G.I. Joe in The Movies: How many live-action G.I. Joe Movies are there? As far as I know there is only the stop-gap Animation movie which is on a GI Joe Commercials video, and there is the G.I. Joe Documentary movie by Mitch Leiding. The only two other G.I. Joe movies which have been produced as of this date are both by Ron Galletti, and they are Marines, Hit The Beach!!! and Pinned Down! Mike Force Rescue! These films are all very unique, and represent special areas of the G.I. Joe experience. If you have not seen them, you are missing out on a dimension of G.I. Joe that cannot be described adequately in words. Perhaps it is G.I. JOE: THE NEXT DIMENSION? The Ron Galletti G.I. Joe films are that 4th Dimension to the G.I. Joe Experience. Just like you really cannot appreciate The Beatles if you have never heard the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club album; how can you fully understand G.I. Joe if you have never watched the G.I. Joe movies?
Background: Marines, Hit The Beach!!! is a short film by Ron Galletti. Ron Galletti is a producer, writer, and director who lives in Brandon, Florida. Galletti produces local programs such as IWF Wrestling, and has produced and directed a motorcycle show (Born To Ride) for the past ten years. Galleti got his start with G.I. Joe when he was seven years old, during the original Military Era of the 12" G.I. Joe. As a youth, he had a full compliment of Joes, in the range of 25 to 30 of them including the Adventure Team era. Galletti was one of the lucky few whose Mom never tossed his collection, and he had put it away for about fifteen years when a friend of his asked about buying all of Ron's GI Joes. Galletti thought it would be a good idea, and after uncovering the dusty collection, Ron started remembering the good old days. Before he knew it, Galletti had been bitten by the G.I. Joe fever, and he was checking the Toy Shows and buying all of his old favorites. When the Hall of Fame Joes came out, Galletti was disappointed in the quality, but continued adding to his collection thanks to Cotswold Collectibles and then came the Ultimate Soldier line, Dragon, Blue Box, and the rest is history!
The Video: Marines, Hit The Beach!!! takes place in the Tarawa Battle, and depicts a squad of Marines which lands on the beach and encounters overwhelming odds! Every Japanese Soldier ever made by Cotswold, G.I. Joe, and Ultimate Soldier makes an appearance in this movie, along with their brothers and cousins! There is an action-packed, non-stop battle which involves a cast of hundreds of G.I. Joes, Ultimate Soldiers, and the Cotswold Imperial Japanese Army! Galleti mixes authentic battle footage with G.I. Joe Battle Action, and the real sounds of the surf, the beach, the battle, the bullets, and dying soldiers, it's all here! Scenes of hand-to-hand combat, snipers, battle charges, trench warfare, all the grim reality of war is captured in this G.I. Joe short film, but without any gory bloodshed. It is GI Joe after all, so while there is a lot of battle action, Ron Galletti keeps it clean. You can watch this little gem with your kids (or not) and get some inspiration for your own dioramas and battle simulations! Marines, Hit The Beach!!! was $15.; but the website for Joeandfriends.com is out of business as of 2005!
Grade: A
