American Sniper, 2014.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.
Starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, and Max Charles.
SYNOPSIS:
2014’s American Sniper makes its 4K Ultra HD debut from Warner Bros. I don’t believe it was remastered for this edition, but given the facts that it’s only ten years old and was shot on digital originally, I can’t imagine much needed to be done here. It looks incredible, of course, and a code for a digital copy is also included, along with a healthy helping of bonus features. Highly recommended.
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of military service. I’ve never served in the military — and would have probably washed out pretty quickly if I had signed up — but I appreciate the sacrifice people make when they do so. In particular, I of course really appreciate the ones who put their lives on the line, and even lose theirs, in defense of their country.
And, yes, the military does attract a certain breed of people who are too cavalier about killing others, but that’s not all of them, as Clint Eastwood’s 2014 film American Sniper demonstrates. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of Chris Kyle, who signed up with the military in the late 90s and was sent to Iraq during that ill-advised invasion.
Chris ended up serving four tours in that chaos-filled country, establishing himself as one of the most elite snipers in US military history. While the movie deviates a bit from what really happened, it does an excellent job of capturing the soul-crushing decision-making involved in trying to decide whether to kill people who may or may not be enemy combatants.
And when those people are children, Bradley Cooper does an excellent job of conveying what Chris Kyle must have gone through when he had an armed boy in his sights. While everyone else congratulates him on his sniping prowess and refers to him simply as “legend,” Chris finds himself weighed down by the emotional toll the job exacts from him, especially when he keeps going back to Iraq out of a sense of duty to his country and his comrades in arms.
Interspersed with the hair-raising segments in Iraq are the interludes at home, which become harder and harder for his wife (Sienna Miller) and two children to endure as PTSD wreaks havoc on him. When he runs into a fellow soldier, someone he actually saved in Iraq, while at home, he clearly doesn’t know what to do with the adoration the man displays. Eventually, though, he finds a purpose in working with fellow veterans, although even that course of action leads down a dark path too.
On balance, the movie is very gung ho about Chris Kyle and his service, but, like I said, we do get glimpses into the moral ambiguity he had to deal with pretty much every day in Iraq. And while I don’t agree with the invasion of the country, once we were there, guys like him had to do the best they could to navigate the situation.
In honor of American Sniper’s tenth anniversary, Warner Bros. has released the movie on 4K Ultra HD, complete with a big batch of extras and a code for a digital copy. There’s no Blu-ray included, though, which seems to be a trend with many recent 4K Ultra HD editions from Warner Bros. Having the film on a high-def platter too is always nice, but it’s not a huge deal.
I haven’t owned this movie on home video before, so I’m not sure what’s new among the bonus features, but here’s what you’ll find:
• One Soldier’s Story: The Journey of American Sniper (31 minutes): The source material for Jason Hall’s screenplay was a book that Chris Kyle wrote with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, and this featurette starts with Eastwood’s interest in that book and progresses through the making of it, with a focus specifically on bringing that story to the screen.
• Chris Kyle: The Man Behind the Legend (30 minutes): Given how recent the Iraq War was when this movie was made, along with the tragedy of Chris Kyle’s death that occurred not long before production started, it makes sense that there would also be a bonus feature devoted exclusively to him. Bradley Cooper narrates an overview of Chris Kyle’s life through interviews with family, friends, and the men who served with him.
• Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – The Heart of a Hero (15 minutes): My introduction to Clint Eastwood as a kid was “that goofy guy in those screwball movies with the orangutan,” but, obviously, I’ve come to learn much more about him in the decades since. This featurette serves up a variety of folks who offer their thoughts on a man who has contributed an impressive body of work to Hollywood.
• Navy SEALs: In War and Peace (29.75 minutes): Bradley Cooper also narrates this overview of the US military’s elite force. American Sniper gives us a glimpse into the sheer hell those men go through when trying to join that group, and all I can say is, hey, I’m glad someone is willing to do that. And, yes, I certainly appreciate what they must endure.
• Bringing the War Home: The Cost of Heroism (20.5 minutes): I’m glad that movies like American Sniper highlight the toll that PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) takes on not only military veterans but their friends and families too. Clint Eastwood narrates a glimpse into that world with comments from cast and crew from the movie as well as some people who work with PTSD sufferers in real life.
• The Making of American Sniper (28.5 minutes): This piece is a bit redundant in places, since it treads territory already mapped out in previous featurettes, but it still has some good information to impart.
• Guardian (4.5 minutes): This is a quick recap of Chris Kyle’s story. I’m not sure why it’s included, since we learn everything there is to know about him in the other extras, but I’m sure his friends and family will always appreciate spending a little more time with him, even if it’s through a video.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
