I love this movie so much

Please don't spend money on this.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

My main quibble with this script (and I did love the movie) was at the time I was reading my copy of Richard Harding Davis, "The Notes of a War Correspondent", his description of the battle came from the actor playing Stephen Crane's. RH Davis is worthy of a rousing action movie in his own right. Would have been a great addition to the movie.

Whether you get much out of this or not depends on what you're looking for. It's John Milius' film and he leaves his imprint on it. He's a weapons enthusiast. On some of his films he had it written into his contract that he would be allowed to hunt all the wild animals that were to be killed during the production. He's appeared on "Tales of the Gun" and displayed his expertise.I appreciate that. I don't mean it critically because I'm curious about weapons technology too, and I'm happy to see that the U. S. troops in the Spanish-American war don't use Winchester carbines but dysfunctional Krag-Jorgensens, compared to the superior Spanish Mausers.Yet the rendering of the battles in Cuba that featured Colonel Theodore Roosevelt are overdone to a turn. BANG. BOOM! The troopers do one of two things: fight or linger over someone's dying body during an exchange of manly sentiments. Tom Berenger's Theodor Roosevelt is outlandishly exaggerated. The dialog runs unchallengingly alone lines like, "By God, Sir, you are a cad!" At the height of a pitched battle, someone grabs a heavy machine gun and while mowing down the enemy he shouts out lines from Shakespeare's Henry V -- "Once more unto the breach!", and so forth.I couldn't stand it. It reminded me of the comic books I'd read as a child.Yet, I applaud it for its informative value. After all, who knows anything about the Spanish-American War, which has justly disappeared down the memory hole along with other mistakes like the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. And it is nice to see a movie directed by someone who cares a little about the historical accuracy of the technological details.

On the 99th anniversary of the Spanish American war and the most famous land battle of that brief said war, John Millius wrote and directed a stirring tribute to the First Volunteer Cavalry. The group has come down to us in history as the Rough Riders and its organizer and second commander became President of the United States on the strength of one afternoon's very bloody work at a place called Kettle Hill, better known as San Juan Hill.Tom Berenger makes a splendid Theodore Roosevelt. He captures all the passion in him, the brilliance as well as the bumptiousness. Some may find Roosevelt too super-patriotic, even too racist in some regards. It was a different time a century ago. Roosevelt was also a man who would stand for nothing less than the United States being nothing less than number one.In his own way he pioneered integration, he was of the patrician class with roots going all the way back to Dutch New Amsterdam. But his Rough Riders as you see come from all walks of life, from society kids to even western outlaws.Milius did his research well for the most part. Ileane Douglas whose family pedigree includes grandparents Melvyn and Helen Gahagan Douglas, plays the ever patient Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. She loves her husband, but is able to say an occasional 'now Theodore' to put the brakes on his enthusiasm getting the better of him. Rough Riders marks the farewell performance of Brian Keith as President William McKinley who Roosevelt said had the back of a 'chocolate éclair'. That was one of Roosevelt not so admirable qualities, his failure to see merit the other point of view had. McKinley was a wounded Civil War veteran who saw action as a young man in places like Antietam. He was not a man to rush lightly and foolhardily into a decision for war, knowing far more than TR at the time of what war can cost.My favorite in the film is Sam Elliott as Yavapai County, Arizona sheriff Bucky O'Neill who joined the Rough Riders and was in charge of molding them into a unit. This is definitely one of Elliott's finest moments on screen.The last Rough Rider died in 1975. I wish some of them had been around to see this fine film about a young America and what some of the best and brightest of that generation did. The politics behind the Spanish American War are debatable and dubious at best, but the heroism of our soldiers is unquestioned.

Wish this great film had made it to the Big Screen! Absolutely the best film ever made on Teddy Rosevelt.Great for the whole family in my opinion!It not only documents his life... it also presents his great ideals and character as very 'Presidential' and to be desired. The same cannot be said of all our Presidents.The depiction of the battle for San Quan Hill was one of the best war documentaries I've ever seen.An all-star cast helps make this a classic movie.I will get this movie for my collection for sure.I will recommend it to all our family and friends.-BGLewis of Spring Hill, FL