Rough Riders (1997)

John Milius has proved everybody here that he could do a real master work of art. This is a very good mini series and it is done without false jingoism, without bombastic pathos, without silly pretense, but with a gusto, with real zeal, with real impeccable taste and vigor. John fervently studied the sources and here we see a real candid picture of a very tragic start of Americano-Spanish war of 1898. The casting is so superb that even Mr. Maxwell with his unbeatable Gettysburg would have been jealous. I was very happy to see three of Gettysburg stars here, even four - Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Buck Taylor and a cameo of Patrick Gorman. And then, here are also such luminaries as Gary Busey, Chris Noth in his arguably best role and great late Brian Keith as President McKinley. Tom Berenger as Colonel Theodore Roovelt shines all the movie through - he is loud, clumsy, arrogant, funny, sluggish, but also smart, clever, brave, audacious and unmitigated. He is very good in military roles and here Tom proved it again, Sam Elliott is another great asset, his deep resonant voice and cold look make the film very decent. Brad Johnson as Henry Nash is another great victory here, he is cowardly at first, but clever and brave later then. The excellent music, soft humor, deep sympathy to common soldiers, spellbinding scenery, marvelous battle scenes all make this movie a real gem and a real must see for all History fans, like me. I am still under deepest impression. Great job!

This three-hour, made-for-cable TV in America story of Cuban battles in the Spanish-American War was good enough to sit through once but not edited well enough to see it again. I say "edited" because, after the short stage-coach robbery scene in the first minute or two, nothing much happens for almost an hour. Then, for the rest of the film - 90 to 120 minutes - it's almost non-stop action. After awhile, with only a few very short lulls, you get tired of it. All the shooting and cannons, etc., become too repetitive and get boring.Also, for those who assume, as I did, that this film is a biography of sorts of Theodore Roosvelt, before he became President of the United States, might be a bit disappointed. You do see him, and he's a major figure in this long story, but there is no real central character in here. The film gives a fair amount of screen time to a handful of people, not just Teddy. There is no real star in this story.Tom Berenger must have done a pretty good job because I wouldn't have known it was him had I not read about this before seeing it. Whether it was his pronounced choppers, or odd way of speaking, it didn't sound or look like the actor. However, it was good to get some glimpse of what our former President was like as you don't often see "Teddy" portrayed on film. This also gave us a good insight on the Spanish-American war, another historic event not often seen on film. I wonder how many people even know that "San Juan Hill," which helped make Roosevelt famous, is located in Cuba?For a TV-film, the action scenes were well-done and it appeared no expenses were spared in making this movie. A little more action in the first hour, and a little less in the next two, would have made this film more interesting.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, I actually bought the commercially produced tape of it. I am a Living Historian/Reenactor, I do a Spanish American War impression, I read everything I can about the SA War, and these people got it right. Some over-dramatization of course, playing with the facts. The Spanish did not have machine guns at Santiago, if they had, the battle would have turned out of little different-look at the havoc machine guns cause in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 then in WWI. But it looks great to see "our boys" valiantly charging up hill against them (nice of the Spanish to be such lousy shots). The U.S. officer in charge of the Gatling guns was Lt. John J. Parker, about 35 (promotions were slow back then) and he was know as "Blackie" for his luxurious black beard. William Shafter had a full head of hair, a mustache but no beard, the actor portraying him is bald with a beard, plus he really didn't do justice to Shafter's corpulence (he weighed over 300lbs). And the scenes where the Spanish soldiers all have left handed rifles and the Maxims are feeding from the left, later when the Rough Riders capture one Roosevelt says "I can see it feeds from the right"-poor film editing. And the Spanish had no need of German advisers, they had a long and proud military tradition. Also the scene where Roosevelt tells his men to "kill the German"-TR ordering a prisoner to be murdered? I think not.Against these perhaps minor criticisms (hey, I am have taught history at a community college) I will state that the uniforms and equipment of the troops on both side are correct, the depiction of black soldiers in the battle is correct-all four of the Army's black regiments were in Cuba, the 9th & 10th Cavalry, the and 25th Infantry, the Rough Riders were brigaded with the 10th Cavalry. Mostly importantly, the film captures the mood, the mannerisms, the atmosphere of the time, the idea of the sons of New York's wealthiest families so eager to get into the fight that they will serve as enlisted men, and the fact that the War of 1898 ended many of the divisions left over from the war of 1861-1865 and in a sense we went from being the "United States" to the "United States of America".

I think Teddy would have approved. Sometimes modern movies present the past through modern beliefs and sensibilities. In fact, more often than not directors present the past in this manner. Rough Riders is an honest movie that lets the past speak for itself with no apologies. Teddy Roosevelt and his rather diverse band of recruits believed that they were going to Cuba to save the Cuban people from an evil and exploitive Spanish colonial government. Tom Berenger completely buries himself in the character of Teddy Roosevelt without the parody that often accompanies the part. He is surrounded by a cast of excellent actors from Gary Busey as General Joe Wheeler to George Hamilton as William Randolph Hurst. Sam Elliot, Francesco Quinn, and Brad Johnson are fictional characters used to represent the range of ordinary men who followed Roosevelt. Chris Noth, Holt McCallany, and James Parke are the wealthy scions of the Wadsworth, Fish and Tiffany families. I especially liked Nick Chinlund as Frederick Remington and Adam Storke as Stephen Crane. Except for Hurst and Wheeler, these men went into the war dreaming of honor and adventure. They saw themselves as heroes going off to save the Cuban people. They were men who quoted Shakespeare's Henry V "we happy few" and believed it implicitly. The director, John Milius, and his cast of fine actors do honor to themselves and their professions by allowing these naive young men to speak for themselves and their world.