Saints and Soldiers
(PG-13, 1:30:15, Released 2003)
| Genres: | Drama, Action & Adventure |
| Release Date: | Aug 6, 2004 |
| DVD Release Date: | May 31, 2005 |
| Starring: | Corbin Allred, Larry Bagby III, Kirby Heyborne, Peter Asle Holden, Alexander Polinsky, Lincoln Hoppe, Alex Niver |
| Directed by: | Ryan Little |
| Synopsis: | A handful of fighting men must defy the odds to save their own lives and thousands of others in this drama set during World War II. In late 1944, a band of nearly a hundred American soldiers are making their way through a wooded region of Belgium when they are ambushed by German forces in a battle that became known as "the Malmady Massacre." A small group of American soldiers are able to take cover -- hard-boiled Sgt. Gunderson (Peter Holden), a grunt from Louisiana called Kendrick (Lawrence Bagby), a cynical medical officer from Brooklyn by the name of Gould (Alex Niver), and Cpl. Greer (Corbin Allred), known to his pals as "Deacon." Deacon is a devout Mormon who doesn't drink or smoke, carries his Bible with him at all times, and spent time in Germany as a missionary before the war, giving him an empathy with the enemy that sometimes puts him at odds with the other men. Deacon is also a master sharpshooter who has been having a crisis of conscience after nearly killing an innocent Belgian family while on patrol. Surrounded by Germans and with seemingly no means of escape, Gunderson and the men encounter Oberon Winley (Kirby Heybourne), a British intelligence officer trapped by the massacre. Winley has top secret information that could change the course of the war if it gets to Allied commanders in time, so Gunderson, Deacon, Kendrick, and Gould must find a way to get themselves and Winley away from Malmady before its too late. Inspired by a true story, Saints and Soldiers was the first feature film from Ryan Little, a Utah-based filmmaker who previously made a number of short subjects relating to issues of faith in the Church of Latter Day Saints. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi |
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Other Top Reviews
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June 25, 2011
Trapped behind enemy lines. All they have is their hope.
Good movie. This film was not bad at all. It has some pretty good acting roles and the story was decent enough to entertain. There was one goof I noticed and that is that when the solders exhale on winter snow the smoke from there mouths didn't showed at all during the whole movie which is pretty messed up.
The movie opens as the Allies discover the bloody remains of the Malmedy Massacre. We soon learn how the Germans attacked the unarmed prisoners, killing most of them. Several of the soldiers escape and hide out in a bombed-out house. There's "Deacon" (Allred) the ex-missionary who is haunted by something from his past that prevents him from sleeping for days at a time. He's also a crack rifleman. Joining him in escaping are Gould (Polinsky), the medic and a boy from Brooklyn, who seems suspicious of everyone, "Shirl" (Bagby) a tough soldier from Louisiana with a lust for killing Germans, and Sgt Gunderson (Holden) from Chicago, who takes command of the group.
With the rescue of a British pilot, Winley (Heyborne), the group is complete. The obvious distrust/dislike between Winley and Shirl causes friction, but when the group finds out that Winley holds vital intelligence that will greatly aid the Allies in the ongoing "Battle of the Bulge", they agree to get him across 20 miles behind enemy lines to army intelligence.
Several close encounters with Germans ensue. Deacon's psychosis continues to escalate as his visions intensify. We find out that in a recent skirmish, Deacon accidentally killed 2 woman and 6 children while trying to take out a sniper. We get to learn more about the lives of the soldiers and in one telling scene, the deep religious feelings of Deacon and contrasted with the agnostic Gould as each of them tells the story of holding a dying soldier.
The men stumble upon a remote house occupied by a French woman and her child. They are warmly welcomed by the woman who provides them shelter and food. A massive winter storm slows the group as they hole up at the woman's place. Winley tries to to take off alone and a German patrol soon shows up at the house. The soldiers attack the Germans while the sharp-shooting Deacon misses an escaping German at point blank range twice. The German is caught by Winley and returned to the group. As they argue about whether they should execute the prisoner, Deacon recognizes him as a German he once encountered in his missionary work. He attributes his missing the escaping German to a divine intervention.
During the night, Deacon allows the German to escape in exchange for some information about troop movements. The soldiers leave the next morning but Gunderson is shot and killed by a German patrol. A full scale fight ensues and Winley is wounded. Shirl is shot carrying Winley to safety and the two finally make peace just before Shirl dies.
The three survivors are approached by a German soldier as they try to revive Winley. It turns out to be the same German that Deacon had let escape the night before. He allows them to escape and they grab an abandoned jeep and head toward the Allied lines. Disguised as German medics with a wounded soldier, they work through their way through the German lines. The Americans, thinking they are German begin shooting at them and the Germans are firing at them from behind as well. Deacon tries to hold off the Germans while Winley escapes with Gould, but is shot and killed in the fire fight. His dying vision is of the family he accidentally killed.
Winley and Gould make it to Allied command and the critical information helps stop the German's offensive leading to an Allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge. Gould finds Deacon's body and takes his Bilble, thanking Deacon for saving his life. -
March 15, 2011
A warfare penned in a very usual way, and there could have been numerous events 'based' on the given premises. A preachy flick with a generous amount of cliches in it. Given all things, the movie didn't bore me and I liked it reasonably.
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December 10, 2010
I'm not really sure what all the fuss was about, this isn't a bad film but it's nothing special. I can think of hundreds of better war films! It is good considering its small budget but its dodgy accents, preachy (and predictable) parables and unnecessary (and badly timed)attempts at humour spoilt it for me.
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October 14, 2010
This is a really great war movie, and it was very well made. My husband isn't really into movies that he has never heard of, but this was one that he really liked.
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February 3, 2009
"Trapped behind enemy lines. All they have is their hope."
A handful of fighting men must defy the odds to save their own lives and thousands of others in this drama set during World War II. In late 1944, a band of nearly a hundred American soldiers are making their way through a wooded region of Belgium when they are ambushed by German forces in a battle that became known as "the Malmady Massacre." A small group of American soldiers are able to take cover -- hard-boiled Sgt. Gunderson (Peter Holden), a grunt from Louisiana called Kendrick (Lawrence Bagby), a cynical medical officer from Brooklyn by the name of Gould (Alex Niver), and Cpl. Greer (Corbin Allred), known to his pals as "Deacon." Deacon is a devout Mormon who doesn't drink or smoke, carries his Bible with him at all times, and spent time in Germany as a missionary before the war, giving him an empathy with the enemy that sometimes puts him at odds with the other men. Deacon is also a master sharpshooter who has been having a crisis of conscience after nearly killing an innocent Belgian family while on patrol. Surrounded by Germans and with seemingly no means of escape, Gunderson and the men encounter Oberon Winley (Kirby Heybourne), a British intelligence officer trapped by the massacre. Winley has top secret information that could change the course of the war if it gets to Allied commanders in time, so Gunderson, Deacon, Kendrick, and Gould must find a way to get themselves and Winley away from Malmady before its too late.
Review
Many films succeed outside the context of Hollywood hype. This one provides several messages competently executed by new talent, and without the special effects so commonly packaged by Tinseltown. Dialog and talent hold one's attention in a real-world interpretation of the Malmedy massacre and it's aftermath in WW2 Belgium. The tagline, 'A Time For Heroes' says much and it's more than appropriate for our time since the definition of 'hero' has been broadened by current events and uncommon courage. Lighting, sound, location, editing, and inventive writing make this a weekend wonder if you're seeking a story of principled men in desperate circumstances. -
January 17, 2009
Terrific war film that plays like a big budget studio release without all the big name talent.
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October 12, 2008
Not a bad little film. Nothing too profound here, but its simplicity and good heart made it pretty solid. I didn't realize how much I liked the characters until they started dieing.
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July 7, 2011
I didn't have very high hopes for this film, because it only runs a little over an hour-and-a-half. Come on, war films are suppose to be 3 hour epics about people walking around, shooting people and talking about dying. Well, it's actually got everything but the 3 hour runtime thing down. I guess this is pretty much the opposite of "The Thin Red Line" in some ways. This film falls into the conventions of war films, but doesn't drag them out to a painfully dull extent. However, where "The Thin Red Line" made up for that with a deal of offbeat elements, this film doesn't feel too refreshing. Of course, that's not the film's only flaw.
The film suffers from a lack of development, a slow pacing, quietness and some overdrawn points. Still, it all comes down the film's falling into the tropes of the war film genre. It's a story we've seen many times before in the war genre and it follows a deal of the same beats from this storyline. Characters and messages are cliched, as are the character fate hints, making many events rather predictable. One of the most offbeat things about this story is that it takes place in a snowy setting. Still, though the story is familiar, it still carries that compelling kick, being backed-up by such strenghts as lovely cinematography, a fine score, solid sound, fine production designs, charming character chemistry, effective comic relief, good action sequences, emotional resonanse and a good ending.
Of course, what carries the film are the performances. Speaking of conventions, who's ready for another redundant discussion on the strong performances? If you guessed that I was going to say that these guys emote well, have great chemistry and give off a compelling atmosphere, then congradulations, you win. Your prize is the dawning realization that you're sad enough to have read enough of my numbingly long reviews to find my conventions. Well, you can cry about that later, because I've still got a redundant discussion to make. The performers' crackling chemistry and emotional work are what make the film's characters and story so compelling. There, now let me just wrap this thing up.
In the end, "Saints and Soliders" is not the most refreshing entry in the war film catalogue, but the compelling story - carried by the strong leads and find technical value - make it worth the watch. -
December 12, 2011
The movie is full of the everday war drama feel to it, but takes a more different view and manages to create a rare spectacule among modern filmmakers.
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July 24, 2011
World War II war film featuring Corbin Allred, Alexander Niver, Kirby Heyborne, Lawrence Bagby and Peter Holden.It is based loosely around events taking place shortly after the Malmedy massacre during the Battle of the Bulge where several US soldiers and a downed British airman need to reach Allied lines to pass on some vital intelligence.Despite the good epoch reconstruction, this movie suffers of bad script, with empty dialogues and boring conversations between the soldiers.By the way, the actors don't look like world war II soldiers at all, and the whole project is an attempt to catch some "Saving private Ryan's" ideas.i love war movies, but this one is not one of my favorites.
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fb25827189April 27, 2011Great tale of four soldiers stuck behind enemy lines during WWII, and how these four very different people have to ban together to fend off Germans and each other to get vital information to the allies.
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January 17, 2012
This just wasn't very good. I guess knowing it was a local movie with local actors, I couldn't get into it. It was boring and there were not any good spiritual moments in this for being "saints." It was very simple and nothing really to it. The whole movie takes place in the same snow covered trees.
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November 27, 2011
I hadn't seen a WWII movie in many years and I was skeptical about seeing this one. I was surprised at how authentic it looked. WWII soldiers were very brave, even when all hope was lost. This is a very emotional movie, as the soldiers friendships ended one by one as they died, yet the mission succeeded as two survived to deliver the plans. True heroes all.
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September 5, 2010
An action packed military movie based on a true story. Much on the lines of the movie Saving Private Ryan this movie provides the same on a much lower budget. The fight sequences are believable and the movie has a solid story line. Unlike SPR this movie has a surprising twist at the end with a "lesson learned" ending. This movie kept me wanting more. The soundtrack is excellent. If you liked the Band Of Brothers series and SPR you will like this movie. I'm giving it 4.5 stars.
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February 6, 2010
just a perfect survival film with great acting and music and the location was beautiful i even felt cold there is a scene that made me even tear up its about a few soldiers that got ambushed and they were the only ones to survive the massacre and now they are 20 miles behind enemy lines its all based on actual events the man from orleans and the man from england are worth laughing at they break up the depressed mood its worth the watch.
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December 11, 2009
War is always terrible but sometimes it cannot be avoided for one reason or another...Saints and Soldiers brings not only the horrific reality of death and destruction but also the humanity, kindness and courage of the soldiers.
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October 21, 2009
the cinematography was excellent
the story was good
the psychological part of the war was an okay attempt of it
other than that it was a good movie -
August 25, 2009
I can't speak on the saints, but if you don't support our troops you're gonna get a size 12 boot up your ass courtesy of the good ol' U.S. of A.
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August 18, 2009
Surprisingly captivating. . would've liked a little more action. Puts a personal aspect on what goes through a soldiers mind when times are tough. Since it was based on actuall events, not too happy to see how many were sacrificed. . these soldiers endured the worst and knew they had to improvise and complete their mission to do what was best for the Allies. . even if it meant laying their own lives down. . it was a reality check. . reccomend this movie to the younger generation. . so they can see what really happened, not what they were taught (sugar coated) in school.
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August 16, 2009
A fine example that you don't need a big budget and a bunch of CGI when you have a good story and acting to back it up.
This is definitely for fans of Band Of Brothers. It almost felt like an episode from that series. -
June 13, 2009
One of my favorite movies. Not only a great war movie but a movie that shows us how we can better our lives when we see the good example from others.
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August 10, 2008
the storyline and themes protrayed in this movie are enough for me to recommend it for anyone to rent. not as much killing as most WWII movies but the action was still quite suspensful and full of very cool scenes. what the men went through in the movie was very tough and must have been very hard. it was sad to see some of the main characters die but was one of the messages protrayed in the movie, that war kills great men. the themes and messages in the movie were very intense and very meaningful. the entire movie they kept coming back to the german soldier and the medic
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December 5, 2007
great movie, i feel sooooo bad for deac thoug, what he had to go through and then never made it back home to his pregnant wife. i hope gould converts (converted)...
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August 6, 2007
unfortunetly what they don't tell you is the fact that this isn't a movie, its an episode of Band Of Brothers, so if you've seen the series don't rent it, otherwise rent it if you've never seen the series.
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July 5, 2007
Good movie, the inner meaning is the best part! lol I like how the medic acts all tough but he really is scared to death and can't shoot worth crap!
