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Taking Chance |  | Actor: Kevin Bacon
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.97
Buy New: $10.72
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Seller: SummerTime26
Rating:  247 reviews
Sales Rank: 552
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Closed-captioned, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 77 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 1000041186
UPC: 883929033065
EAN: 0883929033065
ASIN: B001TOD6N4
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Based on the true experiences of Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl, who wrote eloquently of them in a widely circulated 2004 article, Taking Chance is a profoundly emotional look at the military rituals taken to honor its war dead, as represented by a fallen Marine killed in Iraq, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. Working as a strategic analyst at Marine Corps Base Quantico in VA, Lt. Col. Strobl (Kevin Baco |
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Product Description
AFTER HEARING OF THE HEROIC DEATH OF A YOUNG MARINE IN IRAQ, VETERAN OFFICER LT COLONEL MICHAEL STROBL VOLUNTEERS TO ESCORT THE REMAINS OF LANCE COPORAL CHANCE PHELPS BACK TO HIS HOMETOWN, WHERE HE EMBARKS ON AN UNEXPECTED EMOTIONAL JOURNEY.
Amazon.com
The made-for-HBO Taking Chance is based on perhaps the single most moving artifact to come out of the Second Gulf War, Lt. Col. Mike Strobl's first-person narrative of his voluntary mission escorting the body of a fellow Marine killed in Iraq. Strobl (played in the film by Kevin Bacon) hadn't known Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps but, noticing they'd been born in the same western town, he requested temporary leave from his duties as a manpower-deployment analyst at Quantico in order to accompany the 20-year-old's body home. Home, as it turned out, was no longer their shared birthplace in Colorado but the high-country Wyoming town of Dubois. The journey would take Strobl deep into the heart of his nation, and his own heart as well. There's no overstating the power and beauty of what he encountered: one instance after another of not just military personnel but airline employees, passengers, and bystanders doing honor--mostly wordlessly--to Chance's coffin and his escort as they passed by. First-time director Ross Katz deserves credit for declining to inflate any of these moments or underscore their meaning with grandiloquent speechifying, and Bacon--an actor who couldn't hit a false note if his life depended on it--is true to the Desert Storm veteran's self-discipline and emotional discretion. The picture's decency is unimpeachable, and Strobl's story, transcending pro-war and anti-war politics, is itself an act of healing. What's missing is the seasoned hand of a great director (Ang Lee, say) to invest it with the rhythm and movement of a fully achieved feature film. Still, this is a journey you'll feel enriched by sharing. --Richard T. Jameson On the DVD
Several somewhat overlapping short videos offer testimony to Chance Phelps's fun-loving spirit, heroic death, and spiritual legacy by his family, friends, and fellow Marines. They're good people. There's also a brief deleted scene--actually, portion of a scene--and some not particularly illuminating commentary on the making of the film. --Richard T. Jameson
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 247
A moving and profound film February 26, 2009
Donald M. Bishop (Virginia)
116 out of 117 found this review helpful
I viewed this film at a pre-screening, and I left the theater deeply moved. It's a simple story made into a heartfelt film -- Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (perfectly played by Kevin Bacon) accompanies the remains of Private First Class Chance Phelps from the mortuary at Dover AFB in Delaware to his home in Wyoming.
The Marine's death in Iraq occurs in the tense first minute of the film, with viewers only hearing the radio chatter and the explosion on a black screen. The screen comes to light with PFC Phelps' remains being sent to the U.S. The care of the remains and the personal effects makes visible and gives dignity to the anonymous work at Dover AFB.
The story takes the viewer into some seldom-seen corners of America -- from airport cargo facilities to the mountain highways of Wyoming -- and shows everywhere the reverence for the fallen. When the escort gives Phelps' watch, dog tags, and wooden cross to his parents, eight days after his death, even men will feel the tears coming. Finally, as LtCol Strobl (who had not yet been to Operation Iraqi Freedom when he accompanied Phelps' remains home) thinks over the experience, there's a meditation on where duty lies for a Marine Corps officer.
Director Ross Katz, Kevin Bacon, and HBO have given us a profound film that grants us a rare look not at America's prosperity, or freedoms, or politics -- but rather America's soul.
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A moving American experience March 1, 2009
Robin Benson
64 out of 64 found this review helpful
A deeply moving story and another plus for HBO. To my mind you just don't see too many movies that have this kind of honesty. One that comes to mind was The Straight Story. Taking Chance, though, is a completely different theme dealing with death, respect, honor, patriotism, family and love. Fortunately all of this is handled in a straightforward no-nonsense way and thank goodness it was. Hollywood really doesn't have too much of a reputation for presenting a simple truth without twisting it into something else.
The story unfolds very much like a documentary I thought. Kevin Bacon plays Lt. Col. Michael Strobl as the military escort taking the body of a dead soldier home to be buried. His performance was just right as was everyone else because the story was greater than all the parts combined. Particularly rewarding to watch, while the coffin, covered by the flag, was at airports or on the highway, was the way ordinary people took it upon themselves to pay their respects to someone they didn't know but who had died for his country: for them.
I don't know if this kind of movie is awards material. I think the story, in its simplicity and honesty, puts it way above the hype, razzle-dazzle and celebrity PR nonsense that surround awards. It's just too good to be commercialized in that way. It would be wonderful if its stature was achieved by word-of-mouth alone.
See it and be moved!
Taking Chance February 24, 2009
J. Young
48 out of 48 found this review helpful
I'm a Marine Mom and I found this movie very moving. It was well made and Kevin Bacon did an excellent job portraying his character. I think it showed the honor our fallen hero's receive and deserve.
Respect & Love March 3, 2009
Andrew Lubin (Bucks County, Pa)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
As I sat and watched as my Marine son did 2 tours in Iraq in 2003 - 2005, I wondered about our many KIA's coming home...how would they be treated? Did other Americans even care ? Now everyone knows the sacrifices these young Marines made, and everyone knows how Marines take care of their own. More important, we know that these young men will not be forgotten. Well done, Mr. Bacon, and thank you for sharing the story, LtCol Strobl.
A tribute to the fallen February 28, 2009
Allen Foster (Phoenix, Arizona)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
This movie tugs at your heart strings. It shows what happens to our fallen heros and how they make it back home to be laid to rest. Kevin Bacon plays a brillant part as a Marine Lt Col who volunteers to escort the remains of a young Marine from Dover AFB to his final resting place in MT. Mr Bacon shows definitely that he can act. You feel his dedication to the Core, his respect for the young Marine and the Marine's family, and the emotion packed feeling that one gets as he briefly encounters people along the way. A young Kevin Bacon will always be remembered for his role in FootLoose. He'll never shake that. But an older Kevin Bacon will always be remembered as the Marine Lt Col, Escort, in Taking Chance. This movie was perfectly cast and well directed. And of course, comes from Lt Col Michael R. Strobl's moving journal Taking Chance.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 247
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