Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
daoldiges
I was drawn to this film because of the combination 3-D and real life story/actors/war theme but was ultimately disappointed. It was kind of interesting and I do appreciate it for what is was going for but unless you have a specific interest in this type of project it is not required viewing.
mmcgee282
It's finally out the 3D, wide screen and three channel restored stereo version of the semi documentary.The 3D was great too.Like Fort Ti,the beginning of the film ,after it was introduced by Mark W, Clark,shows a cannon right in front of the camera and explosion.About real soldiers on their way to Porkchop hill.It was played by real soldiers.I made a mistake .I had thought that Roy Thompson j.r.was the one that died in battle,but, I was wrong.It was private Carrasco actually died in the real battle,as he portrayed his character in the film,who dies.Some of these solder,now ex, are still alive.Roy could have gotten into acting business and became a lead .He had strong chemistry,but,he stayed in the military till 67,then went to college.The Asian solider,played by real soldier Cheon Yul Bak .if he still alive he should be 86,portrays soldier ,who wife is expecting .He ends up getting killed in the film too near the end of the war.Then you got this fat soldier,not real fat ,who makes jokes.The best acting comes from Roy.There is a real actor,who plays a corespondent,John Maxwell,with another one ,who might have been an actor or a talented real soldier,in the tent scene ,during 100th attempt at peace talks.Was that suppose to be Kim Jongs grand father you saw at the distance or father going to the peace talks?Obviously there was some break downs of the 3D camera,cause the were some false 3d scene,where there was depth only and no pop out,but, it was not that bothersome.The 3d was breath taking .The hilly areas to the military tanks with their long nose almost coming out of the screen.The sound.Now remember this was three channel stereo,which was behind the screen.Although we can say that Fantasia had a surround affect on it's three channels ,with surround speakers,the three channel of 53 did not.Warner phonic was a surround channel for 4 tracks.The recreated stereo was almost as if it was never lost.The Dimitri Tiomkin score with it's chorus was as real as the 7 channel score from Return to Paradise and the 4 channel guns of Naverone score.The affects of voices going off the camera left and right was good too.The war noises,like the bombs, were so real.I think it was stereo dubbed rather than directional,may be.It's presented 1.66.1 also.If you cannot see it in 3d there is the flat version in the menu .Great.11/21/17
Robert J. Maxwell
This movie follows "Pork Chop Hill" in its description of an undermanned unit trying to complete its mission during the last days of the Korean War. It follows it in every other sense too.The actors are actual soldiers who are playing themselves, except for the KIAs. The writers have done their best to impose the usual stereotypes on the genuine guys but it's all kind of obvious -- the wisecracker, the jinx. No Texas braggarts or Brooklyn Jews. Probably not for lack of trying in the casting department but just because none were actually in the patrol. Or maybe one of the real troopers who had good taste simply refused to lie wounded on the ground and tell the others to forget about him and save themselves.The special effects are nothing special, the tension minimal, like the acting. I found the story line a little confusing at time but maybe because I had periods of microsleep. The ending is customary. The platoon of volunteers discovers a horde of Chinese soldiers marching along, calls in air support, and F-84s blow the "Chinks" into so much dim sum.I notice on the internet that the word "fail" is coming to be used to carry an unusual morphemic baggage -- a noun, as in "GREATEST WAR FAILS." This isn't the greatest fail but it's one of them.
Theo Robertson
The Korean War 1950-53 was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century but quickly became known as " The Forgotten War " Much of this is down to the fact that it took place between the Second World War and The Vietnam War . In the 1950s everyone used the different theaters of conflict of the second world war to make both anti-war and pro-war statements . By the time Robert Altman sussed out black comedy could be used as a theme for the conflict in MASH and that film and its subsequent long running TV series were already seen as metaphors for Vietnam . Indeed it's a common mistake but a popular one that MASH is set during the Vietnam War of the 1960s . The Korean War remains the Forgotten War This docudrama entitled CEASE FIRE sets out to show the war as it was and its realism is its selling point and casts real soldiers playing themselves . It's a noble effort but one that's doomed to failure . As my fellow IMDb members on this page who have taken the time and trouble to write a comment both are in agreement that in order to be so convincing it ends up becoming unconvincing . The problem is the actors who aren't actors at all but soldiers playing themselves are unable to put any dramatic emphasis in to their lines and this is a constant distraction to the movie . The war was categorized by if not outright victory being within sight then at least an armistice of sorts , only for another series of bloody battles being fought which became indicative of the conflict . CEASE FIRE tries to emphasise this cruel feature where hopes are quickly dashed but constant stilted and wooden delivery by the cast means much of the drama is lost as is audience involvement . It's a glorious defeat by the film makers but a defeat nevertheless
