MovieChat Forums > Taegukgi hwinallimyeo (2004) Discussion > Brotherhood or SPR?

Brotherhood or SPR?

posted 17 years ago by surround_sound
28 replies | jump to latest

Tried posting this at the SPR board but posting anything over there is a waste of time. Please indicate which one you think is superior for each criteria:

Story - BoW
Acting - BoW
Music - SPR
Cinematography - SPR
Sound - SPR
Effects - BoW
Realism - SPR
Wow (emotional punch) Factor - BoW

Comments: Both films were extremely violent and left me feeling pretty drained and dirty.

BoW was non-stop action and violence for the last 45 minutes but it had a more interesting story. It showed the destructive effects of war on family and country, the worst of humanity, and showed the war experience in a "larger-than-life" fashion - a dreadful nightmare spiralling towards the hopeless ending.

SPR was more restrained, more objective given the documentary-style production. On the other hand it showed the experience of the soldier, and the abstraction between what happens on the field and what happens on the other side of the world. I would say it's less emotional than BoW and the actors didn't seem to put quite as much into the roles, relying more on the extraordinary action set-pieces and documentary style to keep the story moving.

Is it fair to compare these two films? And which would you rather watch, all things considered?

For me it would be Brotherhood.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] MaxxOfTheRight 17 years ago

Music - SPR

You're out of your mind.

"The only way to achieve peace is through total war" - Michael Ledeen

[–] surround_sound 17 years ago

oops...

Music - BoW

[–] Trac3r 17 years ago

I have no idea what SPR is.. Maybe you shouldnt use SPR when you wrote Brootherhood in the title

[–] lollyshaun 17 years ago

saving private ryan

[–] rizent 17 years ago

Welcome to fail.
Population: You

[–] DominicDorbenhauer 17 years ago

If we're talking war films - I mean I like these two very much but I would have to say that "Full Metal Jacket" is better than both. Both BOW and SPR are quite contrived and cookie-cutter compared to FMJ - it's a film you really have to think long about and come to your own conclusions. Apocalypse Now is even more cerebral in this regard - an utter masterpiece. Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" is possibly the greatest and most entrancing war film ever made - his speech at the end is some of the most daring and inspiring words i've ever heard. Not to knock BOW or SPR, but it's quite easy to tug at an audiences emotions but it takes alot of effort and ingenuity to create the visions that I have mentioned.

[–] snootchies 17 years ago

You speak of telling both sides of the story accurately, i would agree. Although the movie "Letters from iwo jima" is mainly told from the japanese perspective. But I think it accurately protrays the other side of spectrum. I think the best anti-war movie ever. Next to this one, and of course Saving Private Ryan.

[–] oscarstegland 17 years ago

Full Metal Jacket is decent, but a lot of cinematic tricks as well. If you want a realistic war film, check out Platoon. Dale Dye who was military advisor for both Platoon and SPR, and countless films/games survived 31 major operations in Vietnam and Platoon's director Oliver Stone fought in Vietnam as well. Both have said that Apocalypse Now is perhaps the most unrealistic war film ever created. I like both AN and FMJ but don't consider either especially good movies. Letters from Iwo Jima is excellent but the one that will always stick with me due to its philosophical ideas and so on, is The Thin Red Line. Best war film I've seen.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] oscarstegland 17 years ago

What's CaS stand for?

[–] oscarstegland 17 years ago

Spoken like someone who understands really how overrated SPR is :D

[–] chooky42 17 years ago

I have only one gripe about Bow, and that is the camera work... fair enough during the battle scenes a good shaky shot can add to the realism, making it seem its from someones point of view and not an actual camera... but seriously at times it just seemed a bit overly done, i got a headache watching some of the battle scenes because the camera is moving around so much the whole time! it can almost leave you thinking "what the hell just happened?"...

Movies: Unreality with a touch of reality.

[–] mav100000 17 years ago

brotherhood of war was better in my opinion

[–] Boston_Sox 15 years ago

I'm not a big fan of Full Metal jacket, but I whole-heartedly agree that "The Great Dictator" is an incredible movie that was daring for it's time and even our own!

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[–] rilianx 17 years ago

Why the "oops"

SPR there no music?

[–] rilianx 17 years ago

Story - BoW
Acting - I don't remember the acting in SPR
Music - I don't remember the music in SPR
Cinematography - SPR
Sound - SPR (BoW was ok too)
Effects - SPR
Realism - Both
Wow (emotional punch) Factor - Each of them in different ways

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] banjopants 17 years ago

In a nutshell SPR is a heartless Hollywood-America-saves-the-world-run-of-the-mill effort and Brotherhood will leave you moved.

[–] PRHRAY 17 years ago

In my opionion SPR is much better. The Brotherhood'scheesy and contrived moments fail to move me.

[–] Kinematico 16 years ago

The Brotherhood of War by a mile!

the only aspect where Saving Private Ryan is superior is on some of the technical aspects (CGI effects, Sound, practical effects, etc.), something normal if you considers the budget difference between both films.

[–] mgbphd 16 years ago

The main similarities between SPR and BoW are that they are both retrospective. They both deal with a person's experience during a war --- we get to see them many years after the battles and how the experience affected their lives.

The blood and guts in SPR take place on D-Day --- thew rest of the movie is rather a walk in the park. With Brotherhood, most of the movie takes place on the battle field. There is a considerable amount of blood and guts ---- which brings to the viewer what war is basically about --- many people being killed in violent ways for pieces of land and dirt.

There is no comparrison between the violence between the two. BoW is a violent movie. The special effects are rather superb. There is little left to the imagination when, for example, one soldier shoots himself in the head.

Although the similarities of family issues are found in both movies, BoW has a much deeper exploration of how war disrupts the family unit. SPR is just one guy. BoW is a whole family --- brothers, mother, uncle, fiance and all the interactions of a family unit. Thus, BoW is a more complex movie. There are times when the flow gets bogged down in the complexities, yet, the movie has its own flow and is rather admirable.

SPR is more or less a 'feel good' movie, where BoW is a somewhat gruesome presentation of war as it actually is. My only complaint is having to read the subtitles which takes away from seeing the picture.

For those with an interest in a very good war movie, this is highly recomended. It covers a lot of ground, pathos and how war has a devistating effect on those who are forced to be ingaged. It is a serious film and done rather well.

[–] spungex 16 years ago

i prefer SPR. I love korean movies and I kept hearing how BoW was one of the best war movies ever.
I found it very cheesey and overly-sentimental. I think if the film had been an english speaking american film a lot of people would have called it hollywood OTT crap.

[–] neamtzu_rau 15 years ago

Brotherhood all the way.

SVPR gets gayer as time passes.

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