Synopsis:

The Wall is a re-telling of the events of the Vietnam War through the lives of three soldiers who never made it home. "The Wall" is the memorial to all those fallen men and women who gave their lives in service of this country during the Vietnam War. Broken into seamless vignettes the titles are: The Pencil Holder The Badge And The Player In the first installment, The Pencil Holder, an Army brat is desperately trying to gain his father's approval and attention however, the matters of war press heavily on his father's mind. To make life in 1969 Saigon bearable, the young son spends most of his time collecting military patches from wounded enlisted men. The price is usually his father's 12-year old Scotch and a handful of dad's Cuban cigars. All goes well until one day he encounters a particularly badly wounded soldier who mistakes him for his son. With a grip of iron, he holds fast to the boy all through his transport to the M.A.S.H. unit's O.R. Unable to break free, he begins to feed into the soldier's hallucination, thus easing his mental pain and preparing him for the death that is soon to come. Alerted to his son's presence in the O.R. Colonel Holst (Edward James Olmos) rushes to retrieve his son and learns a great deal about taking time out to smell the flowers before they fade and die.

The Badge, tells the story of a family of military men who have always worn a Sheriff's badge into battle and have always come home. From the first World's War to the Vietnam War, this family has sent her men out with this badge of good luck and safe keeping if you will. The youngest member of the family (Savion Glover) is about to enter the conflict that is raging in Southeast Asia. His grandmother (Ruby Dee) emboldens his spirit by passing down the one link for all her family's military dedication and resolve. Their contribution to the saving of this country. The Badge. Shot down in enemy territory, this young soldier must rely on his skills, training and the promised power of the badge to see him safely home. Through a series of retrospective glances he introduces us to the rich patriotic history he has inherited and it serves as fuel to keep him pushing on in the face of almost certain death. War however is cruel, heartless and certainly deadly for all involved in one-way or another and, this story brings all those elements to bear in its heart-wrenching climax.

The Player

Rear Echelon soldiers. Supply men with cushy jobs waiting out their tour by selling women, drugs, alcohol and transfers to combat wearing soldiers. A squad leader, Valenzuela (Michael Delorenzo) is looking to secure a safe transfer to a non-combat position for a member of his squad whose tour is almost up. The military grapevine points him in the direction of "Bishop" (Frank Whaley). He'll sell just about anything he can get his hands on and everything he can get others to boost for him. When Valenzuela approaches him for the transfer, Bishop offers goods he has no way of providing. However, when Valenzuela sits in with the band on guitar, Bishops' dreams all come true. Always wanting to play the guitar, he has never been able to master the elements needed to become the virtuoso that Valenzuela obviously is. To feed his personal craving for the experience of listening to him play, Bishop moves Heaven and Earth to procure the transfer for Valenzuela's comrade-in-arms. When the deal is set, it becomes painfully clear to Valenzuela the type of person that he is dealing with. Parasitic is probably too good a term but it fits very nicely for the moment. Money in hand, Valenzuela goes to the "club" to garner his man's release/transfer and zones into guitar Heaven, taking all the listeners blissfully with him. War however, is never a place where you can let your guard down. That proves to be a valuable but expensive lesson for all involved in what might be "The Player's" and listeners last concert offering.

Audio/Video:

The feature is presented in a 2 channel stereo platform that adequately portrays the soundstage as presented. A 5.1 platform would have been far more desirable given the amount of pyrotechnic involvement found throughout the whole of the picture. Having said that, I found the aural experience less than thrilling and only adequate in its presentation. The video for the disc is that of a first generation cable rendering. The colors are less than rich and the overall sense of the film is one that is drab and bland. Perhaps this was the director's intent in creating this military allegory however, as there is no commentary track, we'll never know one way or the other. It is presented in full frame as opposed to widescreen and does much like the audio, an adequate job in presenting the film's visual offerings. There was a fair amount of pixellation, scratches and flecking throughout the film as well as the color issues already mentioned. It's really a shame that more attention to detail wasn't put into presenting this film. HBO has consistently produced top-notch DVD titles most notably, From The Earth to The Moon and The Sopranos 1st Season. If this is what we can expect from Showtime entertainment in the way of Digital offerings, we re going to be severely cheated in the way of quality presentations.

Extras:

The extras consist of roughly 5-minute interviews with the principal cast members regarding their segments of the film. They are nice additives but entirely too short. The film's trailer is also included as well as filmographies for the major players in each segment-Edward James Olmos, Ruby Dee, Savion Glover, Frank Whaley and Michael Delorenzo.

Overall:

I come from a family with a rich military history and have chosen as my field of employment, the Department of Veterans Affairs. Needless to say, this film struck a cord with me and I am in awe of the storylines presented herein. 58,183 Americans gave the ultimate in sacrifice for this country and these three stories of that courage and self-sacrifice are presented in a most heart-tugging and emotional way. Aside from the production and transfer errors in the audio and video portions of the disc, this is definitely a film that needs to be seen. If you have never come in contact with a veteran or understand the gripping reality that war can bring about, I urge you to see Saving Private Ryan, Platoon and The Wall. It doesn't get more real than this. The Wall is a testament to the lives of all those fallen and those who returned. It's definitely highly recommended!