Taps (Special Edition)
by Harold Becker
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Actor: George C. Scott, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, Tom CruiseDirector: Harold Becker
Brand: FOX
Cinematographer: Owen Roizman
Producer: Howard B. Jaffe
Producer: Stanley R. Jaffe
Writer: Darryl Ponicsan
Writer: Devery Freeman
Writer: James Lineberger
Writer: Robert Mark Kamen
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 4.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 4.0; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 126 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Taps (Special Edition)
DVD Review: "We have a home here, something we think is worth defending."
Summary: 5 Stars
So says Cadet Major Brian Moreland to Colonel Kerby of the State of Somewhere Army National Guard during a meeting. I made a similar statement myself, speaking to a staff member at the military school I attended. The problem then was cleaning the school up- running the criminals out. The issue in "Taps" is far more grave.
"Taps" is about a group of young men, in the tradition of all military schools, standing for something they believe in that the rest of the world doesn't. When the esteemed Board of Trustees of Bunker Hill Military Academy decides to shut down the school, tear its campus down and replace it with condos, the Corps of Cadets takes the law into its own hands. Incident follows incident, and soon teenagers with M-16 rifles and BDU's are squaring off with state police and National Guard soldiers who happen to have brought Patton tanks. Their stand, initially unanimous and absolute, crumbles gradually as the law does more and more to worsen their situation- shining spotlights across campus, letting parents take turns whining to kill morale, shutting off the power and water- in my experience when you do that kind of thing to a bunch of scared young men with guns, some of them will want to give up like the authorities in "Taps" clearly hoped. But some will go just a little bit crazier every day, every time it gets worse, until like Captain David Shawn (Tom Cruise) they finally go ballistic. The long-threatened head-on assault from the Army comes, and a lot of boys needlessly die on both sides. What a waste.
One factor in the situation Bunker Hill's cadets face is that the town nearby hates them fiercely. This is not so with most military schools. At Hargrave, cadets and staff enjoy a friendly relationship with the town of Chatham and would if anything have their support in a siege. Another issue is that the Board of Trustees, alumni, county, state, and national government all prefer blood over peace. The situation in "Taps" is perfect for World War III on a smaller scale. It's as if that's what everyone wanted. So it's not the most realistic of films on that end.
But the execution of the concept is brilliant, and acting is top notch. The sympathetic, almost reluctant but never hesitant Colonel Kerby, the hard-driving Captain Shawn, the half-civilian Captain Dwyer- all of them are looking to the ranking cadet, Major Brian Moreland. I know I couldn't have done so well in his place, because I'd have been just as uncompromising as Shawn. I loved the military school I attended- Hargrave- and still do love it with such a passion that nothing could make me desert it in such a crisis as is depicted here. Sad as it is, I understand the situation in Bunker Hill well.
I mean, look at the contrast I saw firsthand- at the civilian high school I attended, having fancy clothes and an expensive car meant far more than having honor. Honor was nothing next to owning a Mercedes-Benz at 17. Kids vandalized the head daily and nobody had the guts to do a thing about it, less they do or say something "controversial".
There are some boys who go to military school and never enjoy it, would never fight for the school if called on to do so. But some do, and would. Going to Hargrave, I learned something about the price of honor and being a leader in hard times, about standing by a school because it's all you've got. I understand Major Moreland as well as anyone could, and I also understand why nobody- not the Board, not the Army, not that pig-headed, war-mongering Governor who is never seen but often heard of- wanted to stop the train wreck everybody should have known was coming.
"Taps" is a movie that everyone who has been to or currently attends a military school will be able to relate to, especially for those from Valley Forge since filming was done there. It is, altogether, one of the best films I have ever seen. It is the right execution of an excellent idea, and the only example of a time where someone drastically changed the ending of a book when adapting it to film and I actually liked the change along with the original.
One thing that the film gets right on the mark- that it recognizes well- is that this is a world run by adults. And many of those adults haven't got what it takes to negotiate man-to-man with a minor if they're asked to. That's really too bad, because having a few more men like Colonel Kerby in the world could make a tremendous difference. It sure could have made a difference in "Taps", a difference that would have saved lives.
"Taps" is about a unique breed of American young men doing the right thing when no one else calls it that, having the courage to fight their own war in the hopes of saving a place they've come to call home. Because they think it's worth defending. So do I.
Description of Taps (Special Edition)
Synopsis: 0Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG
Street Date: 09/12/06
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.
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