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Jarhead
Two-Disc Collector's Edition
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Scott MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Sam Mendes
Genres: Drama, Military & War

R 2006 2hr 5min

Based on Anthony Swofford's excellent memoir about his experiences as a Marine Sniper in Gulf War I, Jarhead is a war movie in which the waiting is a far greater factor upon the characters than the war itself, and the buil... more »d up to combat is more drama than what combat is depicted. To some viewers hoping for typical movie action, this will seem like a cruel joke. But it's not. It's just the story as it was written, and if you liked the book, you will probably like the movie. If you didn't, then the movie won't change your mind. The movie follows the trajectory of Swofford (played with thoughtful intensity by Jake Gyllenhaal) from wayward Marine recruit (he joined because he "got lost on the way to college") to skilled Marine sniper, and on into the desert in preparation for the attack on Iraq. No-nonsense, Marine-for-life Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx), the man who recruited Swofford and his spotter Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) into the sniper team, leads them in training, and in waiting where their lives are dominated by endless tension, pointless exercises in absurdity (like playing football in the scorching heat of the desert in their gas masks so it will look better for the media's TV cameras), more training, and constant anticipation of the moment to come when they'll finally get to kill. When the war does come, it moves too fast for Swofford's sniper team, and the one chance they get at a kill--to do the one thing they've trained so hard and waited so long for--eludes them, leaving them to wonder what was the point of all they had endured. As directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), the movie remains very loyal to the language and vision of the book, but it doesn't entirely work as the film needs something more than a literal translation to bring out its full potential. Mendes's stark and, at times, apocalyptic visuals add a lot and strike the right tone: wide shots of inky-black oil raining down on the vast, empty desert from flaming oil wells contrasted with close-ups of crude-soaked faces struggling through the mire vividly bring to life the meaning of the tagline "welcome to the suck." But much of the second half of the movie will probably leave some viewers feeling disappointed in the cinematic experience, while others might appreciate its microcosmic depiction of modern chaos and aimlessness. Jarhead is one of those examples where the book is better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. --Dan Vancini

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Movie Details

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Scott MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Sam Mendes
Creators: Bobby Cohen, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Pippa Harris, Sam Mercer, Anthony Swofford, William Broyles Jr.
Genres: Drama, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Drama, Military & War
Studio: Universal Studios
Format: DVD - Widescreen - Dubbed,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 03/07/2006
Original Release Date: 11/04/2005
Theatrical Release Date: 11/04/2005
Release Year: 2006
Run Time: 2hr 5min
Screens: Widescreen
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaDVD Credits: 2
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 0
Edition: Collector's Edition
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: Arabic, English, Latin, Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
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