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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 65:29)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Commentary - English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English, Czech, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Icelandic, Croatian, Hindi, Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovakian, Serbian
  Extras
  • 8 Deleted scenes
  • 6 Teaser trailer
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • 2 Featurette
  • Animated menus
  • Trivia track

Tears of the Sun: CE

Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 116 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

The world can be an ugly and evil place at times and Tears of the Sun drives home this point. There are many internal conflicts across the globe, and Africa is no exception even to this day. Tribal warfare is the main culprit, which leads to the more powerful side dominating the weaker. This could be said for many countries and disguised as a “majority rules” scenario, however in many African nations this method of rule is enforced through fear, with opponents dealt with in a savage way to be seen as examples of what happens should you oppose the dominant force. Basically, what this boils down to is ethnic cleansing.

"God already left Africa"

Producer Arnold Rifkin joined forces with Bruce Willis to create the company Cheyenne after sitting on this story for a couple of years. They had both worked together many times before and desperately wanted to tell the world this story. It was originally entitled Rules of Engagement and was intended to be the next film in the Die Hard series. This was changed when the producers decided that the purpose of the film was as much to educate as to entertain. They recruited director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) to make the film, a man with an obvious passion for the story and a desire to also inform the world using this medium. The story is based in Nigeria, but could have easily been based in many other African nations.

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What do you mean you see dead people?

Nigeria is in turmoil, the civil war has reached boiling point and the presidential family have been murdered. Seeing no immediate resolution, the US government have ordered their countrymen and women to evacuate. After returning from a mission to rescue the US embassy staff, Lt Waters (Bruce Willis) and his Navy Seal team are given only a few hours rest before they must go on their next mission. They are to head back into Nigeria and remove Dr Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci), a US citizen by marriage who is based on a mission giving aid to the locals. The Seals head off and arrive without detection. The doctor is keen to be rescued, but refuses to leave the 70 people she is caring for, even knowing that the aggressors are heading their way and will kill everyone on the mission without hesitation. Lt Waters contacts Captain Rhodes (Tom Skerritt) and then informs the doctor they will take everyone that can travel under their own steam.

"Are we there yet?"

They have to travel 12 miles to a zone where the helicopters can pick them up and after a few close encounters in the jungle, they arrive at the rendezvous point safely. After boarding the helicopter, the doctor realises that Waters had no intention of taking the refugees from the mission. Lt Waters is a true Navy Seal and carries out the mission at all costs. His mission in this instance is to rescue the doctor – nobody else. He is fully aware that leaving the others behind will mean certain death, but is not phased. Things change, however, when the escape flight passes over the mission. The buildings are all ablaze and bodies are strewn everywhere. The doctor is devastated and hysterical but Waters appears unmoved. Then, out of the blue, he orders the choppers be turned around to return to the refugees they had abandoned.

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Maverick and Iceman are on their way!

Waters agrees to send 12 refugees to safety on the choppers and to escort the remainder to Cameroon with the aid of his Navy Seal team. Travelling through the jungle, they are constantly tracked by troops of soldiers but they have no idea what they are after. Does the doctor know something they don't? Will they make it to Cameroon?

This is a moving film with an important message. It was made with the specific intent of making the world aware of the conflicts and inhumanities occurring in Africa. It is hard not to compare it to films such as Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down, but this film has a stronger message than either of those. The producers have beefed up the film to offer more entertainment value, providing some excellent action sequences and suspense. It is not only the story of the atrocities faced in Africa, it is also the story of good men doing something about evil rather than standing by and doing nothing.

Bruce Willis is a true Hollywood star and carries this film well. He demonstrates well the internal conflict faced by his character, a Navy Seal who has spent his career following orders who one day happens to follow his heart and do the right thing. The supporting cast are also impressive. Monica Bellucci plays her part extremely well, but I was more impressed with the Navy Seal team. The other impressive fact here is that the refugees used were actually real refugees who now reside in the US. Their real life experiences are given more exposure in the extras, but the use of them in the film really adds to the realism. To see these people standing on a hill watching a village being torn apart obviously brought back many difficult memories and the expressions on their faces are something that the best actors in the world would struggle to replicate.

Overall the film does preach a little more than it needs too, however it is an important message. It is not the best film ever made, but it is entertaining and well produced. The action sequences are impressive and the scenes capturing the murder and torture of innocents is graphic and very real. Be prepared to be educated on this devastating situation that is so prevalent in Africa and, if you have the stomach for it, you should also be entertained.

  Video
Contract

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16:9 enhanced, this transfer is generally OK but does suffer in some areas. The biggest problem is grain, which is littered throughout many scenes, giving a murky feel that is not intentional. This is made more noticeable because generally the transfer is crisp, making the murky scenes more obvious. Colours are accurate and black levels are strong and there are no signs of artefacts or aliasing. Filmed on location in Hawaii due to problems gaining access to Africa, the cinematography is quite stunning with some impressive scenery. There are amazing mountains and jungles and these are filmed beautifully and generally portrayed well in the transfer. There are an absolute plethora of subtitles and the layer change occurs at 65:29 and is, unfortunately, quite obvious.

  Audio
Contract

Audio is supplied in Dolby Digital 5.1 and, to be honest, is a little disappointing. Surround use is extensive, but at times a little forced. The sound of bullets whizzing past your head is great, however it is somewhat overdone. Not to be too harsh, the surround use is impressive and some great directional effects are used. The biggest problem is that sometimes the surround use can drown out the dialogue, making it a struggle to hear what's being said during crucial times. There are no problems with distortion or drop outs and synch never poses and dramas. The subwoofer gets a solid workout throughout and gives the whole soundtrack a nice rumbly effect, as it should.

The musical score used combines some haunting African songs that really add to the whole feel of the film. The music was composed by Hans Zimmer and does the job nicely.

  Extras
Contract

Considering this is a collector’s edition, one would expect a ton of extras. This release does have a few, but not what I would class as that much more than many standard releases.

Director’s Commentary
The audio commentary from director Antoine Fuqua is not the most impressive commentary around. Fuqua is obviously passionate about the subject matter of the film and thus preaches this for the full commentary, making you wish he would stop preaching and perhaps talk more about other aspects of the film.

Africa Fact Track
This trivia track covers many topics such as Africa, military terminology, weapons and other little bits of data. The only criticism is that the facts are not on screen very long, so slower readers may be struggling to get the information before it is gone.

Journey to Africa: Making of Tears of the Sun
Running for over 14 minutes, this featurette looks at the making of the film and contains interviews with the director and main cast along with footage from the film. It is not a bad featurette and offers some good information, including Bruce Willis’ passion to make the film.

Voices of Africa
Containing eight sections of approximately two and a half minutes each, this feature contains comments from African refugees featured in the film that tell their story of how they had to leave their homeland to become US residents. The stories are quite disturbing and show the issue is such a major problem in so many African nations.

Deleted Scenes
There are eight deletions contained here, most being good candidates for exclusion. There are, however, a couple of scenes that could have been of great benefit if they had been left in the film.

Interactive Map of Africa
From a graphic map of Africa, you can select a certain area and get a text page of information on it.

Trailers
There is a theatrical trailer for Tears of the Sun accompanied by teaser trailers for Bad Boys II, Black Hawk Down, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Hollywood Homicide, S.W.A.T. and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. It is great to see trailers for films yet to be released on DVD and these are all of excellent quality.

  Overall  
Contract

This is an enjoyable film with an important message. It does get a bit preachy, but does offer some good entertainment. The picture and audio are reasonable, although a bit disappointing compared to current standards. The extras are plentiful, but again these are of comparable standard and quantity to other current releases that don’t lay claim to being 'collector’s editions'. Overall this is a decent release that is definitely worth seeing, but I think most will only choose to rent rather than purchase.


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      And I quote...
    "A moving film with an important message about the internal conflicts of Africa..."
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS305
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE685
    • Speakers:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SAVE815ED
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