best movie concerning vietnam (1 Viewer)

[Jason-Walsh]

I just read through this entire post and it's filled with some great suggestions. Suggestions I won't bother repeating. But I will add one that I'm a little surprised nobody mentioned.

The Siege of Firebase Gloria.. excellent film. Just saw it yesterday infact.

Here's it's IMDB entry for the curious.

- J

 

[ThomasC]

That's because it's not available on DVD.

 

[Jason-Walsh]

ahhhh.... well then.... :b

Still, watch it!

 

[Chris]

I think you have to be pretty careful with that line of thought though; several vietnamese americans would disagree with that idea

I'd recommend, in that viewpoint: Three Seasons (1999); Du Chien (Losing my HomeLand) The South Vietnamese Story (1997); Once We Were Free (1988); The Anniversary (2003)

Just as another viewpoint on the war

 

[Jack Briggs]

Chris, the PBS documentary covers the entire war, from the French effort through the ignominious U.S. pullout in 1975. It is thorough and it is a sober, reflective history. The architects of the war are interviewed extensively, as well as those who commanded and fought. The narration is PBS at its finest, which is to say that it just doesn't get any better than this.

 

[Chris]

Yep. The PBS documentary is very good. I just wanted to list some different films that give a completely different take on the war.

 

[Shawn_McD]

Seems everyone is focusing on Vietnam war era,USA Circa. Having many vietnamese girl friends and also learning the language, i suggest going back further in time.

The Colonial French era of vietnam will better help you understand the war, and even make you think we should have never been there.

Indochine
The Scent of Green Papaya
The Lover
Vertical Ray of Sun


Just a few movies you should check out.

Xin Chao!

 

[Jack Briggs]

I prefer a take that is accurate.

What kind of spin is there to put on a historical documentary that has no other agenda than to trace the conflict's origins and how it played out over several decades and the impact it had on the U.S. and other countries as well as the citizenry?

 

[Lew Crippen]

I can’t speak for everyone who dismissed the film, but John Wayne’s politics have nothing to do with my feelings about the movie (I like Wayne just fine and have liked him in many films where I disagreed most strongly with much of the core of the film (e.g. The Searchers)).

I would ask the same question of those who think that this movie accurately portrays the Special Forces and their involvement in Vietnam and the film’s portrayal of Vietnam, that the John Wayne character asks of the personification of the misguided press in the movie: “Have you ever even been to Southeast Asia?”

I’m happy for anyone to like the movie (which I think is one of Wayne’s worst), as that is a matter of opinion and taste. But liking the movie and believing that it is an accurate portrayal about much of anything are very different indeed.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Echoing Michael and Jack's comments, although I don’t find Hearts and Minds as compelling as I would have liked, it is well worth watching.

I think that Fog of War is a very compelling documentary, but it is less about Vietnam, than it appears on the surface.

 

[chris winters]

anyone know of any good politcal forums, similar to home theater forum, that discusses politics and history of the war. Topics edging into territory not allowed on home theater forum?

 

[ThomasC]

Chris, check your PMs.

 

[Rudi]

How about Go Tell the Spartans, the whole American experience in Vietnam in one battle, even though its only on tape.

 

[Steve Christou]

"Saigon, shit, I'm still only in Saigon. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle."

Apocalypse Now, still the best Vietnam film of them all IMO, and the making of - Hearts of Darkness - one of the greatest film documentaries, which sadly still hasn't made it to dvd. I'll be a happy man if the original 1979 version of AP gets a special edition release one day, with the documentary.

"You smell that? Do you smell that?... Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end... "

 

[Chris]

It's not spin, it's a different account by people who were there. Knowing many who's families fled South Vietnam to live in the US during & after the war, I feel as though often the plight of the south vietnamese, who truly did not want to be overrun and who did side with the US is given very short historical shrift. I feel as though their perspective of the war is equally true and valid to their experiences, and they will gladly tell you so Many of the films I highlighted were made and filmed in large effort with Vietnamese casts, and included people who were there. Detailing their struggle, fears, and beliefs on the war. Every war has people who fight for their cause on all sides. It's probably also why I find the movie "The Killing Fields" to be an admirable effort about the aftermath of vietnam

 

[Jack Briggs]

Again, Chris, the multipart PBS documentary covers all aspects of the war, including — extensively — the view from the perspectives of the South Vietnamese government and the South Vietnamese people.

And, yes, Rudi, I agree that Go Tell the Spartans would be a worthy addition to the list of Vietnam-themed films that should be on DVD. (I saw it once, in — get this — a VA hospital. Have wanted to see it ever since.)

 

[Chris]

Which is why I said I liked that one. I'm not sure what we're arguing about. The question was asked for historical films about the Vietnam war. I felt as though films largely done by the Vietnamese themselves should be mentioned, especially the ones that I find to be good filmmaking. I did not play down the PBS documentary, in fact, I praised it above. Most of those films are not pumped up beefy war movies, but small interview films with people who were there, grandmothers, family members, etc. recounting their memories. Some are very forward looking as to what vietnam was, became, and where it is going.

I've done history for a big part of my life; was my degree of choice (despite the fact I now work in IT) and I find it very interesting. I think the films I named give a unique perspective that American films often lack in evaluating the war, including our documentaries. I chose those films because I find that Vietnamese cinema is very interesting to me. I currently have several clients who are both in the movie promotion industry and vietnamese americans, and I get to see a good deal of vietnamese cinema. And I've racked up tons of great DVDs from it. And I find some of them great, some of them "eh" and some of them phenomenal. They are not films that make the US out as "saviors of us vs. the north" nor are they films that are "rah rah" the war. They are films done by people who survived it and distributed inside of vietnam; played in their communities, a part of their history.

Something has to be said for watching films that come out of the country itself. It's something we simply can't do. It's probably why I find the indie film "The Osage Story" (Tales of the Osage Indian) done by their tribe, to be effective and tear jerkingly sad. Sometimes, only through someone else's eyes, can you see that kind of narrative.

Now, that's not saying you can't say "I don't like those films" if you've scene it and don't care for it, or if dubbed, non "boom boom boom" type films shouldn't be in the list, that's cool. I figured since "Fog of War" was mentioned, these should be too.



But of the actiony films; I've never found one I cared for as much as "Full Metal Jacket"

 

[Jack Briggs]

I don't see where we're "arguing," Chris. That's not my pervue here at HTF. Rather, we seem to be not making ourselves clear.

We do share, however, similar opinions about the films being discussed here. After all, how can I "argue" with a guy who loves Full Metal Jacket?

At any rate, I do not know of a U.S. documentary that focuses extensively on the war as seen by the people of South Vietnam. It would be nice.

 

[chris winters]

so what is a PM exactly, and how do I check them?

 

[Lew Crippen]

Chris,

PM stands for Private Message. You can get there a number of ways:
1)Go the to top of this page (upper left hand corner) and you will see a ‘forum jump’ box. Select ‘private message’ and you will be taken there.
2)From the Forum page (the one with the list of all the areas in the HTF) go to the bottom of the list. The ‘Private Message’ area can be accessed at the bottom of the page, right after the ‘Moderators Online’ listing. This also lets you know if you have any unread messages.
3)Also at the top, right-hand part of this page, you can click on ‘private messages’.
4)You can also go from the User Control Panel
5)The HTF home page has a ‘private message’ that you can click (this is towards the upper-right hand part.

You can send anyone a PM, just by clicking PM on their banner. There are other ways.