susankaychavezlac I like Tom Berenger- In fact, I like him a lot, especially in his "Sniper" series of movies. But "Rough Riders" is the biggest crock of manure since......well, good taste and civility prevent me from telling you since when, lol We have a combined force of 25,000 American Rough Riders, armed with Gatling Guns, and Krag-Jorgensen bolt action rifles, with 5 round magazines, AND Cuban insurgent Mambis troops going up against 800 ill-fed, isolated Spanish infantrymen in San Juan Hill. Pretty much a similar scenario to what happened in Santiago de Cuba bay, with Spain's wooden ships facing off against two (2) flotillas of (then) modern American battleships made of steel.We have the Yellow Journalists William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer to thank for this contrived "war" in which we lost 1,500 American Rough Riders killed in the charge on San Juan Hill (and an unknown number of wounded) and of course, a number of killed and wounded among the Cuban insurgent Mambi troops. Not just the men we lost in the short engagements, but the 5,000 men we lost due to YELLOW FEVER.The USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, due to an ignition of COAL DUST. The Yellow Journalists Hearst and Pulitzer, contrived fake stories blaming Spain for the explosion and incited the American public and the William McKinley Administration into declaring war on Spain. Spain, eager to avoid a war against the United States, for which she was ill-prepared to undertake, AGREED TO ALL OUR DEMANDS. But that was apparently not good enough, and the rest is now history.I'm a United States Army Disabled and Honorably Discharged Veteran with 10 years' service. The bravery and training of American troops is unquestioned, but this shameful episode in our country's history should not be 'REVISED' by Hollywood to give the public the idea we went up against fearsome odds. A website dedicated to the German-Scottish teenage Princess (born in Scotland) Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg says it all in much fewer words and with greater eloquence.See It's all around the middle of the website where the Spanish-American war is discussed. No spoiler alert is needed. We ALL know how the Spanish-American war ended, lol.

Jack Goodspeed Although clearly the most historically accurate and interesting film on this subject made thus far, there were some liberties taken.Henry Nash and his "compadre" are fictional characters but are very helpful in moving the plot along. The same is true of Chris Noth's character, Craig Wadsworth.Bucky O'Neil, properly spelled "Buckey O'Neill", was a real and important person both in, and before the battle. One of the most important people in the history of Arizona, he was actually buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.William Tiffany died, probably of malaria, while awaiting transport from Cuba. He was not fatally injured in the battle.The Marshall character portrayed by William Katt is, most likely,a composite of correspondent Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916) and correspondent/photographer James H. "Jimmy" Hare (1856-1946). Both obviously survived the battle and become well known newsmen.

roger-395 The movie more or less accurately reflects the history of the First US Volunteer Cavalry with a few exceptions that are, in my view, forgivable. For example, TR did not return home immediately but stayed on in Cuba and fought with the War Department over availability of medical supplies and adequate food for his men. Rather than leave his men, he stayed with them and at one point used his own funds to buy necessary food and material. TR was revered by his men and not just for this act of decency.Roosevelt's autobiographical account of the Battle of Santiago (a single volume within his 20 volume autobiography), included a roster of combatants and most of the men mentioned in the movie were real participants: Many of the lines used by the main characters were real: For example, Bucky O'Neil's comment that he would never be killed by a Spainish bullet--it was a German bullet that killed him. Uniforms, weapons, and battle tactics are also accurately reflected in the movie. These lend a sense of realism to the movie, which in my view makes it more enjoyable. The Battle of Santiago Heights is an example of a real life event that doesn't require a lot of Hollywood hype to make it a compelling story.Roosevelt was indeed a rank military amateur and he was certainly a lover of (his own) glory but he was also extraordinarily brave and throughout his life risked it for honor or simply to prove his manhood. During World War I, he offered to raise a regiment of US Volunteers at his own expense but his arch political enemy Woodrow Wilson rejected the idea. TR encouraged his three son's to fight and his youngest was killed in aerial combat over France in 1918. Why TR was so anxious to fight, and thereby redeem the good family name, has been the subject to much discussion but the consensus is that because he revered his father, and since his father used a substitute draftee during the Civil War, always a point of embarrassment to Theodore, he sought to make up for his father's lack of military experience.This movie presents a grand historical drama with lots of character development and the viewer will come to know and care about the main characters in a way that doesn't often happen in action movies. It glosses over certain social inequities such as the segregated military, which it tries to make as political correct as possible without destroying the historical plausibility of the setting. This is no easy task. It also captures the real sense of patriotism that existed among the men who volunteered for this extraordinary unit.This movie is now available on DVD and although rather long, it is worth a look for anyone interested in a little known period of Amerrican history.Annecdote: This was Brian Keith's final movie. In John Milius's 1971 The Wind and the Lion, Keith played Theodore Roosevelt and in Rough Riders he plays William McKinley, the man Roosevelt would follow after the 1901 assassination. Roosevelt was one of Miliu's boyhood heroes.

jljacobi I enjoyed this movie tremendously, but then again I'm a big Theodore Roosevelt fan. The movie does nothing to damage his reputation and is minimal in its application of modern sensibilities. There's lots of action, which closely mimics the historical accounts I've read. Believe it or not, by all reports TR was much as he is portrayed. Good performances abound with Tom Berringer topping the list. I'll skip trying to tell you what was on these peoples mind when they went to war, however, TR had been de facto Secretary of the Navy and a politician for quite a while so I vote for less naivete than hinted at by another commentator. That said, true believers are reported to have been a far more common breed at the time. A good rent, but I wish it were available on DVD. Talk to Ted Turner about that.