Product Details

• Actors: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee
• Directors: Paul W.S. Anderson
• Writers: David Webb Peoples
• Producers: Fred Fontana, James G. Robinson, Jeremy Bolt, Jerry Weintraub, R.J. Louis
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 31, 1999
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (204 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0790742381
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,521 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Kurt Russell hits new heights in laconic action heroes with his portrayal of Sergeant Todd, born and bred to be a soldier in a futuristic army. Raised to kill mercilessly, living only for battle, he finds himself at the twilight of his career (and so-called life) when a regiment of genetically enhanced warriors threatens to make his brand of soldiering obsolete. Despite his extensive skills, he is no match for the best of breed of the new order, and he's left for dead on a planet that serves only as a junk heap. There he encounters a ragtag group of castaways, and in his own strange and silent way slowly begins to learn how to be less a killer and more a human. All is disrupted, though, when the genetic regiment arrives on the trash planet and decides to eradicate the local human "trespassers." Though Todd had been overmatched before, this time he has more than ever to fight for--a home, and friends. Soldier is one of those rare sci fi movies that relies more on plot and action than special effects (though the trash planet is effectively wrought). The pace of action in the last half of the film is relentless and exciting, and Russell's portrayal of the old warrior as he warms to human emotions relies more on expression than words--in fact, he barely utters more than a half-dozen lines. --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To enter the future you have to leave the past., June 17, 2001

By 

Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, des... (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soldier (DVD)

Soldier is a rare experience that is far more than the plot, which has been outlined by the editorial comments. This is a journey taken by a strong warrior into his own humanity. I cannot even count the number of times that I have watched this movie, but I know it is more than twenty. I see more each time.

Kurt Russell's extraordinary and powerful acting skills make Sergeant Todd real. Successfully creating a character without dialogue is an art -- and he mastered it. This movie provides insight into today's violent world as well.

Todd has known nothing but war or training since he was born. He was conscripted in the hospital; he never knew love, or laughter, or how to play. He obeyed orders and did not speak unless spoken to. The perfect soldier could not have emotions. If the only way to kill an enemy was to kill innocent victims, then he did what was required.

Todd is the best soldier of the "old timers," and he has been bested a new, genetically engineered soldier. One of the most poignant scenes is on the world where he was dumped for dead. The survivors that created a life on Arcadia are nervous to have a soldier in their midst, and ask Todd why he is there alone. He stands, no expression on his faces, and says, "I was replaced by a better soldier, Sir."

Although he acknowledges that he is no longer good enough to be a soldier, as his body heals he works to grow stronger and returns to the training rituals that have ruled his entire life. As he sees the interaction in the group that saved him, he is conflicted by emotions that he never experienced. When asked what he thought about, he says, "Fear. Fear and training."

It is extremely painful for him to be exiled from these people because he is too strong, and his violent training is too dangerous. He does not understand what he feels. This is my favorite scene. He is alone in his exile, sitting in a concrete drainpipe with tears running down his face. He wipes the tears away, and with the skill of a great actor, Russell shows that he does not even know what they are.

The arrogant commander of the new soldiers considers Arcadia the perfect first "war." Anyone on the planet was considered hostile. Three soldiers attacked the small group, killing without provocation. They have no hope until Todd returns and saves the group. When he is asked what he would do, he says, "Kill them all, Sir." He will not let the group help him because "A soldier deserves a soldier."

Good writing means that the hero must have an enemy equal to his abilities, and this has great writing. In facing the final soldier, Todd's intelligence wins the battle.

I am passionate about this movie. The acting, plot, special effects, and depth earn five stars.

Victoria Tarrani

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fear . . .Discipline, April 15, 2003

By 

M. Dog (Everywhere and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Soldier (DVD)

This is one of the great, unsung science fiction films of recent times. The story revolves around a future where soldiers are segregated and trained from the crib to be merciless, killing machines. Kurt Russel, in a great performance, plays one of these soldiers who are soon to be replaced by a genetically enhanced new breed of soldier. Sgt. Todd 3465 (Russel) is believed killed in a training exercise and disposed of like yesterday's garbage on a waste-disposal planet. He survives, finds refuge amongst a colony of planet refugees, and tries to fit in.

This is, on a very rewarding level, a tremendous action film. Russel's nemesis in the film, Sgt. Caine 607 (played by Jason Scott Lee) is an imposing presence, and the fight scenes between the two are excellent and convincing. The special effects and battle scenes are impressive as well, and really transport you to a harsh, bleak, metallic future.

On another level the film is about the discovery of emotion in the highly trained soldier as he tries to fit into a more normal society. Russel is simply outstanding in the roll, doing an incredible acting job. He speaks a total of about 20 words in the whole film, but his internal struggles are always clear and very moving.

This "learning human emotions" trick is one several science fiction films have attempted, and most are embarrassing and painful to watch, dripping with sugar and sap. "Soldier" excels in this department as Russel makes the shift from killing machine to feeling man in a subtle, believable way. The film is just very, very well done and well written. The acting is fine all the way around, and the dialogue is completely absent of those wince-producing moments films of this nature often have.

Over time, this has become one of my favorite movies. I have watched it several times with increased enjoyment each time. I have quoted dialogue from this movie on more than one occasion, particularly the moment when Sgt. Todd tries to express his feelings, and all he can verbalize is "fear . . . discipline."

This movie is carefully crafted, intelligent, and hugely entertaining from the opening credits onward.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One soldier against the dictatorship. -- Shirley Keller, July 9, 1999

By 

Shirley J. Keller (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soldier (DVD)

It's a 10. Superb acting by Kurt Russell; directed by Paul Anderson, genius behind _Blade Runner_. He captured the essence of dictatorship and its opposite: individualism. Initially the protagonist, Todd, follows orders, used as a means to the ends of the State, a fighting machine who's then discarded. But Todd survives being dumped on a heap of refuse on a desert planet, to make his way to a small settlement of free people. There he learns what it means to have selfish values and to love a woman. When the totalitarians return to threaten her, only Todd can destroy them. Fight scenes and interpersonal dynamics were masterfully done. This is not a simplistic action movie with bullets flying everywhere. This is action melded with intellectual strategy, melded with a deep philosophical message. A sci fi classic, right along with Blade Runner.