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Winter Soldier
R0 - America - Milliarium Zero / New Yorker Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (16th May 2006). |
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The Film
 Between January 31 and February 2 1971 the city of Detroit was host to the controversial "Winter Soldier Investigation". This was a media event organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) whose sole purpose was to show that American Foreign and Anti-Communist policies set up during the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Presidential administrations lead to war crimes against the people of that nation. The three day event gathered 109 veterans and 16 civilian contractors and medical personnel that had tours of duty during war time as they testified to crimes either committed by themselves or had witnessed between 1963-1970. Although media was present during the Investigation, the event remain largely unreported by the mainstream media as it was deemed too controversial, the resulting testimony was not only graphic in nature but also detailed and horrific. Soldiers reduced the Vietnamese people to almost nothing. Many soldiers commented that the treatment and torture was a result of brainwashing the soldiers into thinking that these people were in fact a step below humanity. The atmosphere of hatred allowed this sentiment to grow and provided carte blanche as to how soldiers chose to treat villagers. To cover the investigation a collective of anonymous filmmakers called Winterfilm shot, edited and released two short films in 1971, American Division and First Marine Division featuring veteran testimonials, these films were works in progress however the controversial nature of the content meant no distributor was interested in the finished documentary film, this led to years of fundraising. Finally the completed film entitled Winter Soldier was given a proper theatrical release in 2005. Having read about this film and the Investigation in which it covered interested this reviewer, Winter Soldier is certainly an important document of the atrocities committed during the Vietnam War, and sends a clear anti-war message, made stronger simply by the fact that this is entirely real, these are real people and real events. This realism cannot entirely be captured in mainstream feature films, as viewers we know that the characters in them are just that, characters and actors are playing those roles (even though sometimes the characters are based on real people). War films such as Platoon (1986) deal with treatment of villagers in its story and in Casualties of War (1989) it’s the film’s main narrative, these films provided a basic understanding of what it was like to fight in this conflict and what the general sentiment was towards the people, however the power of Winter Soldier is something else entirely. The testimonies are often difficult to sit through, descriptions of decapitations, torture, rape, kidnapping and the burning of villages are spoken about openly and certainly not devoid of minute detail. Despite the fact that not many images are shown of these atrocities the impact of just hearing it is more than enough. It’s criminal that this Investigation was largely ignored by the popular media at the time and that over 30 years later we would finally get to see the film and hear the voices of these once forgotten soldiers. Winter Soldier is not something you simply watch, it’s an experience, and one that show be shared by many. This film is one of the most important anti-war films and it scarily mirrors our own time (The Abu Ghraib incident immediately comes to mind), these voices need not be quieted any longer.
Video
Presented in the original theatrical ratio of 1.33:1 this full screen transfer is mostly in black and white, although some moments are in color. It’s a fairly good transfer considering the film is entirely low budget and over 30 years-old. The image is at time high contrasts, the whites are a little overblown, there is some print damage in the way of scratches and dirt however this is to be expected. It’s not sharp transfer but considering the material and it’s history it’s good to at least have this released on DVD.
Audio
The film only includes an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack, which I can only assume is the original track. The track does have some hiss and the occasional drop-out however for the most part the dialogue is clear and good enough for this film. It’s not a film that requires a full 5.1 mix considering it’s very dialogue heavy and this tracks suits the film quite well. Optional subtitles are also included in French and German.
Extras
First up is "A Conversation with the filmmakers" featurette which runs for 18 minutes 12 seconds. This is a round table discussion with the filmmakers that made up the Winterfilm collective, they got together after 30 years to discuss the film and reflect on the impact and importance of it. As well as commenting on the climate during that time, the filmmaking process and the reaction. It’s an informative retrospective look at the film from their perspectives. Next up is the "Seasoned Veteran: Journey of a Winter Soldier" documentary which runs for 40 minutes 13 seconds. Scott Camil, one the soldiers featured in the film talks about his tour of Vietnam and his life spent campaigning against the war and American Foreign Policy. He talks about moving on from his experience in the war, as well as what he originally hoped to get out of the military as opposed to what he actually got out of it. It’s an insightful and poetic look at the tragedy of what he witnessed and how that has impacted his life. Following that are two short films from 1971, the first entitled "American Division" which runs for 24 minutes 34 seconds and the second entitled "First Marine Division" which runs for 17 minutes 18 seconds. These are essentially condensed versions of what eventually became Winter Soldier these were both presented as works in progress and used to help raise money to complete the final film. "Oh, Camil" (The Winter Soldier) is a song recording by Graham Nash and runs for 2 minutes 56 seconds, this is the title song from the film and plays over a credit screen with song and copyright information about the track. You also get the film’s original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 47 seconds. Also included on the disc is an extensive stills gallery, split into eleven categories that include: - "Operation RAW" (214 stills) - "VVAW Benefit Concert" (21 stills) - "Winter Soldier Part 1" (93 stills) - "Winter Soldier Part 2" (21 stills) - "Winter Soldier Part 3" (23 stills) - "Winter Soldier Part 4" (38 stills) - "The Protest Outside" (5 stills) - "Winter Soldiers in Canada" (27 stills) - "Winter Soldier Publicity Stills" (14 stills) - "Dewey Canyon III" (44 stills) - "New York Premiere August 2005" (23 stills) Rounding out the extras are some DVD-ROM Content with text information that should keep you busy if you’re interested in reading more about the Investigation and other topics such as FBI and military record, the content includes: - 2 intros to Winter Soldier - FBI files on Winter Soldier - Milliarium's Original Press Kit - Winter Soldier documents - Scott Camil's military document - John Kerry's testimony before Congress - The Winter Soldier testimony
Overall
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