The Boys in Company C (Special Edition)

Outshines Full Metal Jacket
The Boys in Company C was not only released 10 years before Full Metal Jacket, but is 10 times better. R. Lee Ermey plays the USMC DI who whips a bunch of civilian misfits into a cohesive fighting unit that will have most of them going to Vietnam upon graduation. (Sounds familiar doesn't it Mr. Kubrick?). This movie gives the viewer a fantastic Who's Who of most of the cast before they even show up to "Boot Camp". From the concientious objector, to the high school jock, to the street-smart drug dealer, the first ten minutes of the movie gives you a solid understanding of why their characters do what they do throughout the movie. Although this movie is paralleled by FMJ, The Boys of Company C has a much better story line. After graduation, the ones chosen for Vietnam meet their new company commander on the transit ship and are exposed to an interesting concept of how to defeat the Vietnamese by playing soccer. The entire movie is excellent, well acted, and flows evenly...

A few good men...
The parallels between 'Full Metal Jacket' and this film, 'The Boys of Company C', could not fail to be noticed, even without the stand-out performance of R. Lee Ermey in both films as a Drill Instructor (DI), a role he fulfilled in real life prior to his acting career. This was Ermey's first film role, and made him a person to watch; ironically, Ermey is better recognised today that most of the other stars of the film. Stan Shaw gives one of the best performances of his career here as Tyrone Washington, the independent, out-for-himself recruit who, being a natural leader, is tapped to take charge, and finds his sense of duty and teamwork growing stronger as his time in the Marine Corps proceeds.

Other recruits followed include Billy Ray Pike (Andrew Stevens, in one of his early roles), a high school jock depressed because he has lost the glory of those days; Alvin Foster (James Canning), the aspiring writer who is hoping to turn the Marine Corps into a story for fame and...

Great Movie, But Possible False Advertising for "New" DVD and Possible Illegal Copy
The movie is a great movie. The movie itself I will heartily recommend to all Marines, and I guess other military enthusiasts. ;-)

BUT...

I thought I was getting a newly released DVD version from the parent company. I was wrong.

Choices advertised of this item are NEW and USED. I ordered NEW.

However, upon receipt yesterday, I discovered that while it was sealed in a box, it was not an original, but a copy of a VHS. While it may fit the bill as NEW because of a new DVD on which it was copied, it should not be advertised as such.

Yes, the plastic box was new, but that was all.

1. The DVD was a copy of at least a second generation VHS copy.

I own a 1st generation copy bought almost 20 years ago in Japan. My copy still higher quality than this DVD.

2. The artwork on the box is a poor scanned-in copy of the original VHS box and possibly clips cut from the movie.

I have since...

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Shut Up! (Tais Toi)

A Laugh Riot!
A brilliant comic performance from Gerard Depardieu as a simpleton so annoying and talkative it's hard to believe marks another hilarious collaboration between the heralded star and writer/director Francis Veber and actor Jean Reno. The group from Les Fugitifs, remade in America as Three Fugitives, is equally as good here. Depardieu will have you laughing out load much of the time. Reno is no slouch either as the hardened and dangerous mobster out for revenge against the man who took his only love away. It gets more complicated, and more hilarious by the minute when Quentin (Depardieu) attaches himself to Ruby (Reno), his only friend.

The talent and quality of the three principals, both in front of and behind the camera make this film what others in this genre try to be but are not. In short, this is dumb comedy for smart people, a brilliantly executed exercise in making us smile while feeling a tug in our hearts. A clumsy robbery, an escape from prison that will leave your...

"Be Quiet!" Gérard Depardieu & Jean Reno in Well-made, Character-Driven Comedy
"Tais-toi!" (meaning `Shut-up') is also known as "Ruby & Quentin" in some countries. Whatever it is, the film's greatest asset is its stars - Gérard Depardieu and Jean Reno. In spite of the capable supports from Jean-Pierre Malo, Richard Berry, and Leonor Varela, the film belongs to the two leading stars.

Gérard Depardieu plays Quentin, a criminal who made a silly mistake in commiting 'bank robbery.' Now in prison, Quentin has a knack of irritating the guys around him by his constant gab. He is the worst kind of inmate to be with, who never stops asking things a single moment, and he thinks he is a very nice person trying to be gentle while you are most likely driven to madness by his constant chatting.

Jean Reno is a professional killer Ruby, who has stolen money from the mobster/his former employer Vogel (Jean-Pierre Malo), and hid it somewhere he alone knows. Both the boss of the gangster and Police Commissionaire Vernet (Richard Berry) want to...

A VERY funny movie
I really enjoyed this movie. Depardieu shows his versatility as an actor this time playing the role of a very simpleminded but talkative fugitive, who ends up sharing a cell with a much more sinister character played by Jean Reno. Very watchable movie with much heart.

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