Simply A Masterpiece

As Good As It Gets

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This title took me years to get. Having trawled every Militaria site to try and find it I found it unavailable on any Formats. It was shown on UK TV and I thought it may turn up in the next 20 or so years. Having stumbled upon it I found it a pleasant surprise and a shock to see many of the cast from the early Eastenders series. A rarity that takes pride of place in my Video Vault. And one that should be released along side the likes of classics Scum and Made in England. For realism this has to be one of those films that anyone really has to see. The American Vietnam alternatives would have to be the great movies How Sleep The Brave or the equally brilliant Australian SAS movie The Odd Angry Shot. For realism in the Northern Ireland situation Contact should have its place in Film history. Thought provoking and heart wrenching in its realism. Rest In Peace A F N Clarke.

This movie is about reality behind the genre. At times the movie captures the bits which are usually left out, but are much more important in soldiering than the fireworks. The excellent down-tempo approach just makes it perfect in realism.I first saw this in the 80's, and it caught my attention like nothing before. I think I wore the VHS tape out before long. To my surprise, there was lots of familiarity when I entered military service a few years later.It is a pity that the movie is apparently not available currently. I would buy a copy right now.

i saw this film, it is very good, i liked the lack of music, and the intense atmosphere it created.would love to see it again.the scene where the soldier is blown up is graphic but is callous in its lack of compassion from the actors,id imagine such a terrible event would trigger more of a reaction in real life?but as a short film i imagine it captures the mood and anguish of the times quite well.as a film it may be slightly off topic now as the mood in northern Ireland is somewhat different to when the film was made, unfortunately the film is not available as a DVD purchase as it appears never to have been released commercially, but remains an interesting film for any one interested in understanding the role being played by the British army in the north of Ireland during these troubled times.

This film had almost no dialogue and almost nothing happens except for a few outbreaks of random violence. But yet it is an incredibly gripping film. Alan Clarke lets us feel both the boredom and terror of war and the film never lets up for it's sixty minutes as the steadicam follows the exhausted british soldiers as they trudge through the endless, and eerily beautiful irish landscape.