SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Neive Bellamy
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
denis888
John Milius has proved everybody here that he could do a real master work of art. This is a very good mini series and it is done without false jingoism, without bombastic pathos, without silly pretense, but with a gusto, with real zeal, with real impeccable taste and vigor. John fervently studied the sources and here we see a real candid picture of a very tragic start of Americano-Spanish war of 1898. The casting is so superb that even Mr. Maxwell with his unbeatable Gettysburg would have been jealous. I was very happy to see three of Gettysburg stars here, even four - Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Buck Taylor and a cameo of Patrick Gorman. And then, here are also such luminaries as Gary Busey, Chris Noth in his arguably best role and great late Brian Keith as President McKinley. Tom Berenger as Colonel Theodore Roovelt shines all the movie through - he is loud, clumsy, arrogant, funny, sluggish, but also smart, clever, brave, audacious and unmitigated. He is very good in military roles and here Tom proved it again, Sam Elliott is another great asset, his deep resonant voice and cold look make the film very decent. Brad Johnson as Henry Nash is another great victory here, he is cowardly at first, but clever and brave later then. The excellent music, soft humor, deep sympathy to common soldiers, spellbinding scenery, marvelous battle scenes all make this movie a real gem and a real must see for all History fans, like me. I am still under deepest impression. Great job!
bkoganbing
On the 99th anniversary of the Spanish American war and the most famous land battle of that brief said war, John Millius wrote and directed a stirring tribute to the First Volunteer Cavalry. The group has come down to us in history as the Rough Riders and its organizer and second commander became President of the United States on the strength of one afternoon's very bloody work at a place called Kettle Hill, better known as San Juan Hill.Tom Berenger makes a splendid Theodore Roosevelt. He captures all the passion in him, the brilliance as well as the bumptiousness. Some may find Roosevelt too super-patriotic, even too racist in some regards. It was a different time a century ago. Roosevelt was also a man who would stand for nothing less than the United States being nothing less than number one.In his own way he pioneered integration, he was of the patrician class with roots going all the way back to Dutch New Amsterdam. But his Rough Riders as you see come from all walks of life, from society kids to even western outlaws.Milius did his research well for the most part. Ileane Douglas whose family pedigree includes grandparents Melvyn and Helen Gahagan Douglas, plays the ever patient Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. She loves her husband, but is able to say an occasional 'now Theodore' to put the brakes on his enthusiasm getting the better of him. Rough Riders marks the farewell performance of Brian Keith as President William McKinley who Roosevelt said had the back of a 'chocolate éclair'. That was one of Roosevelt not so admirable qualities, his failure to see merit the other point of view had. McKinley was a wounded Civil War veteran who saw action as a young man in places like Antietam. He was not a man to rush lightly and foolhardily into a decision for war, knowing far more than TR at the time of what war can cost.My favorite in the film is Sam Elliott as Yavapai County, Arizona sheriff Bucky O'Neill who joined the Rough Riders and was in charge of molding them into a unit. This is definitely one of Elliott's finest moments on screen.The last Rough Rider died in 1975. I wish some of them had been around to see this fine film about a young America and what some of the best and brightest of that generation did. The politics behind the Spanish American War are debatable and dubious at best, but the heroism of our soldiers is unquestioned.
terriannjohnson
this is an excellent film that most have never heard of because it was made for TV (turner)and never shown in the theater.not much to add except that the film sheds light on the short and little known 1898 Spanish-American war which while trumped up by the media(newspaper publisher William Randolph Hurst played superbly by George Hamilton)catapulted the up until then isolationist united states on to the world stage for the first time and which gave the united states control of Spanish territories around the globe-Cuba,Puerto Rico the Philippines,wake island,Guam and the Marshall islands.and allowing the united states to flex its military might globally for the first time.there are some historical inaccuracies(such as the imperial German army advisor's aiding the Spanish, director john milius also made the turn of the century imperial Germans the bad guys in his 1975 film THE WIND AND THE LION in which Brian Keith played teddy Roosevelt as president during an international incident resolved by his big stick diplomacy-sending the marines.if you liked rough riders see the wind and the lion.
BillyGL88
Wish this great film had made it to the Big Screen! Absolutely the best film ever made on Teddy Rosevelt.Great for the whole family in my opinion!It not only documents his life... it also presents his great ideals and character as very 'Presidential' and to be desired. The same cannot be said of all our Presidents.The depiction of the battle for San Quan Hill was one of the best war documentaries I've ever seen.An all-star cast helps make this a classic movie.I will get this movie for my collection for sure.I will recommend it to all our family and friends.-BGLewis of Spring Hill, FL
