Though director John Dahl's "The Great Raid," a drama about a legendary rescue of American POWs in World War II, doesn't open nationwide until Friday, he already has received some pretty good reviews from the people he believes matter most.

"The reaction has been pretty gratifying," says Dahl, who screened the film for military men and women in Detroit two weeks ago. "We figured that would be our toughest audience, and if we passed muster there, we would at least have a base to build on."

Dahl is understandably concerned that "The Great Raid" will have a difficult time attracting people to theaters. This, he says, is because while most young Americans may know about the European war and Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust, far fewer know much about the war in the Pacific, "beyond Pearl Harbor, for which I have Michael Bay to thank, I guess." Bay was the director of the 2001 epic "Pearl Harbor," which made almost $200 million at the box office in the United States.

"But I don't know if your average twentysomething even knows about the battles in the Philippines, much less the story of the Ghost Soldiers. From one perspective, that's good, because it means they won't already know the ending. But it also means we'll have a hard time convincing them it's something they'll want to see."

One hopes they will be convinced because the story told in "The Great Raid" is one of the most remarkable in a most remarkable war. As is recounted in a prologue edited from actual military and newsreel period footage in December 1941, right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese army invaded the Philippines, and after three months of relentless assault on U.S. forces, Gen. Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines, issuing his famous "We will return" pledge. In the wake of his departure, there were mass surrenders, and the Japanese initiated what became known as the Bataan Death March, in which thousands of U.S. soldiers were marched 60 miles or more to inland, ad hoc POW camps. Those who faltered were shot.

Rescue planned

When Army intelligence learned that the Japanese were murdering prisoners at the malaria-ravaged camps after the defeat of the Japanese at Midway, Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (played in the film by Benjamin Bratt) received orders to mount a rescue mission by Army Rangers for 500 prisoners being held at Camp Cabanatuan. Mucci handed the logistical planning of the mission over to Capt. Robert Prince (played by James Franco of "Spider-Man"), who enlisted members of the Philippine underground resistance to assist.

It is generally considered one of the most daring and well-executed rescue missions in military history.

Dahl — whose credits include two of the very best modern film noirs, 1992's "Red Rock West" and 1994's "The Last Seduction" as well as the poker drama "Rounders," which is far more popular now than when originally released in 1998 — was working on another project at Miramax that fell apart when he was asked to look at a script for a movie about the rescue.

"I was intrigued, because my father had served in the Philippines in the war, and he had a good friend who survived the death march, but I didn't really know much about it. Like a lot of WWII vets, he didn't talk much about what happened."

Dahl began his research by reading all he could; the original script has been based on a book, "The Great Raid on Cabanatuan" by William B. Breuer (Wiley; $27.95). While the film was in pre-production, another book, "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides (Doubleday; $27.50), was published, offering more detail and perspective, and was incorporated by Dahl. His goal, he says, was to make "an old-fashioned" war movie, but without the old-fashioned jingoism. He wanted it to unfold like a police procedural, so the audience could follow the complex strategy and be aware of all the dangers inherent in the plan.

"I had made thrillers that people had liked, and I wanted this to have that same tension, but I also wanted to be as historically accurate as I could possibly be."

It's been on hold

A few characters were composites, and dramatic liberties were taken with a subplot about a malaria-stricken officer in the camp (Joseph Fiennes) and his undeclared love for a relief worker (Connie Nielsen), even though the characters were real and the story is rooted in fact. But even the military historians who pointed out some omissions and errors — the biggest being the critical role played by the unit called the Alamo Scouts, who constructed an airfield for the operation — have been overwhelmingly positive about the film's execution.

"The fact is, I had to tell a complex story with five major characters in a little more than two hours," says Dahl. "I could have made a five-hour film out of this material, but obviously I couldn't. I had to make decisions."

Dahl is mostly relieved to see "The Great Raid" on any screens at all. "The Great Raid," completed two years ago and originally scheduled for release in 2004, was delayed in the wrangling over the divorce of its distributor Miramax and its parent company, Disney. Dahl believes audiences are predisposed to believe shelved films are bad films, and hopes that his effort to make a "movie that honors the soldiers and the sacrifices made by people like my dad" is not ignored.

"Regardless, I feel privileged to tell the story. These were brave, brave people, Americans and Filipinos, who deserve to be recognized — and honored. I hope I did them justice."