Elite Squad [Blu-ray]

Arrived two weeks early, so that's a thing. Admittedly, shipping is still estimated at about a month from purchase (so two weeks to arrive upon purchase). I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but then again I'm not one to be put-off by subtitles. The film is in Portuguese, as it is set in and was filmed I believe in Brazil.The story is very interesting and in its own way quite complex, telling a lot not only about Brazil's favelas and its, at least at the time (if not currently), quite corrupt municipal police, but also about the function of the middle class as patrons of drug cartels and by extension their activities - as well as the irony of said middle class's poor opinions of the municipal police despite the fact that they themselves are actually a large part of the problem.It follows the perspectives of 3 characters, one of which is part of an elite squad of troops (compared to SWAT teams of the United States, with training similar to Israeli special forces), and two of which are in the municipal police hoping to join said elite squad (which is known as the BOPE). The film is about their exploits, troubles, and perspectives of the setting, circumstances, and actions surrounding them - and it is loosely based on a true story, though some would call it historical fiction.

First off I'm an American that also speaks Portuguese. I was first introduced to this film when I was in Brazil. I didn't really expect much from it, because the only Brazilian cinema I had seen before was there novellas (soap operas) and they were terrible. I was blown away though when I watched this movie. The acting is amazing, and the movie is so real. If you want an over the top movie your better off with SWAT or the A-team, but if you want to watch a real movie that is not over the top this is a great movie. It's just a shame Americans are so use to watching movies in English (non dubbed) Because this is a movie every American should watch. You can look at the drug war in Mexico, and see how over seven thousand people have died in the last few years, so rich Americans can smoke a joint. I never really thought to much about that sort of thing until I watched this movie. I don't by into the crap that this movie supports fascism this movie is just telling it as it is. That being said Brazil is a great country and isn't a dangerous place as long as you avoid certain areas. All the time I have spent there I have never felt threaten or endangered. The people there are loving and caring and have warm hearts. In closing I just want to say this movie is a movie that will make you think, if you do buy this and you are an American the best way to watch this movie is in Portuguese the acting is amazing use English subtitles. I would advise yo not to watch this movie with English dubbing. This movie has one of the worst dubbing jobs I have heard. One example is when they are outside it sounds like they are in an small cemented room. The dubbing turns this movie from being a great action drama to a comedy. Other than that enjoy the movie.

If City of God was the liberal's take on how messed up things are in Rio de Janero, Brazil then for better or for worse Elite Squad is the conservative's take on it. The film centers around a Captain in Rio's elite Special Police Operations Battalion (B.O.P.E.) and a couple of fresh young cops who end up joining his team. The story is all about the city's police force rather than general life on the streets and how the cops can often be just as bad if not worse than the gangs. Personally, I just like cop movies in general. If you share that interest then you will certainly enjoy this film.

This film is basically corruption with government serives anf police force ending up that Elite force known as skull had to be employed to clamp down drug and this causes police officer to die during shoot out and finally the drug lord is settled off by this elite force of Brazil in the end.......a nice film to view but this film talks about police receivinbg corruption money from these bad people doing drug so that they can do what they want...this makes the film more interesting to view....I gave it a 4 star (instead of 5 stars) that talks about corruption that causes society trouble cannot be resolved but to employed a third party police force to settle the problem.Review by:Dr, MR FRanc MBBS (PhD) GPS Ang Poon KahDirector Lou Ye - Ang Poon Kah for film Summer PalaceAssistant FED chief (Internationale) to Bernarke

Theres more to this than just cops chasing criminals. You explore the various opinions people have about the drug war in Brazil and from angles that are visually intense. I can't speak for Brazilians but for Americans we don't have any units even remotely like this in the police force and for that reason alone I encourage westerners to watch this.

Covers many layers of corruption with the resulting mayhem and does not offer much hope. Even the "good guys" are out of control.

Don't be fooled by the mediocre title; this film ranks with "Battle of Algiers" in quality. Excellent performances by Wagner Moura (Nascimento), Andre Remiro (Matias) and Caio Junqueira (Neto)as BOPE police commandos; intense directing; and an intricate, absorbing story with just the right combination of dark humor, social irony, character development and realistic violence. The "texture" of this film is simply terrific: It has a gritty immediacy that captures the barely controlled chaos of Rio's slums, and the energy and contradictions of Brazilian life, in an extraordinary way -- but without political sermonizing. From start to finish, "Elite Squad" is riveting and intelligent. Not for the delicate, but definitely one of the best movies I've seen in the last decade.

Actors were awesome.... A story with an objective that was tense and rigid but had a purpose.

As an action movie with a tormented hero and some shooting (though not as much as you might think) Elite Squad works extremely well, and doesn't have to engage the brain too much.But it's also a movie with a very strong political subtext, about what happens when an entire society is corrupt at veery level, and where middle-class kids taking cocaine support ruthless criminal networks who corrupt policemen and politicians.The solution, insofar as there is one, is the BOPE - the Special Operations Battalion, who are really not people you would want to make enemies of. They fight drug trafficking literally, by killing those who are involved in it.Which is an extreme solution to be sure, and one that has attracted rather silly cries of "fascism" from the usual quarters, although the film is anything but an uncritical celebration of such methods. But the alternative is .... well, what exactly? Because the one thing that is very clear from the very start of the film is that there is no hope. So long as the gilded youth of Rio keep doing cocaine, the desperate kids of the slums will continue to join the gangs as soldiers because there's literally no alternative. In some way's, it's a vision of hell disguised as a thriller, with no hope of a solution of any kind, positive or not.

A couple of rookies join Brazil's thin blue (well, green) line and get more than they bargained for when they are forced into extremely dangerous 'slum' situations night after night. Which isn't helped by the fact that they are surrounded by unsympathetic civilians and corrupt colleagues at every turn, who're happy to feed them to the streets in order to line their own dirty pockets..Thoroughly enjoyed this cop thriller with its constant displays of violence and brutality. The themes are quite heavy, probably justifiably so, albeit I have no idea how realistic, or close to the bone this is, having never been to Brazil ~ I have however, on occasion, wandered the mean streets of the Scilly Isles if that counts?!The story is engaging and the music and action is lively and chaotic enough for me to not really care about its social commentary or impact though, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. In fact if you like tough crime flicks with a very grey moral compass you could do much worse than neck a few cold Brahma's and check this out.The bluray print is crisp and colourful but there's little in the way of extras, with only a trailer and a director interview.Obviously people will see immediate similarities to this and City of God but I would also recommend the lesser seen film Pixote as another foray into the world of very good Brazilian ghetto movies.4.25/5. Add an extra half a star if you like world crime cinema.

I have quite a lot of contact with Brazil. Believe me the law abiding citizen loves BOPE, the SAS style police unit for heavy use against drug cartels and other criminal organisations. BOPE don't go in for arrest so much as elimination of criminal elements, the favelas of Brazil are not nice places to police. This film is raw, but certainly does not romanticise the police, where the general units can be corrupt with a very big C. There is a murder every 30 minutes in Rio, so see it like it is, it's better the criminal is wasted by whatever means available, than the university student, the tourist, the policeman, the lawyer, and of course the Pope in his famous visit to Rio. Also it is not just Rio where the going is tough, nor just Brazil, but BOPE are doing a darned good job at cleaning up the country. I found that female members of my family declined to watch this film, it is not for the squeamish.

It's a wonderful film that makes you think of the role of the police to protect the true victims of crime and how they put their own lives at risk to protect others.

Excellent movie coming from Brazil. For those who like action movies with a bit of fun and reality.

Looks so excellent & brilliant! Thank you!

Well this is probably the best Brazilian movie that I have ever seen.Great stuff. The Blu Ray video and audio is quite good.However...the Blu Ray is preety barebones, no commentary etc. and there is no english audio.However don't let this detract from a truely great movie.

Quality movie about the police side of the wars in the favelas, highly recommend if you liked city of god etc

Really cool

Enjoyed Immensly. Bought And Watched The Sequel As Well.

got what i paid for

This is a great film set in Rio around 1997 and features an elite special police battalion fighting crime militias there. It is a gripping film which will keep your attention throughout.

Great movie

Not bad

Hard-hitting real life story of fighting gangs and corruption. Pulls no punches.