There's much to recommend about this film. First it is refreshing to see a story about racism not done in the typical fashion where 'good' and 'bad' are so clearly delineated (ie. this a story about racism within the black community). Socially conscious director Jewison (In the Heat of the Night) also does a wonderful job (with the help of the scriptwriter of course) in authentically capturing the social climate of that bygone era. The acting is superb throughout. The only faces I recognized were Denzel's and David Allan Grier's but the unknowns (at least to me) were more than competent in their roles, especially Caesar's portrayal of the trouble Sgt. Waters. This film is not only fine cinema but it is also important history. Recommended, 8/10.

This is a good film for younger viewers, as it tells of a by-gone era where racism was not just accepted but the law of the land--even in our armed forces. The story concerns a murder of a nasty black Sergeant (Adolph Caesar--the first name, in this case, seem quite appropriate) who, it turns out, had a deep and profound hatred of his race. And, because he was such a nasty man, it is difficult for the investigator (Howard Rollins) to determine WHO committed the murder. For a while it reminds you of Murder on the Orient Express, in that you think maybe EVERYONE involved did it! The only negative note is that Caesar's performance, though magnificent, was his last as he died around the time the movie was released.

A murder of a black sergeant on a post in Louisiana in the spring of 1944 threatens blow up into a racially charged situation. A natural assumption is that the Ku Klux Klan would have seen a black man with stripes signifying authority and considered him a target. There were in fact race riots during World War II a fact the War Department considers in assigning one of the few black officers in the army, Howard Rollins to go to the post and investigate.

The late sergeant played by Adolph Caesar is a controversial man who no one is neutral about. In fact as Rollins probes a few people tell different stories and contradict themselves, giving different views about what kind of a guy Caesar was in life.

The film was directed by Norman Jewison and A Soldier's Story doesn't have one bit of wasted film footage or one bad performance out of his ensemble cast. Jewison got an Academy Award for directing In The Heat Of The Night also about a murder in the deep south that a black homicide detective gets corralled into helping the investigation.

Actually there is one element of the plot that is exactly the same as In The Heat Of The Night. Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs driven by his own attitudes and the way he's been treated in the town of Sparta, Mississippi originally pursues one line of investigation. Later on however he gets on track and finds the real culprit. The exact same thing happens in A Soldier's Story. Ironically enough Howard Rollins also got to play Virgil Tibbs in the television series adapted from In The Heat Of The Night.

Two favorites in the supporting cast are a young Denzel Washington as one of the platoon soldiers and Art Evans as an older guy in the platoon who's been a non-commissioned officer before and is craftily kissing up to the right people to get those stripes back. The whole platoon is a cross section of male black America circa 1944.

That in itself is what makes A Soldier's Story a great film. It's a murder mystery, a sociological study of racism external and internal, and a well acted drama that can be viewed many times with something new learned with every viewing.