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List Price: $19.97 | | Label: Hbo Home Video
Salesrank: 249
Released: May 12, 2009 |
| Our Price: $12.57 |
| Used Price: $5.50 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
AC-3 Closed-captioned Color Dolby DVD Subtitled NTSC | Starring:
K e v i n B a c o n | |
Editorial Review:
Based on the true experiences of Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl, who wrote eloquently of them in a widely circulated 2004 article, Taking Chance is a profoundly emotional look at the military rituals taken to honor its war dead, as represented by a fallen Marine killed in Iraq, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. Working as a strategic analyst at Marine Corps Base Quantico in VA, Lt. Col. Strobl (Kevin Bacon) learns that Phelps had once lived in his hometown, and volunteers to escort the body to its final resting place in Wyoming. As Strobl journeys across America, he discovers the great diligence and dignity in how the military, and all those involved with preparing and transporting the body, handle their duties. Equally important, he encounters hundreds of people affected by Chances death, a vast majority of whom never knew him. This collective grieving eventually causes Lt. Col. Strobl, a veteran of Desert Storm now assigned to office duty, to probe his own guilt about not re-deploying to Iraq for the current conflict. Arriving in Wyoming, Lt. Col. Strobl completes his catharsis when he encounters Chances gracious family and friends, and discovers an extraordinary outpouring of community support.
Description of Taking Chance:
The made-for-HBO Taking Chance is based on perhaps the single most moving artifact to come out of the Second Gulf War, Lt. Col. Mike Strobl's first-person narrative of his voluntary mission escorting the body of a fellow Marine killed in Iraq. Strobl (played in the film by Kevin Bacon) hadn't known Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps but, noticing they'd been born in the same western town, he requested temporary leave from his duties as a manpower-deployment analyst at Quantico in order to accompany the 20-year-old's body home. Home, as it turned out, was no longer their shared birthplace in Colorado but the high-country Wyoming town of Dubois. The journey would take Strobl deep into the heart of his nation, and his own heart as well. There's no overstating the power and beauty of what he encountered: one instance after another of not just military personnel but airline employees, passengers, and bystanders doing honor--mostly wordlessly--to Chance's coffin and his escort as they passed by. First-time director Ross Katz deserves credit for declining to inflate any of these moments or underscore their meaning with grandiloquent speechifying, and Bacon--an actor who couldn't hit a false note if his life depended on it--is true to the Desert Storm veteran's self-discipline and emotional discretion. The picture's decency is unimpeachable, and Strobl's story, transcending pro-war and anti-war politics, is itself an act of healing. What's missing is the seasoned hand of a great director (Ang Lee, say) to invest it with the rhythm and movement of a fully achieved feature film. Still, this is a journey you'll feel enriched by sharing. --Richard T. Jameson
On the DVD
Several somewhat overlapping short videos offer testimony to Chance Phelps's fun-loving spirit, heroic death, and spiritual legacy by his family, friends, and fellow Marines. They're good people. There's also a brief deleted scene--actually, portion of a scene--and some not particularly illuminating commentary on the making of the film. --Richard T. Jameson
Taking Chance Reviews:
Moving 
2009-11-05 - Up to this point, I thought Shindler's List was the most moving and emotional film. This film, "Taking Chance" far surpasses it. I have now watched it 3 times and it is a moving, truly unforgettable film. I have recommended to all my friends
Quiet and Powerful
2009-11-04 - I didn't know this film was based on a true story until the end, and that made it all the more powerful for me. Kevin Bacon is amazing and Taking Chance may be the best film about war and its effects on both American families and those who serve our country. This is such a great movie, it's worth seeing again and again. Most highly recommended.
I Hate War but.....
2009-10-26 - I hate war with all its pain and its loss. I hate the devastation, the loss of humanity. The loss of our troops embraced and watching their life light die in their eyes. I hate the helplessness yet understanding what needs to be done. I hate war because I've seen how it can break a man like shattered glass.
I hate war, but I truly respect and honor the soldiers for giving their all.
The movie broke my heart, reduced me to tears yet made me very proud of the Marine who was my brother. He was much like Marines in the "Taking Chance". I have my own Chance Phelps, except the war in which he fought. They got each others' back, the were tough when they needed, and they did their duty. Mike Strobl gave us a touching and revealing in his journey. Kevin Bacon was every bit the Marine. Thank you both for your service, alive or dead, active duty or not.
Wow, just. Wow
2009-10-23 - This is quite possibly the most powerful movie I have ever watched. Whether you're military, civilian, or a dependent if this movie doesn't move you there is something wrong with you. I really do think this is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
Taking Chance, the real story
2009-10-22 - This is an outstanding story about how Americans honor the dead from the current conflicts in the Middle East. It is well written, well acted and true to life. Kevin Bacon deserves an Oscar or at least the Presidential Freedom Award for this role. If you haven't seen it, you should, and today, thank a vet and remember what they have done for this great country of ours.
