rongan

(2012-04-28 03:20:16)

Worth watching

A made for television movie that's well worth seeing. The trial takesup most of the screen time and for the most part is fairly accurate.It's apparent, to me, a feeble attempt was made to make Lt. Calley anaverage young man who believed he was just following orders.The scenes outside of the courtroom (only a few) didn't work for me. Ididn't find any of them even remotely believable.If this was an attempt by Kramer to show Calley as a mere scapegoat, Ithink he failed. Only those wanting to see Calley as a victim andcapable of ignoring all the facts of the case will see it that way.I did find the trial engrossing. The acting: fair at best. HarrisonFord crying on the witness stand may win the acting honors. The worstwas the sadness shown by all the characters as the death of oneAmerican soldier is described. (No remorse shown for the testimonyabout a child picked up by the arm, tossed into a ditch filled withdead bodies and shot by Kramer's victim.) Netflix has this movie. Watchit now and than you can compare it to Oliver Stone's Pinkville comingout in 2008 or 2009.

noah71086

(2012-04-27 05:21:38)

The Defiling Ones

Here, Stanley Kramer has laid on us such shameful propaganda to makeeven Leni Riefenstahl blush. But at least "Triumph of the Will" waswell edited. This movie has the production values of a soap opera,adding, even, some of it's clichГѓВ©s. Whatever information wasn't made upor excluded, concerning the real massacre, was packaged under thelovable excuse, "I was following orders." This from the man who broughtus "Judgment at Nuremberg." Kramer, himself, provides a periodic,on-screen narration, that seems completely out of place, making the"film" that much more bigoted. He tells us Calley was the only onefound guilty of the massacre at My Lai, but fails to add that he servedno time! Is this a joke? To the filmmakers, maybe. You need watch nofarther than the prosecution's witnesses. Caricatures, at best! RichardBasehart, a la Spencer Tracy, cross-examines one of the "hippie pinkos"to find out that he's a penicillin-taking rapist! And this removesCalley's guilt how? How can a man like Stanley Kramer, who has madesome of the most important films in history, produce such lies? And,paradoxically, refuse to believe in any of America's evils? Maybe we'relike the real Calley: soulless.

Joseph Pintar

(2012-04-26 22:13:23)

Excellent

I bought this movie at a cheap price but it was worth more than mostmovies you spend much more money on. This is a great dramatization ofthe court martial of Lt. William Calley in his involvement in the MaiLai massacre. The cast includes a brief but important performance byHarrison Ford as an emotional witness who breaks down during histestimony. This shows what a confusing and convoluted way that theVietnam War was fought. The soldiers do not know friend from foe andinnocent civilians are killed because of it.Whether or not you believed the Vietnam War was right or wrong, thisdrama is a must see. It shows that the war had contradictions in boththe command and combat had behaved. 10/10