In a message dated 12/15/1999 8:13:37 PM Eastern Standard Time, seandr@Exchange.Microsoft.com writes: << In any case, I'd be very surprised to find any movie do what SPR did better than SPR did. The movie scared the shit out of me in a way that movies like Platoon did not. In Platoon, I could run away because I didn't believe in the fight or the politics behind it. SPR offered me no such escape, leaving me wondering whether I would have the constitution to do the right things in spite of my terror. I haven't seen the Thin Red Line either but I shall pick it up soon. -Sean >> That last line -- "leaving me wondering whether I would etc." -- that nails it. The movie draws you into the battle so well you feel like you're being shot at -- and what do you do? That's exactly what I felt. I mean, compare this to the battle scenes in Braveheart. They were wonderfully staged, very realistic, but the whole time I felt "outside" the scene. Nothing like in SPR. I thought the ending to Schindler's list was more effective than SPR (SPR wasn't a Bad ending, just a bit sappy). The ritual depicted was "real," as were the people leaving the stones. It brought the story into the present -- like SPR, we're left with a sense of gratitude in the present. Jim