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Tigerland [2001]
from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
starring Colin Farrell, Matthew Davis, Clifton Collins Jr., Tom Guiry, Shea Whigham
directed by Joel Schumacher

Features:

• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

Shot in the rough, 16-millimeter style of a low-budget documentary, Tigerland marked director Joel Schumacher's welcomed return to simplicity after a slew of bloated blockbusters such as Batman & Robin. In revitalising Schumacher's directorial talent, Tigerland--which is partially inspired by the Danish Dogme 95 movement of no-frills filmmaking--suggested that one solution to Hollywood's moribund "product" was to abandon excess, focus on essentials, and assemble a fine cast of unknown actors to make it all worthwhile. To that end, Tigerland also marked the deserving arrival of Irish actor Colin Farrell as Hollywood's hottest new discovery.

Its story never leaves US soil, so Tigerland differs from such in-country Vietnam films as Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Instead, it's about the anxieties and moral dilemmas that arise from the anticipation of death and killing. These roiling emotions are focused on the character of Private Bozz (Farrell), whose insubordination betrays a singular knack for leadership during infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in 1971. Part RP McMurphy and part Cool Hand Luke, Bozz is a defiant maverick, barely tolerated by his superiors, challenged or revered by his fellow grunts and ultimately honed into a soldier of remarkable promise. An intense final week in the live-ammo training ground nicknamed "Tigerland" galvanises the platoon and Bozz's place in it, and although the film (partially based on co-writer Ross Klavan's own experience) lacks the emotional impact of Platoon, it deals quite poignantly with the internal conflicts that must be waged before external warfare can be endured. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Not bad, not great, but it may be worth taking a look at
  This film never really grabbed me, it's a good little film, but for me that's all.
  Good performances by the cast, in particular Colin Farrell in what was only his second film.
  There are some funny moments in the film, plus a few tense moments, but there was simply not enough going on for me.
  This is purely a film about soldiers in training for Vietnam, there is no "action" in this film, I have to say that I did not realise this until I'd watched the whole film, it deals with the training and... more info

• Brilliant!
  This is a great film, one of the best I've seen Colin Farrell in. It has a great storyline, good acting and brilliantly filmed. Not so much a war film as Saving Private Ryan but still very entertaining with a great twist at the end and with Farrell playing out the rebelious soldier with great enthusiasm. Well worth 5 stars in my opinion.

• Very good film
  I originally sought this film out based purely on it's trailer. I'd heard nothing about it and had heard of none of it's stars (including Colin Farrel, at the time). The result is a film bereft of window dressing and seemingly free of ego (bizarrely, given the director's track record). What it does give is a great Vietnam war film with neither Vietnam or the war to lift it. The relationships between the various soldiers are the bedrock of the film and, despite some cartoony steretypes, they are all... more info

• Tiger, tiger, burning bright...
  Tigerland is a Vietnam war film with a difference. It doesn't have a particular political message regarding Vietnam; it is more of a critique on the culture of warfare in general, where it is difficult to tell the sane from the insane, the true believers from the patriots, and those who simply want to remain alive.

  At various points in the film, the commanders in charge of training announce to the platoon that has just made another snafu that they are all dead. 'I'm still alive,' the upstart Bozz (played... more info

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