Tigerland (2000)

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers (WGA):

Ross Klavan (written by) &
Michael McGruther (written by)

Release Date:

19 January 2001 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human.

Plot:

A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.

Plot Keywords:

Platoon | Recruit | Infantry | Vietnam | Fort Polk Louisiana

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Colin Farrell	...	Pvt. Roland Bozz
Matthew Davis	...	Pvt. Jim Paxton
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Pvt. Miter
Tom Guiry	...	Pvt. Cantwell (as Thomas Guiry)
Shea Whigham	...	Pvt. Wilson
Russell Richardson	...	Pvt. Johnson
Nick Searcy	...	Capt. Saunders
Afemo Omilami	...	SFC Ezra Landers
James MacDonald	...	Staff Sgt. Thomas (as James McDonald)
Keith Ewell	...	Sgt. Oakes
Matt Gerald	...	Sgt. Eveland
Stephen Fulton	...	Sgt. Drake
Tyler Cravens	...	M.P. Sergeant
Michael Edmiston	...	Hit the Brakes! Driver
Arian Waring Ash	...	Sheri (as Arian Ash)

Also Known As:

Tigerland (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, pervasive language, a scene of strong sexuality and some drug use.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:R | France:U | Germany:16 | Singapore:R21 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Camp Blanding, Starke, Florida, USA

Company:

Haft Entertainment

Trivia:

The paperback book Bozz is reading at the beginning of the film is Dalton Trumbo's famous anti-war novel "Johnny Got His Gun" about a horribly wounded veteran of the First World War.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The soldiers are being trained for Vietnam but their weapons are M16A3s (as evidenced by the three prong suppressor) which were not fielded until after Vietnam.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Paxton: [voice-over] My father said the army makes all men one, but you never know which one. He didn't know Roland Bozz.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

I WANT TO TAKE HER HOME TO MY MAMA

Schumacher's best effort thus far

TIGERLAND (2000) ***1/2 Colin Farrell, Matthew Davis, Clifton Collins, Jr., Thomas Guiry, Shea Whigham, Russell Richardson, Nick Searcy, Afemo Omilani, James McDonald, Keith Ewell, Arian Ash, Haven Gaston, Cole Hauser. Filmmaker Joel Schumacher makes an audacious attempt to rekindle his directing juices in this low-budget semi-independent film about Vietnam with a cast of unknowns that works remarkably well. Set circa 1971 Louisiana in a special Army training camp for new recruits prior to shipment in the ongoing war and told in flashback by one of the survivors the film centers its bare bones plot around the able shoulders of Irish newcomer Farrell in a potential star-making turn as Private Roland Bozz (think 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' in fatigues and you get the overall impression), a feckless troublemaker of his platoon whose antics have a method to his madness: keeping yourself alive despite the odds. Raw and uncompromising are best suited to describe the film's gist and in particular its focus of Bozz leading his comrades in arms through their hellish grunt duty prior to their fated dooms. Original and smartly written by Ross Klaven and Michael McGruther giving their characters a fresh spin on an all too familiar genre with humanity at its core.