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Home of the Brave | 
 enlarge | Director: Irwin Winkler
Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci, Brian Presley, 50 Cent
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $0.96
You Save: $19.02 (95%)
New (48) Used (83) Collectible (2) from $0.96
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 11592
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Arabic (Original Language), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MGMDM107103D
UPC: 027616070968
EAN: 0027616070968
ASIN: B00000IBUW
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 06/10/2008 Run time: 105 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
The fact that Home of the Brave is about soldiers coming home from a war that isn't even over is just one of the things that's off in this film; director Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Mark Friedman's 2006 tale of the problems faced by the men and women returning from Iraq is also hampered by thoroughly predictable storytelling, sub-par acting, and sometimes painfully on-the-nose dialogue, reducing what could have been a provocative and challenging effort into so much TV movie fodder. When Army medic Will Marsh (Samuel L. Jackson, who does his best to rise above the level of the material) and soldiers Vanessa Price (Jessica Biel) and Tommy Yates (Brian Presley) return to Spokane, Washington, major readjustment problems loom, mostly due to a chaotic ambush in a small Iraqi town (occurring less than two weeks before they were to be sent home, the incident is so unsurprising that anyone could have seen it coming). Will and his angry teenage son wage their own war, while Dad takes to the bottle; Vanessa's learning to cope with a prosthetic hand, while Tommy's grieving over the best buddy who died in the ambush and the loss of his job, girlfriend, and self-respect. Those matters and the clichéd, unconvincing way in which they're handled, along with the film's refusal to take a strong stand either for or against the war, obscure the potentially much more interesting issues. Are these soldiers patriots, or merely pawns? Were they doing their righteous duty by serving in this conflict, or were they victims sent off to suffer and perhaps die by a bunch of men in suits who never saw a minute of combat themselves? Other home-from-war films, from 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives to 1978's Coming Home to 1989's Born on the Fourth of July, have dealt with these and other issues a good deal more effectively than the earnest and well-intentioned but not very compelling Home of the Brave. --Sam Graham
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 TOO NEUTRAL TO BE BRAVE! January 6, 2009
Noel Serrano (Tampa, Florida United States)
This movie is a weak attempt to portray the experiences of a difficult life after a horrible war. There is no stand or opinion when it comes to the war or the soldier's drive to be at war. The movie has some good actors but they show no heart and no motive for being soldiers. The audience saw thru this dud. There is an old movie; The best years of our lives" that is much better. This is a very weak movie. It is too pretentious and tends to want to coast with the graphics. There are many goofs, such as: When Vanessa is shutting her car door, her soccer ball key chain appears and disappears within the scene.
When the one soldier decides to re-enlist, as he is saying goodbye to his parents and getting into the taxi, the cover he puts on is an older style Navy/Marine Corps 8-point cover.
When one soldier is told to fire the AT-4 at a gunman on the roof, he is holding it backwards when he is firing it. The rocket comes out of the smaller end of the tube, not the larger.
When Marsh is in the kitchen during his welcome home barbecue, a part of the camera is seen in the mirror next to the sink.
The film fared poorly at the box office, earning only $51,708 domestically.[1] Originally released on December 15th, 2006 for Oscar consideration, the production studio re-thought the release pattern and decided to pull it from theaters, planning on showing it to a wider audience later in the year. It was re-released on May 11th, 2007 in 44 theaters, but this did not help the film's financial earnings.
 Hollywood Propaganda sinks to a new low.... December 22, 2008
Rebdent (TEXAS)
I couldn't even make it through this joke of a movie. Decent cast with the worst script ever laced with an agenda and biased outlook make this movie look like some crap that was made for TV by PBS or something. The basics of the movie are that EVERY soldier that goes to Iraq comes back either in a body bag or in pieces, ignoring the fact that more Marines have died in motorcycle crashes than in combat in Iraq. It portrays every soldier as some drunk lunatic fool. Of course that's what hollywood thinks anybody that enlists in a 100% VOLUNTEER army is, even though they constantly profess they are "against the war but support the troops". You'd be hard pressed to find many people that are pleased with how the conflict in Iraq has gone from the beginning but this movie is just nonsensical over the top garbage propaganda. The movie had plenty of potential if it would have been more realistic. Maybe then it would have been easier to write some decent dialogue for the cast to work with.
Movie not that great October 28, 2008
Ernest Cummings (Az. USA)
The movie was not that great. The seller sent the movie on time and it was very fast getting the movie to me. My wife and I didn't like the movie as much as we thought we would. So not that great!
As a former solider, this move is irritating September 14, 2008
Jason Elin (Backwater, Alabama)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mere weeks away from learning that their unit has received orders to go home from Iraq, various soldiers go on a humanitarian mission and run into an ambush. Chaos ensues, and all receive an injury in one way, shape, or form. Weeks later they are all in Spokane, Washington and the four main characters (Vanessa - Jessica Biel, Will - Samuel L. Jackson, Jamal - Fiddy, and Tommy - Brian Presely) deal with piecing their lives together while many hate the war, and by proxy, hold that hatred against the soldiers involved in it. The rest is just a person-by-person experience of individuals coping with semi-related post-war lives.
Home of the Brave is controversial in that it's difficult for a movie-maker to relay a message that's very positive of the military life or the struggles of a soldier - and keep a job in Hollywood - but it's clear that the creators of this movie didn't even remotely try. They paint a bleak picture of abandoned, abused, and shell-shocked soldiers who drink uncontrollably, can't control their anger, and can't relate to the "civilian life" outside of the foreign world of the military. In that sense, Home of the Brave reminded me in many ways of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Pain often accompanies scars, but what doesn't always coincide mentally, however, is the visibility of those same scars. Outward appearances don't always convey the truth of trauma or mental difficulties.
With all that said, however, as a former soldier and family member of several generations of soldiers, I can say unequivocally that the image conveyed is hazy to say the least. To be more accurate, it's slanted politically, with hints and outright displays of ignorant anti-war rhetoric, and reeks of the same type of elitist comments made by John Kerry about the correlation between being in the military and a lack of intelligence or education.
While the biased, hyper-focus of the movie is on the troubled few, what's left out is the great majority who deal with their troubles without a comment or complaint. Therein exists the truism of bravery, courage, honor, and sacrifice of the majority, and perhaps it would do the Hollywood folks a bit of good to concentrate a little more on those stories, because I've heard several and I'm sure there are countless more.
Worst of the "Coming Home" movies August 22, 2008
Thundering Herdsman (San Bruno, CA)
There are far superior movies that don't have to do with the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, than this puker (e.g. The Best Years Of Our Lives). They carry the same message of coming home from war better than this one [tried]. Oh, Samuel L. Jackson was pretty bad, as was Jessica Biel. 50 cent acting "ain't worth a plug nickel" (thought I'd throw that in) even if he got acting lessons from the late Lee Strasberg or Ice Cube (who isn't all that great, himself), it wouldn't help. But when I see 139 of these DVD's on sale for .75 on Amazon, that about sez it all. You'll be part of "The Home Of The Brave" if you buy this stinker. Waste of time and money.
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