Search - The Boys in Company C on DVD

THE BOYS IN COMPANY C

jim romero | san gabriel, ca United States | 01/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The boot camp scenario alone is worth the price of admission.
Although this movie starred STAN SHAW it is clear to me the real star of this film is GUNNARY SGT. R. LEE ERMY. This was his film debut, you'll prabably remember him as the drill Sgt. in FULL METAL JACKET, This movie is one ot the better Vietnam War era film and it attempts to define the difference between Duty and Survival. It is clear, the difference is a fine line and this movie danced the line nicely....."

Outshines Full Metal Jacket

The_Tech_Son | 11/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Boys in Company C was not only released 10 years before Full Metal Jacket, but is 10 times better. R. Lee Ermey plays the USMC DI who whips a bunch of civilian misfits into a cohesive fighting unit that will have most of them going to Vietnam upon graduation. (Sounds familiar doesn't it Mr. Kubrick?). This movie gives the viewer a fantastic Who's Who of most of the cast before they even show up to "Boot Camp". From the concientious objector, to the high school jock, to the street-smart drug dealer, the first ten minutes of the movie gives you a solid understanding of why their characters do what they do throughout the movie. Although this movie is paralleled by FMJ, The Boys of Company C has a much better story line. After graduation, the ones chosen for Vietnam meet their new company commander on the transit ship and are exposed to an interesting concept of how to defeat the Vietnamese by playing soccer. The entire movie is excellent, well acted, and flows evenly without the viewer ever once having to "accept" something just because it happened. For any current or former military member, this movie is chock full of little treats that have you saying "Yes! That's just the way it is!" BOTTOM LINE: If you've ever seen "Full Metal Jacket", you owe it to yourself to see the original masterpiece."

A few good men...

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 06/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The parallels between 'Full Metal Jacket' and this film, 'The Boys of Company C', could not fail to be noticed, even without the stand-out performance of R. Lee Ermey in both films as a Drill Instructor (DI), a role he fulfilled in real life prior to his acting career. This was Ermey's first film role, and made him a person to watch; ironically, Ermey is better recognised today that most of the other stars of the film. Stan Shaw gives one of the best performances of his career here as Tyrone Washington, the independent, out-for-himself recruit who, being a natural leader, is tapped to take charge, and finds his sense of duty and teamwork growing stronger as his time in the Marine Corps proceeds. Other recruits followed include Billy Ray Pike (Andrew Stevens, in one of his early roles), a high school jock depressed because he has lost the glory of those days; Alvin Foster (James Canning), the aspiring writer who is hoping to turn the Marine Corps into a story for fame and fortune; Vinnie Fazio (Michael Lembeck) as a hot-to-trot Marine, looking to survive to the next sexual encounter; and Dave Bisbee, a hippie-turned-marine looking to survive as well.The plot is realistic -- there's no over-the-top play in either the Boot Camp or the in-country Vietnam scenes. The waste and futility of war comes through clearly without too much political overtones (more like one big snafu), and the run-of-the-mill situations of bureaucratic and leadership less-than-competence contrasts with the ground grunts' hope to live through it all and still carry on a valid mission.The battle scenes are well choreographed without false glory and without false carnage. The base camp and boot camp situations are true to life in design, as are the situations; officers vs. enlisted, racial conflicts, American vs. Vietnamese. Small touches like letters from home and sub-plots such as the journal writing and drug-smuggling ideas also add to the strength of the film.In a long tradition of Vietnam films and war films, this ranks among the better ones in many respects."

A REAL TRIBUTE TO VIET NAM VETERANS

cirrus39 | Syracuse, New York | 08/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This film is the pinnacle of the way life and death befell the soldiers of the "Viet Nam Conflict". As depicted in this movie, men fought for there own reasons but when it came to dying most gave by committing the ultimate sacrifice, for love of their fellow soldiers. Boy's From Company C had shown historicism, not a story. If you want to know why Viet Nam Vets are shy heros or why the Viet Nam war is not taught in history classes in school watch this movie, it will scare the heck out of you, or at the very least, remind you respect those vets. PS: To David Lee, They Are Not Forgotten. We will always take a glance back to where they can no longer go."