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List Price: $26.95 | | Label: DOCURAMA
Salesrank: 65209
Released: January 15, 2008 |
| Our Price: $12.29 |
| Used Price: $7.50 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This pioneering film illuminates the extraordinary experiences of American servicemen and women through their own powerful stories. Based on the acclaimed NEA-sponsored book of the same name, this eloquent and moving (Entertainment Weekly) film offers a profound look at the lives of those serving in America s armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Distinguished actors like Robert Duvall, Beau Bridges and Aaron Eckhart give voice to the poems, stories, essays, letters, and journal entries of people on the frontlines. Weaving these dramatic readings with interviews with their authors, OPERATION HOMECOMING transforms the written word into a living, breathing look at the human side of America s current military conflicts. An honest and intensely personal look at war through firsthand accounts, this groundbreaking documentary adds depth to individual experiences by looking at them within the context of the long and venerable tradition of war writing. By turns poetic, comic, and chilling (Variety), this film gives voice to those heroes who have served and wish to share their experiences with the world.
DVD Features: Deleted Interview Clips; Poetry Reading; Men in Black Illustrated Storyboard; Making of the Short Film Featurette; Theatrical Trailer; 5.1 Sound
Operation Homecoming - Writing the Wartime Experience Reviews:
a shattering experience 
2009-02-25 - "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" is an Oscar-nominated documentary made up almost entirely of journal entries and poems written by soldiers and marines in combat. Operation Homecoming was a program developed by the National Endowment For the Arts in which distinguished authors were sent to military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to teach soldiers and their families how to capture their experiences of war on paper. Ultimately, thousands of pages worth of personal reflections, in the form of essays, anecdotes and poems, were submitted to the project, only a very small handful of which could, by necessity, find their way into this film.
If nothing else, "Operation Homecoming" serves as an invaluable tool documenting what life is like for the common fighting man toiling in the trenches of not only these two specific wars but of any armed conflict. Notably absent from the film are statements and speeches made by military strategists, politicians and world leaders whose views we hear expressed ad infinitum and ad nauseam throughout the course of any military action. In their place are the thoughts and words of the men and women on the front lines, who day after day confront the actual face of war.
Through their essays and poems, these authors convey, with tremendous eloquence and insight, just what it means to live in near-constant fear of being injured or killed; or to see one's friends and comrades fall under a hail of bullets or be blown to smithereens by a detonated explosive; or to wrestle with the guilt of having snuffed out a fellow human being's life despite the fact that you've been raised from infancy to believe killing is wrong. As have many authors before them (Stephen Crane in "The Red Badge of Courage" comes first to mind), some of these writers show how the heroic idealism of a pre-war mindset can be instantly shattered when confronted with the brutal reality of life on the battlefield. For some, the writing has become almost a form of therapy, allowing them to process the experience in the hopes of eventually coming to terms with it all - if that`s even possible.
The movie provides battle footage, still photos, staged reenactments and animation sequences, along with interviews with the actual writers and other authors on the subject (i.e., Anthony Swofford, Tobias Wolff) to visually complement and supplement the readings, which are delivered respectfully and movingly by such trained actors as Robert Duvall, Beau Bridges and Aaron Eckhart.
But all is not pure, unrelieved grimness. There is also a bit of gallows humor in the writing, designed to alleviate not only the stress of combat but the long stretches of intense boredom that are also, paradoxically, a part of life in the field. Indeed, there is probably not a single aspect of combat life that is not touched upon at some point in this film. It's that comprehensive.
This movie takes the issue out of the realm of the abstract, clearing away all the jingoism and false bravado that often go into depictions of war. These are just real people telling us their real stories in their own words, and some of them are absolutely heartbreaking. Through its honesty and artistry, the film becomes a stirring tribute to each and every one of the fine young men and women who have risked their lives - and given their lives - in battle. No matter your personal feelings about these particular wars or of war in general, you won't look at any of it in quite the same way again after seeing "Operation Homecoming."
And if you find yourself weeping - which you inevitably will - through the course of the film, you can do so without shame.
hard hitting
2008-12-16 - Yes, we have heard it all... seen it all... lived it all before. Yes, this is another "war documentary" that shows firsthand what it is like. But this time the producers have hit on an entirely fresh, new, novel method of sharing it... of communicating it. And in so doing, it becomes fresh... raw... new... almost as if for the first time we are learning what it is like inside the head of those who are there.... Well worth the watching....
Marc Waszkiewicz
Viet Nam veteran
Bremerton, Washington
History in the making
2008-05-09 - Regardless of one's politics, it's important for all of us to understand what our troops and families have and are going through in our war on terrorism and appreciate the sacrifices, big and small, they've all made. The book of the same name was a touchstone for tapping into the minds of those whose stories made into this collection. From first hand accounts on the frontlines, to those who've aided, both medically and psychologically, to the final trip and tribute a Marine officer gives to his fallen comrade the dvd picks up where the book leaves off, offering us a slendid visual potpourri; from live action film to stills to a loose animation, almost storyboarding of events as seen through the eyes of a young soldier. It is a film that leaves one wanting more and wanting to revisit the film again and again.
The war told by human beings.
2008-05-03 - This may be the only Iraq war movie you ever see without an ax to grind.
The soldiers tell their stories.
People of any opinion can watch this movie.
Would that we had more like them.
Incredibly Well-Done Documentary
2008-04-29 - I think I've been socially hardened by documentaries that don't show all sides of a story, or instill the documentary-makers' opinions or images (see Sicko) in place of what should be being told.
So it is with a heavy sigh of relief that I wholeheartedly recommend this Academy Award nominated documentary, OPERATION HOMECOMING: WRITING THE WARTIME EXPERIENCE.
First let's look at why this film is so successful. It's fresh. Most war writings are done by established or well-groomed writers, giving them decent syntax, etc., but lacking that up-close and personal process that goes along with firing weapons and being fired at during war. And this is where Operation Homecoming succeeds. The writings are all firsthand accountings from soldiers who've walked the walk and talked the talk.
Secondly is the unique filming. Each segment contains a different milieu and a different style of filming. From animation to quick-flash photography of those that've given their lives, the stories are told in a highly interesting fashion that keeps the viewer very interested.
Thirdly is the internal conflict that so easily comes across. From the beginning of the film when soldiers discuss their upbringing from childhood and being told killing is wrong, to being thrown into a situation where you're trained to kill for "God and Country," the film watcher understands the conundrum these men and women are put into.
The final successful element is the men and women themselves and how they deal with tough situations. There's never the "Why am I here" question asked. They know why they're there. They don't care about policy or partisan politics or money or oil. They care about the guy to their left and right who's protecting their backside during a fire-fight.
Each `chapter' (if you will) contains a title and the story of a soldier. From the grunts on the ground, to the medic flying the injured to Germany, to the honor guard who sees the dead to their final resting place, Operation Homecoming is truly a unique gem in the documentary genre.
