Tigerland

"The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human."

2000 1h 41m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 651

DramaWar

Synopsis

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A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.

“The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human.”

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Cast

Colin Farrell
Pvt. Roland Bozz
Matthew Davis
Pvt. Jim Paxton
Clifton Collins Jr.
Pvt. Miter
Tom Guiry
Pvt. Cantwell
Shea Whigham
Pvt. Wilson
James MacDonald
Staff Sgt. Thomas
Michael Shannon
Sgt. Filmore
Cole Hauser
Staff Sgt. Cota

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joel Schumacher
Writers: Ross Klavan, Michael McGruther
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joel Schumacher, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mark Stevens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colin Farrell and Matthew Davis and Clifton Collins Jr. carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joel Schumacher directs. Matthew Libatique behind the camera. Nathan Larson scores. Mark Stevens cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
226 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
4Directed by Joel Schumacher, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mark Stevens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Colin Farrell and Matthew Davis and Clifton Collins Jr. carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human.".
9IMDB entry: tt0170691 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "1970s", "louisiana", "kansas, usa", "guitar player".

The technical file

Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Original score: Nathan Larson
Editing: Mark Stevens
Production design: Andrew Laws
Costume design: Thomas Stokes
Makeup / hair: Gunnar Swanson
Sound: Marshall Garlington
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $148,701
Return: 1% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Tigerland (2000)

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Joel Schumacher

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What people are saying

John Chard2015-07-19
★ 8/10
Just because you wear those sergeant's stripes doesn't mean you ain't gonna die. Tigerland was the name of a U.S. Army training camp located at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Tagged as the second worst part of the Earth, it was a recreation of the Vietnamese jungle and was used to prepare American soldiers for the hellish terrain they were soon to be fighting in. Directed by Joel Schumacher, Tigerland stars Colin Farrell as Private Roland Bozz, a reluctant recruit to the war effort who upsets his superiors by having a canny knack for exploiting loop holes in the rule book. However, it's evident that Bozz has leadership qualities, but can the officers convince him he is born to lead? By the time of Tigerland's release, the Vietnam movie had apparently run its course. The announcement that Joel Schumacher was to delve into the conflict for his next movie was met with less than enthusiastic responses. This was after all the director who had not too long prior reduced the once darkly watchable Batman franchise to comedy campy ham overdrive. Alarm bells were further starting to go off when it was revealed that it was to be a short low budget shoot of 28 days, with a cast of unknowns and filmed in grainy 16 millimetre. Yet two things were forgotten by his many detractors. One was that Schumacher had showed himself capable of guiding a young vibrant cast to high levels of watch-ability (The Lost Boys), and two, that he had made Falling Down in the early 90s, thus tricky and darker edged material was not beyond him. Tigerland is a fine film, there is no actual conflict to observe other than the interactions between Bozz, his fellow squadies and his superiors. This is more boot camp drama than a film about military engagements. But the impact is much the same as our group of young men prepare for a fate that doesn't exactly have favourable odds; their respective reasons for being there in the first place containing varying degrees of bravado or disbelief. To which, much to his initial bemusement, Bozz simultaneously becomes a beacon of hope to many and a figure for revilement. The out-shot of this is that Tigerland winds up an expertly crafted movie, one that is propelled by great acting and one that quietly sneaks up on you and cloaks you in sadness. Schumacher is not the sole reason for why the film works so well though, he had some quality help. Ross Klavan and Michael McGruther's screenplay rises above the character clichés that exist in every army training camp based movie. Helped enormously by Klavan drawing on his real life experiences in the army, Tigerland doesn't hurtle towards its climax (a climax that is understated and poignant), it takes its time, characters are formed and with the then unknown Farrell on stupendously bewitching form, it's as engaging as a Vietnam film gets. This in spite of the grim look of the piece as Matthew Libatique's cinematography strips away vibrant colours and uses murky greys and greens to put the viewer right in there with them at boot camp. The look, the feel and the story all pull together nicely, making Tigerland fit to be mentioned in the same breath as those popular Vietnam movies from the previous decades. 8/10

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