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 Jarhead (DVD)
 Jarhead (DVD) ... ... / DVD released 15 May, 2006 at Universal Pictures Video / Features of the DVD: PAL / Based on Anthony Swofford’s excellent memoir about his experiences as a Marine Sniper in Gulf War I, Jarhead is a war movie in which the waiting is a far greater factor upon the characters than the war itself, and the build up to combat is more drama than what combat is depicted. To some viewers hoping for typical movie action, this will seem like a cruel joke. But it’s not. It’s just the story as it was written, and if you liked the book, you will probably like the movie. If you didn’t, then the movie won’t change your mind. The movie follows the trajectory of Swofford (played with thoughtful intensity by Jake Gyllenhaal) from wayward Marine recruit (he joined because he "got lost on the way to college") to skilled Marine sniper, and on into the desert in preparation for the attack on Iraq. No-nonsense, Marine-for-life Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx), the man who recruited Swofford and his spotter Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) into the sniper team, leads them in training, and in waiting where their lives are dominated by endless tension, pointless exercises in absurdity (like playing football in the scorching heat of the desert in their gas masks so it will look better for the media’s TV cameras), more training, and constant anticipation of the moment to come when they’ll finally get to kill. When the war does come, it moves too fast for Swofford’s sniper team, and the one chance they get at a kill--to do the one thing they’ve trained so hard and waited so long for--eludes them, leaving them to wonder what was the point of all they had endured.As directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), the movie remains very loyal to the language and vision of the book, but it doesn’t entirely work as the film needs something more than a literal translation to bring out its full potential. Mendes’ stark and, at times, apocalyptic visuals add a lot and strike the right tone: wide shots of inky-black oil raining down on the vast, empty desert from flaming oil wells contrasted with close-ups of crude-soaked faces struggling through the mire vividly bring to life the meaning of the tagline "welcome to the suck." But much of the second half of the movie will probably leave some viewers feeling disappointed in the cinematic experience, while others might appreciate its microcosmic depiction of modern chaos and aimlessness. Jarhead is one of those examples where the book is better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. --Dan VanciniNewest Review: ... party their lives away while waiting for the killing to happen, waiting on tenterhooks to kill someone while it never ... more ... happens. Instead, they spend most of their time sitting around and cleaning out the toilets for their superiors.
The film revolves around Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal), a wet around the ears marine who just finished boot camp and is the butt of many of the seasoned recruit's jokes. He meets the likes of confident and cool Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), and the charming Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx), but they cannot provide him with the answers he wants as to where the action is. Instead, they simply tell him to get used to...more |
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Price Comparison for Jarhead (DVD)
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Jarhead [DVD] [2005]
Based on Anthony Swofford?s excellent memoir about his experience ... Last Update 11.12.2009 06:11
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£ 4.58 |
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Jarhead (DVD): "This is my Rifle." (600 words)
by - written on 28/03/08 (Very useful, 165 readings)
Rating:
Jarhead DVD Released: 2006 Director: Sam Mendes Runtime: 125 mins Approx Certificate : 18. === Main Feature. === Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Anthony Swofford, Sam Mendes and his cast and crew take you back to the first Gulf War in 1989 to reveal what, during Operations Desert Shield and Storm, the troops had to endure. Signing up to join the US Marine Corp was a tradition for Anthony Swofford's ( Jake Gyllenhaal) family, but he didn't really see it that way. However, he excelled in his basic training, making rank into the Marine sniper unit, STA. After Iraq invades Kuwait, his unit is ... Read the complete review
Jarhead (286 words)
by - written on 17/01/08 (Very useful, 140 readings)
Rating:
Whilst on holiday this summer I picked up a second hand copy of the book Jarhead by Anthony Swofford for the princely sum of one euro.. I do love to a good holiday read and was not disappointed with this at all, reading cover to cover in a day. I found the book to have an amiable and honest style of writing and was eager to see the film on DVD. With strong names involved such as Jake Gyllenhaal playing the lead role of Anthony Swofford and produced by Sam Mendes, I was expecting a good film. It's not that it is a bad film, because it isnt. A lot of sharp witty observations in the book are displayed excellently in the film, and the cinematography is ... Read the complete review
Jarhead (DVD): Battles of the Mind (1318 words)
by - written on 13/03/09 (Very useful, 154 readings)
Rating:
Far away in the desert in Kuwait the only light you see is the glowing flames of oil fields burning. Anthony(Swof) Swifford, is covered in a slick, black coating of oil from the heavy drops falling from the smoke filled sky. He is walking through this lonely place when he encounters a tame horse, plodding slowly and breathing heavily. Its body is heavy with an extra black silky coat of oil. The US marine feels sympathy for the horse, strokes its mane and says, 'You're covered in this war.' This one line describes everyone in the film, Jarhead, an uncomprisingly realistic movie about soldiers drenched in war. It consumes every bit of their lives. They live and ... Read the complete review
The Earth is Bleeding (1719 words)
by - written on 14/02/06 (Very useful, 393 readings)
Rating:
Jarhead is based on the book of the same name. Written by Anthony Swofford, an ex-marine, about his pre-Desert Storm experience...although according to some the book is a highly coloured and exaggerated version of events. A production taken on by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition), it has a touch of “Full Metal Jacket” and for some reason also reminds me of “Blair Witch” (with the psychological torment and the intangible enemy) but manages to retain a real sense of originality. An impressively bulked up Jake Gyllenhaal takes on the role of Swofford; or Swoff as he comes to be known, and manages to recover some man points after his role in ... Read the complete review
Jarhead (DVD): A clever meditation... (299 words)
by - written on 28/11/09 (Very useful, 3 readings)
Rating:
note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room War films about the drudgery of war are nothing new: Platoon, Saving Private Ryan and many others have all done it well in their own way, but perhaps none better than Jarhead fully cements the boredom and apathy elicited by the lack of action in a war zone. The cabin fever makes the men party their lives away while waiting for the killing to happen, waiting on tenterhooks to kill someone while it never happens. Instead, they spend most of their time sitting around and cleaning out the toilets for their superiors. The film revolves around Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal), a wet around the ... Read the complete review
Jarhead (DVD) : The Earth is Bleedingfrom Fairydustbitch
14/02/2006
Jarhead (DVD) : A clever meditation...from shaneo632
28/11/2009
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