We were soldiers.
But, my Dad did fly Hueys in Vietnam in 1969, so I'm partial.
But, my Dad did fly Hueys in Vietnam in 1969, so I'm partial.
Your favourite Vietnam War film?
- Thread starter CTF
- Start date
We Were Soldiers
84 Charlie Mopic
Bat 21
Hanoi Hilton
84 Charlie Mopic
Bat 21
Hanoi Hilton
Zombie_61
Master Member
I'm gonna go with:
1. Full Metal Jacket
2. We Were Soldiers
3. Platoon
The only reason Apocalypse Now isn't in my top three is because I've never been able to watch the film start to finish without falling asleep. It's not that I dislike the film or find it boring, I just can't seem to get through it without nodding off. (And I'm referring to the original theatrical version, not the bloated Redux rubbish.)
And add my recommendation for Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. A very well done documentary; with all of the problems that plagued the production, it's amazing Apocalypse Now was ever completed.
1. Full Metal Jacket
2. We Were Soldiers
3. Platoon
The only reason Apocalypse Now isn't in my top three is because I've never been able to watch the film start to finish without falling asleep. It's not that I dislike the film or find it boring, I just can't seem to get through it without nodding off. (And I'm referring to the original theatrical version, not the bloated Redux rubbish.)
And add my recommendation for Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. A very well done documentary; with all of the problems that plagued the production, it's amazing Apocalypse Now was ever completed.
KnightAsylum
Sr Member
2 way tie---
Hamburger Hill
Because of the real story told realistically, because it is not about strategic need but about finishing the mission, and because it was my brothers in the 101st.
Casualties of War
Because for me it shows the evil that is so easy to embrace during difficult and stressful times as well as the integrity that must stand above all else.
Hamburger Hill
Because of the real story told realistically, because it is not about strategic need but about finishing the mission, and because it was my brothers in the 101st.
Casualties of War
Because for me it shows the evil that is so easy to embrace during difficult and stressful times as well as the integrity that must stand above all else.
CB2001
Master Member
"First Blood". Now, you're probably thinking, "That's not a Vietnam war movie!" But it is. Not only does it deal with the conflict between Rambo and Teasle, but it deals with John Rambo's post traumatic experiences caused by the war and the torture he went through as a POW. So, yes, "First Blood" is a Vietnam War movie.
CTF
Sr Member
Actually, that is the reason I decided to start this thread! A few weeks back, I had a great conversation with a Vietnam veteran about Hollywood's portrayal of the war... in Burger King! I noticed a guy wearing one of those veteran caps, so I leaned across to speak to him:
"Excuse me, are you a Vietnam veteran?"
"Yes... yes, I am."
"Were you in the ****?"
He grinned, then replied, "****, yeah!"
I definitely took a risk, but he had no problem with me doing so (and, dare I say it, I think he really enjoyed our conversation). I'd never had the chance to meet a Vietnam veteran -- a U.S. veteran, no less -- so I couldn't pass it up. I really wanted to know what he thought about Platoon (as it is, obviously, the quintessential Vietnam flick). It turns out that his thoughts were exactly as what DarkHelmet posted... he said that Stone got it all right: the music, the people, the cliques, the insanity.
After hearing some of his experiences, I felt comfortable enough to ask if he met anyone like Barnes. He had. "Too often, sadly." He then spoke about My Lai, which he hoped Stone would tackle next.
A lot of other things came up: "Air America" (not the film, of course), Black Ops, the Air Cav lifting PBRs with their choppers, you name it. It was a real privilege for a history and film buff, I tell ya. And I made sure to tell he and his brother (the latter served on an Air Force base in Taiwan) that before I left.
ReaverReject
Active Member
I can't believe no-one's mentioned The Deer Hunter yet... You get to know these rust-belt guys before they're drafted, patriotic, full of life, and eager to serve, the unspeakable horror they experience in-country, and how each one of them ends up a broken, twisted soul. It contains some of the most gut-wrenching, terror-filled scenes I've ever seen in any film of any genre. I don't think any other modern war film captures the wastefulness and tragedy of war like this one does, except maybe Gallipoli - another one of my favorite war films, and neither of them preachy, force-fed anti-war films nor whose directors had an anti-war agenda. Meryl Streep, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage are absolutely phenomenal. Amazing musical score too - "Cavatina" is one of the most beautiful guitar compositions ever written:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAAiYMgFcbw&feature=related
IMHO this film runs rings around all the other Vietnam films combined - it didn't win the Best Picture Academy Award for nothing.
Born on the Fourth of July is less about the war and more about the protest movement, but still a must-see film, both because it's based on a real person and because you can't understand the Vietnam War Era without understanding how it tore apart America's soul.
RR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAAiYMgFcbw&feature=related
IMHO this film runs rings around all the other Vietnam films combined - it didn't win the Best Picture Academy Award for nothing.
Born on the Fourth of July is less about the war and more about the protest movement, but still a must-see film, both because it's based on a real person and because you can't understand the Vietnam War Era without understanding how it tore apart America's soul.
RR
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CTF
Sr Member
Apocalypse Now is far from conventional, but that doesn't mean it's not a war film. I mean, is Full Metal Jacket about the 'nam? Not really. You can't fit Coppola's masterpiece (one of them, anyway) into one genre; as it is a lot of things: a journey not too different from Dante's Inferno.
And if we're letting Gump on the list, then I think we can agree that Apocalypse Now is allowed.
Exactly.
Any one of the supporting cast in Platoon has more depth than the leads in Hamburger Hill.
My father was a medic in Vietnam and right up until the day he died 3 years ago, he refused to talk about anything that he experienced there.
He also would not allow any TV show (Tour of Duty being the main one) or movie that depicted Vietnam to play in the house while he was home.
I wish he would have opened up to me about it but it scarred him for life.
Rest in Peace dad. You're terribly missed.
He also would not allow any TV show (Tour of Duty being the main one) or movie that depicted Vietnam to play in the house while he was home.
I wish he would have opened up to me about it but it scarred him for life.
Rest in Peace dad. You're terribly missed.
Ttaskmaster
Well-Known Member
Having followed the thread and people's opinions, I'm starting to think that may have been a point to the film.
Frantz complains about having the new guys in his squad and states that he "knows too many names". Can anyone remember any of the cast significantly?
I doubt it was meant to be a massive blockbuster like the others, but I think it delivers it's particular side of the story rather well.
BAT-21 is another I like.
I've been alone on exercises with naught but a voice on the radio for company, but that really got me into this film.
cayman shen
Master Member
My father was in Vietnam, and I was 11 when Platoon came out. He wouldn't let me see it, despite the fact that I'd already seen plenty of R rated violence. His reply was "if it's as realistic as everyone is claiming, there's no reason you have to watch it." I've yet to see it...
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
To paraphrase Sheen in AN: absolutely ******* right. The Deer Hunter cuts deepest.
FMJ is a top one too, though. Kubrick just puts you there, a virtual reality experience, and lets you make of it what you will.
Apocalypse is at its most Vietnam in the characters of 'the guys in the boat'. Willard and Kurtz are (sub) Joseph Conrad in a Nam setting, but Chef, Clean, Lance and Chief seem to capture a lot of what it must have felt like to be dragged out of your life, literally, and thrown into that hell. Forest is particularly amazing and poignant.
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Flagg
Sr Member
Forgoing the top three everyone else keeps mentioning I remember really being moved by "84 Charlie MoPic" at the end. I haven't seen the movie in forever though so it might not hold up today. (Ive found many of the movies I loved when I was younger kind of suck when I watch them now. LOL )
wuher da brewer
Sr Member
The Green Berets! :lol Just kidding guys! Seriously, I'm just kidding!
Apocalypse Now would be the one I've seen the most. I always get drawn into it. It's kind of hypnotic.
Full Metal Jacket is the film I've seen the first half a dozen times and the second half maybe twice...
Apocalypse Now would be the one I've seen the most. I always get drawn into it. It's kind of hypnotic.
Full Metal Jacket is the film I've seen the first half a dozen times and the second half maybe twice...
cayman shen
Master Member
My dad said the first part of FMJ seemed very authentic to him, except he remembered doing a lot of, what he considered pointless parade formation stuff
DeLucks Designs
Well-Known Member
1) FMJ - The characters seemed incredibly identifiable
2) Platoon - Loved the Battle scenes
3) Apocolyse Now - The scenes where the DOORS The END is used still haunts me
2) Platoon - Loved the Battle scenes
3) Apocolyse Now - The scenes where the DOORS The END is used still haunts me
ReaverReject
Active Member
As much as I love Apocalypse Now for its excellent archetype characters and epic scale, it still is, in my opinion, just an over-the-top exaggerated parody of the Vietnam War and militarism in general, much as Kubrik's other war-themed movies were. Saying Apocalypse is the best Vietnam War film is like saying Dr. Strangelove was the best Cold War movie (and Dr. Strangelove is one of my favorite films!)
Also, FMJ might as well have been about WWII - nothing in it resonates as a Vietnam story. The basic training might have taken place during any other time in US history, and the urban warfare scenes and sniper could have easily have been repackaged as occurring in a German-occupied Belgian town.
The fact that only one person agrees with me on The Deer Hunter tells me many of you either haven't seen it or are too focused on the battle scenes to assess the more compelling themes that make the Vietnam War so scarring. Platoon certainly captures the tropical jungle warfare perfectly and the dehumanization that Apocalypse took to an extreme, but to me Platoon will always be a very basic tale of the constant struggle between good vs. evil, and the often fuzzy gray line that separates them.
RR
Also, FMJ might as well have been about WWII - nothing in it resonates as a Vietnam story. The basic training might have taken place during any other time in US history, and the urban warfare scenes and sniper could have easily have been repackaged as occurring in a German-occupied Belgian town.
The fact that only one person agrees with me on The Deer Hunter tells me many of you either haven't seen it or are too focused on the battle scenes to assess the more compelling themes that make the Vietnam War so scarring. Platoon certainly captures the tropical jungle warfare perfectly and the dehumanization that Apocalypse took to an extreme, but to me Platoon will always be a very basic tale of the constant struggle between good vs. evil, and the often fuzzy gray line that separates them.
RR
LizardJedi
Sr Member
Isn't Apoclypse Now just a retelling of Heart of Darkness? (but set in Vietnam instead of Africa)
Larry Young
Master Member
I'll third 84 CHARLIE MOPIC. I remember watching that about a million times on HBO when we first got it.
I also remember THE BOYS IN COMPANY C quite well, mainly because I win bar bets all the time from people who think FMJ was Lee Ermey's first movie.
That, and the grenade scene.
I also remember THE BOYS IN COMPANY C quite well, mainly because I win bar bets all the time from people who think FMJ was Lee Ermey's first movie.
That, and the grenade scene.
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