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The first engagement of the Vietnam Conflict between American forces and the North Vietnamese Army occurred in 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley. This was the site of a massacre of French troops several years before; the Vietnamese believed that such annihilation would discourage invaders and occupiers. It wasn't important who the enemy might be; the object was to rid the land of foreigners. Vietnamese Lt. Colonel Nguyen Huu An (Don Duong) is a veteran of many wars on his soil; he is a clever tactician who knows that his dedicated men will obey without question. He devises a skirmish intended to draw significant American forces into a deathtrap, and it does indeed attract hundreds of members of the First Battalion of the Seventh Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson).

Moore has the greatest respect and affection for the men who serve under him, and he's obsessed with avoiding the fate of the French. He's been assigned to lead an experimental unit, an airborne cavalry battalion carried to and from combat aboard Huey helicopters. As he oversaw the training of his men, he studied the history of Vietnamese conflict, tactics, and terrain. He had prepared himself for a unique battleground. Wallace builds on a foundation of relationships. We meet Moore's wife, Julie (Madeleine Stowe), and their brood of kids. We're introduced to 2nd Lieutenant Jack Geoghegan (Chris Klein) and his wife, Barbara (Keri Russell). As we meet many of the families of the officers and men about to be shipped twelve thousand miles from home, we become emotionally invested in their survival.

There are three additional pivotal characters. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley (Sam Elliott) is a tough as nails combat veteran who usually may be found at Moore's right hand. Major Bruce "Snakeshit" Crandall (Greg Kinnear) commands the pilots who ferry the troops to and from landing zones, resupplies them with ammunition, and helps transport the wounded back to base. Joseph Galloway (Barry Pepper) is a photojournalist; his family history is military, and he's drawn into the combat zone to tell the story of the American soldiers.

The film is dominated by three intense days of unrelenting battle. Friendly fire, the maiming effects of a phosphor grenade, the devastation of napalm, and brutal close combat make this a film best avoided by the squeamish. The performances are uniformly excellent. Mel Gibson once again manages to portray the noble leader, tough in battle, and with a sentimental core that makes him a reluctant warrior. I must mention that some of the film's tension is dissipated with an unfortunate reveal in the opening credits. The credits roll over background images that are relevant to establishing characters, so they shouldn't be skipped. I don't know how you're expected to avoid reading the words, but see if you can ignore them...

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Some haloing mars this transfer, but the bright outlining at the edge of each high contrast transition is only moderately intrusive. There is a very slight softness that I cannot attribute to filtering since film grain is visible. Color rendition is first-rate; there is a scene in a chapel in which a stained glass window fills the screen; the reds and blues are intense and noise-free. Skin tones are very natural, and the copious amounts of blood always convincing. Blacks are deep and rich, but shadow detail is lacking, particularly in the first third of the film; in his darkened children's bedroom, Moore's clothing in shadow lacks any visible detail. I noticed no mosquito noise or blocking.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital Surround EX track is of superb, demo-level quality. The sound designers assembled a remarkable mix; the viewer is immersed in aircraft, gunfire, explosions, and the whiz of bullets. Pans and discrete sounds emanate from a uniform 360-degree sound field. Gunshots have a visceral impact with little compression. The Huey helicopters are nicely reproduced, from the rap of the supersonic blade tips to the low thumping of the blades as they take a bite out of the air. With a good subwoofer, explosions are felt as well as heard, with sounds reaching deep into the bottom most octave. Nick Glennie-Smith's poignant orchestral score is spread across a convincing soundstage and reproduced with authority. Despite all the sonic fireworks, the dialog is always clean and always intelligible.

A less effective Dolby Surround 2.0 track is available in both English and French. The audio is supported by French (not specified on the keepcase) and English subtitles and English Closed Captions; even the supplements have subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Getting It Right (25:31) emphasizes how the filmmakers and the players strove for accuracy and truth, not wanting to defile the memory of the eighty Americans who died during those three days in the Ia Drang Valley. One of the book's authors - an advisor on the film - feels that as Hollywood portrayed war and Vietnam in particular, film never got it right. This featurette begins by addressing certain truths. The first truth is the interrelationship among men, fighting side-by-side, trying to survive, and supporting comrades in arms. The second truth is the intensity of battle and the toll it takes on the wounded, the maimed, and the slain. The battle here is even more intense than Spielberg conveyed during the landing at Normandy. The third truth embraces personal relationships, wives and children, and how they are impacted by combat. We're given glimpses of special makeup effects, practical effects, and CGI. Little of the featurette is given over to self-congratulatory fluff. Well done.

As over 150 hours of film had to be edited to a commercially acceptable length, many scenes had to be put aside to achieve the 138-minute theatrical runtime. Included are ten extended or deleted scenes (here organized as nineteen chapter stops), which may be played with and without director's commentary. Each has an emotional resonance that the director regretted discarding, but ultimately, pace and the story of the battle had to take precedence. The sequences are presented in a rather messy non-anamorphic widescreen.

Finally, producer, screenwriter, and director Randall Wallace provides a feature-length, screen-specific audio commentary. Wallace describes his casting and discusses his players, and spends some considerable time comparing truth, as told in the autobiographical novel from which the screenplay was based, with how those lives are presented onscreen. Much of his commentary is dedicated to performances and artistic decisions, but too little is directed at how the very difficult combat effects were achieved. It becomes clear that film was an emotional commitment, and the filmmaker certainly delivered.

By the way, do not watch any of the supplements before viewing the feature. The reason for my suggestion that you avoid reading the credits will become very clear as you watch the featurette. All the supplements also feature optional subtitles.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras are included.

Parting Thoughts