Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 04:02:14

I memorized that song half way through the movie!

This movie really overusues that beatles song. It has almost no plot, yet I watched about 10 times over the course of 4 years

2012-05-24 23:55:14

I thought this movie would be excellent

I bought "Stripes" on the account that one of my favorite actors, bill murray, was in the movie- without ever seeing it prior. I don't think i will ever blindly buy a movie again because of this purchase. This movie wasn't any good. It wasn't very funny, and DEFINITELY is not Murray's best movie. In fact, it is probably the worst murray movie i've ever seen. Granted, it does have occasional funny parts, but overall i give it two stars. i think that is pretty generous.

2012-05-24 00:17:12

Ma'am, perhaps you'd like to eat your luggage

Just when you thought it didn't get any better than Animal House and Caddyshack, Harold Ramis (the co-writer of those two and this) releases Stripes, the story of two slackers who enlist in the Army and turn it upside down. Starring Bill Murray and Ramis as the friends, with John Candy supplying back-up, how can you go wrong? John Winger (Murray) decides to leave a cranky rich woman on a bridge in his cab, thus losing his job, which leads to him losing his girlfriend, and to add to things, his car gets repossessed. His best buddy Russell (Ramis) is teaching English to immigrants. With these two worthless things going on for them, John suggests the Army could shape them up, or "I'll be dead before I'm 30." So they do, and in the process, John butts heads with drill sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates), and the two get military police girlfriends (P.J. Soles, Sean Young). Then they take the new Army vehicle to Germany with the girls, and their unit gets captured. Time to head into Czechoslovakia. "It's like going into Wisconsin," John reassures Russell. As you can see, this is a fine addition to the Animal House/ Caddyshack/ Ghostbusters pool of Ramis/Reitman (Ivan Reitman, director of Stripes & Ghostbusters and co-producer of Animal House)/ SNL stars comedies. Basically Animal House in the Army (or Caddyshack in the Army, or Ghostbusters in the Army, but that was after, so Caddyshack was Animal House with golf, and...)

2012-05-23 03:23:06

Does anyone think the military is anything like this?

I don't know how this movie has so many 5-star ratings. I happened to watch this movie from the beginning on TV, and it was so bad that I had to put a review immediately. I am in the Marine Corps, and I feel even for the Army, that military training was portrayed very unrealistically. The Captain and the other "soldiers" show a sense of unprofessionalism and disrespect to superiors and the country. The graduation day scene is unbelievable. They all seemed to get it all together in one night and add their own twist to the drill. Bill Murray is horrible along with the rest. He clearly keeps his sarcasm even after basic training. How can he talk like that to a General? I don't know, but there is no structure or discipline between the Army soldiers and officers. I know this movie is a comedy, but it makes me wonder if they were trying to make the military look like a joke.

2012-05-22 17:24:57

Classic Movie. Extended Cut not worth it.

Not worth the extra added scenes plus they are explicitly marked as added scenes. Kinda cheesy. The good news is that the original movie can also be played. The movie is a 5+

2012-05-22 07:07:46

Great movie

This review is from: Stripes (Unrated Extended Cut) (DVD) This movie is one of my all time favorites, wore out two VHS tapes of it, the DVD is a big improvement. Good price, quick shipping.

Deckard-31 2012-05-22 17:07:52

My review of Stripes

Plot:Murray & his buddy join the army in hopes of getting somewhere inlife,but end up making their drill Sergeant mad & chasewomen.Verdict:Good fun!! Murray has talent and he shows it here. John Candyprovides good support,But lousy story brings it down anotch.**1/2 (out of ****)Rated R for strong sexual content & language.

jzappa 2012-05-22 05:11:34

A Hundred-Dollar Shine on a Three-Dollar Pair of Shoes

I understand the enjoyment of it. The prolonged and arguably dignifiedancestry includes Buck Privates, Duck Soup and the like. This cheekyyoung Bill Murray is firmly anchored in Groucho, the clue I'd consideran early scuffle with a Manhattan matron. The idea is recapturing thesame timbre but with a clear post-SNL hipster slacker derision. Andlike those vintage vehicles were for the classic comedy teams,storytelling amounts to little more than piecing together various sortsof obligatory scenes, cycling through the kinds that entails.You look back on all the moments and not so much the transitionsbetween them. Who needs them? That's supposed to be the attitude onebrings to one of these sorts of movies. It has that Animal House feel.Take a rigid institution of authoritarian discipline and formality andthrow a big pie in its face. And fart on its head for good measure.Just as John Vernon was the anal-retentive square lording it over ourslacker heroes in John Landis' film, Warren Oates plays Sgt. 1st ClassHulka, who gives Murray the most discipline he must've ever had in hislife, making him the closest character in the film to give the filmcohesion. Otherwise, this lazy but likable classic wastes most of itstime overstressing situations contradicted from the start by Murray'scharacter. The star act and his material are essentially misaligneduntil the tedious, scattered script ultimately labors past basictraining.The blessing I think Stripes brings to the golden-age slapsticktemplate is a more vivid ensemble. Yes, In the Navy and A Night at theOpera had plots, but with the attention to detail and ripeness indialogue and characterization of a present-day cartoon. The peripheralpeople around the stars of the act were virtually prevented from havingtoo much presence or distinction for fear of upstaging thedeal-breaking stars, but in Stripes, others clowning in basic-traininginclude Judge Reinhold's head-bobbing stoner, Conrad Dunn'sbroad-stroke acknowledgment to Travis Bickle (likely more of a HaroldRamis contribution), and John Candy's soft-hearted fatso, who finds theLaurel to his Hardy in southern boy John Diehl. They all have the kindof indelible character we hope for in especially young performances ofactors who later became more prevalent. And yet P.J. Soles and SeanYoung are there for one reason, the same one reason all us young guyswanted them in it. Other than that, there is absolutely nothing else.Not a single realistic action is allowed from them.Director Ivan Reitman is a sure merchant. He knows that the cheaplaughs are the most certain, that we like to see bunglers get ittogether without losing their ungainly style, and that it doesn't harmbusiness to slot in a sorority shower scene or nude mud-wrestlingcompetition every 30 minutes or so. Vietnam was by now a bygone phase,and this is Reagan's Good Army. When Ivan Reitman wants to ambush theEastern Bloc in a Winnebago crammed with rockets, he has the certifiedOK for dozens of tanks, explosions, shootouts and hand-to-hand combatmoments. But believe me, it was a great deal funnier when we were ten.

Dan Grant 2012-05-20 20:05:26

That's the fact Jack!

Stripes is firmly planted in my vernacular as one of those films thathelped shape me as a twelve year old boy. It is also one of those filmsthat made me become the film lover that I am today. I know films likeStar Wars and it's two sequels, First Blood and Rambo, Jaws and it'ssequel, Halloween, Back To The Future, Ghostbusters, Raiders and it'ssequels and Stripes ( there are many others but this review has to beunder 1000 words )taught me the beauty of how a movie can make youfeel. And Stripes was the first movie that me and my best friend at thetime ( Gary ) ever memorized word for word. And I think that it is thismovie that established Murray, Ramis and even guys like Candy and JohnLaroquette as comedians. It also has a small role for Bill Paxton in itsomewhere. It was also a great stepping stone for the three amigos (Murray, RAmis and Reitman ) to get funding for a bigger project likeGhostbusters. And if you were an executive at Columbia you wouldprobably hand them a blank cheque for that project after seeing thisfilm. Simply put this film is a classic in every sense of the word.Stripes tells the story of how John Winger and Russell Ziskey ( Murrayand Ramis respectively ) are two losers in life. Winger is an inept cabdriver that hates his job so much that he throws his keys off the citybridge one day while driving an annoying lady to the airport. Ziskey isa terrible English as a second language teacher. And he is so ineptthat he tries to get is class to sing songs during class as theirlesson. " I met her on a Monday and my heart stood still " Ziskeysings, and his class responds " da do da da da da da da da do da da dada, " and the he congratulates them and dismisses them until next week.After Winger informs Ziskey that in the last three hours he has losthis job, his car, his apartment and his girlfriend, they decide to jointhe army. And then all hilarity breaks loose. It is here that we meetan assorted cast of hooligans and misfits that add to the enjoyment ofthe movie.You have Ox ( Candy ) as an overweight guy who thinks the army is aperfect place to lose weight for free. There is Francis Sawyer, buteveryone calls him Psycho, as a nut that thinks he is in Vietnam orsomeplace. You also have Cruiser, who joined the army because hisfather and brother were in the army and also because he thought heshould join before he got drafted. Then there is Elmo, who is played bya pre-Fast Times Judge Reinhold. He is a wasted jolly stoner who isjjst looking to get stoned. Why he is joining the army is a littleperplexing, but really, who cares? He is fun to watch so little detailslike this are overlooked. And of course we have Sgt. Hulka played withabsolute earnestness by the late great Warren Oates. Needless to say,it is an interesting bunch of characters.The film works for various reason, but mainly because Ramis and DanGoldberg have written a hilarious script that puts the misfits throughone twistedly funny situation after another. If only the army were thisfun, everyone would want to enlist.The first half of the film works because of the basic training scenes.The second half works because the misfit recruits are assigned toprotect a secret R.V. that the army has concocted. Winger and Ziskey ofcourse can't stay bored for long and they take the R.V. out for a runto Austria to go pick up their girlfriends.Stripes is one of the funniest movies ever made and it should bechecked out by younger people that were born after 1980. I was about 12when I saw this and my dad laughed at this just as much as I did. Andif all you have to go on for comedy is things like Waterboy and BigDaddy ( very funny movies in their own right ) you are missing somegreat older comedy. You should really check this out.

2012-05-20 11:16:33

STRIPES , The Review

This review is from: Stripes (Extended Cut) (DVD) This has got to be one of Bill Murray's best works of all time. Great film & it will never go out of date .

2012-05-19 13:20:28

"Where The F**k's My Truck?!" - "Stripes" Still Being All It Can Be

"No. But, we are willing to learn.""Yeah, is there someplace special they take us to learn that?"- John & Russell act like a couple of flamers in the U.S. Army recruiting office before going on their way to earn their "Stripes""Stripes" is easily Bill Murray's best film, tied only in first place with "Caddyshack". Ivan Reitman directs this hilarious & chaotic film that's presented, for the first time, in an extended cut. Its just un-American not to love "Stripes".John Winger is a down on his luck cab driver who, in the course of one day (actually one morning), loses his job, girlfriend, car, apartment, his pizza. His best friend Russell Zitskey is a couple of rungs up on the evolution scale, but, isn't doing too hot either. With nothing to lose & after seeing a commercial for the U.S Army, John decides to enlist. He also convinces Russell to enlist with him, & after signing their lives over to the U.S., they head off to bootcamp."How's it going Eisenhower?""It's just you, me, & Uncle Sam.""Uncle Hulka?"Stepping off the bus at Fort Brag, the boys find out just what there in for & the type of motley crew they'll be training with.John & Russell's drill sargeant is Sgt. Hulka, who under the command of base idiot, Captain Stillman, is the classic no s*it taking, ass whooping, four mile running instructor that'll have ya doing 300 push ups if you step out of line. For Winger he never truly gets in line."I just want you all to know that if we do go into battle, I will be right behind you guys all the way."The other recruits are almost the very definition of misfit, among them a drug enthusiast named Elmo, & Dewey "Ox" Oxenburg, an overweight young man who thinks joining the Army is a great diet plan. The group slowly gets it together & starts basic training but, Russell can't hack it & in an extended scene John trys to get Russell out of the country, with pretty funny results.Things change when a freak accident, thanks to Captain Stillman, puts Sgt. Hulka on the injured list, & its up to John & Russell to train their platoon & pass to graduation."Where have you men been?""Army training, sir.""Is it true, that I am to believe, that you men have completed basic training all by yourselves?""That's the fact, jack!"Surprisingly, they all graduate and impress the hell out General Barnakey, who sends the boys off on their first top secret mission to Switzerland. Once there, the boys are introduced to the EM 50, an urban assault vehicle, thats basically a bulletproof van equipt with enough weapons to make the Batmobile look like a Dodge Dart.Also, an ominous surprise awaits the platoon in the form of a newly re-cooperated Sgt. Hulka, who puts John & Russell on guard duty the entire first weekend watching over the EM 50. "It's nothing personal, Winger. I just don't like ya."The boys being bored out of their skulls, decide to take the EM 50 for a test drive (their excuse to security - they need to gas up the van & get it washed). Picking up their female MP girlfriends, John & Russell take off to Germany & party the weekend away. Captain Stillman, trying to score with a blond hottie, discovers the van missing ("Where the f**ck's my truck?!") & heads up a rescue mission with the rest of the platoon and Sgt. Hulka. But, when Stillman screws up the directions everybody winds up over the border into Russia and are all promptly captured as spies. It's up to John, Russell, & the EM 50 to bust'em out.Originally conceived as a Cheech & Chong film, "Stripes" slowly changed its comedic tone after Cheech & Chong bowed out of the project (after the films "Nice Dreams" & "The Corsican Brothers", Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong broke up their act).With the help of Harold Ramis (who would later go on to play Russell) & Ivan Reitman, "Stripes" slowly began to take the now classic shape of the film that it would eventually become. Gone was most of the pot & drug humor (there is a small scene at the bus station between Elmo & Russell, & the acid scene in the extended cut). Instead "Stripes" focused on two average guys who take the plunge into the military. With the casting of Bill Murray, who worked previously with Reitman on "Meatballs" & was coming off of the huge success of that film & the bigger hit, "Caddyshack", "Stripes" couldn't lose. A helping hand from the United States Army didn't hurt either (the U.S. Army had previously denied working on the film "Private Benjamin" for no specific reason & the producers of "Stripes" didn't think they had a prayer). The film has a great cast. Murray aces his performance as Winger, with Ramis as his backup as Russell. John Candy turns in another classic act, but, John Larroquette is great as Stillman (I still laugh at his expression when he finds the EM 50 has gone AWOL).This new extended cut is a mixed bag, but overall worth getting for the special features."Stripes" is presented in both the original cut & the extended cut with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The downside (I give the film five stars not the DVD presentation) is that the extended cut is also used as the theatrical cut. This means that when watching the theatrical cut expect slight pauses throughout the film, as your DVD player accesses the next corect scene. Basically, there is no even or smooth play through the movie. I found this a bit disorientating especially where there are scenes where Elmer Bernstein's classic score is bridging certain scenes. It makes it look like your DVD player is picking up random scenes in the movie (my advice is to pick up the earlier theatrical DVD version of "Stripes"). The extended scenes are spliced back into the movie & are pretty funny, but, what absolutley sucks ass is at the bottom of each new scene is a subtitle telling you when the new scene begins & when the new scene ends. It says "New Extended Scene" & "End Of New Extended Scene". This is the equivalant of watching the movie, with the loudest person on the planet, standing beside your T.V., yelling at you when the new scene arrives. This is totally retarded & if I were Ivan Reitman, I'd find the genius who decided this smooth move and then proceed to beat the living crap out of him or her. I have never seen any other major studio do such a assinine descision. Other special features include a two part documentary on the making of "Stripes" with a trailer for the movie. Unfortunatly we also get trailers for such Sony crap as "D.E.B.S." (not worth watching even if you've got a gun pointed to your head, let alone a cannon) & other gems.The upside is the documentary with the cast telling how the film came together & sharing different insights on the film. "Stripes" itself looks a bit better than its previous incarnation on DVD & even though there are some sucky stuff ("D.E.B.S." trailer?) its worth getting. Just like the colors of the American Flag, "Stripes" doesn't run.

2012-05-18 23:35:41

Aaaaaaarmy training, sir! That's a fact, Jack!

THE WAR: The Cold War. America was stockpiling weapons in a race against the evil Russians. What we were also doing was training men and women to do battle, to wage war, and to utilize the newest, commie-crushing, soul-stealing technology to make the inevitable win that much easier.STORY: Two screw-ups, John Winger (Murray) and Russell Ziskey (Ramis), decide to join the Army to get in shape. After run-ins with by-the-book Drill Sergeant Hulka, they begin to question their decision. When an unfortunate accident - a direct result of the bumbling new soldiers - befalls Hulka, it's up to Winger to rally up the men - one of whom is a massive new recruit named Dewey "Ox" Oxberger (Candy) - take initiative, train like no others have trained, and graduate. Inspired by a speech that includes, "We're soldiers; but we're American soldiers. We've been kickin' a#$ for 200 years. We're 10 and 1," the troops are compelled to follow Winger. When assigned to guard the EM-50 urban assault vehicle in Italy after graduation, they eventually link back up with Sgt. Hulka. When the guys decide a cruise to find their ladies (at the time, cute as a button PJ Soles and Sean Young) is in order. Chaos ensues.PATRIOTISM: I'm all for joining the military. And despite the misguided initial intentions of this movie's protagonists, anyone enlists, becomes a soldier, and battles an enemy, should be looked upon with respect. Those in this movie embody the work-hard, play-hard mantra (in a bizarre way) echoed by the majority of America's Service-members.FAVORITE BATTLE(S): Amidst sprays of enemy fire, the boys take the EM-50 into Prague, make mince-meat of the enemies, save their fellow soldiers, drive through a Czech outpost with the EM-50, walk away as heroes, and eventually get a welcome home parade.FAVORITE LINE: The name's Francis Soyer, but everybody calls me Psycho. Any of you guys call me Francis, and I'll kill you. And I don't like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat-hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I'll kill you. Also, I don't like nobody touching me. Now, any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you. THE MESSAGE: Soldiers know how to have fun. There's always a collection of great stories when a group of soldiers gather around. But they also know how to take care of business, and when faced with adversity, even the biggest screw-ups in the Armed Services can buckle down, waltz into a Cold War-era Czechoslovakia, and lay the beat down.

Bolesroor 2012-05-18 00:08:37

Tell Me Again Why This Is Funny?

Bill Murray plays an obnoxious slob and Harold Ramis plays an obnoxiousJewish slob. Since these two "buddies" are merely comic actors in amajor motion picture, they decide it will be fun to join the Army inorder to annoy their fellow cadets, infuriate their commandingofficers, and generally do whatever it takes to wring laughs out apremise that can't possibly fail.Except, of course, the premise fails. Not for one moment do we believethese two are in the Army, since the smarmy grins never fall from theirfaces. Could they be more aware they're makin' pretend in a Hollywoodmovie? And the humorless drill instructors and sitcom-ensemblesupporting cast only serve to underscore the stacked deck from whichdirector Ivan Reitman is dealing. He would later direct the brilliantMurray and tolerable Ramis to perfection in "Ghostbusters," but for nowhe's just killing time.Less a satire of Army life than an elitist, semitic mockery of anyonedumb enough to JOIN the Army, I could not get over my immediate dislikeof the two main characters to laugh at anything that happens here- andI LOVE Bill Murray. Much like the brilliant "Animal House" the movieruns long, and takes an odd detour as the gang steals a mobile assaultvehicle and single-handedly... storms an enemy compound? Wins the war?I forgot because I had stopped caring about these characters long ago.Released fresh on the heels of the far-superior "Private Benjamin,""Stripes" has advertised itself for years as a comedy classic in spiteof the fact that no human seems to agree. This was a learningexperience for those involved... all would go on to greater things...you will too.GRADE: C-

2012-05-17 07:43:23

Akjack

One of the best. for those who served in the Army and took their basic training at Fort Knox, They should know that the movie was shot at Fort Knox. For those who don't know, Fort Knox is more than just where the gold is kept. It is an actual Army base. The movie is very funny and I really enjoyed it.

2012-05-16 14:31:14

Great Bonuses for a Classic Film

First off, this is one of the funniest films ever made. Anything my girlfrieend can sit through and laugh at with me and not at me is gold! The bonuses on the DVD are great. Even though you can see why they took them out of the film, they are some really funny scenes that just didn't belong in the final film.The featurette's are great too, good stories about the cast, which is packed with great actors from Bill Murray to Warren Oates. A MUST OWN DVD for any true comedy film buff.

2012-05-16 07:10:14

If you are a guy, see this movie! If you are a gal, watch at your own risk.

Of course guys love this movie. A nude woman within the first few minutesofthe film. Two scenes involving multiple nude women. Bikini mud wrestling.The Aunt Jemimah treatment. Guns. Explosions. Hilarious one-liners andsmartass remarks.Sound good to all you guys out there? Yep, me too. All of us will probablythink this movie is very funny. If you are female, you still might likethismovie; however, you have been warned - proceed with caution.

2012-05-16 07:38:21

Great movie

This review is from: Stripes (Extended Cut) (DVD) This movie is one of my all time favorites, wore out two VHS tapes of it, the DVD is a big improvement. Good price, quick shipping.

Flyer-6 2012-05-15 19:32:12

All time favorite comedy. Great fun. Must see.

Stripes is my all time favorite comedy. The cast and story are throughlyentertaining. I've watched this movie probably a dozen times, and I enjoyit every time. Highly recommended.

TheLittleSongbird 2012-05-14 18:13:05

Didn't do much for me

I do like Bill Murray and I love John Candy, so I thought this could beat least a decent film. But I found it uneven and it just didn't domuch for me. The film is well made, the score is wonderful, WarrenOates is excellent and there is evidence of good direction. But herecome the downsides, overall I just didn't find it funny. The scriptdoes have weaknesses feeling rather sporadic and ramshackle in thelaughs, complete with jokes that feel forced and flat, and while thestory starts off well the second half has a change of tone into a kindof a very generic action film that jarred with the rest of the movieand some scenes especially the mud-wrestling match and any sceneinvolving PJ Soles and Sean Young that fell short on credibility. Oatesis great, the other acting isn't that good in my opinion, Bill Murrayplays a very obnoxious and unlikeable character and unfortunately heisn't very funny which is sad, Harold Ramis' character is interestingbut is rarely built upon, both John Candy and Judge Reinhold with someweak scenes and dialogue are dull sadly and the best said about JohnLaroquette the better. All in all, has the odd bright spot but I wasleft cold. 4/10 Bethany Cox

anonymous 2012-05-13 19:27:05

A top comedy!

One of my top favorite comedies. Bill Murray is excellent. And thesupporting cast is outstanding. It even has a very good plot! Easy towatch over and over.