The Great Raid was based on William B. Breuer 's book The Great Raid on Cabanatuan: Rescuing the Doomed Ghosts of Bataan and Corregidor, and also stars Joseph Fiennes, Connie Nielsen, and Marton Csokas. [citation needed], The movie was filmed in south-east Queensland, Australia utilising a huge, authentic recreation of a prisoner of war camp. The Great Raid (2005) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. A medical examiner, who was suspected of murdering his wife, is trying an experimental drug to retrieve his wife's and others' memory and maybe find the killer and the mass murderer in a related present case. Item information. Set in the Philippines in 1945 towards the end of WWII, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci and Captain Robert Prince, the 6th Ranger Battalion undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. "[10] He opined that the film was delayed not because it was bad, but because its old-fashioned style is a "tough sell...in today's marketplace. View production, box office, & company info. It was finally released in August 2005, by Miramax Films, which coincided with the formal departure of co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein from the company. GREAT FILM. "[5] He concluded that the film "amounts to a noble failure. THE GREAT RAID is a realistic, harrowing portrayal of the most successful rescue mission in U.S. military history. [citation needed], Throughout the film, the viewpoint switches between the POWs at Cabanatuan, the Rangers, the Filipino resistance and the Japanese. The Great Raid is a wonderful film of captured U.S. soldiers in Japan. [citation needed], Meanwhile, at Lingayen Gulf, the 6th Ranger Battalion under Lt. Col Mucci is ordered by Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger to liberate all of the POWs at Cabanatuan prison camp before they are killed by the Japanese. "[6] He said the film was made more in the style of movies from the 1940s, with the hero being the unit involved in the action instead of individuals, a technique which is rarely used today and explains the "essentially starless" cast drawing mainly from television or film supporting roles. "[10], Mike Clark of USA Today said, "Just about any golden age Hollywood hack could have made a zestier drama about one of the greatest rescue missions in U.S. military history," and criticized "Franco's droning voice-over" for spelling out "every sliver of historical context", and also said "a huge chunk of time is given to an uncompelling romance between a major...and a widowed nurse. As World War II rages, the elite Sixth Ranger Battalion is given a mission of heroic proportions: push 30 miles behind enemy lines and liberate over 500 American prisoners of war. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, they intend to liberate over 500 American Soldiers from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever. [citation needed]. This word today about the JAPS sounds very cruel and offensive to the Japanese people, but during the War Years during WW II in the Pacific this word was used in most American Newspapers and spoken about during this horrible war with a nation that killed and raped many people in Nanking, China. Details about The Great Raid DVD 2005 War Movie - True Story of Historical WWII Rescue . "[5], Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post praised the film as "a riveting, even inspirational account of an American feat of arms about which few know but about which many more should. It's a long wait. In particular, the film covers the resistance work undertaken by nurse Margaret Utinsky, who smuggled medicine into the POW camps. It's a portrayal necessitated and perpetuated by war: the enemy must look less than human. The Great Raid invades the home market in two versions: The Wide Screen Director’s Cut or Full Screen Edition. Beginning to give up hope they will ever be rescued, a group of Rangers goes on a dangerous mission to try and save them. Finally, the Great Raid script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the World War 2 movie by John Dahl starring James Franco, Benjamin Bratt, etc. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Menu. Read our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're watching in March, including "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," Boss Level, and Zack Snyder's Justice League. However, it received more praise from Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert, who gave it three stars. "[4] He continued, "[The film] has been made with the confidence that the story itself is the point, not the flashy graphics. The film showcases the efforts of American soldiers and the Filipino resistance guerrilla, rescuing Allied prisoners of war from a Japanese POW camp. The principal photography took place from July 4 to November 6, 2002, but its release was delayed several times from the original target of Fall 2003. The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots. Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I. Be the first to write a review. This is a great picture which still remembers all the men and women who gave their lives to fight back at the mistreatment of American soldiers. A law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder. The Great Raid 70% 37% 2005 132 min R Drama, History, Military/War, Action/Adventure Feature Film In early 1945, as World War II is nearing its end, Gen. Douglas MacArthur selects Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) to command a bold rescue mission in the Philippines. War seen through the eyes of Serra, a university student from Palermo who volunteers in 1942 to fight in Africa. It's an exhausted sprawl with multiple story foci, none of them terribly compelling," concluding, "Dahl does vividly re-create that least heralded burden of war: the boredom. Movie Info In early 1945, as World War II is nearing its end, Gen. Douglas MacArthur selects Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) to command a bold rescue mission in the Philippines. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, they intend to liberate over 500 American Soldiers from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever. Less forgivable is how Dahl squanders tension for an hour and a half cutting between the suffering prisoners and resistance intrigues in Manila and the long march of the Rangers, and a fictionalized romance story that might have made a nice little movie by itself. On August 15, 1944 the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT) jumped over the south of France. Search for "The Great Raid" on Amazon.com, Title: After " Stealth " and its high-tech look-alikes, which make warfare look like a video game, "The Great Raid" shows the hard work and courage of troops whose reality is danger and death. The Americans used a Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter to divert Japanese attention while the Rangers were crawling toward the camp; the aircraft used in the movie was a Lockheed Hudson, because none of the four surviving P-61s were airworthy when the film was made. The Great Raid (2005) is available on Netflix United States. Set in the Philippines in 1945 towards the end of WWII, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci and Captain Robert Prince, the 6th Ranger Battalion undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. "The Great Raid" (2005) is a sadly forgotten movie about the daring POW rescue raid on Cabanatuan in the Philippines in 1945. [citation needed]. A memorial has been erected on the site and McDole, in his eighties, was able to attend the dedication. In 1945, American forces were closing in on the Japanese-occupied Philippines. The Japanese held around 500 American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March in a notorious POW camp at Cabanatuan and subjected them to brutal treatment and summary execution, as the Japanese code of bushido viewed surrender as a disgrace.