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Buffalo Soldiers
2001
Joaquin Phoenix stars in this dark service comedy as Ray Elwood, an Army clerk stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Part of a company made up almost entirely of ex-convicts and school dropouts, Elwood takes advantage of his daft commanding officer, Col. Berman (Harris), by selling heroin .. Read more
| Starring | Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Elizabeth McGovern, Dean Stockwell |
|---|---|
| Director | Gregor Jordan |
| Genres | Drama |
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Buffalo Soldiers
Joaquin Phoenix stars in this dark service comedy as Ray Elwood, an Army clerk stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Part of a company made up almost entirely of ex-convicts and school dropouts, Elwood takes advantage of his daft commanding officer, Col. Berman (Harris), by selling heroin and stolen Army supplies wholesale. However, when a member of the company dies and an autopsy reveals a remarkable amount of drugs in his bloodstream, far more intense scrutiny is brought down on the base in the form of Sgt. Lee (Glenn), a tough and savvy Vietnam veteran who immediately surmises that Elwood is the brains behind the base's black market operations. Unfortunately, Elwood has just happened upon the biggest score of his tour and now must unload two trucks full of arms and 30 kilos of heroin just as Sgt. Lee has begun to orchestrate his downfall.
Based on Robert O'Connor's novel, BUFFALO SOLDIERS is cynical but not irreverent; it doesn't treat its characters irresponsible and often idiotic behaviour lightly nor does it judge them. Director Gregor Jordan has done an excellent job of adapting the tone of the original novel to the screen, and, aided by excellent performances from Messrs. Phoenix and Glenn, makes BUFFALO SOLDIERS a thoroughly enjoyable satire.
| Starring | Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Elizabeth McGovern, Dean Stockwell, Joaquin Phoenix, Anna Paquin, Leon, Gabriel Mann |
|---|---|
| Director | Gregor Jordan |
| Studio | PATHE DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 34 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Released | DVD: 29 Dec 2003 Production year: 2001 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Its US release delayed owing to the post “9/11”, post-Iraq War climate, this entertaining and nihilistic black comedy now carries a greater political significance than ever could have been intended. You know you're in satirical territory when a stoned US soldier stationed in Germany watches live news footage of the Berlin Wall coming down and asks: “Where's Berlin?”. It's perhaps too easy to recall Catch-22 and MASH when watching Gregor Jordan's self-consciously hip adaptation of Robert O'Connor's novel, but the best bits could come from either — with a hint of Bilko thrown in. It presents the US military — as embodied by Joaquin Phoenix's charismatic wheeler-dealer Ray Elwood — as bored and morally bankrupt. But the film makes the serious point that warriors in peacetime will go looking for conflict — Elwood seduces the daughter (Anna Paquin) of his brutal Vietnam-vet sergeant (Scott Glenn) while his black marketeering and drug-dealing escalate to gun-running.
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'War is hell, but peace - peace is fucking boring.' So say the US army grunts stationed in West Germany, four decades... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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40 out of 47 people found this review helpful
Brilliantly biting satire
Excellent and really funny black comedy set in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall. It concerns the goings on of American soldiers in peacetime: their black marketing, drug factories, selling of weapons which they keep hidden in a nuclear establishment. One magazine commented it was 'Sgt Bilko for the millenium, but with a body count'. Very accurate description. Performances are all first rate, especially Ed Harris as the weak commander and Scott Glen as the vindictive sergeant out to get Phoenix, another excellent performance here. All in all, a truly great movie.
One of the funniest moments is when a tank full of smashed soldiers go out of control and wreck cars, markets, a shopping precinct and finally a service station. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Set against the backdrop of german reunification, Buffalo Soldiers reveals the profligate lives of the US soldiers still based in Germany. In the absence of anything else to do, they process large amounts of drugs, steal from the dopey officer in charge (a hilarious ed harris) and kill each other with warlike efficiency and disregard. Buffalo Soldiers wants to be a modern day Catch 22, and its an entertaining and interesting film. Joaquin Phoenix's wannabe Yossarian is humourous if a little unengaging, and the plot is well worked with a good range of characters. All in all its perfect weekend viewing: makes for a great saturday night but you're unlikely to remember it come monday morning.
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Buffalo Soldiers
Joaquin Phoenix stars in this dark service comedy as Ray Elwood, an Army clerk stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Part of a company made up almost entirely of ex-convicts and school dropouts, Elwood takes advantage of his daft commanding officer, Col. Berman (...
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