Product Details

• Actors: Stan Shaw
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Henstooth Video
• DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AYXCLE
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,039 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #61 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action & Combat
  #66 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Genre > Drama

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Set in 1967, The Boys in Company C follows the lives of five Marine inductees from their training in boot camp through a tour of duty in Vietnam that quickly devolves into a hellish nightmare. Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men discover a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they can defeat a rival soccer team they may spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games safely behind the lines. But, as might be expected, nothing in Vietnam is as simple as it seems. Andrew Stevens was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his performance as Private Billy Ray Pike. Special Features Include: Audio Commentary by Andrew Stevens, Theatrical Trailer and Photo Gallery of Original Lobby Cards. Widescreen Format (2.35:1)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BOYS IN COMPANY C, January 9, 2002

By	jim romero (san gabriel, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys in Company C, The [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The boot camp scenario alone is worth the price of admission.
Although this movie starred STAN SHAW it is clear to me the real star of this film is GUNNARY SGT. R. LEE ERMY. This was his film debut, you'll prabably remember him as the drill Sgt. in FULL METAL JACKET, This movie is one ot the better Vietnam War era film and it attempts to define the difference between Duty and Survival. It is clear, the difference is a fine line and this movie danced the line nicely.....

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outshines Full Metal Jacket, November 3, 2000

By	The_Tech_Son - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys in Company C, The [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Boys in Company C was not only released 10 years before Full Metal Jacket, but is 10 times better. R. Lee Ermey plays the USMC DI who whips a bunch of civilian misfits into a cohesive fighting unit that will have most of them going to Vietnam upon graduation. (Sounds familiar doesn't it Mr. Kubrick?). This movie gives the viewer a fantastic Who's Who of most of the cast before they even show up to "Boot Camp". From the concientious objector, to the high school jock, to the street-smart drug dealer, the first ten minutes of the movie gives you a solid understanding of why their characters do what they do throughout the movie. Although this movie is paralleled by FMJ, The Boys of Company C has a much better story line. After graduation, the ones chosen for Vietnam meet their new company commander on the transit ship and are exposed to an interesting concept of how to defeat the Vietnamese by playing soccer. The entire movie is excellent, well acted, and flows evenly without the viewer ever once having to "accept" something just because it happened. For any current or former military member, this movie is chock full of little treats that have you saying "Yes! That's just the way it is!" BOTTOM LINE: If you've ever seen "Full Metal Jacket", you owe it to yourself to see the original masterpiece.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A few good men..., June 10, 2004

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Boys in Company C, The [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The parallels between 'Full Metal Jacket' and this film, 'The Boys of Company C', could not fail to be noticed, even without the stand-out performance of R. Lee Ermey in both films as a Drill Instructor (DI), a role he fulfilled in real life prior to his acting career. This was Ermey's first film role, and made him a person to watch; ironically, Ermey is better recognised today that most of the other stars of the film. Stan Shaw gives one of the best performances of his career here as Tyrone Washington, the independent, out-for-himself recruit who, being a natural leader, is tapped to take charge, and finds his sense of duty and teamwork growing stronger as his time in the Marine Corps proceeds.

Other recruits followed include Billy Ray Pike (Andrew Stevens, in one of his early roles), a high school jock depressed because he has lost the glory of those days; Alvin Foster (James Canning), the aspiring writer who is hoping to turn the Marine Corps into a story for fame and fortune; Vinnie Fazio (Michael Lembeck) as a hot-to-trot Marine, looking to survive to the next sexual encounter; and Dave Bisbee, a hippie-turned-marine looking to survive as well.

The plot is realistic -- there's no over-the-top play in either the Boot Camp or the in-country Vietnam scenes. The waste and futility of war comes through clearly without too much political overtones (more like one big snafu), and the run-of-the-mill situations of bureaucratic and leadership less-than-competence contrasts with the ground grunts' hope to live through it all and still carry on a valid mission.

The battle scenes are well choreographed without false glory and without false carnage. The base camp and boot camp situations are true to life in design, as are the situations; officers vs. enlisted, racial conflicts, American vs. Vietnamese. Small touches like letters from home and sub-plots such as the journal writing and drug-smuggling ideas also add to the strength of the film.

In a long tradition of Vietnam films and war films, this ranks among the better ones in many respects.