Customer Reviews

Proud

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Great story and storytelling about the African American service men in WWII. Finally someone has decided to show the true things they had to overcome and resistance along the way. Great movie, especially for teachers in the classroom.

Outstanding little film! Ossie Davis is loveable as Lorenzo DeFau, and as narrator, draws us right into the story of the crew of the USS Mason. It is the true story of how the first all-African American crew overcame prejudice and adversity while risking their lives for this country during World War II. The film tells the story very well, and is interspersed with actual black and white footage of the original USS Mason crew. The cinematography is exceptional, especially the scenes shot in Derry, Ireland. This is Tommy Hilfiger's first motion picture effort from his THEntertainment production company. Note there are several cameos throughout the film, including Tommy and Ally Hilfiger, Nobel Peace winner John Hume, and the three main characters who are still living: Lorenzo DeFau, Gordon Buchanan, and James Graham. It is a tribute and a wonderful, uplifting family film. I think everyone should see it!

The record of the brave and dedicated African American service men and women during WWII has been a long time in coming. This film will hopefully spark an interest in their invaluable service to their country at a crucial time in our history. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances and story, especially the scenes in Ireland.

This is one of the best movies about World War 2 I have seen. It is a film that makes me very Proud to be a part of this great country. It is the story of a group of African Americans who fought for their country and fought against prejudice in the land of immigrants. It is so unfortunate that it took the United States Navy so long to recognize the valor and courage of these young men. I would recommend this movie anyone who is interested in the History of the our Great Nation, the United States of America.

First of all, the Editorial comments description needs to be corrected - the Mason was not a Battleship, it was a Destroyer Escort.
We stumbled on this movie by accident and were interested because my father had served on a DE in WWII. It was a wonderfully told story of a truth of WWII that many have never heard about. I was educated by this movie - and found it to be for the most part well acted & also entertaining.

I served in the U.S. Navy during the Korea war. I know what shipboard life is like. The men on the Mason had it about as rough as it gets. One of the Navy's smallest ships on the roughest seas. They called this an experiment for the Navy. I don't know if the Navy claims to have proven their point, but those black sailors sure proved theirs. Considering the excellent job that those men did the Navy should have manned other ships with an all black crews. I'm white, and a southern boy at that, but we southerners recognize a job well done. And this makes me very proud of my black shipmates. You know the saying, YOU CAN"T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN.

This is an amazing story of several young African American men who help gain recognition to the older African American men who served on a Naval vessel who did remarkable voyages to help their country.

Based on the true and heroic story of the USS Mason, a Navy battleship manned by an African-American crew during WWII, when segregation was still enforced. Based on the book by Mary Pat Kelly.

The pros

Some pretty solid performances by the cast. Some scenes were very enjoyable. Nice to see a all African American cast and no one is a drug dealer,pimp or thug. Glad to see these events portrayed on film. The scene with them visiting some Irish people was very enjoyable. Footage of actual navy vessels in battle. Ending of the film has footage of Bill Clinton talking with some of the surviving crew members.

The cons
I hated how they couldn't decide if they wanted to be documentary or a movie. You have Ossie Davis talking all over the film explaining things I don't need that just show what happened in the film. Man the sets were kind of cheap in the film. You could tell they didn't have much money for this film. I didn't get some of the choices in term of script. They wasted a lot of time with one character interviewing other charters in the film. This happened a few times. I'd have rather they spent this time doing something more interesting. Also during the battle scenes they use actually footage of real navy ships in battle. This would be cool if the scenes weren't in black and white. I found this really jarring at times. It really took me out of the battles. Also the main antagonist who was causing them problems get taken out of the picture 40% into the film. I know it's based on real life,but it hurt the film. You don't get rid of the main bad guy so soon.

In conclusion I'd say good idea with poor execution. Don't know why some people gave it such a high rating,but don't be fooled.

What a great move a must see for all and this stroy is a true story about blacks in the US Navy during WW II We see how they served our country and how our country treated them. I would like to thank all WW II vets for their service and I would like to say a special thanks to our African American Men and Women who servered with honor and pride. They didn't want anything they just wanted to PROUD Americans just like every other American.

The story line was great, I never heard of the the Black Sailors of the USS Mason. Wonderful piece of history. But, the movie was poorly made, the screenwriting lacked realness, although Ossie gave a stellar performance, the movie didn't get to the soul of these sailors. Everything looked faked, a little CGI would have spruced it up a bit.