Review of Casualties of War (1989) by Nikki G — 27 Oct 2007

This was the first Brian DePalma film I have seen, and I have to say, it's a bit of a dud. While there is some good acting there is also some horrible acting. Morricone's score is anachronistic and overbearing, evoking the lush string sound of a Hollywood coming of age tale rather than the moral inversion and horrors of war.

The reliance on crane shots and steadicam shots for the combat scenes struck me as a bad call as well. All this said, it was a good film overall, and the fact that it is competing with Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket makes it a little hard to be objective.