daallen The Lost Battalion of WW I. The original battle this film is based on, which produced no less than seven Medals of Honor and numerous Distinguished Service Crosses, took place in the Argonne Forest in France during the waning months of WW I. It was part of the final great Allied push known as the Meuse- Argonne Offensive (Sept-Nov 1918). The Battalion was cut off for nearly a week, from the evening of 2 October until early morning 8 October, when elements of the 77th Division AEF were able to break through German lines to the south of the battalions position and relieve and reinforce their position.The battalion itself, actually a combination of three battalions (six companies of the 308th, one from 307th, and two companies from 306th MGB) entered the Argonne with nearly 600 able-bodied men on the 2nd, and left with less than 200 unscathed on the 8th. The atrocities they endured and the heroism exhibited is self-evident, without the need of embellishment, which is precisely what this film does.It may be somewhat unfair to bash this film universally, which is why I gave it a rating of three stars rather than one. The cinematography was excellent and the acting was good if not great. I'm not certain if I would have cast Rick Schroder as Major Wittlesey, a result of trying to garner a larger audience through name recognition rather than on the merit of subject alone. Unnecessary and a mistake in my opinion. I also understand this is a made for TV film, lacking a big budget and aimed at smaller audiences. But the flaws in this film aren't budget related. They are a direct result of historical inaccuracies and bad dialogue.While the individual soldiers involved and timeline seem to be fairly accurate to what I've read, the writers have taken a great deal of liberty in mixing up certain events and the players involved. "Major" Prinz was presumably a Lieutenant for one, and it was a wounded private who was captured and returned (reluctantly) to Major Wittlesey with a request of surrender, not Lt. Leak. The plane shot down was a two-seat De Haveland DH-4 biplane with a pilot and navigator, each awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, not a single-seat with only a pilot. Might sound nit-picky, but these guys are heroes and major inaccuracies like these do them an injustice, in my opinion.Plus, the six-seven day nightmare seemed to take place over only a day or two in the film. Bad editing may be the culprit, although it is possible the script was light to begin with. I imagine it's pretty tough to condense all that the battle entailed into a hour and thirty minute movie, but it can be done. Perhaps throttling back on some of the campy dialogue may have provided the time for a more accurate portrayal. You get the sense that the film is trying to shove honor, moral courage and heroism down your throat by telling you how heroic everyone is over and over and over, rather than just demonstrating it and allowing you to form your own opinion.If you have absolutely no knowledge of the battle, have no interest in historical accuracy, and are looking to kill an hour and a half of your time you may find the film enjoyable. The cinematography was great, acting fair even good in parts, but the end result is a skewed portrayal of the actual events that took place and cheapens the memories of those involved.3/10

jesseaa330 well first of all who ever said that uniforms weren't accurate wow! you are a genius!! they can't be correct, it is a chargeable offense. impersonating military officer!!!! so the movie can never be 100% because who remembers what exactly is said and done in battle? and people standing up during fire...it looks like squad rushes to me which is still used in todays military so you really are an uneducated person. the movie is as accurate as law allows it to be. i believe it was a pretty good movie, the actors did a decent job, there are some inaccuracies ( a private yells at a captain, that would not happen in almost any situation, at least not in the us armed forces) and they did take a little dramatic liberties with conversations and personalities but overall it is a good movie and gives a good picture of the military abilities during WWI

legendarynumber3 I usually read reviews before I watch a movie. Guess what, I didn't do that before watching TLB, and I have to say I was very surprised to see the above average rating at IMDb. I found it to have a total lack of story. You just get dropped into it (and, sadly, not in the way Saving Private Ryan dropped us into the movie), and it also has a sudden end, which was very unsatisfying for me.I have to admit, the wounded soldiers looked pretty realistic to me, especially with the low budget in mind. But prepare yourself to have a laugh... Some guys are being tossed through the air after an explosion as if they are Olympic gymnasts. A mid-air corkscrew or somersault during WW I is a bit too much for me, especially when it's performed countless times during the movie...But the parts that really got me laughing until I almost cried were the scenes containing close combat. The screaming and shouting German voices...unbelievably funny. It seems as if they are spoken by one single actor / voice performer, because they all sound exactly the same, and it just sounds like a 'typical' German voice.I would absolutely NOT recommend this movie to anyone, except to people who just want to have some laughs because of the sad and corny quality of it.

NonEgo1 My God, what an incredible movie it is! Reminded me so much of the similar scene in Mel Gibson's movie "We were Soldiers" when "the Company is not lost, they're just cut off" And the other scene in Pearl Harbour when the British officer says to Ben Affleck "If all Americans are like you, then God help the nation that goes to war with America!Put all 3 movies together and you would have enough BULLSHIT to fertilise the entire Sahara Desert.The story of the cut-off Battalion may be real enough but the movie could have done without all that American preachy jingoistic propaganda attached to it. There were audible groans in the cinema during the above-mentioned scene in Pearl Harbour (no kidding either) The Lost Battalion however is really in a class of its own …."Americans think they are unbeatable…inspired bravery…. " I actually cringed and damn near puked at all the swill being spewed out throughout this diarrhoeic disaster (the movie that is) The fighting scenes were well made (3 stars for that) but if the script is manure, then wrapped even in brightly coloured ribbons, it is still manure. The writer, James Carabatsos, also wrote those other screamers…Hamburger Hill, No Mercy , Heartbreak Ridge. Someone, please shoot him before he writes any more such garbage.The Director, Russell Mulcahy is an Australian too. God, the shame!!!