The Great Raid

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The Great Raid

Theatrical poster
Directed by John Dahl
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Marty Katz
Written by Carlo Bernard
Doug Miro
Starring Benjamin Bratt
Joseph Fiennes
James Franco
Marton Csokas
Connie Nielsen
Motoki Kobayashi
Cesar Montano
Kenny Doughty
Music by Trevor Rabin
Cinematography Peter Menzies Jr.
Editing by Scott Chestnut
Pietro Scalia
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s) August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10)
United States
August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)
Running time 132 minutes
Country United States
Australia
Language English
Budget $80 million
Box office $10,769,311[1]

The Great Raid is a 2005 war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan, adapted from William Breuer's book of the same name. It tells the story of the January 1945 liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. It is directed by John Dahl and stars Benjamin Bratt, Joseph Fiennes, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Motoki Kobayashi and Cesar Montano. The principal photography took place from July 4, to November 6, 2002, but its release was delayed several times from the original target of fall 2003.

The film opened in theaters across the United States on August 12, 2005, three days before the 60th anniversary of V-J Day.

The real-life efforts of Filipino guerrillas are also specifically highlighted, especially a stand at a bridge that delayed Japanese reinforcements. These units fought alongside Americans against Japanese occupiers during the war.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In the winter of 1944, World War II was coming to a close. The Japanese held some of the American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March in a notorious POW camp at Cabanatuan and subjected them to harsh treatment; many prisoners were also stricken with malaria. At the time of the raid the camp held about 500 prisoners.

The film opens with the massacre of prisoners of war on Palawan by the Kempeitai, the Imperial Japanese military's secret police (though factually, it was committed by the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army).

Meanwhile at Lingayen Gulf, the 6th Ranger Battalion under Lt. Col Mucci is ordered by Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger to liberate all of the POWs at Cabanatuan prison camp before they are killed by the Japanese. The film chronicles the efforts of the Rangers, Alamo Scouts from the 6th Army and Filipino guerrillas as they undertake the Raid at Cabanatuan.

Throughout the film, the viewpoint switches between the POWs at Cabanatuan, the Rangers, the Filipino resistance and the Japanese.

In particular, the film covers the resistance work undertaken by nurse Margaret Utinsky, who smuggled medicine into the POW camps. The Kempeitai arrested her and sent her to Fort Santiago prison. She was eventually released, but spent six weeks recovering from gangrene as a result of injuries sustained from beatings. Once recovered, she escaped to Bataan, where she served as a nurse with the Philippine Commonwealth troops and recognized guerrilla units until liberation in February 1945.[2]

[edit] Production notes

The Americans used a Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter to divert Japanese attention while the Rangers were crawling toward the camp (but the aircraft used in the movie was a Lockheed Hudson, because none of the four surviving P-61s were airworthy when the film was made).

The movie was filmed in south-east Queensland, Australia utilising a huge, authentic recreation of a prisoner of war camp. In addition, numerous local Asian students were employed to play Japanese soldiers.

The movie was shot in 2002 but it was pulled from release schedule on several occasions. It was finally released in August 2005, by Miramax Films, which coincided with the formal departure of co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein from the company.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

As of August 2007, the film had a score of 48 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 29 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a score of 35% based on 112 reviews. The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes was that the film was too long with too many subplots, although the actual raid was exciting. However, it received more praise from Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert, who gave it three stars.

[edit] Box office

The movie was not a financial success, covering only 12% of its $80 million budget.[3] The Great Raid was released on August 12, 2005 and opened at #10 at the box office, gathering $3,376,009 in the opening weekend. Its worldwide gross stands at $10,769,311.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatraid.htm
  2. ^ Utinsky, Margaret (1948). Miss U. San Antonio, Texas: The Naylor Company.
  3. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatraid.htm

[edit] External links

Films directed by John Dahl
1980s
1990s
2000s
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