Product Details

• Actors: Thomas Madell, Gary Michael Smith, Korbi Dean, Chi Moui Lo, Scott Glenn
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 30, 2005
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009YCLC2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,559 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Faith of My Fathers" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"It's all about character," Jack McCain says to son John on his first day at Annapolis Naval Academy. Based on John McCain's autobiography, A&E’s Faith of Our Fathers traces the senator's character-building journey from pilot to POW to war hero. Shawn Hatosy (Soldier's Girl) is John and Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff) is his four-star admiral father. The story begins in 1967 when the younger man is shot down over North Vietnam, tortured, and hospitalized--only to be tortured again. Then it flashes back to 1953 as he takes his initial steps towards a military career and life with first wife Carol (Erin Cottrell). The made-for-TV movie continues to alternate between Annapolis and Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton. The story ends after McCain is released in 1973. Although his part often feels underwritten, Hatosy shines as a man who, like his father before him, would not betray his country at any cost. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 1-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Faith of My Fathers: Unrealistic Portrayal of Vietnam, September 14, 2005

By 

Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (DVD)

Arizona Senator John McCain enjoys his present day life as an influential member of the congress, leading debates on important issues and influencing legislation. He often gets into conflicts over some of his stands, but none of these can compare to the conflict McCain experienced back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. It was during this time that McCain spent several years as a Vietnam prisoner of war. This event is the subject of this movie, which is based on McCain's book of the same name.

In this film, McCain is portrayed briefly during his teenage years but the majority of the movie's time is spent either in Vietnam (inside the prison) or at McCain's military school, the U.S. Naval Academy. The movie begins by showing McCain (who is played by actor Shawn Hatosy) operating a fighter plane over Vietnam. He is shot down and has to parachute to safety; landing in water where some local Vietnamese come to his rescue and then promptly turn him over to the proper authorities. The film then alternates back and forth between scenes in the prison and flashbacks to scenes in the Naval Academy.

There is some violence in this film, but it is nothing compared to what was actually experienced. And herein lies the main problem I have with this film. The director made this movie in a very toned- down fashion so that it would be mild enough to get past the censors and be shown on television. In order to accomplish this, he had to eliminate scenes of brutal violence; profanity; and tough talk. Because of this, the movie seems very unrealistic. If you have read McCain's book by the same name, then you know that the conditions and the treatment McCain and others like him endured were horrifying. None of this comes through in this movie. It comes across as a little rough and unpleasant, but nowhere near the awful, inhumane experience that it really was.

Another problem I have with this film (which stems from the first problem) is the attitude of actor Shawn Hatosy and others who play the POW's. Hatosy's McCain character seems very bland, and rarely does he voice any concern over the nightmare he is living through. You can tell he and the others are not happy, but about the only dialogue you get is when McCain and another prisoner talk through the walls, between cells, by placing a cup to the wall. There is no intelligent dialogue, discussion of escape, feelings about the war or the captors, or anything else. This, again, makes the film seem a little unrealistic.

This movie is 90 minutes in length and it needed to be another half hour (or more) longer to give the McCain story the attention and respect it deserves. McCain's story, as told in his book, would make for a great, dramatic, and powerful Hollywood motion picture about the atrocities of war. But the way it is presented in this film, his experience seems more like a bad day on the job than the horrifying experience that it really was.

McCain, and the viewing public, deserved better.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not "the Deer Hunter" but pretty good overall, September 16, 2005

By 

Maskirovka (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (DVD)

I read the other review for this movie on this page, and I wonder if the author and I saw the same movie.

I agree that "Faith of My Fathers" did not show the full horror of what McCain went through. But it showed enough (McCain in agony from injuries that he suffered ejecting from his plane, McCain getting the hell beaten out of him by his captors, McCain getting brutally tortured). Remember, this was a made-for-TV movie, so there were limits on what could be shown (both for ratings and not to turn people's stomachs).

My quibbles are that at 90 minutes, the movie was indeed too short. There was no reference to McCain's narrow escape from a terrible fire onboard the aircraft carrier that he served on. McCain's life after his release from captivity is also missing (the movie could have been a miniseries).

"Faith of my Fathers" may not be as wrenching as "the Deer Hunter," but it's still a good movie and made me admire McCain all the more.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 90 minutes doesn't do justice to McCain's book, December 8, 2005

By 

Nicholas Carroll (Portland OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (DVD)

When I heard that they were making a film adaptation of John McCain's excellent memoir "Faith of My Fathers", I was excited until I learned that it was a made for cable TV movie. Had it been an HBO or Showtime production, it might have been a whole lot better, but as is, its adequate for the job.

I'm a fan of bio-pics and think every important historical figure should have one (I'm still waiting on serious film versions of all our Founding Fathers). When I saw that this film was a rather skimpy 90 minutes, I knew that wouldn't do justice to Senator McCain's book. His lifestory is worth at least a two hour treatment. On the plus side, Sean Hatosy as John McCain was a great choice. Hatosy is fast becoming one of my favorite actors by his ability to emote perfectly with his facial expressions. Its easy to imagine a younger McCain as we watch Hatosy through the film.

Also on the plus side was the decision to not go the Mel Gibson route on the torture scenes. We get a taste of it without being made uncomfortable. However, while they spared us the details of those scenes, they also unfortunately skimped out on a lot of the Naval Academy segments that show the development of McCain's character. I wished that they would have given at least a half hour of scenes from his Naval Academy days instead of the brief few scenes we do wind up seeing. That's what made McCain the man he is, or at least part of the reason.

At any rate, its not a bad bio-pic on a great American hero. Of course, keep in mind that its not up to motion picture standards and reflects the budget of a cable TV channel. And if it leaves you wanting more, there's always John McCain's book to read and refer to for more details about his life. After I watched the film, I felt a tinge of sadness that he's not our president now. The world needs a man of his character to lead our nation in the troublesome twenty-first century.