Buffalo Soldiers Reviews

• Great movie, really funny....

  
  By on 2003-04-07
  ...i laughed a lot even though sometimes you kinda choke on it. this movie was released in europe early this year or last year already (i can't remember) even though its in american movie - kinda weird normally movies tend to go to europe later. it may not be what the military wants to see about its troops - the movie is set in germany in the 80s at an u.s.army installation. in the movie the "hero", a soldier, deals with everythin he can get his hands on, and most other soldiers in his barracks do the same. apart from that a drive in a tank while pretty high ends up in a gas station explosion, coz the soldiers drivin the tank get lost in the country...in short all those soldiers are fighting is being bored and being sober... ----- of course the movie is over the top and you shouldnt take everything that seriously, but - and trust me i know - many soldiers stationed abroad in friendly countries do a lot of crazy things....and this is puttin it nicely. generally i would say the movie is tryin to show that the military is not just a bunch of shiny, patriotic heroes. its true and the movie is funny, its pretty hilarious even. on second thought thats rather sad of course.
  
  

• London Calling

  
  By A6SKKHEVJDGUE on 2003-08-01
  I just saw this movie at a theater in London and I heard that they are not widely releasing it in the states yet because of the situation in Iraq. All I have to say is thank God I am in London because this is one of the year's best films!! Joaquin Phoenix gives a great performance as a military screw-up and Ed Harris does an excellent job portraying the dumbest military leader ever. Anna Paquin and Scott Glenn give strong performances as well, and the script for this movie is great. If you love black comedies, and laughed at films like Very Bad Things, this is definately a movie for you. After a summer filled with terrible blockbusters like Hulk, it is nice to see a good old flick about soldiers on heroin that blow stuff up and sell Mop-N-Glow on the black market. However, I have a feeling that this film may be the next Boondock Saints, in terms of not getting the recognition that it deserves. It still gets an A+ in my book though.
  
  

• Restless soldiers...a good thing?

  
  By A6ADO7B6FUVN on 2004-01-16
  Buffalo Soldiers had its first official release in Canada during the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2001. This was days before 9/11 when terrorists flew aircrafts into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Miramax held the film back in concern of how some might react to the anti-war message depicted in the film. Almost a year and half later during the Sundance Film Festival, a woman verbally assaulted the filmmakers by stating that they were anti-American for making the film as she threw a water bottle towards the screen that accidentally hit Anna Paquin. Having this background information prior seeing the film brings the audience to the story in a completely different light, which builds up a pre-viewing atmosphere full of notions.

  Buffalo Soldiers is an interesting story about Specialist Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) who runs all kinds of scams on his military base in Germany during the final days of the Cold War when the Berlin Wall is about to plunge. When the new Top Sergeant Lee arrives to his base, there seems to be a new sheriff in town. Lee also happens to bring his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin) who falls for Elwood. This is a recipe for disaster as Elwood discovers that he also has feelings for Robyn, and Robyn's father is out to get him by all means necessary. Buffalo Soldiers is a comic anti-war drama that is depicted through an atmosphere of boredom among young adults without much life experience and a lot of responsibility. This restlessness among the soldiers is captured with precise directing by Jordan and a good performance by the cast, which leaves the audience with a fine cinematic experience.
  
  

• It's not a satire

  
  By A1VID7V2TWV3AE on 2006-06-10
  I was in the Army in the same time period and almost the exact same area where this film was portrayed, in a little town called Neu Ulm, Germany. I can promise you, this film is not over the top and it's not necessarily taking any artistic license.
  
  Not that every soldier was like Elwood and the rest of them. There were plenty of people who were very strait laced and did their job profesionally. But there were also plenty of people just like the ones in this film, and all of this stuff and worse did take place in the real US Army in this period. In fact I knew a guy who was eerily like Joachim Phoenixes character in this movie. He even looked kind of like him.
  
  
  I'm sure it's all quite well documented, I know there were plenty of articles in Stars and Stripes and especially in the German media. Look it up online if you don't believe it. There were shootings on base, smuggling and theft rings, drug rings. Horrible racial incidents. Corruption. Riots between different Army units. Just like in the movie there were horrible "training" accidents in which numerous G.I.'s were injured and killed. Routinely. Thats just a fact of military life.
  
  In reading some of the other reviews, I have to wonder. Who do you think your military is? A bunch of saints? A bunch of geniuses? Middle of the road high school graduates, tasked to do very difficult jobs under very trying circumstances (like staying up for days on end which the DOD seemed to have a fetish for making people do) using Extremely dangerous equipment (like tanks!)
  
  Sometimes these kids rose to the occasion, sometimes they cracked under the strain and / or succumbed to temptation. It's just human nature.
  
  Watch this entertaining film but only if you can handle the truth.
  
  

• WRONG TITLE

  
  By A1L64KU3WO62ND on 2005-11-27
  THE ONLY THING I SEE WRONG WITH THIS MOVIE IS THE TITLE BUFFALO SOLDIERS. WHY WOULD THE PRODUCER OF THIS FILM DISHONOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARMY MEN WHO ORIGINATED THE NAME BUFFALO SOLDIER. HE COULD HAVE CALLED IT DUMB SOLDIERS. THIS MOVIE POISONS THE MINDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT BUFFALO SOLDIERS WERE GOOD ARMY MEN WHO DID THEIR MILITARY JOBS WELL. WOULD IF I MADE A MOVIE CALLED TOP GUN, AND SHOWED YOU HOW SUBURBAN WHITE KIDS SHOOTING UP A HIGH SCHOOL IN COLORADO. AND WHATS REALLY SAD IT'S THAT NATIONAL CABLE TV WILL NOT SHOW DANNY GLOVERS BUFFALO SOLDIERS MOVIE. I SERVED IN THE ARMY AND THE MARINE CORPS, SO CAN YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE I AM COMMING FROM?
  
  
• Not great but then it has its moments
  By A1BVKYCRW6W21A on 2003-09-14
  Buffalo Soldiers is going to be a movie which will unsettle all living patriotic Americans. Any film like this would be hailed as a stroke of genius but then September 11th 2001 halted this movie from it's original release date. As it stands it's a fine movie about the incompetency of the American army and the boredom the soldiers have as they have nothing to do. The only problem is.......do we have any sympathy for the characters at all? I found myself thinking that it was pointless because the characters show nothing to garner any sympathy.....and perhaps that's the point of the film. In that case it's good. But the whole joke about the army generals being inept is one that's very tiring and repetitive. I think the only person in this who gets any sympathy at all is the new soldier who came in thinking that what his father said " about army guys stick together " is given a bit of a shock when he gets beaten up really badly. An important lesson for those to say that you shouldn't always believe your own romantic illusions. They tend to be nothing but a figment of your imagination.

  As a film, Buffalo Soldiers is an interesting film, but is it really great? The answer is no. The problem with films like these is that will always suffer under films like it and that have been done before. Dr. Strangelove and Apocalypse Now will forever be the masters of the genre. Anything else seems to be tipping their hat towards them. They do have their moments of brilliance but they cover themselves inside a shell that in the end you've got a film that you've thought you've seen before in some other form and what this leaves you with no other option

  If you are very patriotic to the cause of the whole war on terrorism...you would be better off staying away from this film. It's not going to leave you with a pleasant memory of what your boys ( and girls ) are doing over there ( even though it is totally different in their contexts )
  
  

• A dark look at US Army life in Germany in the late 1980's
  By A2EBLL2OYEQJN9 on 2007-04-19
  Buffalo Soldiers is the story of US Army supply clerk Ray Elwood, played by the handsome and mysterious Joaquin Phoenix. Elwood is one of those go-to-guys who can score anything you need in exchange for the right favor. He has his hands all over the supply chain, drives a sweet German sports car, and knows who to cook up a batch of heroin in spare warehouses. He's a stoic who is well-respected by his peers. He helps his goofball desk jockey boss (played by Ed Harris) keep the base in West Germany in line.
  
  Elwood's life is thrown into personal and romantic turmoil with the arrival of Sgt. Lee (played by Scott Glenn) and his beautiful daughter (Anna Paquin). Sgt. Lee has a personal goal of cleaning house and exposing Elwood's dabblings in the black market. Elwood, of course, decides to antagonize Lee by dating his daughter, and then he falls hard for the young lady. The movie is a dark game of cat and mouse between Lee and Elwood, with the base commander bumbling around in the background in truly comedic fashion. With a few healthy plot twists and elements of both satire and horror, Buffalo Soldiers is a movie to catch on DVD for anyone who likes dark drama/comedy in which the viewer ends up rooting for a handsome "bad guy." Fans of this movie should check out Wonderland and Lord of War.
  
  
• CYNICAL YET AMUSING ANTI-WAR SATIRE
  By A1L8HRCM60W0W7 on 2003-12-15
  This is no Catch 22 in terms of a caustic anti-war satire, or a No Man's Land in the moving political undertones, but it's an entertaining indie nevertheless.

  It's interesting to consider what it must be like for the US military for the number of years between major wars (e.g., between Vietnam and the first Gulf war.) Aside from the minor skirmish here and there, fully trained and fully armed soldiers have a lot of time on their hands, idle hands with unbridled access to weapons and drugs. Surely makes for a funny predicament for a film!

  Among the actors, Phoenix has a remarkable way of playing negative characters, and yet making the audience care about his characters (e.g., in Gladiator.) He is at his charming best as the anti-hero. It seems almost that the director did NOT want this to be a comedy, and therein lie the most hilarious moments -- e.g., when Ed Harris plays against as the bumbling Colonel Berman.

  Overall, a pretty watchable movie and hence a worthy rental with a pithy topical theme. Just don't expect it to establish any sort of a rooting interest.
  
  

• A movie about source and product (I prefer the source)
  By AS558SNWF1DXG on 2004-02-28
  When it comes to books-turned-into-movies, there's an eternal question: Is it better to see the movie before you read the book? Or should you read the book before you see the movie?

  I've always felt that reading a book can spoil a movie for a viewer, yet movies almost never ruin a good book for a reader because, well, there's just more there. And the fact is, the book is almost always better than the movie. With the exception of, maybe, "The Godfather." And, so I'm told, "The Bridges of Madison County." And "Carrie." And most of the James Bond movies. And . . .

  Anyway, all this came to mind because I watched "Buffalo Soldiers," a movie based on Robert O'Connor's novel. Joaquin Phoenix plays Ray Elwood, an Army specialist who's running drugs and black-market goods through his base in West Germany in the late '80s, about the time the Berlin Wall comes down. With the Cold War over, the soldiers grow bored, get slack and start giving in to bad
  ideas, such as tackle-football indoors and heroin.

  Meanwhile, like a crooked Ferris Bueller, Elwood scams his commanding officer (Ed Harris), fences anything not nailed down, collides with a no-nonsense sergeant (Scott Glenn) and ill-advisedly falls in love with the sergeant's daughter (Anna Paquin).

  The movie flirts with interesting ideas about peace and war and soldiers and criminals; it's well-made and nicely juggles drama and dark humor; and literally all the casting is perfect. But as a fan of the book, too many times during the movie I found myself buying hard-to-buy scenes (for example, the massive opium refinery Elwood assembles right on the base) because of what I knew from the novel, not from what the movie was telling me. Which made me wonder: Would I have liked the movie more if I didn't know the book? By the time I got to the film's forced "happy" ending (which plays out much differently than O'Connor imagined it), I realized that if the movie were better, the book wouldn't matter.
  
  

• classic stuff
  By on 2004-07-07
  Buffalo soldiers shoulda been in theaters but bob and harvey weinstein screwed the pooch again and sent it direct to dvd. They wussied out because of the war just starting,and didnt want to hurt the cash flow.But now the same two guys proudly bring you fahrenheit 9/11.The only people who might be offended by this great movie are the ones who think stuff like that would Never happen.DONT MISS THIS EXCELLENT GEM.
  
  
• Kidding, Right?
  By A2VD2D1QHCMF9Q on 2004-11-28
  What a terrible movie. The army is portrayed as just another outlet for drug-induced cretins looking for a way to get from one day to another. It is a nasty, very nasty attempt at updating Catch 22 and it just doesn't work. If the armed services bore any relation to the way they are portrayed in this movie we would not just have lost any action in which we were involved, the entire service would be jailed. Drug dealing, gun running, arbitrary killings, what is the point of this movie. It must be kidding, right?
  
  
• Buffalo Soldier
  By APJ6NYM5DJRDW on 2005-02-15
  I'm a media studies graduate student and an ex soldier myself. What's interesting is that others have called this film comedy and satirical, which it is. Certain truths are just that, satirical and comical. Only because it is a contradiction to the signification process of defining a soldier. That is, the ideological construction of "military" and "soldier". Bravo to Robert O'Connor and Eric Weiss for figuring out a method of capturing this contradictory world. It's the scene by scene, sequential action that tells all on the U.S Military. Soldiers peddling drugs ( I knew at least 3 of them per unit), black market (selling liquor rations to the locals in Korea was equal to having a second job for many), "sham" time (the guys playing football because that's all there is to do), cover ups (throw the guy out the window and get the spin doctors on the incident ASAP), insecure and dopey higher ups, supply personnel/MP's and anyone who can, abusing their jobs, drugs-drugs-and more drugs, everyone's looking to cash in or get ahead, this story captured that so well. What this film did was pull no punches. Every single soldier, now or then, can honestly say, "oh, I know some guys like that." Or, they can say, "yeah, the Army covers stuff up just like that." David O' Russell, attempted to capture some of the "reality" based military existence in Three Kings, but this film far exceeds his depiction. And, unfortunately, Buffalo Soldiers didn't get the discussion and attention it should have gotten. I know, it's a hard truth for the American public to accept. But unless you've been there.... But the bright light ahead is that, when it's time to pull it together, and get serious, soldiers can do that better than any individual on the face of this planet. Afterwall, it's what we're trained to do. But when there's nothing going on, unfortunately Buffalo Soldiers does a good job of depicting what's really going on. Even down to the guys getting wasted in the M1 tank (or some other FA tank), crushing cars, rolling over gas tanks and finding a way to haphazardly complete the mission, and getting the credit for completion when it's all over. My only problem with the film was the ending. But in a satrical depiction I guess it works. Basically, it's saying, if you can escape with your life, then you can escape conviction and go on with business as usual. That's true too. So I guess the film does get 5 stars!
  
  
• A caracature of military life at the end of the Cold War
  By A1MN0ZAFA0IMZ on 2006-01-11
  I had never heard of this movie until it was recommended to me by somebody who was stationed in my unit in Germany. My basic reason for purchasing the movie was to see recent pictures of where I was stationed -- Siegelsbach Army Depot. I was a "Tower Rat" there with the 556th Military Police Co.
  
  I found the movie to be a caracature of military life, and I found many of the situations a bit hard to believe, but there is such a thing as artistic license. Other reviewers have said that there is a "dark theme" to the movie, and I agree. HOWEVER, both my wife and I found the movie to be entertaining. This is not a movie for everybody, but I would recommend it especially for people who were stationed with the U S Army in Europe at any time during the past 30 years. You know, immediately after seeing this movie, I sent an e-mail to a friend in Cleveland and told him that he absolutely MUST see this movie.
  
  
• Nice.
  By A20KX22YVVFWTT on 2006-11-13
  I'm going to write this in the sense that I just know that it was based on real events, and that I watched it simply for entertainment value. [...] I wouldn't be really surprised if worse things really happened in the military in the late '80s, however.
  
  This movie has very grim, yet subtle humor in places, like the drugged-up trio in the tank running over a "beatle" and a local German market. I almost felt a tinge of guilt for laughing. What kept me glued to the screen when I saw it on Cable a few years back, was the character of Elwood and the way his moralless self carries himself and the way he handles situations. He seems to have the confidence, knowhow, and "intelligence" that the other soldiers lack. Also, I bought this DVD as the story and everything seemed so non-mainstream in spite of it having a good budget with Hollywood stars. Nice mix. You'd never guess it was an Aussie/German flick.
  
  I can't really say that it's perfect. The ending seems rather abrupt after the big climax with the crazy sarge; It'd be more mind-blowing if he really did die afterward, as it would've made the "falling dream" seem like a premonition. Ah well, it could've been a lot worse. A few scenes would've also been expanded upon a little more.
  
  I don't recommend it for a date movie, and not if you want to laugh your [...] off. If you want a good drama, don't have a problem with a main protagonist with next to no decency (a plus in my opinion), and like some black humor to boot, you might just enjoy this one.
  
  
• Muddled black comedy elevated by excellent cast
  By A2PNTEDGMOLMOY on 2006-12-16
  "Buffalo Soldiers" is essentially a version of Bill Murray's "Stripes," but only told by a guy who is really, really angry. It's still funny - even inspired, at times - but it's a humor fueled by rage. And that rage causes the story to make a couple of missteps.
  
  Set in 1989 (note the perfect use of then-President Bush's plastic grin in several portraits) on an Army base in West Germany, "Buffalo Soldiers" informs the viewer that the majority of our fighting soldiers are simply there in order to escape a jail sentence. As a result, thieves and drug dealers rule the roost - the top MP is a villainous heroin dealer. The only virtuous soldier is the commanding officer, Colonel Berman (Ed Harris), who is a nice, incompetent buffoon more suited to running a vineyard than a regiment. (This is a wonderful supporting performance by Harris, by the way.)
  
  Almost every Army movie has a "scrounger," the guy who can get things done in the cracks of the system and usually with a lot of charm. In "Buffalo Soldiers," that is Private Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix), the company clerk. We see early on how smooth Elwood is as he simultaneously covers up a drug dealing enterprise while protecting the honor of a soldier who was killed playing tackle football indoors while stoned on about ten different substances - including the Pill. Elwood is a small-time heroin dealer who sells black market Mop & Glo and drives a Mercedes. He is one of the princes of the criminal Army.
  
  His little realm gets invaded by "Topper," Sergeant Robert Lee (Scott Glenn, easily the most sinister Sergeant ever). Lee sizes up Elwood in an instant and brings him down about fifteen pegs - look for an inspired scene involving Lee's bullying of Elwood via "target practice." Lee is unbribable, connected to the general, but also dangerous in that Scott Glenn way.
  
  Elwood also has his little world come apart due to a stoned tank crew on maneuvers. Intoxication leads to two dead American trucks drivers and two trucks full of unclaimed assault rifles. Elwood stumbles across the guns and instantly sees an angle. But he is forced by his connection to take raw narcotics rather than cash as compensation. Elwood, who makes his money by cooking the drugs into a distributable product, is soon playing a game that he does not control, and the bodies begin to mount up.
  
  This is not one of those movies that gently mocks the Army while honoring it. There is nothing gentle or honorable in "Buffalo Soldiers." It is funny. It is dark. And it pulls no punches. While not a great satire in the class of "Thank You for Smoking," it is a worthy satire sure to appeal to the wicked sense of humor in all of us.
  
  
• Suprisingly funny!
  By A8ABLEA9RPG3F on 2003-08-07
  I usually don't like soldier or war films but this time I must admit that this movie is great..It is not only a soldier film..It made me both laugh and think at the same time.It's a comedy with full of reality.I strongly advice this film..
  
  
• Excellent
  By A33AFRVRA02BAK on 2004-01-16
  A film with Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris from 2001...yet the majority of the population hasn't heard of it? And there are only 8 reviews on this page? That illustrates more than anything how the powers that be can suppress free speech after events like 9/11. Its a shame too, because its not just a matter of principle - this is a great film. Humorous yet disturbing, just as a black comedy should be, it is inventive and bleeds cult cool. Phoenix and Harris both do a very fine job indeed and an engaging and ironically funny picture is built up. I'm sure if this was well known there would be hundreds of disgruntled reviews from army types and people accusing the film of being unpatriotic, but it is (apologies for the cliche) an eye-opener, even if it is mostly fiction. Highly reccomended.
  
  
• refreshing
  By on 2004-04-18
  The coolest movie would be a documentary on how a script like this made it to production. It is so cynical and downbeat that I really can't believe the story got anywhere near money. Just when you're about to believe that nothing but the safest kind of crap (I thought "Narc" was totally safe) gets made anymore, a movie like "Buffalo Soldiers" gets released--albeit three years after completion--to give you some hope that all is not lost in movie land...maybe.

  Having been a popular novel always helps and-- the promise of a good cast--I'm just guessing here... but STILL!

  Alas, nobody'll rent it but the hip and the flip and some teenybopper fans of whats-his-face with the lip scar who won't make it through the whole film and will whip out "Gladiator" instead and get their rocks off to the ubiquitoous family values theme barely concealed therin (I shall see my family again!) (yawn).

  Four stars for falling back on slapstick drug humour and for having the relationship "work out" (yawn again).
  
  

• BUFFALO SOLDIERS
  By A3S8ND4B5VB0BZ on 2004-05-28
  Thank god for a film that satarises the army, not in a Sgt Bilko way either. I hope it rattles middle America and the current occupants of the oval office.
  Joaqin Phoneix is a great anti hero and the always brillant Ed Harris is great as an inept general.
  
  
• A wonderful little seen gem
  By AL40376DE2XOJ on 2004-09-24
  Buffalo Soldiers truly is one of the best war comedies ever made. It ranks right up there with M.A.S.H. and Catch-22. Like Catch-22, the film is very profound and funny at the same time. This is probably Phoenix's best performances to date. Just a solid fun film.
  
  
• Very Good Acting and Characters, But Satires No Longer Bite
  By ABO2ZI2Y5DQ9T on 2005-04-19
  The name of 'Buffalo Soldiers', historically speaking, originally refers to the all black soldiers during the post-Civil War period (there is a made-for-TV film starring Danny Glover of the same title). I say this not because I wanted to show my historical knowledge (sorry, I confess, I did). I say this because I still don't know why the film (or the original book) uses the name? What's the point?
  
  This is exactly what I was thinking while watching this film. It is a satire, to be sure. I can see it when Joaquin Phoenix appears as Elwood, US soldier in Germany just before the Cold War ended, and acts like an anti-hero -- stealing, cooking cocaine, etc. I don't know whether or not his outrageous deeds are based on truths, but I know such dark comedy films as "MASH" and "Catch 22," and you don't need to be offended seeing these things on screen. Even if the tank runs like mad on the town's market, 'squishing' the cars and stalls; even if Ed Harris's Col. Berman is, good-natured as he is, hopelessly inept as an officer. Scott Glen's sardonic sergeant Lee (another reference to the Civil War?), according to his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin), is delighted to 'kill' Elwood, just like he did in the previous war in Vietnam. And her burnt skin testifies to her words. All these elements point to one thing only.
  
  Right, if the things went this too far, this film must be a satire. But against what? The film is about that particular time between the long Cold War and the Gulf War, the curiously 'peaceful' period when nations in the world were keeping the military balance in a precarious way. But that old time is gone forever, and we should know that now. It is Miramax who knows it best when it had to delay the release date many times.
  
  However, for all its uniformly good acting, the film looks irrelevant now. It's about those soliders living at that time and that place. It's not 'Three Kings' whose setting is more immediate to us. It's not 'Catch 22' whose absurd situations reminded us of our equally absurd existence. And of course, the film is not about the soldiers in Iraq (if so, this could never be released).
  
  With all respect to the film and its makers, it is truism, or cliche, to say that 'Buffalo Soldiers' is darkly funny, hilarious attack on the US military system, and so on and on. The film is not boring, but it ends there, nothing more. Aussie director Gregor Jordan made 'Ned Kelly' after this, and it also lacked a strong center or theme around which the events should be depicted. Like 'Ned' 'Buffalo Soliders' is pretty entertaining, and retains a good amount of satrical tone in it, but the target remains very vague throughout the story.
  
  
• Who says soldiers can't be creative, a dark comedy of a soldier pushing the limits.
  By A38QEATH3NODFM on 2007-02-15
  This was an interesting film I discovered by chance, overlooking it on the rental shelf, and hearing about it last year through a friend. Finally I rented it, and now own a copy of it. Joaquin Phoenix plays private elwood, a young man that chose the army instead of jail. Most of the movie takes place in 1989 germany, just before the berlin wall fell. Elwood has managed to make it through training and is now stationed in one of the supply divisions. He manages to become in charge of ordering for his company, and ordering he does. Though paperwork and orderforms, he manages to become a big suppler of goods (cleaners, equipment etc) to many germans as well as the rest of europe, making a few pennies as well. Eventually, he decides to put some other skills he has to use becoming a supplyer of refined heroin, attempting to make one last big profit. Along the way, love is thrown into the mix, and amazingly he falls in love with the worst available option, his commanding officer's daughter, played by ed harris. this doesn't make the boss happy. Well, the movie goes from their, and lets just say elwood's life gets complicated, just a bit. The ending is great. Must watch. you'll be suprised.
  
  
• great
  By on 2003-11-02
  multi-layered characterizations combined with an evolving story involves the viewer in the movies action. Unpredictable and surprising. Kind of like being stationed overseas.
  
  
• "When there's peace, the war-like man attacks himself"
  By A3CH1KT8XQE8SA on 2004-01-18
  BUFFALO SOLDIERS is a movie adaptation of Robert O'Connor's popular novel about a group of young U.S. soldiers at the Theodore Roosevelt U.S. Army Base in Stuttgart, West Germany in October 1989. Military clerk Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is the mastermind of the operation. Along with his GI pals he deals drugs, steals supplies, and has a thriving black-market business. But his schemes begin to unravel when Sergeant Lee (Scott Glenn) decides to investigate Elwood's activities. And to make matters worse, Elwood pursues Lee's daughter without his permission.

  While viewing this DVD I was constantly confused about the intention of this film. Is it a comedy or a drama? Did the directors want their audience to walk away with a serious impression or laugh all the way through to the credits? Unfortunately this film couldn't make up its mind. Some of the scenes contained screwball comedy elements reminiscent of classic military movies such as STRIPS (i.e., stoned soldiers causing havoc by running the tank though the town). Other scenes attempted to portray the heartfelt emotions of the characters (i.e., Ed Harris coming to grips with the end of his military career). But the two polar opposites never successfully united to create a good movie.

  I read all the press about this film when it was suppressed shortly after 9/11/01. But now after finally being able to watch it I can't believe that anybody had a problem with it. Clearly this is an instance of being hypersensitive. Why is this film controversial? It's surely not the first film to portray soldiers who don't follow protocol. What's more, it's set during 1989 - 15 years ago.

  In short, BUFFALO SOLDIERS simply didn't work for me. There were too many frayed loose ends at the end that detracted from the whole. It is surely unfortunate that wonderful actor abilities such as Ed Harris and Scott Glenn were wasted in this dismal film.
  
  

• Smart, Hilarious Black Comedy.
  By A3UPYGJKZ0XTU4 on 2004-01-22
  In 1989, Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is a supply clerk stationed to a U.S. Army base in West Germany who makes money on the side by selling Army requisitions on the black market. His unit gets a new Top Sergeant (Scott Glenn) at the same time Elwood and his partners have an opportunity to sell some arms for enough money to retire on. Sergeant Lee is bent on crushing their operation and Elwood's swagger. The arms sale is complicating their lives. And Elwood has fallen for his enemy's daughter (Anna Paquin).

  "Buffalo Soldiers" is a hilarious black comedy based on the book of the same name by Robert O'Conner and directed by Gregor Jordan. The film has been widely admonished for presenting an unflattering picture of U.S. military personnel. "Buffalo Soldiers" doesn't comment much on officers, except to say that some are blind to what goes on under their noses. The film is about enlisted men stationed to West Germany during the last years of the Cold War "with nothing to kill except time." These soldiers are overwhelmingly idiots, sociopaths and junkies. But they sure are funny. I spent the summer of 1983 near a U.S. Army base in West Germany, and I can attest to the strangeness of base life and the feeling that the enlisted men are purposeless. I also had an acquaintance who was stationed to West Germany in the early 1990s. He was a lot like the soldiers in the movie. In fact, of five people I have known who enlisted in the Army or Navy, four resemble characters in this film. So however unflattering "Buffalo Soldiers" may be, I am inclined to believe that it is a realistic portrait of base life at a specific time and place. The cast of the film is just wonderful. Joaquin Phoenix and Scott Glenn are perfect in every way. The supporting cast delivers equally impressive and thoroughly enjoyable performances. It's nice to see Ed Harris in a comic role. His talent is not wasted here as Elwood's earnest but naive commanding officer. "Buffalo Soldiers" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. It has smart darkly comic writing, good construction, and gutsy performances that never fail to entertain. It's one of the most enjoyable films in recent memory. But it's a very dark comedy that dabbles in tragedy as well. And it's unflattering to at least some U.S. military personnel. If that doesn't bother you, don't miss this film! I give "Buffalo Soldiers" my highest recommendation.

  The DVD: Bonus features include a short "making of" documentary, an "Anatomy of a Scene" featurette that concentrates on the scenes surrounding Elwood's acquisition of the weapons, and an audio commentary by director Gregor Jordan. The bonus features aren't terribly exciting, but I think the audio commentary is more worth your time than the other stuff. Dubbing is available in French. Subtitles available in English only.
  
  

• Awesome Movie
  By on 2004-02-13
  This movie was great. Many things like this may go on in the armed forces that we don't know about. This movie gives the idea of how it is dealt with and how some people are just ignorant to the fact that something like this is going on at there base. I would recommend this movies to anybody. Don't go out and rent it buy it. Really awesome movie.
  
  
• Say No to Wars!
  By A1ZS82R4RC0I2N on 2004-02-21
  A twisted and amusing satire about the ridiculous war situations, "Buffalo Soldiers" is one of the many indie sleepers that should get more recognition.
  This is an offbeat war movie, one that wisely avoid the stereotypes and cliches of bland Hollywood pictures like "Pearl Harbour" or "Black Hawk Down". Here, the perspective is cynical and heavy on dark humour, mixing a bit of drama and action. In fact, its so cynical that there`s no characters to empatise with, so between the bad guys or the terrible ones we have to choose the first group.

  Joaquin Phoenix plays a lazy and hypocritical soldier that becomes interested in his bosses` daughter (Anna Paquin), which leads to some contrived situations.
  Director Gregor Jordan doesn`t choose sides, as he uses every chance to attack anyone that somehow gets involved in a war process. There are no innocents in "Buffalo Soldiers", everyone has their own agenda and betrayal is common here.
  A witty and innovative movie, worth a look.
  
  

• uneven satire
  By A19ZXK9HHVRV1X on 2004-04-04
  Although the opening shot of "Buffalo Soldiers" echoes the most famous image from "Dr Strangelove," the real pedigree for this military satire lies in those twin hits from 1970, "MASH" and "Catch-22." "Buffalo Soldiers" presents us with an army corps composed almost exclusively of drug users, narcotics dealers, bureaucratic bunglers and traffickers in stolen merchandise. The prime culprit is battalion secretary Ray Elwood, the opportunist supreme who knows all the angles and can make the system work to his own benefit and advantage. A criminal who was given service in the military over time in prison, Elwood has simply transferred all his illegal activities to the realm of army base life. One day, however, Elwood meets his match in the form of one Sergeant Lee (the leathery Scott Glenn), a gruff no-nonsense commander, new to this German base, who is on to Elwood's antics and is determined to make life a living hell for him.

  "Buffalo Soldiers" is a gutsy film in that it dares to take on a sacred cow institution and paint it in an unflattering light. It is also willing to present us with a protagonist who has few, if any, redeeming qualities as a human being (though he does radiate glimmers of decency, at times, albeit not very convincing ones). These are the film's two strongest virtues, yet they are also, paradoxically, its two greatest weaknesses. Despite Joaquin Phoenix's superb, energetic performance in the role, Elwood just does not grab the viewer's sympathy in the way that, say, Hawkeye and Yossarrian do in "MASH" and "Catch-22" respectively. Those characters could be shrewdly, cynically humorous about the flaws and hypocrisy in the military establishment, yet could still value what was good in the institution itself and the grunts who made up its ranks. The problem with Elwood is that he is seen far more as the rule rather than the exception in the world scenarists Eric Weiss, Nora Maccoby and writer/director Gregor Jordan have created. The film, though it obviously has valid points to make, feels so unbalanced in its approach that it ends up weakening its own moral case. It's true that the other two films took place in a wartime setting and "Buffalo Soldiers" is set in peacetime 1989, but it still could use a bit more equity in its portrayal.

  All this wouldn't matter so much if the film displayed a finer sense of humor and a firmer grasp of tone, which ranges all the way from dead seriousness to cartoon-like caricature and slapstick. There are a few deft and witty moments in the film, but they just don't come often enough to lift the comedy too far above the ordinary.

  Maybe "MASH" and "Catch-22" were more acceptable as satires because they weren't targeting just the military but the human propensity for war in general. With no war operating in its background, "Buffalo Soldiers" seems to exist in a sort of satirical vacuum - making it, in the long run, a cynical exercise oddly devoid of relevance and point.
  
  

• Great film that comments on military abuse and power.
  By AIOXMENE1HBR7 on 2004-08-23
  Gregor Jordan's "Buffalo Soldiers" was simply brilliant and real. Originally to be released in 2001, but postponed after 9/11 this movie presents both satirically and factually the corrupt military in US Army. Sure not all military personel
  are like this, but many of them especially going up the higher
  rank food chain know how to exploit and abuse their power
  which is what the movie shows.
  
  Joaquin Phoenix (in his best performance may be)plays Ray Elwood,
  an army guy who gets way over his head when he and his army buddies come across top military missile weapons and then tries
  to sell them to his drug dealing friends.
  
  Everything's cool until the corrupt and psychotic Sgt. Lee (Scott Glenn) catches wind of whats going and then sends in his
  Army goons to steal Ellwood's stuff, he then proceeds to make
  Ellwood's life a living hell while Ellwood is now targeted
  for death if he doesnt have the merchandise to sell by his
  drug dealing friends.
  
  
  Ellwood hatches a scheme to tick of Sgt. Lee by investigating
  his personal files then dating his daughter who knows all too
  well about her maniacal father.
  
  When these two guys collide , sparks will fly and eventually
  at the end of the movie you see that military isnt quite, the
  skeaky clean, moral image they portray to be in those propaganda "all you can be" commercials.
  
  Ed Harris is also great as Col. Berman, a col. whose really
  not too smart but who would rather be growing a wine vineyard.
  
  Buffalo Soldiers is definitely worth seeing on all accounts, though some people will call it un-american, even those people
  will have a time denying what actually happens inside the
  military through this movie.
  
  It seems that guys like Sgt. Lee are very real in the military
  and thats what really is scary.
  
  
  
  
• Surprisingly good!
  By A5TUY9IFBKNOK on 2005-01-30
  I was actually quite surprised by this black comedy. It's really much more sympathetic and amusing than I expected, though it has its' dark moments too. I would suggest that those viewing it not take things too seriously and don't go into it thinking this is going to be a documentary about real life in the military--its' not that kind of movie. As the bonus material indicates, the point of the movie is that it was supposed to take place in 1989, the end of the Cold War, when for a short period it was believed that this was a good thing that was happening and that it might be the end of wars. (The cynical among us knew better, of course, and can scoff at such misconception now.) The result is that without a real war, some will create their own, out of boredom or whatever.
  
  Anyway, all that said, this movie worked for me. As usual, actor Joaquin Phoenix takes an unethical, uncaring opportunist and gives the audience permission to like him and root for him, even though he's not a traditional good guy. His character, Ray Ellwood, has just the right mix of charming wit and inevitable screw up. This is a character that the audience could have just written off as an idiot and a bad guy without the nuances and layers Phoenix brought (and always brings) to his roles.
  
  I liked the German scenery, thought the music was great, loved the mix of comedy and tenseness.
  
  There's a couple of great twists at the end of the film too. The movie definitly exceeded my expectations.
  
  

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