thedrifter
02-20-07, 10:56 AM
Documentary captures spirit of 'The Marines'
2/20/2007
By ALAN PERGAMENT I'd probably last less than five minutes in the U.S. Marine Corps.
I greatly admire any young patriotic American who can get through the brutal training and who believes strongly in the importance of defending our country.
It would almost be un-American to do anything but salute the 90-minute WNED-TV documentary, "The Marines," which airs nationally at 9 p.m. Wednesday and is dedicated to the memory of Medal of Honor winner Jason Dunham, the Marine from Allegany County who died in Iraq in 2004.
After five minutes, it is apparent that "The Marines" is practically a 90-minute recruitment promotion for the warrior spirit of the Corps that gives some fascinating details about the history of the Corps and the amazing people who have served in it.
"The Marines" was written, directed and produced by John Grant, the chief programming officer for WNED-TV. It was proposed by Sal Alfiero, a local businessman, philanthropist and former Marine aviator, and significantly funded by the Alfiero Family Charitable Foundation.
It is a beautifully shot film that almost makes one feel the spirit of the Corps and the intense training one undergoes before becoming worthy of belonging to this fraternity.
"The timing is right to do something like this," said Grant in a telephone interview. "People are now more interested in the military."
They also are less involved with the military. Grant notes that recent polls suggest only a small percentage of Americans know someone in the service. "For those people who don't know someone, this is revealing," said Grant.
The film is augmented with interviews with more than two dozen present and former Marines, military correspondents and other experts on the Marines who talk of the branch's pride, spirit and things that only those who have gone through training and war probably can fully understand.
The film celebrates the Marines without celebrating war, which everyone acknowledges is unimaginable hell. Viewers are given access to training facilities at Parris Island, S.C., and Twentynine Palms, Calif., and at Office Candidates School in Quantico, Va., where the would-be Marines are screamed at and tested under extremely grueling circumstances that would have almost anyone question their sanity for deciding to become a Marine.
Even one guy who passed the boot camp test with flying colors acknowledged that he briefly wondered why he hadn't decided to spend the summer as a lifeguard instead.
Of course, there are some sensitive topics to address. The increasing role of women in the Marine Corps is handled delicately. The Marines who were badly wounded in Iraq discuss their injuries, but they are often photographed so carefully that viewers are unable to understand what the injuries are and the price of war.
"That was kind of intentional," said Grant. "It is difficult to deal with injuries without being overly manipulative."
There also is a brief - very brief - acknowledgment of potential problems of abuse that have occurred in the Corps. "By and large, the Marines don't have a lot of black eyes," said Grant.
The iconic Marine image at Iwo Jima is respectfully handled without any of the cynicism about its depiction in the recent Clint Eastwood movie, "Flags of Our Fathers."
It would be foolish to expect anything but flag-waving in "The Marines," a documentary that comes at a time in our history when almost all Americans agree that the military deserves strong support even if the unpopular war doesn't. Likewise, this well-produced documentary deserves support even if it isn't revolutionary.
• HBO gives a very different view of the military in the disturbing and enlightening Rory Kennedy documentary, "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib." The film about the torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. Army soldiers premieres on the pay-cable channel at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Through interviews with authors, lawyers and several soldiers who were court-martialed and a few who witnessed the heinous behavior described by the voices of Iraqi victims, "Ghosts" suggests that the disturbing pictures that severely damaged the United States' reputation were largely the end product of Bush administration policies that gave some soldiers the mistaken impression that anything goes in the treatment of prisoners.
Kennedy's film is particularly rough on former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who at the very least is depicted as advocating extreme techniques in the torture of prisoners to get what was believed to be valuable information from detainees.
The court-martialed soldiers and witnesses don't defend the actions as much as they try to put them in the context of what they were being told to do and the conditions at Abu Ghraib.
The chilling film makes it easy to comprehend how anyone in similar circumstances could become "numb" to things they know are morally and ethically wrong and lose all sense of humanity. In that sense, the court-martialed soldiers become sympathetic figures who appear to have been sacrificed to protect those who formulated the inhumane policies and aren't interviewed.
One thing is certain: This powerful, heartbreaking film isn't a recruitment poster for the Army.
e-mail:apergament@buffnews.com.
Television Review
"The Marines"
(out of four)
9 p.m. Wednesday on WNED-TV
"Ghost of Abu Ghraib"
(out of four)
9:30 p.m. Thursday on HBO
Ellie
2/20/2007
By ALAN PERGAMENT I'd probably last less than five minutes in the U.S. Marine Corps.
I greatly admire any young patriotic American who can get through the brutal training and who believes strongly in the importance of defending our country.
It would almost be un-American to do anything but salute the 90-minute WNED-TV documentary, "The Marines," which airs nationally at 9 p.m. Wednesday and is dedicated to the memory of Medal of Honor winner Jason Dunham, the Marine from Allegany County who died in Iraq in 2004.
After five minutes, it is apparent that "The Marines" is practically a 90-minute recruitment promotion for the warrior spirit of the Corps that gives some fascinating details about the history of the Corps and the amazing people who have served in it.
"The Marines" was written, directed and produced by John Grant, the chief programming officer for WNED-TV. It was proposed by Sal Alfiero, a local businessman, philanthropist and former Marine aviator, and significantly funded by the Alfiero Family Charitable Foundation.
It is a beautifully shot film that almost makes one feel the spirit of the Corps and the intense training one undergoes before becoming worthy of belonging to this fraternity.
"The timing is right to do something like this," said Grant in a telephone interview. "People are now more interested in the military."
They also are less involved with the military. Grant notes that recent polls suggest only a small percentage of Americans know someone in the service. "For those people who don't know someone, this is revealing," said Grant.
The film is augmented with interviews with more than two dozen present and former Marines, military correspondents and other experts on the Marines who talk of the branch's pride, spirit and things that only those who have gone through training and war probably can fully understand.
The film celebrates the Marines without celebrating war, which everyone acknowledges is unimaginable hell. Viewers are given access to training facilities at Parris Island, S.C., and Twentynine Palms, Calif., and at Office Candidates School in Quantico, Va., where the would-be Marines are screamed at and tested under extremely grueling circumstances that would have almost anyone question their sanity for deciding to become a Marine.
Even one guy who passed the boot camp test with flying colors acknowledged that he briefly wondered why he hadn't decided to spend the summer as a lifeguard instead.
Of course, there are some sensitive topics to address. The increasing role of women in the Marine Corps is handled delicately. The Marines who were badly wounded in Iraq discuss their injuries, but they are often photographed so carefully that viewers are unable to understand what the injuries are and the price of war.
"That was kind of intentional," said Grant. "It is difficult to deal with injuries without being overly manipulative."
There also is a brief - very brief - acknowledgment of potential problems of abuse that have occurred in the Corps. "By and large, the Marines don't have a lot of black eyes," said Grant.
The iconic Marine image at Iwo Jima is respectfully handled without any of the cynicism about its depiction in the recent Clint Eastwood movie, "Flags of Our Fathers."
It would be foolish to expect anything but flag-waving in "The Marines," a documentary that comes at a time in our history when almost all Americans agree that the military deserves strong support even if the unpopular war doesn't. Likewise, this well-produced documentary deserves support even if it isn't revolutionary.
• HBO gives a very different view of the military in the disturbing and enlightening Rory Kennedy documentary, "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib." The film about the torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. Army soldiers premieres on the pay-cable channel at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Through interviews with authors, lawyers and several soldiers who were court-martialed and a few who witnessed the heinous behavior described by the voices of Iraqi victims, "Ghosts" suggests that the disturbing pictures that severely damaged the United States' reputation were largely the end product of Bush administration policies that gave some soldiers the mistaken impression that anything goes in the treatment of prisoners.
Kennedy's film is particularly rough on former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who at the very least is depicted as advocating extreme techniques in the torture of prisoners to get what was believed to be valuable information from detainees.
The court-martialed soldiers and witnesses don't defend the actions as much as they try to put them in the context of what they were being told to do and the conditions at Abu Ghraib.
The chilling film makes it easy to comprehend how anyone in similar circumstances could become "numb" to things they know are morally and ethically wrong and lose all sense of humanity. In that sense, the court-martialed soldiers become sympathetic figures who appear to have been sacrificed to protect those who formulated the inhumane policies and aren't interviewed.
One thing is certain: This powerful, heartbreaking film isn't a recruitment poster for the Army.
e-mail:apergament@buffnews.com.
Television Review
"The Marines"
(out of four)
9 p.m. Wednesday on WNED-TV
"Ghost of Abu Ghraib"
(out of four)
9:30 p.m. Thursday on HBO
Ellie