THE OUTPOST (Rod Lurie 2020)

[Chris Knipp]

Some positive reviews of this excellent new war movie:

Peter DeBruge of Variety writes: "Such a film may suffer from home viewing, and yet, The Outpost represents the most exhilarating new movie audiences have been offered since the shutdown began.
'
Steve Pond of The Wrap: "A riveting combat movie that aims to put viewers alongside American soldiers in the midst of one of the bloodiest battles in the long-running war, “The Outpost” takes the measure of what a few dozen men endured and finds heroism not in enemies killed but in compadres saved."

FRank Schoek, Hollywood Reporter: "While lacking the technical virtuosity of Sam Mendes' "1917," for example, the movie nevertheless does full justice to its stirring true-life tale of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh — despite an obviously low budget."

[Chris Knipp]

I've now rewatched THE OUTOST and remain convinced it's a great little war movie. Its dialogue and its technical recreation of the intense day-long battle are both excellent. I've also read the Wikipedia article on Specialist Ty Carter, who was one of two awarded the Medal of Honor, which is the top military award for exceptional valor. What he actually did during that battle is even more remarkable than what's shown in the movie. You couldn't show it all. It would be too much and seem exaggerated.

Both this film and the documentary from ten years ago, RESTREPO, seem to indicate that despite the futility of the war and indefensible positions the Army units were placed in then and their constant losses, morale and standards of behavior have been high in this war.

[Johann]

A true story.
Congrats and bravo to Jake Tapper, a REAL journailst at CNN...

[Chris Knipp]

Indeed, a very true story, effectively rendered.
Hope you get to see it.

And I'd like to put in a plug for RESTREPO, the remarkable documentary about this world, if you can find it. WATCH IT HERE (Vimeo)

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.
Director Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Starring Artist not provided
Genres Arthouse, Documentary
Subtitles English [CC]
Audio languages English

[Chris Knipp]

ORLANDO BLOOM IN THE OUTPOST

From SF Chronicle Datebook:

Even now, four months after the country’s shutdown, the film’s planned premiere on more than 500 screens nationwide is history too, especially with the virus’ resurgence, which has postponed the reopening of most cinema chains. But Bay Area fans can watch “The Outpost” from the comfort of their own homes, as the movie will be available through video on demand starting Friday, July 3.

“You design this movie theatrically,” Lurie told The Chronicle from his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. “I specifically designed which direction the sound of every bullet that passes comes from, every explosion, and I lit the movie for the big screen. Now that almost everyone is going to see it in their home, it’s a bit heart-sinking – although if you have a good system, it will play fantastically well.”

This isn't hype. I have a modest system, but good sound, and THE OUTPOST plays 'fantastically well' on it. Particularly the precise sound design.

[Chris Knipp]

"THE OUTPOST" SPECIAL SHOWINGS and DONATIONS FOR VETERANS DAY 2020



Press release.
Frankly, big four-wall releases or re-releases don't seem like a great idea right now with COVID019 surging. But as an inspiring picture of American military accomplishment THE OUTPOST, which opened last summer, is a good Veterans Day choice - perhaps a more obvious one than Robert David Port's chilly new WWII movie RECON. Both have interesting special showings and donations including from VOD proceeds scheduled for tomorrow's holiday. (See the new Filmleaf review of RECON HERE.)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – November 10, 2020 – Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment today announced that Screen Media will donate a portion of all proceeds earned on Veterans Day from Millennium Media and Rod Lurie’s military thriller, THE OUTPOST to the Bob Woodruff Foundation. The donation will be made based on Screen Media’s proceeds from all sales across VOD and home video as well as from ticket sales for the special screenings on November 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th in partnership with Fathom Events.

In honor of Veterans Day, THE OUTPOST will return to more than 350 theaters nationwide for a 4-day theatrical screening event of a never-before-seen Director’s Cut which will be accompanied by a special introduction from filmmaker Rod Lurie and the veterans who participated in the film.

THE OUTPOST quickly shot to #1 on several VOD platforms after its debut on July 3rd, including GooglePlay, Spectrum, Amazon, FandangoNOW and iTunes, where it remained in the #1 spot for three weeks. THE OUTPOST remained at the top of the charts throughout the summer and resurfaced as #1 on iTunes in September. It is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 92% rating.

(The Metascore is 71.)