Tigerland (2000)

Wonderful Movie

So much average

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971. When i heard about this flick like a few days ago i thought it was going to be some big action, war flick something perhaps like 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Fury'? Unfortunately tho Joel Schumacher doesn't do that much of a good job and the film is just literally painfully slow and the acting was no better either plus did we really needed a sex scene in a flick like this? Horrible. (0/10)

This movie is without exception a solid 10 - higher if they allowed it. Folks may not appreciate the story nor the subject matter, but the acting is beyond quality. Farrell was OUTSTANDING and in essence, gives us all a practical class in acting. This film introduced me to several fine actors and it was self-evident that standouts Farrell, Whigham, & Shanon are complete naturals in their chosen craft. Actually it's kind of a shame that Farrell has had the better career because Wingham and Shannon are just as a good - IMHO.All that said, the story is actually pretty darn good and the art and film direction is just a solid. How folks gives this thing a 7 is just unexplainable...Anyway, I had to post this so folks realize they shouldn't gloss over this title because of the erroneously low rating...give this flick a try and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

It's been awhile since I saw it and would not waste my time watching it again but as a Nam vet and NCO who went through Tigerland twice, once as a trainee and once as a training sergeant, this movie was very disappointing. Not real historically accurate on many fronts. Most importantly this whole deal about Bozz being such an individualist and non conformist is pure nonsense. The whole point of military training, especially for combat infantry is to eliminate individualism and get everyone playing on the same team. There is no room for non conformity in combat. Our combat units could not be effective if we had any doubt of what to expect from the guy or the unit next to us. Guys like the Bozz character depicted in this movie end up in the stockade or at least get run out of combat units. Although not technically a war movie because it covers only training for war, it is a movie whose central theme is about Vietnam and on that note I found it to be the second worst Vietnam genre movie behind only that miserable piece of garbage, Tunnel Rats.

While it was filmed at a Florida National Guard site, "Tigerland" totally reminded me of Fort Polk, LA., firing ranges, maneuver areas, waist-deep water and all. The movie was fairly authentic and the characters similar to those same ones at my AIT in 1974. The difference between the Tigerland year, 1971, and mine of 1974 is all the drill sergeants and instructors knew they weren't going back to Vietnam, as it was pretty much all over, so training was very relaxed - not a challenge at all. That was the precursor to all our troubles in the 70s and 80s, which I know for a fact as I stayed in until 2004. I never heard anyone mention "Tigerland" but the Army did have realistic Vietnam training villages at different bases across the U.S. Vietnam Vets tell me that up to 1972 Basic & AIT could be pretty rough and rugged, because the trainers had been there and were mandated to train Vietnam-bound men those skills to make it, although that was not always the case. Both a drill sergeant at Polk and later one of my Vietnam Vet NCOs, when we had become instructors at a basic training brigade at Fort Bliss, told me there was nothing they could do to get anyone ready and people just had to find out and figure out for themselves. This movie rates high.