71-Into the Fire

This is one slam dunk war film! It's about a group of South Korean students who are soldiers, who are left to defend the town by a girls school. They have to deal with their own insecurities and fears while still learning combat tactics. Plus a huge army of communist regulars are advancing on the town to "take no prisoners." The acting is good and the battle scenes are outstanding. The film is in Korean language but does have English subtitles. Funny cause it must have been censored, cause they translate "Son of a Witch" and "DARN" instead of the curse words. I enjoyed the film and did get involved because it was based on an actual real incident.

This ranks in my top 5 favorite movies. I watch it and then try to find a bigger screen to watch it on. Then watch it again to repeat the process. What really makes this movie, is that it does not hold back. This is war. It is brutal. You can almost see the rounds flying across the screen. It is not Hollywood where they fire a mortar and there is an explosion somewhere else. Here they fire a mortar, you see it travel, then hit and explode. The guns sound like the firearm it was shot from. It is worth watching. I paid $19.99 for it and not disappointed by any means. The draw backs are: on a computer I had no trouble but on a DVD player it locks up in the opening and keeps wanting to go back to the previews. You also have to set up for English captions. Spoiler Alert: The movie implies that there are few if any survivors, but historically there were.

Very good movie showing the sacrifices made by the Korean people young and old to save the democracy from the communists of the north. Both sides suffered horribly for so many years right from the Japanese takeover in 1910 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. The movie shows the courage of young students that were recruited to fight as soldiers for the south against their northern counterparts. Good to watch for historical reasons.

Great movie one of the better war movies out there highly recommend, however half of the special features on the disc did not work at all. I would have liked to watch the making of it but oh well. Great movie none the less.5 stars for the movie itself3 stars for half the special features not working.Total: 4 stars

This is a great movie, heartfelt and poignant. Great seller, as well! Securely wrapped, shipped promptly and in perfect shape. We appreciate that sellers take the risk to get out of region DVDs that are hard to find. It is well worth a region free DVD player to see these quality films/dramas.

The Korean War was one of the bitterest conflicts in history, but being sandwiched between the Second World War and the Vietnam War, is little more than a Forgotten War in the minds of many. The stalemate between the Communist forces and the United Nations marked the start of the Cold War. The early days of the Korean War were the most desperate as the American forces had yet to arrive in any substantial numbers, leaving South Koreans to bear the brunt of the fighting. To fill in the gaps in the military forces facing the North Korean onslaught as they marched down the peninsula towards the Pusan Perimeter, large numbers of high school and university students formed volunteer units to assist the South Korean soldiers in defending their country. The basis of "71: Into the Fire" is the battle efforts of those students at a place called Pohang. Sadly, despite high production values, the failings of the plot and characterization don't do the basic premise of the story justice, and instead is a load of cliches and unbelievable action sequences.After an initial opening sequence in which we are introduced to the shell-shocked leader of the students (played by Choi Seung-hyeon), the ranks of the student soldiers are found to be a mixture of juvenile delinquents, the leader of which immediately and predictably starts to undermine Choi's leadership, and the usual suspects - nerds, siblings and wannabe comedians. Initially a disparate bunch of individuals, charged with protecting a school, the student soldiers predictably bond under fire as the school comes under siege from the North Koreans."71: Into the Fire" really does come into its own during the battle sequences. The special effects are topnotch, just as good as one would see in Hollywood blockbusters, and clearly no effort has been spared in re-enacting the intensity of warfare. Still, it was necessary to have to put one's brain in neutral during the extended battle sequence as the North Koreans attack the school in which the student soldiers have holed up. The plot makes great play of the fact that the North Korea soldiers are "Shock Troops", making their way to Pohang. Presumably these soldiers are highly trained and experienced fighting men, befitting their leader (played by Cha Seung-won, who was the standout actor for me, pulling off a grimy, rugged and battle experienced performance). Yet a bunch of student soldiers, barely able to shoot straight a few days before, cuts down wave after wave of these soldiers with little effort. This is abundantly apparent in a rooftop sequence where the thought of taking cover does not appear to enter the minds of about 30 or so North Korean soldiers!As a war film, "71: Into the Fire" does what is expected. Heroism abounds, as does explosions, shell casings and tragic and gory deaths. However, as a measured tribute to the bravery of the student soldiers, "71: Into the Fire" doesn't quite make the grade because of the plot and its usual clichés.Special Features: The CineAsia two disc release of this film comes with a disc of extras, including a "Making of" documentary, featurettes on pre-production and production design, audio commentary by Bey Logan and Mike Leeder (experts on Asian Cinema), deleted scenes, behind the scenes, among other bonus features.

This movie is a must see. It is based on the true story of 71 student soldiers who in 1950 were left on a corner of the Pusan Perimeter to slow the DPRK advance. People must realize it is a movie and it is not going to be 100% historically accurate. I personally was picking out equipment inaccuracies in the movie, like using M-4 Shermans and M-48 Pattons for T-34s. I also saw a couple rubber M-1 Garands get into the scene that should have been in the background, minor issue that most would not catch. I thought the acting was good and the story kept you drawn in. This is right up there with Tae Guk Gi. For those complaining about the blood and explosions... this is a war movie not a dramatic comedy. The koreans always seem to budget plenty of money for blood and gore in their movies. Definitely more realistic than what you see in most movies out of Hollywood. If you watch the credits you see some of the interviews with the real life survivors of this battle. I would love to see a documentary done about the real battle with interviews and tours of the real battlefield.

Firstly, 100% positive to the seller. The movie is based on a true story that happened during the Korean war. The plot has already been outlined so I will add that the strong acting and gripping story make this a must see movie. This is a sad story too, and I felt a great deal of emotion for the young characters and their grueling ordeal. A must for all interested in the Korean war.

Ce film est vraiment poignant par son réalisme, et nous touche. En nous replongeant dans des faces du conflit Nord-Sud Coréen qu'on ne connait pas forcément, il nous montre que chaque personne reste un humain avant tout et que l'horreur de la guerre touche profondément ceux qui y sont associés, sans forcément détruire leur part d'humanité. Il n'y a ni méchants, ni gentils, juste des personnes qui se battent dans le côté auquel ils sont associés (voir le général ennemi sortir la photographie de son fils nous rappelle que lui aussi est humain, et sa façon d'essayer de traiter avec les enfants soldats également). L'acteur principal joue vraiment bien, avec ses silences et son mutisme, on se met à la place de ce jeune promu à la tête de ses camarades alors qu'il n'a rien d'un leader. Mais il n'est pas le seul à percer l'écran, tous ces pauvres jeunes propulsés dans l'horreur sont poignants, aucun ne m'a semblé mal jouer, et les développements brefs de chacun nous les rendent d'autant plus réalistes. Les côtés plus joyeux du film aussi nous permettent de comprendre ce qu'ils ressentaient. Très touchant, il m'a transpercé les tripes.

fast delivery; very happy withy my order!

Into the fire ist ein sehr gut inszenierter Kriegsfilm, der schonungslos einen Einblick in das gewährt, was damals in Korea passiert ist. Meiner Meinung nach haben die Schauspieler den Konflikt der jungen Soldaten, die ihr Leben für ihr Land gaben, ohne wirklich zu wissen, was auf sie zu kommt, sehr gut dargestellt. Vor allem Choi Seunghyun (in Korea bekannt als Rapper TOP) überzeugt mit einer guten Leistung. Ich finde den Film großartig, wenn auch sehr bedrückend, und kann ihn nur weiterempfehlen.

I was looking forward to seeing this one as I am a fan of Korean cinema. This follows in the wake of many other excellent films from South Korea telling some of the stories that came out of their still ongoing civil war.Once again this is based on `actual events' that took place on August 11th 1950, when a group of volunteer `Student Soldiers' held back a North Korean commando brigade. They are hopelessly outnumbered being only 71 in number and hence the title of the film, but show remarkable ingenuity and tenacity. It is slightly reminiscent of the German WW 2 film 'Die Brucke' or The Bridge,The Bridge (Die Brucke) [DVD] [1959] where school children are left to defend a bridge against overwhelming odds, but this has buckets more action.The events unfold in a mix of real time and some flash backs which help to create empathy for the main characters, who are all desperately young and most still in school uniforms.The action scenes are regular and bloody, they have built on the incredible realism that we saw in films like `Brotherhood',Brotherhood [DVD] [2004]and the excellent 'Assembly'Assembly [2007] [DVD] and first came to the fore in the West with `Saving Private Ryan'. Like those films, this is in Korean with English sub titles. I do not want to give away any plot spoilers as this is a rollicking rollercoaster from start to finish, during the more contemplative moments I was actually glad for a breather, such is the intensity of this film. It is 116 minutes long, which seems like a long film, but the time just flew past and there is so much action in it I feel I will have to view this again to be sure I did not miss too much. There are some plot holes and quite clearly this is `based' on actual events, all of that aside this is one of the best films I have seen in ages.