysbert, best known now for 24 (President David Palmer) and The Unit (Jonas Blane "Snake-Doc"). He was also in Major League (w/ Sheen) as Pedro Cerrano. Ironic that he returns to the special forces for four seasons in the Unit 15 years after Navy Seals.
S. Epetha Merkerson, most known for her long-running role on Law & Order. I also know her from Mann & Machine where she also played a police captain. Also in Terminator 2 as Mrs. Dyson.
My Comments:
I love this movie as I love most military-themed films. I enjoy this even today for the excellent cast it had. Every actor did an honorable job in portraying the best of the best of America's Special Forces. I have always been a fan of Biehn since Terminator and this movie.
My favorite scenes are by far the Training sequence, the "Kill Room" and final sequence starting with the HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump. This movie, despite its problems, is still enjoyable to watch and surprisingly still topical!
Highly recommended movie. The Blu-Ray contains the film, a trailer and a second disc with a DVD-copy of the film. Extremely worth the purchase if you can get it for about $10, which you can from Amazon.com on sale.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Red Fox: Stand Watie's Civil War Years - Quick Review
I have just finished reading the book, "Red Fox: Stand Watie's Civil War Years" by Wilfred Knight. This book was published in 1987 by The Arthur H. Clark Company.
Stand Watie was born in Rome, Georgia on December 12, 1806. He was the second son of a half-blood Cherokee mother and a full blooded Cherokee father. He is remembered largely due to the fact that he is the only Native American to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in either army during the American Civil War. Furthermore, he achieved that rank in the Confederate Army overcoming the racism of the time.
Most officers in the Confederate Army achieved rank through the attendance of the US Military Academy at West Point or through political influence. During the war, The Confederacy promoted many officers due to heroism in combat. Stand Watie earned his commission at the head of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole Indians fighting for the Confederacy. Eventually, these units were brigaded together under Stand Watie as the Indian Brigade.
The book written by Wilfred Knight is sometimes a dry read, but largely an interesting look into a little know part of the Civil War. Normally, information about these back-water theaters are hard to come by, but Wilfred Knight has managed to collect a lot of information on the political infighting and history of the Cherokee people from their original home in Georgia through the Trail of Tears to the Indian Territory of Oklahoma.
Knight provides a well researched book that provides the first full biography of Stand Watie. The campaigns are easily laid out for the reader to follow. It is very interesting reading about these engagements where the counts of the dead and wounded are so low, often 5 to 10 are killed in each engagement, while 20 or so are wounded. Where, in the east armies of thousands are engaged and hundreds are killed or wounded, here in the west units of 400 to 2000 battle it out. This is largely because there was so much territory to protect in the West with very few troops and supplies.
In a War where all the action took place in the East, history says the war was won/lost in the West, depending on your point of view. In the West, the War was more complicated than just Blue versus Grey.
If you have any interest in the actions that Indians took part in the Civil War, this book is a great place to start.
Stand Watie was born in Rome, Georgia on December 12, 1806. He was the second son of a half-blood Cherokee mother and a full blooded Cherokee father. He is remembered largely due to the fact that he is the only Native American to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in either army during the American Civil War. Furthermore, he achieved that rank in the Confederate Army overcoming the racism of the time.
Most officers in the Confederate Army achieved rank through the attendance of the US Military Academy at West Point or through political influence. During the war, The Confederacy promoted many officers due to heroism in combat. Stand Watie earned his commission at the head of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole Indians fighting for the Confederacy. Eventually, these units were brigaded together under Stand Watie as the Indian Brigade.
The book written by Wilfred Knight is sometimes a dry read, but largely an interesting look into a little know part of the Civil War. Normally, information about these back-water theaters are hard to come by, but Wilfred Knight has managed to collect a lot of information on the political infighting and history of the Cherokee people from their original home in Georgia through the Trail of Tears to the Indian Territory of Oklahoma.
Knight provides a well researched book that provides the first full biography of Stand Watie. The campaigns are easily laid out for the reader to follow. It is very interesting reading about these engagements where the counts of the dead and wounded are so low, often 5 to 10 are killed in each engagement, while 20 or so are wounded. Where, in the east armies of thousands are engaged and hundreds are killed or wounded, here in the west units of 400 to 2000 battle it out. This is largely because there was so much territory to protect in the West with very few troops and supplies.
In a War where all the action took place in the East, history says the war was won/lost in the West, depending on your point of view. In the West, the War was more complicated than just Blue versus Grey.
If you have any interest in the actions that Indians took part in the Civil War, this book is a great place to start.
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