I'm right

[tommymorgan]

Nolte was channeling something in this film. An unbelievable performance from a brilliant actor.

[inlandindieP]

Nick Nolte’s brilliant portrayal of Lt. Colonel Gordon Tall was absolutely neglected. Nolte showed a character that could be superficially pigeonholed as a blustering, profane, callus, vainglorious bastard, as also something more layered and complex. A lesser actor would have stopped at this point. Nolte showed that Lt. Colonel Tall was a career Army man who suffered the misfortune of earning his commission not long after WWI ended and as a consequence languished during the interwar years to include being passed over in at least 1 promotion cycle. When WW2 began, Lt. Colonel Tall was old for his rank and this fact was noticed by his superiors, to the point where this fact was an underlying of questioning of Tall’s abilities which became his millstone. A lesser actor would have portrayed Tall as glory seeking blowhard trying to prove himself at the expense of his men’s lives. Nolte’s portrayal of Tall showed a man who was older than normal combat age that was tasked with an objective and that he correctly concluded that he had to have the unbending will to accomplish that objective casualties notwithstanding. In summary Lt. Colonel Tall was an unpleasant but necessary man in the right time and place.

[DoctorMoo]

This is a towering film. So good. Nick Nolte played this character so well. So arrogant. So weak. So needy. So reckless.

[p-ej]

One of the greatest overlooks in Oscar history was Nick Nolte not receiving one for his performance in this film.

[josephrichardson]

I have a job where i literally just say yes to everything and keep it moving. I make decent money. 4pm I'm gone. They're right.

[CaesarInVa]

Jesus, I had conversations exactly like this with my father, who was a veteran of the South and Central Pacific campaigns. He was exactly like that. "Henceforth, let us dispense with any further misapprehensions to the contrary and proceed under the assumption that I am right."

[perromendieta]

if it weren't for staros, the entire unit would have died and the mission would have failed. It was staros's decision not to attack that found a vulnerable spot. A lot of academia, little war. Staros says it subtly: have you ever seen a young soldier die in your arms?

[johnb]

I believe Sun Tzu had something to say about huge egos.

[dlmsarge]

This particular scene and Nolte's specific words have stayed with me all this time since originally watching the film years ago.

[davidprice]

Nick Nolte got clean for a whole 5 minutes during this movie. His sponsor was so damn proud!

[robfreeman]

This film is aging very nicely like a fine wine. 20-30+ years later it just gets better in retrospect.

[CPD]

Nolte's performance in this film was excellent, and spot-on to the character type he played.

[planetdisco]

It was filmed just up the road from where I used to live in Far North Queensland. That croc in the opening scene was the largest in captivity in the world at the time. About 17 feet long. The poor buggers dead now. His enclosure was atrociously small which used to make me so angry that I refused to go out to the resort on Green Island where it was kept imprisoned. Anyway, I loved this movie, it’s far deeper conceptually than most war movies. I loved all the random shots of nature that Mallick used to imply that war and death are part of the struggle of nature and life.

[danhillman]

"We'll just assume it".

[fatty]

Nick nolte was amazing in this...he played the role very cleverly.

[JimmyJamm]

Nolte plays a third rate officer whose been passed over so many times his nose is constantly dripping blood. Travolta's character goads him into taking a take no prisoners mentality. As a result he is complete devoid of any ethics or emotions while pursuing his quixotic adventure. In contrast, the other soldiers are in an emotional hurricane where the madness of war is tearing away at their sanity. Even the Japanese soldiers appear as mad men when they are captured as the psyches are unable the shame of defeat.

[MisterBlue]

This film is indeed underrated.
One the the best i've ever seen.

[chadparsons]

Hate to say it, but he's not wrong. It is the military.

[jonnybirchyboy]

He shoulda said “ye sir you’re right” at the end there

[jaroslawwalczak]

That's what I call toxic leadership. Nick Nolte did great job. I hate this guy already.