Days of Glory (2006)
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Bernard Blancan
DVD Info
Release:
Jun 12, 2007
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Materials:
- Behind the Scenes - Making Of
- Short Films - THE COLONIAL FRIEND
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
All the upright morality in the world doesn't compensate for poor filmmaking.
As by the numbers as it sometimes becomes, those very clichés also emphasize the fact that we haven't seen these men in this setting before.
Like most every great war movie, it combines intense action with human drama. There's also several overtly preachy scenes that accomplish little to further the story but they underline the already clear message.
The horror of "Days of Glory" is that its hate and tolerance are not relics from the past, but are as real today as the flickering shadows on the screen.
Instead of guys named Danny and Polack and Sol and Brooklyn, you've got guys named Said and Yassir and Messaoud and Abdelkader. But it's the same deal. Prick them, do they not bleed? Blow them up, do their limbs not scatter and their guts not spill?
Beautifully photographed, impeccably produced and wonderfully acted, but it offers no surprises...
Standard issue military fare that has a hard time standing apart from established classics of the combat genre.
[Director] Bouchareb clearly understands that battlefield action is greatly intensified when filmgoers care about the participants, and he works artfully to make that happen.
A cri de couer dressed out as a standard war film, Days of Glory is a well-made if blunt appeal for justice for the nearly forgotten Algerian soldiers who enlisted in the French Army in 1943.
Its message is dimmed by a procession of war and race movie clichés that even the excellent cast and epic cinematography cannot revive.
It occasionally does drop into wartime cliches of love lost and friends fallen. But the chest-thwack poinancy of those who shed blood and were shamefully shunned drags you through.
Fusing the personal and the political, Bouchareb’s stirring war drama comes with a modern-day resonance and plenty of punch. Recommended.
A war film more of sober, grim reflection than balls-out escapades. Yet it grips consistently, its bursts of combat delivering gut-punches of veracity.
A somewhat clunky ending isn't enough to ruin Days of Glory, which features some good performances and has a slightly different take on a much-filmed subject.
A solidly-constructed window onto an era and a culture clash many Americans never knew existed.
Stands apart for its passion and patriotism in the face of hostility. The spirit of liberté, égalité and fraternité runs high for everyone, even those who have never set foot in France.
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