Tour of Duty - The Complete Series
by Stephen Caffrey
from Sony Pictures
TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON: The first TV series about the Vietnam War, TOUR OF DUTY focuses on a single platoon of young U.S. Soldiers during their one-year of combat duty in Vietnam during the late 1960s. Terence Knox, Kevin Conroy, Stephen Caffrey, Joshua Maurer, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker, Eric Bruskhotter, Stan Foster, Ramon Franco and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. star as the infantrymen who represent diverse racial, cultural and philosophical backgrounds but must ultimately depend on one another to face enemy troops and survive in the hostile Southeast Asian terrain. Full of thrilling combat action, TOUR OF DUTY also goes deeper to portray the dramatic human side of war and the camaraderie of the men who gave it all for their country.
TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: The courageous soldiers of Bravo Company are back for more action-packed fighting and riveting human drama in the second season of the landmark Vietnam series, "TOUR OF DUTY." When the platoon is transferred to the Tan Son Nhut Base outside of Saigon, it's a whole new war with different battles and new faces, including some beautiful women. Kim Delany (TV's "CSI: Miami"), Dan Gauthier, Richard Brestoff, and Betsy Brantley join series stars Terence Knox, Stephen Caffrey, Tony Becker, Stan Foster and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. Guest stars include Angela Bassett (How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Michael Madsen (Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2) and Malcolm Jamal-Warner (TV's "The Cosby Show"). In the second season of "TOUR OF DUTY," the fresh-faced recruits are becoming battle-weary fighters whose personal battles are just beginning amidst the daily grind of warfare. TOUR OF DUTY features a new music soundtrack including songs from the Vietnam era!
TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON: The men face their toughest challenges yet when their platoon (now called Team Viking) is transferred to Camp Barnett to become part of a Special Ops unit. This season delivers extreme combat action and intense human drama focusing on issues unique to the Vietnam era: the devastating effects of chemical warfare, the massacre of Vietnamese civilians, the growing problem of heroin addiction, and the difficulties the soldiers faced returning home to a country bitterly divided by the war. The powerful third season, collected on this five-disc, 21 episode set, is a fitting finale to one of the greatest war dramas ever.
Longtime Companion
by Norman René
from MGM (Video & DVD)
The late director Norman Rene and writer Craig Lucas made a pretty fine creative team on the stage and in the movies, and this 1990 drama about the evolving impact of AIDS on gay New Yorkers is their best cinematic achievement. The ensemble story follows the lives of nine or so characters as word of the so-called "gay cancer" eventually becomes a real force, killing several of them as the years go by. The film works well on a number of levels, not least of which is the enviable closeness of the characters, the script's wit, the bittersweet experience of loss, and a celebratory attitude at the end mixing wisdom with defiance. --Tom Keogh
Hailed as the first mainstream film to put a human face on the AIDS epidemic, Longtime Companion is a "remarkable" (Newsweek) drama that takes an honest, unflinching look at how this devastating disease changes everyone it touches. "Intelligent, unflinching and unpatronizing" (Boxoffice), and starring a "terrific ensemble cast" (Time), including OscarÂ(r) nominee* and Golden Globe winner** Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Dermot Mulroney and Mary-Louise Parker,this heartrending yet triumphant film "is an illuminating, deeply moving experience" (Los Angeles Times). During the summer of 1981, a group of friends in New York are completely unprepared for the onslaught of AIDS. What starts as a rumor about a mysterious "gay cancer" soon turns into a major crisis as, one by one, some of the friends begin to fall ill, leaving the others to panic about who will be next. As death takes its toll, the lives of these friends are forever redefinedby an unconditional display, of love, hope and courage. *1990: Supporting Actor, Longtime Companion **1990: Supporting Actor, Longtime Companion
Tour of Duty - The Complete Second Season
by Stephen Caffrey
from Sony Pictures
A host of new faces--and new dangers--await Lt. Zeke Anderson and the men of Bravo Company in the second season of the gritty Vietnam War drama Tour of Duty. Joining the cast for the sophomore season are Kim Delaney as war correspondent Alex Devlin, and Dan Gauthier as chopper pilot Lt. Johnny McKay, who would transport B Company to the jungle from their new base at Tan Son Nhut. But the changes between the first and second seasons went beyond cast and setting--the series took a much closer look at the emotional toll of the war on its soldiers, with episodes devoted to Ruiz (Ramon Franco) suffering a breakdown, grunts contemplating (and committing) suicide, and Bravo's men dealing with incompetent and even dangerous fellow soldiers (Michael Madsen stars as a sniper with a taste for violence in "Sleeping Dogs"). Of course, the action and tension that caught audiences' attention in Tour's debut season is still in effect, abetted by a touch of romance (Miguel Nunez's Taylor pairs with guest star Angela Bassett, as do Gauthier and Delaney), and the excellent scripting and performances by Terence Knox (who would win the Viewers for Quality Television's top acting award for this season) as Anderson and the rest of the cast. The four-disc set compiles all 16 episodes from the second season; unfortunately, no extras are included, and much of the incidental music featured in the original broadcasts has been replaced due to copyright issues. However, neither should deter series fans from revisiting this exceptional series. --Paul Gaita
Filmed in Hawaii, this drama series is about the United States Army soldiers on combat duty in 1967's Vietnam.