Escape the Covid lockdown with a Vietnam War film binge, courtesy Kubrick, Cimino, Coppola, Stone and others
So, you’re still stuck in Covid lockdown, and you’ve watched everything on Netflix – but you’re in the mood for some good war movies.
Something that will go well with an easy treat, like pizza, chicken wings or maybe a giant plate of nachos and cheese ordered from your local takeout establishment.
Well, look no further than the Vietnam War. Yes, the war that still fascinates and captivates us, and one that has been revisited by several great film directors, each having their take on one of the most complicated wars in modern history.
So, without further ado, Asia Times’ top ten Vietnam War flicks … and don’t forget the Tabasco sauce for the pizza.
- The Deer Hunter
Yes, only half of the film actually takes place in fictional Vietnam, but Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter remains one of the most touching takes on the gritty violence and senselessness of the Southeast Asian conflict, and how it affected ordinary Americans back home. The ethnic wedding scene is probably the highlight of the entire film, and following it we are quickly whisked to the heart of ultimate darkness – a vicious game of survival at the hands of Viet Cong, as they force terrified captives in a deadly game of Russian roulette. Actor Robert De Niro later claimed he was nearly killed in the helicopter drop scene, recalling it as a “hairy” experience. Look for amazing performances from De Niro, Chris Walken, John Cazale and Meryl Streep, in a film that holds up well to this day.
2. Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola’s stunning Vietnam epic remains one of the most fascinating looks at the war in Vietnam through the lens of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The making of the film, which was shot in the Philippines, was almost a war in itself, with the project going wildly over budget, a typhoon damaging the set, the firing of leading man Harvey Keitel and an overweight Marlon Brando. When actor Martin Sheen arrived on set, he found chaos. Coppola was writing the movie as he went along and firing personnel, people were coming down with tropical diseases and the helicopters used in the combat sequences were constantly recalled by president Ferdinand Marcos to fight his own war against anti-government rebels. Don’t bother with the Redux version, the original cuts work well.
3. The Quiet American
This Michael Caine film adaptation based on Graham Greene’s novel of the same name offers an interesting filmic take on pre-war Vietnam, when the Central Intelligence Agency was deeply involved in the emerging politics and the US wrestled for control of the struggling Southeast Asian nation. Caine, a dependable pro whose talents are often taken for granted, gives a beautifully vulnerable, Oscar-nominated performance that might also be his best. This so-called anti-imperialist masterpiece is said to be based on CIA agent Colonel Edward Lansdale, who wanted to save democracy with violent “psychological warfare” methods. Some intelligence sources also say the mysterious Lansdale was in Dealey Plaza the day JFK was assassinated.
4. Full Metal Jacket
Directed, co-written, and produced by illustrious director Stanley Kubrick, the story follows a platoon of US marines through boot-camp training, primarily focusing on two privates, Joker and Pyle, who struggle under their abusive drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, and the platoon’s experiences in Vietnam. If you’re thinking of joining the US Marine Corps, you might want to see this film first – the portrayal of “Gunny’s” abuse is both realistic and memorable. Not one of Kubrick’s best, but definitely worth seeing.
5. Hamburger Hill
According to film website Rotten Tomatoes, Hamburger Hill is a film about the futility of war expressed in the simplest terms. Although it was underrated at the time of its release, time will eventually reveal that Hamburger Hill is one of the best and most realistic films made about the Vietnam War. Over the course of 10 days in May 1969, an infantry squad led by Lieutenant Frantz (Dylan McDermott) and composed of both seasoned troops and new recruits attempts to take a hill. In between attacks, the squad members deal with the psychological stresses of total war.
6. Platoon
According to film critic Roger Ebert, it was Francois Truffaut who said that it’s not possible to make an anti-war movie, because all war movies, with their energy and sense of adventure, end up making combat look like fun. If Truffaut had lived to see Platoon, the best film of 1986, he might have changed his opinion. Here is a movie that regards combat from ground level, from the infantryman’s point of view, and it does not make war look like fun. Director Oliver Stone, who actually fought in Vietnam, tried to make a movie about the war that is not fantasy, not legend, not metaphor, but simply a memory of what it seemed like at the time to him. Fantastic performances from Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger.
7. Green Berets
Yes, John “Duke” Wayne’s Green Berets was lambasted by critics of the day who opposed the war in Vietnam, and Wayne’s role is similar to his part in The Longest Day (1963), which flew well in World War II but not so great in war-weary 1968. Wayne plays the hard-nosed Colonel Mike Kirby who heads a courageous bunch of Green Berets determined to capture an important enemy general. They are accompanied by a skeptical reporter (David Janssen) who soon becomes a gung-ho red-white-and-blue patriot. The film, which is laden with wartime clichés, is especially notable for the fine battle scenes and also features the hit song “Ballad of the Green Berets,” sung by Sergeant Barry Sadler. It is interesting to note that Janssen was against the war, but did the film as a favor to the Duke.
8. Rambo: First Blood
It’s a bit dated, but Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo: First Blood remains one of the most watchable Vietnam veteran films of the era. In short, John Rambo, a former US soldier traumatized by memories of the Vietnam War, gets into trouble when an incident with a small-town sheriff triggers his violent side. Rambo, of course, just wants to be left alone, but no, they push him too far, and the fun begins. The movie comes down to a face-off between Rambo and his old Green Beret commander (Richard Crenna), and the screenplay gives Stallone a long, impassioned speech to deliver, a speech in which he cries out against the various injustices done to him. Weary old clichés, but by this time, you’ve had a few beers, so it’s all good.
9. Coming Home
Jane Fonda and John Voight in an anti-war film – how could it possibly go wrong? Hanoi Jane, as she was called, after her much-documented and controversial trip to Vietnam during the war, wanted to make a Vietnam War flick, and in that effort, she delivers a memorable performance. Voight is brilliant as the returning vet who falls in love with Fonda, who is drawn away from her troubled husband, Bruce Dern, also dealing with his Vietnam demons. In addition to the intriguing story, the spectacular classic rock soundtrack will soothe the soul of any aging boomer.
10. We Were Soldiers
According to Roger Ebert, We Were Soldiers is the story of the first major land battle in the Vietnam War, late in 1965. Moore (Mel Gibson) is a family man, and a Harvard graduate. Plumley (Sam Elliott) is a US Army lifer, hard, brave, unsentimental. They are both about as good as battle leaders get. But by the end of that first battle, they realize they may be in the wrong war. Gibson is no Olivier, but he and Elliott both give inspiring performances. Interestingly, almost all war movies identify with one side or the other, and it’s remarkable that We Were Soldiers includes a dedication not only to the Americans who fell at Ia Drang, but also to “the members of the People’s Army of North Vietnam who died in that place.”
This article originally appeared in the Asia Times on August 4, 2020. Here’s a direct link:
https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/ten-must-see-movies-about-the-vietnam-war/
— Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, Wikipedia
I also conducted a poll in 2015 for the best Vietnam War Movie for those visitors of this website. There were 92 movies listed and 598 votes. Click here to see the results of this poll and how other movies (up to that date) fared: https://cherrieswriter.com/2015/01/07/best-war-movies/
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Go Tell the Spartans…The Best about why we should have stayed the hell ut of there!
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Great article thank you
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My 1-2-3 would be Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Forest Gump. Was with the 101st outside of Hue on Camp Eagle most all of ’71 coming home early ’72 as the division moved back to the Land of the Big PX. You should be ashamed of yourself if you voted for Coming Home with Hanoi Jane, the war criminal, or the Green Berets. John Wayne should never have made that movie. Bore no resemblance to the war; cartoonish for sure.
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It’s a slap in the face to include any film by hanoi jane in the top ten. What a discrace.
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War is not a Move. Its a Hell Men Die in 0326
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Personally, I’d switch out numbers 7 & 8 for The Siege of Firebase Gloria and Casualties of War. But to each his own.
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As far as I am concerned there is no such thing as a “must see” movie; hell, I saw the real thing. I have seen only two of those movies and one, John Wayne’s Green Berets was done early on and reall y should not count for obvious reasons. I do not need to go to a movie to see a fake war on the screen – there is not way you can realistically do the Viet Nam war with movie actors. I do not need to go to a movie to get flashbacks; I do not go to movies to be brutalized – If I were to go to a movie it would be to see either comedy or sex or both. I do not need Viet Nam on the screen; I have enough drama in my life, past and present, to undergo sitting through one of these recreations. Screw the movies and Hollywood.
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True name for operation is APACHESNOW !! When the battle was over and looking at the carnage that covered the area! Marines named it hamburger hill !
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As an advisor, I would like to suggest Go Tell the Spartans with Burt Lancaster. Or the Australian themed, The Odd Angry Shot. I may be off on that title, but its close.
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Saw “The Odd Angry Shot” years ago on HBO. Very good production, especially showing how difficult it was to operate in a tropical triple canopy environment. Had a young Brian Brown in it if I recall. And a very humorous scene with the Padre and the “Wanking Device” !
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‘Siege of Firebase Gloria’ – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098328/ – not too captivating as a whole, but what it makes stand out is the final battle: the base being overrun, human-wave attacks (like Korea etc.). It’s up close, you are in the trenches and you could get killed from any direction, in many different ways….
(and, watching scenes like that I always wonder how many people got shot by their own people (“friendly fire”, but that was mostly artillery, I would think?), as in the thick of the fight, one might shoot at anything that moves – if you had any bullets left, that is…..).
Anyway, it really shows you how it was (my take, as a non-vet), and how random survival was – yet if you did, it could happen all over again the next night. Nightmarish, PTSD for sure!
(bonus: Lee Ermey).
All the listed movies: ‘the usual suspects’: if they are anti-war, they are automatically ‘epic’… right? The Deer Hunter plays on (cheap) sentiments: the same movie could have been made about any other war – in ’53 people got married and drunk as well and then shipped to Korea. ‘Joker’ in FMJ was simply annoying (and over-acting), but it portrayed one incident only (the female sniper – there was a sniper in Private Ryan as well… like in any other war?) – so, not ‘Nam specific (but yes, deadly anyway).
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I was a Marine 0311 in RVN in the last 3 months of 67 until sept. of 68. We were overrun 2 times . When I saw Platoon it felt and looked real to a degree. “We were Soldiers” also was realistic. Hamburger Hill gets a strong “Maybe”. Ermey was dead on as a PI DI,as for the Battle of Hue…. nonsense and Joker was an allegory no shitbird as he would have existed in combat. I was at a Ukrainian wedding 2 weeks before Parris Island….. it brought back strong memories in the Deer Hunter, the rest of the movie was good drama but not the Real Nam. All the rest were movies that did not portray the reality of that suck hole of death. If you did not see “shit” over there, now in the twilight of our years is not the time to evaluate the “reality” of Viet Nam War movies. They are just “Movies” our memories sadly hold the reality of our experiences. I was in the Battle of Dai Do, over 100 dead Marines ( out of the 740 of us who started) and more than 330 wounded. You can’t make a movie about what happened those 3 days in 1968, it was even worse than the I Drang.
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Have only met one brother who was at Dai Do. My heart goe’s out to you also brother. I was with 1/9 at Dong Ha and Con Thien, 9/66-10/67.
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Awesome with some good feedback!!
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I did 2 tours in Nam, 66-67 and 70-71. Platoon came really close to being spot on for guys in an Infantry unit, for me. I was with 1/12th Cav, 1st Cav, 11B2P. We were Soldiers was okay, but only focused on one event, so, yes, you got to see the madness of a fight to near death, but doesn’t scope the whole year, as Platoon attempts to. A Bright Shining Lie was also a good movie that dealt with the political spectrum, but wasn’t able to cram enough background into a movie to make it viewable to most audiences. If you want to know more in-depth info, read the book. Factual to a fault, but reads like a novel. I liked Full !etal Jacket, but there were some surreal moments in it. Rambo, Apocalypse, etc., Hollywood fluff. The Ugly American was another good movie about the US in SEA. My two cents.
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Who did the rating ,we were soldiers is as close as you can get to being real 2,3,4,6,7,8,9 the rest was trash . I had 3 tours in Vietnam,66-67 69-70
71-72
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Jesse, please go back to the article and click on the link for the poll to see how your favorite movies fared. / John
On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 4:56 PM CherriesWriter – Vietnam War website wrote:
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Green Berets and Rambo should be deep sixed. We Were Soldiers and Hamburger Hill are reality-based and deserving on the list, as are Go Tell the Spartans, Fourth of July and Bright Shining Lie. Platoon is OK. Apocalypse is a Hollywood fantasy and Coming Home lost me when the Marine officer husband pointed his M-16 at Fonda/Voight but didn’t shoot – – Basic Training taught us to never point our weapon unless we meant to use it and that was army. Surely, the Marines were just as focused.
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re “Coming Home”
Speaking as a former Marine myself, I walked out halfway through the film.
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I agree.
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You forgot about “Go Tell the Spartans”. The BEST movie about the ‘Nam.
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Quite concur!
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Martin, check the poll at the end of the article and you’ll see how Go Tell the Spartans fared. / John
On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 3:48 PM CherriesWriter – Vietnam War website wrote:
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When I saw Platoon, the scene where Charlie Sheen arrives in Vietnam was almost identical to when I arrived. Bedlam for sure. Perhaps I was somewhat lucky, I wasn’t out in the boonies looking and fighting the VC, but I was involved with too many a Dustoff and numerous rescues. The recent movie “Last Full Measure” pays tribute to ‘PJ’ Pittenberger.
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I would like to add one more to this list.
“Go Tell the Spartans”
The film is little known but deserves way more attention. It was set in 1964 during the advisory phase of the war, and starred Burt Lancaster , Marc Singer, Craig Wasson, and Evan Kim.
Based on the book “Incident at Muc Wa”, its a more low keyed production than most Vietnam themed movies, and was filmed in the Sacramento River Delta of Northern California, (Which stood in for the Mekong). One of the movie’s great pluses is that the production went to great lengths in accuracy as far as uniforms, weapons, and equipment go, including using a period UH 34 chopper in some scenes.
The headaches that advisors faced, both military and political, as well as the growing futility of American involvement, is well presented. In fact, the entire American commitment in Vietnam from beginning to end, is encapsulated in this one story.
One of the ironies about this picture is that ” Go Tell the Spartans ” was released in the summer of 1978, over a year before “The Deer Hunter”, and “Apocalypse Now” eclipsed all other Vietnam related movies.
From this veteran’s point of view, this film brilliantly uses allegory and historic fact to tell a brilliant piece of storytelling.
I do highly recommend it.
Official Trailer
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=go+tell+the+spartans&&view=detail&mid=105440E7F8DCCF6D2483105440E7F8DCCF6D2483&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dgo%2Btell%2Bthe%2Bspartans%26FORM%3DHDRSC3
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John, click on the link at the end of the article for the poll I conducted. Go Tell the Spartans is listed – see how many votes it received. / John
On Sun, Aug 9, 2020 at 2:25 PM CherriesWriter – Vietnam War website wrote:
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Made the Top Ten- Good!
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The best movie about the ‘Nam…period! Most of your top 10 are nothing but short stories wrapped up tp make a movie…
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Very good
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Easily half of these are Hollywood crap, made for and by those who never served.
You’re also missing the movie, “Ride the Thunder” for some odd reason because it’s one of the best.
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“Apocalypse Now” was sensationalist, based on the movie, “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. It was a glitzy Hollywood movie that failed to capture the real story of Vietnam and the political reasons we were there. Having been in the 1st Cav as a UH-1 pilot, I resented the “cowboy” portrayal of the helicopter assault units. I would rate it at the bottom of the list and put “We Were Soldiers” at the top because it was a true story, written correctly by those who were there and did not lose sight of telling it like it was.
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Lanny, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. I too was in the 1st Cav (1967-68) and I rated We Were Soldiers and Platoon as nos. 1 & 2, respectively. Took me back to my time in-country, and caused me to have serious flash-backs.
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On the mark. I once met Joe Galloway, and he said they had to include the fictional final attack to get the Hollywood guys to leave the rest of the (real) story alone. Having served in 1/5 Cav in 1969-70, this one struck me as the most realistic.
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1, 2, 4, 6 and8 are BS films not worth watching, the others are ok.
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