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Buffalo Soldiers (2001 film)
Encyclopedia
Buffalo Soldiers is a 2001 film, based on the 1993 novel by Robert O'Connor
, which follows the rogue activities of a group of US soldiers based in West Germany
during 1989 when the fall of the Berlin Wall
is imminent. It stars Joaquin Phoenix
, Ed Harris
, Anna Paquin
, Haluk Bilginer
, Scott Glenn
, and Elizabeth McGovern
and is directed by Gregor Jordan
.
The world premiere was held at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival
in early September. However, being a satire
of the US military
, the film's wider theatrical run was delayed by approximately two years because of the 2001 US attacks.
Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is an American soldier stationed in Germany in 1989. He has become bored with the lack of a war, and devotes his attention to black market deals. He is cooking heroin for a gang of drug-dealing MPs
. Elwood, a supply specialist, poses as a good soldier to his commanding officer Colonel Berman (Ed Harris) giving him the opportunity to turn Army protocol to his advantage. Berman has no idea what supplies he is requisitioning or that Elwood is sleeping with his wife (Elizabeth McGovern).
But Elwood's company gets a new First Sergeant Robert E. Lee (Scott Glenn). The new Top is both menacing and savvy, quickly assessing that soldiers like Elwood are on the fiddle. Meanwhile a tank
crew, under the influence of heroin, kill two soldiers in charge of a weapons convoy by crashing through a gas station. Elwood happens upon the cache and steals the trucks and hides them in a missile base.
Lee confronts Elwood but Elwood tries to bribe him. Lee removes all of Elwood's privileges, and makes him share his room with a new honest soldier, Knoll, who doesn't fit well with Elwood's lifestyle.
To get back at Lee, Elwood pursues his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin), whom he takes out for the night and then deliberately brings home to her father's house to have sex with in his car, while Lee is looking on from the window of the house. The next morning, Elwood finds that he and his squad are doing weapons training. The object of Lee's exercise is to use Elwood's car as target practice. Lee also leaves a hand grenade
trap in a locker that some soldiers have been using to hide heroin. The grenade explodes and kills one of Elwood's friends.
Elwood attempts to sell the weapons to a Turkish dealer who will only exchange them for a massive amount of opium
. Reluctantly, Elwood accepts and plans to cook it into heroin. A fight between the soldier in charge of heroin sales, MP Sergeant Saad, and Knoll ensues. Elwood saves Knoll and recruits him as well as Sgt. Saad to help cook the heroin. In order to have time to pick up the weapons from the missile base, Elwood sells out Colonel Berman on an army exercise against another regiment
ultimately leading to the colonel's dismissal from the Army. Berman reflects on this turn of events with Elwood unaware that he betrayed him.
While the opium is being cooked, Elwood sneaks to the base swimming pool to meet Robyn. Knoll then appears with Sgt Lee. It is then revealed he is a 2nd Lieutenant from the Inspector General's Office. Knoll has been investigating Elwood. Knoll puts Robyn in a car while Lee beats up Elwood. However, Robyn tells Knoll that her dad is going to kill Elwood. Meanwhile commando
s reporting to Knoll attempt to arrest Elwood's partners, but Saad, intoxicated by the opium fumes, provokes a gunfight. Lee attempts to kill Elwood by throwing him out of a window but Knoll holds him at gunpoint. The building explodes because of a gas explosion in the basement caused by burning morphine
. Elwood wraps his handcuffs around Lee's neck and draws him out the window as Knoll is engulfed in flames. Elwood survives by landing on Lee.
The film then concludes with heavy irony. The US Army decorates Elwood with medals (Lee receives a posthumous Silver Star
). Elwood is transferred to Hawaii
and his new CO is portrayed as naive like Col. Berman. Elwood states that Robyn remains his sweetheart and that she will be visiting soon. The film ends with Elwood requesting excessive supplies, implying that he plans to sell them on the black market again.
Robert O'Connor (author)
Robert O'Connor is an American novelist, hailed as one of the most promising young American novelists and the author of a novel, Buffalo Soldiers, the basis for the 2001 movie of the same name.-Biography:...
, which follows the rogue activities of a group of US soldiers based in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
during 1989 when the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
is imminent. It stars Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
, Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
, Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin
Anna Helene Paquin is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history...
, Haluk Bilginer
Haluk Bilginer
Haluk Bilginer is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera EastEnders during the 1980s. He has also starred in Hollywood movies as a minor actor...
, Scott Glenn
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
, and Elizabeth McGovern
Elizabeth McGovern
-Early life:McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine Wolcott , a high school teacher, and William Montgomery McGovern, Jr., a university professor. Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William Montgomery McGovern and her maternal great-grandfather was U.S. diplomat...
and is directed by Gregor Jordan
Gregor Jordan
Gregor Jordan is an Australian film director.Jordan's films include Two Hands , Buffalo Soldiers , and Ned Kelly . He has also directed the concert video These Days: Live in Concert by Australian rock band Powderfinger.His film Two Hands won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction...
.
The world premiere was held at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
in early September. However, being a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
of the US military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, the film's wider theatrical run was delayed by approximately two years because of the 2001 US attacks.
Plot
SpecialistSpecialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) is an American soldier stationed in Germany in 1989. He has become bored with the lack of a war, and devotes his attention to black market deals. He is cooking heroin for a gang of drug-dealing MPs
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
. Elwood, a supply specialist, poses as a good soldier to his commanding officer Colonel Berman (Ed Harris) giving him the opportunity to turn Army protocol to his advantage. Berman has no idea what supplies he is requisitioning or that Elwood is sleeping with his wife (Elizabeth McGovern).
But Elwood's company gets a new First Sergeant Robert E. Lee (Scott Glenn). The new Top is both menacing and savvy, quickly assessing that soldiers like Elwood are on the fiddle. Meanwhile a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
crew, under the influence of heroin, kill two soldiers in charge of a weapons convoy by crashing through a gas station. Elwood happens upon the cache and steals the trucks and hides them in a missile base.
Lee confronts Elwood but Elwood tries to bribe him. Lee removes all of Elwood's privileges, and makes him share his room with a new honest soldier, Knoll, who doesn't fit well with Elwood's lifestyle.
To get back at Lee, Elwood pursues his daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin), whom he takes out for the night and then deliberately brings home to her father's house to have sex with in his car, while Lee is looking on from the window of the house. The next morning, Elwood finds that he and his squad are doing weapons training. The object of Lee's exercise is to use Elwood's car as target practice. Lee also leaves a hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
trap in a locker that some soldiers have been using to hide heroin. The grenade explodes and kills one of Elwood's friends.
Elwood attempts to sell the weapons to a Turkish dealer who will only exchange them for a massive amount of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
. Reluctantly, Elwood accepts and plans to cook it into heroin. A fight between the soldier in charge of heroin sales, MP Sergeant Saad, and Knoll ensues. Elwood saves Knoll and recruits him as well as Sgt. Saad to help cook the heroin. In order to have time to pick up the weapons from the missile base, Elwood sells out Colonel Berman on an army exercise against another regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
ultimately leading to the colonel's dismissal from the Army. Berman reflects on this turn of events with Elwood unaware that he betrayed him.
While the opium is being cooked, Elwood sneaks to the base swimming pool to meet Robyn. Knoll then appears with Sgt Lee. It is then revealed he is a 2nd Lieutenant from the Inspector General's Office. Knoll has been investigating Elwood. Knoll puts Robyn in a car while Lee beats up Elwood. However, Robyn tells Knoll that her dad is going to kill Elwood. Meanwhile commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
s reporting to Knoll attempt to arrest Elwood's partners, but Saad, intoxicated by the opium fumes, provokes a gunfight. Lee attempts to kill Elwood by throwing him out of a window but Knoll holds him at gunpoint. The building explodes because of a gas explosion in the basement caused by burning morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
. Elwood wraps his handcuffs around Lee's neck and draws him out the window as Knoll is engulfed in flames. Elwood survives by landing on Lee.
The film then concludes with heavy irony. The US Army decorates Elwood with medals (Lee receives a posthumous Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
). Elwood is transferred to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and his new CO is portrayed as naive like Col. Berman. Elwood states that Robyn remains his sweetheart and that she will be visiting soon. The film ends with Elwood requesting excessive supplies, implying that he plans to sell them on the black market again.
Cast
- Joaquin PhoenixJoaquin PhoenixJoaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
as SPC Ray Elwood - Ed HarrisEd HarrisEdward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
as COL Berman - Scott GlennScott GlennTheodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
as 1SG Robert E. Lee - Anna PaquinAnna PaquinAnna Helene Paquin is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history...
as Robyn Lee - Haluk BilginerHaluk BilginerHaluk Bilginer is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera EastEnders during the 1980s. He has also starred in Hollywood movies as a minor actor...
as The Turk - Elizabeth McGovernElizabeth McGovern-Early life:McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine Wolcott , a high school teacher, and William Montgomery McGovern, Jr., a university professor. Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William Montgomery McGovern and her maternal great-grandfather was U.S. diplomat...
as Mrs. Berman - Michael PeñaMichael PeñaMichael Anthony Peña is an American film and television actor. He is probably best known for his roles in the films Crash, World Trade Center, Observe and Report, 30 Minutes or Less and Tower Heist...
as Garcia - Leon RobinsonLeon RobinsonLeon Preston Robinson IV usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer, who began his professional career as an actor in 1981.-Personal life:...
as Stoney - Gabriel Mann as Knoll
- Dean StockwellDean StockwellDean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
as GEN Lancaster - Brian DelateBrian DelateBrian Delate is an American actor.He was born in Trenton, New Jersey to Joseph and Patricia Delate, but would be primarily raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.Delate served in the Vietnam War before entering a career in acting....
as COL Marshall - Glenn FitzgeraldGlenn FitzgeraldGlenn Fitzgerald is an American actor who has had over 30 roles in movies or television series. He played the character of Sean in The Sixth Sense...
as Hicks - Idris ElbaIdris ElbaIdrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
as Kimborough
Critical reception
The movie fared well amongst critics, and currently holds a 72% 'fresh' rating at Rotten Tomatoes.External links
- Gregor Jordan interview http://www.moviecitynews.com/Interviews/jordan.html
- Eric Axel Weiss interview http://www.moviemaker.com/screenwriting/article/soldiering_on_2696/