A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Vietnam War -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Richard V]

I have not yet watched this series, but having lived through the era, I feel compelled to buy it. I watched as a young man as this country tore itself apart, much as it is doing today. This war was one of the most divisive things that ever happened in this country, and unfortunately it is happening again. Young pitted against the older generation, racial divisions in the military, liberals against the conservatives, the military demonized unfairly, the explosion of drug use, the musical revolution, the opposition to the draft, and much more. It took years of healing. I wouldn't want to relive this, but feel I must buy this to better understand it.

 

[Atari]

As someone that was born during the Vietnam War I have never really understood it. It was over by the time I even learned it was going on and then no one wanted to talk about it. I'm only half way through and this is the best documentary I've seen on any subject. I'm looking forward to talking with my father-in-law over the holidays about what he thought. He was drafted and sent over around 1969. He's never spoken about it and I saw an old newspaper clipping where he received a medal for carrying a wounded soldier across a field under fire and being hit with some shrapnel.

I had a co-worker retire about 5 years ago and found out he was a Vietnam veteran. I asked how it was for him and expected the usual response of hating it and the government. I was completely surprised when he told me he volunteered and it was one of the best experiences of his life. He then went on to say that a lot of other soldiers agreed with this but didn't talk about it because of the backlash at home in America. This kind of blew up my understanding from what the media and movies portrayed.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I just finished the entire series and I gotta say... wow. It may have taken 18 hours of thorough, measured explanation, but it finally all makes sense to me now.

By the time I got to the end, I was like, "Yep... and whoever holds office should be required to watch this documentary, and then write a term paper on it, and you better get an A or you're fired."

(The soundtrack albums are great, too, by the way.)

 

[sonomatom1]

C. 1978. Actually, no reason she should have known. Merely an innocent. Many folks today think films were always color, and the ‘60s are when it all began.

You're much too forgiving. We can't keep lowering the bar.

 

[battlebeast]

RAH, any actual film footage of The Spanish Inquisition? Preferably in 4K?

John Cleese would not release the footage.

 

[battlebeast]

Only when I got to Oliver Stone's famous triptych (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven & Earth) did I begin to get a better sense of what had happened. But those were still just fictional fantasies, just honing a little closer to truth than normal.

PLATOON and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY ARENT fiction. They are pretty accurate. Sure the characters are fictitious in PLATOON , but it's based on Stone's experiences. And it's pretty damn powerful. So is BORN, which is based on Ron Kovic's life. Both are two of the best 'Nam films ever made.

 

[B-ROLL]

This is currently at Amazon at $68.09
https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-War-...1adcb96f50c9673dff559&creativeASIN=B06ZZC6G2B

Man that buy now with 1-click was too easy ...

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Could be the best click you've ever performed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is currently at Amazon at $68.09
https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-War-...1adcb96f50c9673dff559&creativeASIN=B06ZZC6G2B

Man that buy now with 1-click was too easy ...

I could see it cheaper perhaps $60.00, but it might be a while. The Civil War doc. by Ken Burns got down to $55.00, but not until more than a year after its release. I think they spent a lot more money on this series than The Civil War one so it might not discount as much or as quickly.

Edit: Above comment regarding Amazon's Pricing.

 

[B-ROLL]

I could see it cheaper perhaps $60.00, but it might be a while. The Civil War doc. by Ken Burns got down to $55.00, but not until more than a year after its release. I think they spent a lot more money on this series than The Civil War one so it might not discount as much or as quickly.

Arguably there are fewer Civil War veterans around than Vietnam Vets that some one might want to buy a present ...

To all the younger ones out there ... I wasn't talking about the Marvel Comics Civil War ...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

John Cleese would not release the footage.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" I wonder if there is a film rights battle between the Pythons and Mel Brooks on this one.





My parents were visiting for a couple of days, and we watched Episode 1 via the PBS app on Roku one evening. They were captivated by the episode, and neither are usually into documentaries. I will eventually pick up the Blu-ray set, but after just watching it I can wait for the price to drop some more.

 

[B-ROLL]

I could see it cheaper perhaps $60.00, but it might be a while. The Civil War doc. by Ken Burns got down to $55.00, but not until more than a year after its release. I think they spent a lot more money on this series than The Civil War one so it might not discount as much or as quickly.

With the limited time 15% off coupon WITCHES (expires 10/18 NOON CT) it works out to $58.39 at deepdiscount as of this writing (qualifies for free shipping) but does not help out HTF ...

 

[Mike2001]

I could see it cheaper perhaps $60.00, but it might be a while. The Civil War doc. by Ken Burns got down to $55.00, but not until more than a year after its release. I think they spent a lot more money on this series than The Civil War one so it might not discount as much or as quickly.

I've seen it at Costco for sub-$60.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've seen it at Costco for sub-$60.

I was talking about Amazon's pricing. With other retailers including some that offer coupons I can see it cheaper than $60.00

 

[Robert Crawford]

With the limited time 15% off coupon WITCHES (expires 10/18 NOON CT) it works out to $58.39 at deepdiscount as of this writing (qualifies for free shipping) but does not help out HTF ...

Yeah, my comment was about Amazon's pricing, but a person has to do what's best for them. I placed a large order from Deep Discount yesterday because it saved me several dollars to do so over ordering those same titles from Amazon.

 

[Atari]

Finally finished the series, will probably buy a copy for my father-in-law as he only got to see the first 4 episodes.

Talked with him on Thanksgiving about his tour. He was extremely lucky to come out in one piece. He showed up days after the Tet Offensive started and was sent out to the plains to hunt and destroy retreating enemy. The group he joined would normally have 160-180 men but was around 80 due to casualties. A guy that would become his good friend later, was shot on the first day and went to recover in Japan, returning a couple months later.

He did around 33 helicopter jumps. I asked about the bronze medal he received for running across a field under fire to help a fellow soldier and he paused and then told me he was killed instantly. He looked a little embarrassed to have gotten a medal when someone else died. My wife / his daughter was a little taken aback when she asked what his missions were and he responded without hesitation "To find the enemy and kill the enemy".

On one of his R&R trips he went to Hong Kong and saw the John Wayne movie The Green Berets. He remembered thinking it was crap and didn't resemble what he was doing in Vietnam at all. He also saw Barbarella, which he liked.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

On one of his R&R trips he went to Hong Kong and saw the John Wayne movie The Green Berets. He remembered thinking it was crap and didn't resemble what he was doing in Vietnam at all. He also saw Barbarella, which he liked.

Gustav Hasford's The Short-Timers (the basis for Full Metal Jacket) has a scene in which a group of increasingly drunk and rowdy grunts laugh their way through a screening of The Green Berets, its depiction of the conflict so ridiculously far from their actual experiences in Vietnam.