Marines - Die Kraft - Der Schmerz - Der Stolz

I was impressed with how well this movie captured the flavor of time and place. As a viewer I easily felt that it was Charleston, SC in the mid 1960's. The parts were well-cast and convincingly played. I would be comfortable suggesting this movie to others and would not mind seeing it again myself.

Having read Pat Conroy's original novel years ago I found that the characters in the movie looked remarkably like my imagination expected them to. That was another plus.

However......and this is minor......Pat Conroy's novels tend to be sprawling affairs with several plot lines (and the ensuing chaos) running concurrently. They do not condense down into a standard length feature film without editing a good bit of the original novel out. This is the case here......several minor items had to be changed for the movie to cover the fact that one of the major plot elements in the novel were left out entirely.

I will give this movie a grudging o.k. I feel the book was superior in all respects but hey, how can a movie live up to Pat Conroy's book. I was in the military for 8 years and a product of Conroy's 'damaged goods' sickness of the South. I had the privilige of attending that place but turned it down in favor of another school some 30 years ago. But please bear in mind that much has changed in the military and much of the brutality of the school has gone away with all the attention heaved upon it. I noticed that many of the readers comments indicate about the sadism but remember, Pat Conroy attended the Citadel in 1963 to 1967 when there were not the federal laws and scutiny that exists in 2006. I understand much of Conroy's distrust and bitterness about having attended then refused the commission for lack of a better word than conscience objector. I don't have a problem with that and can now relate having seen many of my fellow soldiers refuse to come back to service after the Gulf War started in 1990. Please read the book first and look deep into what Conroy is trying to impart to all of us. It is similar to 'Born on the 4th of July.' Don't look at today's Citadel with any type of similarity to what went on over 40 years ago. Like they say, it's gone with the wind...

I graduated from The Citadel and can tell you that the book is not a standing joke on campus and that almost everyone reads it during their knob year for their English class. It is true that upperclassmen are not allowed to touch knobs but this is a rule that was very loosely enforced in the 60s. I was not there in the 60s but it is a well known fact on campus and by alumni. I have never heard anything of that nature and I believe they made it worse than it really was in order to make people watch it and enjoy reading the book. All in all the book is much better than the movie. Read the book don't watch the movie, or at least read the book first.

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. Now i have never read the novel it is based on so i am not disillusioned by how "bland" an adaptation this is, but i must say that this was an interesting, intriguing and enjoyable film. It was deep and thought provoking and provided an insight into what was... and possibly still is considered to be the making of a man and a soldier.

Also, the fact that it is a veritable melting pot of future stars and character actors doesn't hurt. David Keith as a likeable character? Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton, a year before making Terminator together, a few years before making Aliens and ages before making Tombstone. Judge Reinhold, Rick Rossovich (the guy from Roxanne and pacific blue), Matt Frewer (HE LOOKS SO YOUNG!!!), the fat guy out of Godzilla (he is great). It was interesting seeing all these people in these roles, big and small.

Moral of the story, great flick :)

The movie itself was mediocre-- but having read Pat Conroy's incredible novel, filled with cynicism, cruelty, depth, and of cource, deceit-- all that good stuff. Alas, without a love interest, the myriad losses, and the absolutely imperative dips into the depths of Senior Private Will McLean's psyche, this movie is simply a hollow time-waster about a Southern Military school. Read the book, skip the film-- or better yet (since the film was actually rather enjoyable) see the film first, and then bask in the sheer, dark goodness of Pat Conroy's writing. If only there were no Pat Conroy novel, this movie would be an enjoyable flick... Oh well.