Customer Ratings & Reviews

Very scary movie, not for everyone. Well produced movie, but very disturbing.

This is such an important narrative directed by the author himself. Given that the film has shifting audio-visual techniques that give it a dream-like presentation, little would be gained from a potential blu-ray. But a given the darker and shadowy parts, a future remaster on a 4K disc with HDR would be perfect. Shout Factory packed in tons of extras including cast interviews and the full version of Metallica's One video. Plus a free movie poster. Great package. Support it.

A depressing example of the ravages of war. Where the technology to keep soldiers alive is used to cause more pain & suffering to the paitent and family. Metallicas' video is better than the trailer in many ways.

Great movie; worth the purchase. Would definitely recommend.

This film has been a cult classic for a VERY long time and was nearly impossible to find for over a decade. Although most people haven't ever heard of this film, it still remains as one of the quintesential movies on the subject of the horrors of war. This film first gained most of its mainstream attention in the early '90s when scenes from it were used in the music video for the Metallica song "one". This is when I first became familiar with this movie. I then proceeded to try to obtain a copy of it, only to find it wasn't carried by any of the major Video stores. This is when the only format was VHS. I finally did find a copy at a family owned rental store and was required to put down a $100 deposit because of the films rare nature. (They required the same deposit for their only copy of Faces of Death!) I'm glad that rare films like this are now being made more accessable to the public. That being said, being a 2x war veteran myself, this film approaches the topic of war in a very unique way and in doing so, becomes even more relevant today as more and more Americans are coming back from fighting overseas permanently wounded or worse. This film revolves around a young soldier who is wounded by a mortar round(?) that lands in his trench during a battle in WWI. He is severely wounded, losing all 4 limbs as well as his face leaving him with no senses except that of touch. No sight, smell, hearing, or voice. Amazingly he lives and is taken to the Army hospital where he is put in a back room on life support. This is where the movie really explores many different things. Mostly the first movie to touch on euthinasia, but the main concept it explores is the young soldier's attempt to come to terms with his surroundings as he is haunted by flashbacks of his youth and nightmarish dreams of being a freak in a circus. An amazing standout is Jason Robards(sp?) who plays his father in the dream sequences and forces the young soldier to ask himself how is he supposed to differentiate between when he is dreaming and when he is awake. He does eventually begin to tell the difference and starts counting the days by when the nurses come in to check on him. Eventually he is able to nod his head ever so slightly to tap out a message in morse code. The doctors finally realize that he is trying to communicate and once they do he gives them his one and only message over and over again.... Although slow in parts, which also emphasises his own frustration in trying to communicate but not being heard, this movie is a powerful commentary on the real toll that war, all war, takes on the soldiers who fight it.

awesome movie from the very begining to the very end