Benedito Dias Rodrigues This picture strangely passed by me and l didn't have another oppotunity to see on TV again,now on very first time on DVD which l'd bought years before, Although it is very predicable,the writter gave a clue when the Sergeant was killed by their own people,it was so clear that spoil the whole story,but the main target of the movie never was sergeant's behavior,but the message to reach the audience about the real facts during World War 2,when black soldiers never were accepted in same places with white soldiers,more they didn't have any recognition from the Army,including medals of honour after risking their lives for homeland....worst making every kind of dirtiest job in the army.....in the bonus has a little doc about that matter,shame for a country which has two kind of people!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

primona This film was nominated for three Academy awards including Best Picture and deservedly so. It continues to be a highly underrated film but I suspect it will receive much greater appreciation as time goes by, as in the case of many films that are considered great classics today. The movie is about a black officer, Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.), who is sent to investigate the murder of a black sergeant (Adolph Caesar) in Louisiana near the end of World War II. Captain Davenport is faced with the tremendous pressure of being in the unprecedented role of a black officer who must get at the truth of who killed sergeant Waters, no matter the consequences. The story focuses on racism within the segregated black U.S Army regiment and is told in flashbacks with rich writing and highly complex characters, especially the conflicted and hated sergeant Waters, the defiant Private First Class Peterson, (played by Denzel Washington), and the self-righteous Captain Davenport. The acting is compelling! In fact, Rollins, Ceasar(who was actually nominated for Best Supporting Actor), and Washington were all deserving of an Academy Award nomination for their acting. This was one of Denzel Washington's earliest films but one of his strongest performances and I say this as a fan of his work in such films as Cry Freedom, Glory, Maxcolm X, Courage Under Fire, Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Training Day, to name a few. In fact, if you're a Denzel Washington fan, you would be remissed if you don't see this earlier work of his. This film was also one of the last major films for three of the main actors; the very talented Howard E. Rollins Jr., who is best known for his Academy Award nominated role in Ragtime, Adolph Ceasar, best known for this role and his role as "Mister" in the film Color Purple, and Larry Riley, who played CJ Memphis in the film. The fact that these three very talented actors died in their prime (between 39-52 years of age) makes this film even more nostalgic for me when I watch it today. May their memory live on in this superb film.

sol1218 ***SPOILER ALERT*** Drinking himself into a drunken stupor US Army Sgt. Waters, Adolph Caesar, staggered out of Big Mary's Place and was later found by the Tynin Bridge beaten and shot to death.With Sgt. Waters being black it was immediately suspected that he was murdered by either members of the KKK or local townspeople who, in the deep south in 1944, didn't take too kindly in blacks, even servicemen, being in their town. There was also the fear that the black soldiers, from an all black army garrison, stationed outside of Tynin would take matters in their own hands in revenge of their fellow black Sgt. Waters being murdered by, as suspected, some of Tynin's racist citizens.Sending a US Army black officer to investigate the Waters murder was thought, by the Pentagon, to be the best way to defuse this very dangerous and explosive situation. As things turned out it was, the Waters murder, far more shocking as well as racist then anyone could have imagined! With the racism being instigated my the murder victim himself the late Sgt. Waters!Powerhouse movie that has black US Army Captain Davenport, Howard E. Rolins Jr, go against type in what his white superior officers expected him to do, white wash his investigation, and get to the meat of the matter in Sgt. Waters' murder. As he uncovered the circumstance's that lead to Waters murder Capt. Davenport became to realize that it was his actions towards the black troops that he commanded, not that of local white racists, that lead to his ignoble demise.As Capt. Davenport found out there was very bitter hatred towards the black troops stationed outside of Tynin but it was Sgt. Waters own racism, towards some of his men, that eventually lead to his murder. Being a spit & polish as well as educated career man Sgt. Waters look down on some his fellow blacks in them dragging top notch soldiers like himself down.****SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON*** Using his #1 suck up Pvt. Wilkie, Art Evens, to do his dirty work Sgt. Waters framed Pvt.C.J Memphis, Larry Riley, in a triple murder on the army base. Knowing that the charge wouldn't stick, were not even sure if anyone was murdered in the first place, Waters then getting C.J to take a swing at him, knocking Waters flat on his butt, was a charge-striking a superior officer-which did.With the good natured C.J now locked up in the stockade a vengeful and sadistic Waters paid him a visit telling C.J that he's to do at least five years for belting him. This lead to a despondent and terrified, in being behind bars, C.J into hanging himself the following evening! It was the unexpected suicide of C.J that lead Sgt. Waters to go on a drinking binge that lead to him ending up murdered! The big question in Capt. Davenport's mind is who among the black troops on the base murdered him!More then anything else the movie "A Soldier's Story" shows that racism comes in all shapes sizes as well as colors. The bitter racism that Sgt. Waters had for poor C.J Memphis was far more vicious then the racism that the local whites had for him or any other black for that matter. Just because C.J was good natured and didn't have a chip on his shoulder like the infuriated Sgt. Waters did lead to Waters framing him for a number of murders that C.J didn't commit. The chip that Sgt. Waters carried all his adult life was that he couldn't accept the fact that he was black and thus put down by the society that he grew up in. And it was that sick and dangerous distortion of reality that lead not only to Sgt. Waters feelings of insecurity but the racism that he developed over the years against his own, like in the case of C.J Memphis, people! And in the end it was Sgt. Waters' own men whom he commanded that made him pay for it!

lee3993 In 1981 Howard Rollins' role as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the Depression Era drama, "Ragtime", probably paved the way for him to become a first rate black actor in Hollywood. However, it was his role as Capt. Davenport in 1984's "A Soldier's Story" that solidified that thought. Anyone who has seen 1967's "In the Heat of the Night", starring the one and only Sidney Potier, would certainly draw comparisons to the two performances. Rollins' performance is simply marvelous. As a World War II army officer, he is sent by his superiors to a base in a racially divided southern town to investigate the murder of a platoon sergeant under mysterious circumstances. Adolph Caesar's performance as Sgt. Waters(the victim in question), a veteran soldier(who happens to be black)who wreaks with animosity towards his own race is riveting. Although slightly built, his domineering persona, bigoted conviction, and ornery demeanor are imposing to say the least. Denzel Washington,(in one of his early roles) as Pfc. Peterson, is his usual conspicuous self. Wings Hauser, as Lt. Byrd,is perfect as a racist army officer who is a prime suspect in the case. Although most people who haven't seen "A Soldiers Story" will undoubtedly be shocked by its conclusion, it is the perfect ending to a movie that depicts how people are not only preyed upon by other races but also by corrupted descendants of its own lineage. As for Howard Rollins becoming the next Sidney Potier, his downfall and untimely death are well documented. However, the torch was obviously passed on to another actor featured in the film, Mr. Denzel Washington, who, like Sir Sidney Potier, is now considered one of the greatest actors of all time, black or otherwise.