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The great raid


krautpot
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I read the really good book of Hampton Sides. Few months later I bought the DVD, after watching it was totally disappointed. It has some really awesome moments, the attack of the POW camp, the defending of the cabu-bridge. These are very professional and well made scenes. But the storyline of the nurse, it blows away every suspense.

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I found Benjamin Bratt's performance somewhat uninspired, as if he wished he was somewhere else. Maybe he's just a crappy actor, I don't know. As in alot of war movies, they just had to throw in a love intetrest (remember Edward Albert's character in Midway?), which ruins the movie in my opinion.

 

The attack on the camp was good, I thought.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I saw this movie on TV maybe a year ago or more. I was interested in the tactics (right word?) for making the approach and getting everyone out. I have a personal interest in it because an uncle of mine died in Camp Cabanatuan in 1942.

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  • 2 months later...

I did some consulting work on the movie from my home. More about the Alamo Scouts and what they wore and the gear that they used. Some of the actors that played Alamo Scouts would email me and ask me questions. I was also in contact with the wardrobe department. From my point of view the director really screwed this one up. I met with John Dahl before the movie was released and was able to screen the movie. I was sitting next to one of the Scouts that participated on the raid, Galen Kittleson. I remember hearing the words, Bull S*** a lot, and there was no damn tank inside the camp! In my view the movie should of been centered around the Scouts and Capt. Robert Prince. I don't want to take anything away from the Rangers but their part in the raid was very short, like 20 minutes long and then out of the gate. The Scouts were at the prison camp two day before and a day after the raid and in a lot more danger. According to Kittleson and some of the other Scouts I've talked to, the attack on the camp was not that explosive. And there was a part in the movie that was taken out where Col Mucci walks through the camp shooting his 45 killing Japs. My late friend John Cook that was one of the men that was rescued from the camp told the producers he would no longer help with the movie if they left that part in the movie. Mucci never was in the camp.

 

A few things about, Mucci.  Mucci was out for himself and the true story about the events of the Raid are a bit distorted. Mostly by Mucci telling the story that gave himself and the Rangers all the credit. He pretty much didn't talk about the Alamo Scouts when he spoke about the Raid at many speaking engagements after the war.  He was first back to Gen. Krueger after the raid while the Alamo Scouts attended to the POW's that were too sick too walk back.  The Scouts also attended to Doc Fisher who died the next day. Mucci was to send an airplane to pick Fisher up. The Scouts cleared an landing area for the airplane, but no plane showed up… When the Scouts were bringing the POW's back to the American lines, they passed through a village where the Philippine communist guerrillas controlled and were going to take the POW's for their own. It was Alamo Scout, Lt. Nellist and his men that stood up to them and pointed their guns at the guerrilla leader. Not Mucci, he was already back at the American lines.  Also when the raid took place, Mucci stayed back in Platero until the raid was over. He never fired a shot like in the movie. "The Great Raid" shows him firing at the Japs in the river. I can go on and on but I'll stop here.

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I did some consulting work on the movie from my home. More about the Alamo Scouts and what they wore and the gear that they used. Some of the actors that played Alamo Scouts would email me and ask me questions. I was also in contact with the wardrobe department. From my point of view the director really screwed this one up. I met with John Dahl before the movie was released and was able to screen the movie. I was sitting next to one of the Scouts that participated on the raid, Galen Kittleson. I remember hearing the words, Bull S*** a lot, and there was no damn tank inside the camp! In my view the movie should of been centered around the Scouts and Capt. Robert Prince. I don't want to take anything away from the Rangers but their part in the raid was very short, like 20 minutes long and then out of the gate. The Scouts were at the prison camp two day before and a day after the raid and in a lot more danger. According to Kittleson and some of the other Scouts I've talked to, the attack on the camp was not that explosive. And there was a part in the movie that was taken out where Col Mucci walks through the camp shooting his 45 killing Japs. My late friend John Cook that was one of the men that was rescued from the camp told the producers he would no longer help with the movie if they left that part in the movie. Mucci never was in the camp.

 

A few things about, Mucci.  Mucci was out for himself and the true story about the events of the Raid are a bit distorted. Mostly by Mucci telling the story that gave himself and the Rangers all the credit. He pretty much didn't talk about the Alamo Scouts when he spoke about the Raid at many speaking engagements after the war.  He was first back to Gen. Krueger after the raid while the Alamo Scouts attended to the POW's that were too sick too walk back.  The Scouts also attended to Doc Fisher who died the next day. Mucci was to send an airplane to pick Fisher up. The Scouts cleared an landing area for the airplane, but no plane showed up… When the Scouts were bringing the POW's back to the American lines, they passed through a village where the Philippine communist guerrillas controlled and were going to take the POW's for their own. It was Alamo Scout, Lt. Nellist and his men that stood up to them and pointed their guns at the guerrilla leader. Not Mucci, he was already back at the American lines.  Also when the raid took place, Mucci stayed back in Platero until the raid was over. He never fired a shot like in the movie. "The Great Raid" shows him firing at the Japs in the river. I can go on and on but I'll stop here.

 

woah. I had no idea how far off it was. I will add to the chorus that is was a lukewarm movie. On the bright side, we can hope that it at least did a little to keep the memory of the raid alive, and will inspire young folks to learn more about it.

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Rick the Librarian

Actually, the "nurse" part was true. She really did go through all the trials depicted in the movie. However, there was no record of her having a romance with the leader of the camp. Her own marriage was happy, but her husband did die on Bataan. Pictures of her in real life showed a much older, somewhat dumpy woman.

 

I admit I have a better opinion of this movie than do the other posters. My chief worry was that it would be PC - but the first scene showing the American prisoners being burned to death (also a true story) removed that fear!!

 

The 10-man death squad scene depicted in the movie, did also happen -- but not at that time - much earlier.

 

I corresponded with a couple of former POW that were among those rescued during my magazine article-writing days (I wrote several articles on Bataan and Corregidor). I also had a chance to meet one of the Rangers at a nation ex-pow convention (I attended as a guest). They reunited him with a couple of the "rescuees" and believe me, there wasn't a dry eye in the house!!

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