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Topic: Crazy 8's (Read 408 times)
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Crazy 8's
« on: March 12, 2007, 06:03:38 PM » |
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FYI lads..... should be a good one...
War doc follows Crazy Eights
by: Sean Davidson Mar 12, 2007
The exploits of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan will air later this month on CBC, which has skedded the Gordon Henderson film Crazy Eights in its Doc Zone slot on March 29. The hour-long piece follows Henderson (Canada: A People's History) as he tags along with the battle-scarred eighth platoon of the Royal Canadian Regiment, the same group that was accidentally cut down by a U.S. plane last September.
"I wanted to experience the soldier's everyday life," says Henderson in a release. "Crazy Eights is not an analysis of the war. Its purpose is to give Canadians a sense of what our soldiers are going through."
Henderson produced, directed and wrote the doc, working with 90th Parallel Film and Television in Toronto, cameraman Jerry Vienneau (Planet Parent) and editor Geoff Matheson (Ghosts of Lomako).
The platoon has seen more action than any Canadian unit since the Korean War. Following the accident last year, only eight of its 40 soldiers were left standing. They returned to Canada last month. Doc Zone runs Thursdays at 8 p.m.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3815
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Covert action in new doc
It’s what the Crazy Eights documentary doesn’t say that matters
By BARRETT HOOPER
NOW critic's pick THE CRAZY EIGHTS Thursday, March 29, at 8 pm, on CBC. Repeats Saturday, March 31, at 10 pm, on CBC Newsworld. Rating: NNNN
Call it passive-aggressive propaganda.
A new CBC documentary presents a sympathetic look at Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. Too sympathetic, perhaps.
The soldiers of the Royal Canadian Regiment Charles Company Eight Platoon – the Crazy Eights – have been involved in the toughest fighting of any Canadian unit since the Korean War and have suffered more casualties than any in Afghanistan.
Yet what stands out about them as they suck sand and eat Taliban tracer fire in this compelling day-in-the-lifer is how incredibly average, guy-next-door they are.
Yes, they engage in harrowing gun battles and make even more nerve-racking "routine" patrols along dusty roads rife with IEDs (improvised exposive devices). But these scenes are never sensationalized, exploitive or remotely Fox News-ish.
In sharp contrast to recent American documentaries about the frontline experience, in which U.S. soldiers are often seen riding into battle with rap music blaring in their headphones and their fingers itching on the triggers of their M-16s, there is none of that GI Joe gung-ho-ness about the Crazy Eights, despite the unit's name.
They marvel at the local wildlife ("I've never seen a camel before"), play ball hockey and bemoan the fate of their beloved Maple Leafs ("I could die and never see the Leafs win the Stanley Cup. Keep that on your conscience, boys").
There's little talk of why they're in Afghanistan or how they feel about the job they're doing. They're just doing they're job – with an admirable lack of flag-waving.
In an inherently Canadian way, they're even matter-of-fact about the casualties they've sustained, either from enemy or friendly fire. (Last September, the Crazy Eights were mistakenly strafed by U.S. warplanes; one soldier was killed and 30 others injured just one day after they were involved in a massive anti-Taliban offensive.)
The closest thing to a war story they tell is counting up the number of shrapnel wounds each of them has sustained, although they might as well be counting bug bites at summer camp.
Not that the day-to-day insanity of Afghanistan doesn't take its toll on the Crazy Eights. One soldier, initially reluctant to discuss his experiences, eventually opens up during a tent-side chess game with filmmaker Gordon Henderson, who does a remarkable job of allowing the soldiers to tell their own stories with little editorializing.
While the film is certainly well-executed – Henderson spent a month embedded with the Crazy Eights in October – and noble in its intentions, it's also a little unsettling, and not because of its depiction of roadside explosions and mortar attacks. The unnerving part is the way the film allows us to relate to these soldiers and admire them. As a result, we want to support them – and by extension, the war effort – while the film never calls into question the reasons they're in Afghanistan.
Not the filmmaker's intention, I'm sure, but something to be aware of when you're watching.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Sounds l;ike a dandy, i will be sure to tune in.. hope all get to see this thread Mike.. thanks for the info, ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3815
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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ok lads.... 2000 hrs tonight, CBC... Crazzzzzy 8's
Oh...
Thats 8PM for those of you who forgot to tell time ala the 24 hour routine... nyuck nyuck 
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 2598
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You mean the real clock or realer clock..lololol... thanks again Mike ,hope all will tune in , should be a gooder, and they are all our brothers and sisters... ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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