OPERATION: DELAYED RELEASE 9-11 AND A COUPLE OF WARS KEEP CONTROVERSIAL 'BUFFALO SOLDIERS' OUT OF THEATERS - UNTIL NOW.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Gregor Jordan could have been forgiven had he stood on a street corner with a cardboard sign reading, ``Someone please release my movie!''

Then again, Jordan's been too busy dodging accusations - and the occasional projectile - that his critically respected black comedy ``Buffalo Soldiers'' is an act of cinematic treason to be overly concerned with marketing.

Loosely based on Robert O'Connor's novel about an opportunistic supply clerk dealing in heroin and black market Mop & Glo on an Army base in Stuttgart, Germany, during peacetime, ``Buffalo Soldiers'' was filmed in early 2001 and became the property of Miramax on Sept. 10. The following day, Jordan realized that his film - which opens Friday - was, for the present, unreleasable.

But the realization didn't stop his bemusement and occasional exasperation.

``Even before Sept. 11, I knew it was going to be a difficult task marketing it,'' says the film's director and co-writer. ``But look, it just went on and on.''

On through the U.S. campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, on through the end of major combat in Iraq, at which time Jordan called Miramax and asked that the film be delayed even further.

``My biggest fear was that Miramax was going to shelve it,'' says Eric Weiss, the film's co-writer. ``Every time it got postponed, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I knew Miramax was still with it.''

On Friday, whether the film is ready for it or not, the time has arrived. The film's poster shows its grinning star Joaquin Phoenix, in combat fatigues, holding up a peace sign and draped against an American flag - the stars of which have been replaced by dollar signs. ``Steal all that you can steal,'' is the tag line, parodying the Army's recruiting slogan.

No better time

``It's interesting because people who watch it now say this film has sort of gained a topicality and relevance now that it never had before Sept. 11,'' Jordan continues. ``The feeling is that now is the best time to release it. I'm very philosophical about the whole delay.''

Not that he hasn't had occasion to bristle. In the weeks leading up to the release, Jordan has seen members of the military condemn the film in news reports amid accusations that American troops looted and vandalized the Baghdad Airport after it was secured. A recent Drudge Report item suggested that the movie's release might even be feeding the controversy over the U.S./Iraq campaign.

The U.S. Army has no official position on the film, although an Army spokeswoman pointed out that the ``Buffalo Soldiers'' doesn't claim to be depicting the current state of the military.

``People will get out of a movie what they want to get out of a movie,'' says Kathy Ross, director of the office of the chief of public affairs for the U.S. Army's Los Angeles branch. ``Anybody who has actually had any contact with a current soldier, read the news or paid attention to the performance of soldiers every day in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places knows that there's a sharp difference between what's real and what's a creative satire of something that supposedly happened in 1989.''

Others haven't been quite so diplomatic. A female protester hurled a plastic water bottle at the stage at the Sundance Film Festival, nearly clocking co-star Anna Paquin. Jordan has also had his own patriotism questioned, despite the fact that he is Australian.

``I guess I was irritated that someone would assume that non-Americans have to have American values,'' Jordan says. ``Even though I thought the question was stupid, I thought I had a responsibility to what I said in the film. ``I said, 'Look, to me patriotism is not about just blindly following some leader and not asking questions. You as an American have a right to ask questions. It's a First Amendment right.' Everything that happened in this film is real. I said to this person, 'Look, do you think it's patriotic to hide the truth and censor things?' ''

A soldier who inspired the creation of Ray Elwood did, in fact, exist. And the exploits of Elwood and his comrades are tame compared to what actually went on, according to Jordan and O'Connor.

``I met the guy who was Ray Elwood quite by accident,'' says O'Connor. ``He began telling me stories of being in the Army and doing all the things that Elwood did: selling drugs, engaging in black-market activities, doing drugs himself, and the massive scale of it. The best defense against libel is when what you say is actually true. I hadn't served, so I began to check things out.''

Ross is dubious about such claims.

``I haven't seen any reports. None of us have seen anything about the types of things the director of the film is referring to,'' she says. ``Even if they had occurred, it would not have been one person. It could have been something across the entire United States Army.''

Pvt. Elwood's day off

More a pure anti-hero than a cinematic cousin to principled military scamps like ``M*A*S*H's'' Hawkeye Pierce and ``Catch-22's'' Capt. Yossarian, Ray Elwood makes no secret of his aims or motives. Given the choice of a prison term or a stint in the Army, Elwood chooses to serve his country while lying, cheating and stealing his way to a life of comfort. The bigger the con - and the higher the stakes - the bigger the challenge.

In recrafting Elwood for the screen, Jordan thought about characters like Steve McQueen in ``The Great Escape,'' Jack Nicholson in ``One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' and Paul Newman in ``Cool Hand Luke.''

``Interestingly, one of the biggest influences on the character was Ferris Bueller,'' says Jordan, referring to the title character of John Hughes' ``Ferris Bueller's Day Off,'' played by Matthew Broderick. ``That's obviously a much lighter version of Elwood, but he's really just a guy who doesn't want to be bored. Boredom is his enemy.''

Playing against type, Ed Harris is Elwood's gullible commanding officer, while Scott Glenn is the base's tough-as-nails top sergeant who is looking to bring Elwood down.

Combat weapons are fired, tanks roll, and people die in the R-rated film, but ``Buffalo Soldiers'' is no ``war is hell'' bloodbath. The year is 1989, just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which is significant. A peacetime Army, the filmmakers contend, is more likely to succumb to boredom in unpleasant ways.

``The book was written at a different time than we're in now. We were at peace,'' says O'Connor, whose book came out in 1993. ``What got me into the novel originally was my finding out the secret about this world: that an Army at peace starts this war against itself.''

Contrast Elwood's journey with that of a young enlistee who runs afoul of a drill sergeant, sees his friends die in combat and ultimately becomes a man. ``That's a myth we subscribe to,'' says O'Connor. ``But there are other possible ways of looking at it.''

Glenn, a former Marine, points out that there is rarely any outcry over movies that depict bad cops, bad politicians or even bad presidents. And when people balk at the political ramifications of ``Buffalo Soldiers,'' Glenn harkens back to a statement made by his daughter, an L.A. schoolteacher.

``She said, 'You know, all art is political, but it should never be judged on the basis of its politics,' '' recalls Glenn. ``That struck me as being so clear and so right. A lot of conservative people can attack 'Dr. Strangelove,' a lot of liberal people attacked 'The Wild Bunch.' The fact of the matter is they're both great films. You don't judge films on the basis of philosophy and politics.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) GREEDY MANEUVERS

`Buffalo Soldiers' not exactly an Army training film

(2) no caption (Gregor Jordan)

(3) Leon Robinson, left, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Pena serve in an Army unit where following the rules isn't part of the program in ``Buffalo Soldiers.''