DIRECTED BY: Randall Wallace

WRITTEN BY: Harold G. Moore (book)

MEL GIBSON AS: Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore

GENRE: Action, Drama, History, War

TAGLINES:

- Fathers, Brothers, Husbands & Sons.

- We were … young, brave, husbands, wives, sons, mothers, daughters, soldiers.

- 400 U.S paratroopers. 4000 Vietnamese soldiers. 12 000 miles away from home. 1 man led them into battle.

PLOT SUMMARY:

In a place soon to be known as The Valley of Death, in a small clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 young fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, all troopers from an elite American combat division, were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history. We Were Soldiers Once…And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another. –IMDB

RELEASE DATES:

2002 February 25 (United States Premiere)
2002 March 1 (United States)
2002 March 6 (Philippines)
2002 March 8 (Greece, United Kingdom)
2002 March 22 (Taiwan)
2002 March 28 (Hong Kong)
2002 March 29 (Iceland)
2002 April 12 (Denmark)
2002 April 17 (Belgium, France)
2002 April 18 (Netherlands)
2002 April 19 (Finland)
2002 April 24 (Egypt)
2002 April 25 (Australia, New Zealand)
2002 May 3 (Norway, South Korea)
2002 May 10 (Turkey)
2002 May 30 (Israel)
2002 May 31 (Sweden)
2002 June 14 (South Africa)
2002 June 22 (Japan)
2002 June 25 (Kuwait)
2002 June 28 (Estonia, Spain)
2002 July 4 (Germany, Switzerland)
2002 July 5 (Austria)
2002 July 12 (Poland)
2002 July 19 (Lithuania, Mexico)
2002 August 15 (Czech Republic)
2002 August 22 (Russia)
2002 August 23 (Italy)
2002 September 19 (Argentina)
2002 November 28 (Peru)

BOX OFFICE GROSS:

United States: $78,122,718
International: $36,538,066

FILMING LOCATIONS:
California, and Fort Benning, Georgia, USA.

TRIVIA:

- The entire film was digitally color corrected at full 2K resolution.

- Keni Thomas, who acted as both a military/technical advisor for and an extra in this film, fought in Mogadishu with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in 1993, the battle depicted in the film Black Hawk Down (2001).

- 875,000 feet of film was shot – roughly 150 hours. It took the editing team 6 days – day and night – to watch it all.

- During the last year of the production, sound engineer Steve Bartkowicz consulted the Frederick Military Academy Alumni Webmaster, Richard W. Abrams (uncredited), to determine which French bugle call would have been played during the opening massacre sequence. For historical accuracy, Abrams was also called upon to determine if the bugle call would have remained the same today as in the year of the massacre. The bugle call was found on a French military web site and forwarded to Bartkowicz.

- The French bugler shot in the beginning is writer/director Randall Wallace’s real-life son.

- A good amount of the musical score is based around the song “Sgt. McKensie”, which plays during the closing credits of the film.

- A theatrical re-release on 20 September 2002 in Arizona saw the world premiere of Randall Wallace’s “Sonic Whole Overhead Sound” format, in which the cinema’s audio system features a new ceiling speaker channel to convey height information. The mix was created by Mark P. Stoeckinger, in association with Dolby Labs and Todd-AO/Soundelux.

- The A-6 Intruder footage was originally shot for Flight of the Intruder (1991). This was necessary because the A-6 had been retired several years before this film was made, and so none were available to use in the movie.

- Although many of the names are never really seen or said throughout the movie, very careful attention was paid to ensure every member of the company was represented properly in the film. For every person that was a member of the company in real life, there was an actor on screen, most of which resembled the actual soldiers themselves.

- The real members of the 1st Cav portrayed in this film (every single one) were contacted to view a special screening of the movie before public release. Many members could not stay past the first 30 minutes of the movie because “it was exactly right. I was right there all over again.”

- Was originally scheduled for a 2001 release but was pushed back so Chris Klein could work on American Pie 2 (2001).

- The first scenes in Vietnam show a battalion sign that says “Garry Owen”. This was the famous marching song of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and is actually one word, “Garryowen”

- The closing music, “Mansions of The Lord”, has become the unofficial Army funeral hymn. It was used as the recessional at President Ronald Reagan’s funeral.

- Body count: 305

- A total of three soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for the battle represented in this film. Joseph Marm Jr. received his shortly after the battle. Bruce P. Crandall and Ed Freeman received theirs in 2007 and 2006, respectively.

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