A Soldier's Sweetheart
| A Soldier's Sweetheart | |
|---|---|
_Film_Poster.jpg) Film Poster | |
| Directed by | Thomas Michael Donnelly |
| Produced by |
William S. Gilmore Marianne Moloney (Exec.) |
| Written by |
Tim O'Brien Thomas Michael Donnelly |
| Starring |
Kiefer Sutherland Skeet Ulrich Georgina Cates |
| Music by | Gary Chang |
| Cinematography | Jacek Laskus |
| Edited by | Anthony Sherin |
Production company |
Showtime Networks Moloney/Donnelly Productions |
| Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures Showtime Networks |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Language | English |
A Soldier's Sweetheart is a 1998 film directed by Thomas Michael Donnelly and starring Kiefer Sutherland,[1] Skeet Ulrich, and Georgina Cates. It is based on a short story by Tim O'Brien, "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong."[2] The story was part of his award winning book, The Things They Carried (1990).
Cast
- Kiefer Sutherland as Rat Kiley
- Skeet Ulrich as Mark Fossie
- Georgina Cates as Marianne Bell
- Daniel London as Eddie Diamond
- Louis Vanaria as Bobbie D
- Lawrence Gilliard, Jr. as Shoeshine
- Christopher Birt as Lt. Mitchell Sanders
- Tony Billy as Soldier #2
Release
The film is only available on VHS, and a petition has been set up at IMDb urging the companies that own the rights to the film to consider reissuing it in DVD format.[3] It was also premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in 1998. The film received a theatrical release in Belgium in 2010.
Reception
Bob Batz from Dayton Daily News gave A Soldier's Sweetheart a very positive review, stating: "The film, based on Tim O'Brien's award-winning short story Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, is a brutal, often bloody story of the Vietnam War and how it changed many of the men - and women - who were part of it. It is filled with excellent dialogue and has enough plot twists to keep viewers riveted to their easy chairs for the entire two hours."[4] Ken Eisner from Variety magazine also gave the film a good review, concluding: "Just when you think all the basic Vietnam stories have been told, helmer Thomas Michael Donnelly puts a new spin on America's lost cause by viewing it from a female angle. Striving for mythic levels — although there's plenty of scary grit to it — "A Soldier's Sweetheart" taps into an aspect of warfare that transcends gender. Subject, then, is a difficult one, but extremely well-mounted pic could resonate with women if Paramount can find a way to package it for theatrical release".[5]
A Soldier's Sweetheart was nominated for two awards. One Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special"[6] and one Golden Reel Awards for "Best Sound Editing - Television Movies of the Week - Dialogue & ADR".[7] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film currently holds 90% of audience approval.[8]
References
- ↑ "A second Sutherland goes to war" - Toronto Star
- ↑ "A `SOLDIER'S'STORY MAKES FOR A GREAT CABLE MOVIE" - Dayton Daily News
- ↑ "A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998) for DVD Release" - Petition Online Archived July 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Batz, Bob. "A `SOLDIER'S' STORY MAKES FOR A GREAT CABLE MOVIE". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ Eisner, Ken. "Review: 'A Soldier's Sweetheart'". Variety. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ "51st Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Emmys.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ "Awards". IMDB. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ "A Soldier's Sweetheart". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 May 2017.