Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Siege Of Firebase Gloria, The

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Siege Of Firebase Gloria, The



    Released by: MGM Limited Edition Collection

    Released on: March 21, 2012.

    Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

    Cast: R. Lee Ermey, Wings Hauser, Albert Popwell

    Year: 1989

    Purchase From Amazon


    The Movie:


    Brian Trenchard-Smith, the Australian wunderkind behind such classics as Escape 2000, Stuntrock and Neon Maniacs, directs this oddball and frequently overlooked Vietnam war film made for Orion Pictures in 1989.


    The storyline revolves around two American soldiers on their tour of duty in 1968, Corporal Joseph Di Nardo (Wings Hauser) and Sergeant Major Bill Hafner (R. Lee Ermey). Their platoon has just barely survived a Vietcong attack and they make their way to Firebase Gloria where they hope to restock on some much needed supplies and lay low for a little while. When they arrive they find out that the man in charge of Gloria isn't nearly as interested in helping out soldiers in need so much as he is in checking out skinflicks and getting loaded on the taxpayers' dollars.


    As DiNardo and Hafner start to make plans to take over the firebase and run it properly, Chinese New Year, or 'Tet' as the Vietcong call it, comes creeping up and the Vietcong decide that this is all the reason they need to launch an all our offensive on the American base in hopes of taking it out and doing some serious damage to the occupying forces.


    Trenchard-Smith cuts right to the chase with this one - War Is Hell and he wants you to see it and to know it. Ermey, as salty as they come and in full on drill sergeant mode, owns pretty much every scene that he's in and this is one of those roles he was born to play. He's just as good here as he is in Full Metal Jacket, probably the film he'll wind up being best remembered for. Hauser, however, is pretty much every part his equal. He doesn't go into over the top sleaze-lord territory here like he does in Vice Squad but he makes an interesting verbal sparring partner for Ermey and holds his own against the elder actor's imposing screen presence.


    As the soldiers under their command make their way to the base they're forced to commit atrocities that they know they don't want any part of, but the law of survival dictates that they have no choice in the matter. The movie makes sure we understand the repercussions and while it sticks to the US point of view, this is now flag waving Green Berets style slice of cinematic patriotism but rather a tough, gritty and wholly involving piece of seemingly very realistic moviemaking.


    Though it was made with a relatively low budget compared to other war films, there's no shortage of action on display. Lots of stuff blows up, people are constantly shooting at one another and the production values and action choreography are surprisingly strong. It's an intense film and it builds to a sufficiently bleak and entirely appropriate conclusion. Look past the corny cover art MGM slapped on this one and check it out if you have any interest in war movies at all - it's a surprisingly excellent film and one well worth checking out.


    Video/Audio/Extras:


    The Siege Of Firebase Gloria looks really good in MGM's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are very nice and with most of the action taking place outside and in well lit conditions, they shine through, the greens in particular. Black levels could have been a bit stronger and detail won't floor you but overall, this movie looks good.


    The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track sounds just fine, offering up clear dialogue without any noticeable background hiss or noise - dig that eighties score. The levels are well balanced, the score sounds good and there are no problems here to complain about.

    Extras are nonexistent. The movie is divided into chapters in ten minute intervals.


    The Final Word:


    A rock solid action movie directed with a great eye for pacing and action set pieces performed incredibly well by an awesome cast? Yeah, that about sums this one up. Great stuff - too bad the disc is completely barebones as it would have been great to hear from Hauser or Ermey about this one, but at least it looks and sounds pretty good.




















      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X