Interesting, but falls short of real substance.

Underrated and entertaining.

A underrated darker-than-night satire that generates equal parts humor and tension and benefits from a sharply-written script. Unfairly maligned during its initial release as "anti-American" due to its less-than-positive take on certain aspects of th... (read more) A underrated darker-than-night satire that generates equal parts humor and tension and benefits from a sharply-written script. Unfairly maligned during its initial release as "anti-American" due to its less-than-positive take on certain aspects of the military (the original release date for this film was just days before the 09/11 attacks), this film has thankfully found an audience but its still relatively obscure. I would stop short of calling this film hilarious but it is still very funny and it manages to cull its humor from less-than-savory material. And towards the end of the film when it starts to morph into more of a thriller, it manages to generate some suspense without completely jettisoning the more comic parts. Imagine, if you will, what the results would be if M*A*S*H were directed by Quentin Tarantino and that should give you a fair approximation of what to expect here. The performances are solid all around. Joaquin Phoenix, who was fresh off of an Oscar nomination (his first of two to date) for his villainous role in Gladiator back when this film was originally due for release, is equally as good here in a much different role as the protagonist of this film. He makes his somewhat duplicitous character likable and that is the key to this film's success. His running voice-over commentary is especially worthwhile. The more interesting performances belong to Ed Harris (who plays against type as a rather spineless commanding officer) and Scott Glenn (who plays to type as the hard-nosed new commander who comes in to clean things up around the base). Glenn, in particular, is almost frightening with the kind of intensity he radiates. This in not someone you mess with without thinking about it first. Harris is far more laid back that were used to seeing from him but he manages to pull of his milquetoast part quite well, which is a testament to his range as an actor. Solid support is provided by Elizabeth Govern as the adulterous wife of the commanding officer, the underrated Anna Paquin, who plays Elwood's love interest and the new top's daughter, Gabriel Mann who plays Elwood's roommate, and finally Leon and Michael Pena, who play his partners in crime. Aussie director Gregor Jordan's work is also worth mentioning. He keeps tight control of every scene, keeping the running time at well under two hours. Moreover, the dark, gritty and sometimes near-monochrome of the cinematography is also worth mentioning it is definitely in keeping with the cynical tone of the film. This is not a perfect movie by any means (in particular, the movie does fall prey to some rather unfortunate and easy-to predict "twists" near the end) but overall, it's a very solid comedy/thriller, that deserves far more attention than it has gotten over the years.

I find this one of the best tragic comedies i have ever seen! Joaquin is a good actor and suitable for this kind of flicks because hes a bit "weird", loved the tank part!!nice army-dope movie...

War is hell, but peace is f*@cking boring! A good insight into the tediums of the cold war.

very good! ascerbic,cynical and funny. the books better but thats nearly always the case.

Buffalo Soldiers premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 9 September 2001. The events that happened two days later killed the film's distribution in the US - which is a pity because the film was funny. However, the low key distribution was more a m... (read more) Buffalo Soldiers premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 9 September 2001. The events that happened two days later killed the film's distribution in the US - which is a pity because the film was funny. However, the low key distribution was more a means to limit the success of such an obvious piss-take of the US army, which I suppose was not 'adapated' to 9/11 period.

Buffalo Soldiers was finally released in 2003 and subsequently had a better life in DVD. The timing was unfortunate. However, after having seen it, I'd argue that it is not an anti-war or anti-American film. It is more a dark comedy that looks at the reality of army life during peacetime. The soldiers (here a batallion based in West Germany in 1989) are bored and the lack of action has got to their heads.

One of the opening scenes depicts this. A bunch of soldiers decide to play American football in the mess and one guy gets tackled and bangs his head on the sharp corner of a table. He dies and nobody pays attention until Phoenix's character, Ray Elwood, calls out to say so. They then chuck the dead body out of the window and then Elwood pretends he had an accident when reporting to his nice but inept superior (Ed Harris).

Elwood is a company clerk for the base and dupes the system to make some money by drug dealing and by doing some small time black market. However, the situation becomes more intense for him as he comes across some heavy weaponry, which will bring him lots more money but also a lot more trouble. In tandem with this, a new model-soldier sergeant (played by Scott Glenn) finds out what Elwood's tricks are and gives him a hard life.

Elwood, despite all this is really likeable, and Phoenix was a good choice for the part. The film had a quick pace and good dialogue served with some good dark humour and irony. In the latter stages of the film, for example, Scott Glenn's Sergeant Lee is beating up Elwood, whilst his soldiers are in a shootout with Elwood's drug buddies. At the same time we get to see some news footage on a tv which is on its side and on the floor. The footage shows the people of Berlin climbing the wall and others trying to chip into it. It goes to show that whilst some are claiming their peace and liberty, others need war as an occupation.

Elwood says this in voiceover at the beginning: "When there is peace, the warlike man attacks himself" - that's Nietzsche, and his point is that there really is no peace. There's always some war, somewhere, with someone. And there are no winners or losers either... just those who are still around to fight another day".

Adapting Robert O'Connor's novel, director Gregor Jordan slaps us with keen wit and purpose.

Buffalo Soldiers should have been left out on the range.