Movies about the Vietnam War: a selection of 8 must-see religious films
The Vietnam War clearly marked spirits. Witness, on the American side, a certain number of cinematic products, often spectacular, that bear the imprint of the cursed generation.
Le petit magazine selected 8 religious films about the Vietnam War.
1 – Apocalypse Now
1979 – Francis Ford Coppola – with Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Colleen Camp, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
In 1979, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival was listed as the 30th best American film by the American Film Institute. In 2000, the film was selected by the National Film Registry for preservation in the US Library of Congress due to its “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance”.
During the Vietnam War, the American military secret service assigns Captain Willa the mission to find and execute Colonel Kurtz, whose methods are considered “unsound”. The last group, established outside the border with Cambodia, leads the local population and carries out operations against the enemy with terrible brutality.
Using the patrol boat and the crew at his disposal, Willard must travel deep into the river jungle to eliminate the officer. During this trip, while researching Kurtz’s file, he discovers a man very different from what he thought of him.
2 – platoon
1986 – Oliver Stone – with Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Queen
Platoon is a film set during the Vietnam War in which the director himself lived.
The film won an Oscar for best picture in 1987. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Plato 83rd among the 100 greatest films of American cinema.
19-year-old Chris Taylor is eager to go to war in Vietnam because his father was a brave and heroic soldier, and he, in turn, wants to defend a certain idea of America in the rice fields of Indochina. But he barely puts down his backpack, far from the Cambodian border, and learns that it is blood, the most absurd violence and, in fact, fear that is everywhere he encounters. Around him, two sergeants of strong character clash wildly. Barnes takes advantage of the circumstances to indulge in criminal sadism, while Elias, disgusted by these brutal acts, tries to inject some humanity into the nightmare universe.
3 – Full metal jacket
1987 – Stanley Kubrick – with Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood
The film is based on Gustav Hasford’s novel “Le Merdier” (“The Short Timers”) and Michael Herr’s war memoir “Dispatches”. Its name refers to the type of armor-piercing bullet.
The film follows the character of JT Davis, nicknamed “Joker” (“Guignol” in the French version), a young man who works in the marines.
We first follow his career in the late 1960s at boot camp on Paris Island, South Carolina. A group of new recruits he is part of is brutally captured by instructor Sergeant Hartman. Using a method based on insults and insults, he turns his attention to the rather plump Private Lawrence, whom he nicknames “Gomer Pyle”. The unfortunate employer is really slow, struggles with physical exercise, and has very limited intellectual ability (sometimes he confuses his right with his left, has trouble making his bed alone, closes his guards, etc.). At the request of the sergeant, “Guignol” takes him under his wing, but Lawrence does not reach the required level. Later, he becomes the pet of the other recruits, punished by the sergeant instead (due to a donut he found in the sergeant’s trunk), and receives a severe beating from them. At first, the correction seems to be paying off. He becomes a particularly disciplined soldier and finally receives his military certificate. But on his last night in boot camp, he goes insane and kills Sergeant Hartman in front of “Guignol” before committing suicide with an M14 rifle.
The action of the film then moves to Vietnam, where “Guignol” chooses to be assigned to a section of military journalists from Stars and Stripes magazine. At an editorial conference, he clashes with the magazine’s head over journalistic integrity. As a result, he is sent to field reports as the Tết offensive is in full swing. There he finds one of his comrades from the training camp, nicknamed “Cowboy”, and engages in direct combat with him. During a sniper shootout, “Guignol” sees several of his comrades killed. He then confronts his own moral limitations, as well as the brutal violence of war and its psychological effects on men.
4 – Heaven and earth
1993 – Oliver Stone – with Bussaro Sanruck, Supak Pititam, Joan Chen, Thuan K. Nguyen, Haing S. Ngor
The film is adapted from Le Ly Hayslip’s two books about her Vietnam War experience: When Heaven and Earth Change Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace.
In a small village like thousands of villages in Vietnam, a young girl discovers the anger of a people, her people. Việt Cộng in a Buddhist family that sent their two sons to war and were almost forcibly recruited by northern troops are far from being the defenders of their claimed homeland. Neither are the Americans and South Vietnamese government forces. And we perfectly criticize both sides of this war. Suffering the most severe physical and moral humiliation, the young girl flees to Saigon, where fate seems to be hunting her, until she meets Steve Butler, an American soldier who is madly in love with her and wants to marry her. and return it to the United States.
5 – Born on the fourth of July
1989 – Oliver Stone – with Tom Cruise, Brian Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Josh Evans
The film is adapted from the biography of Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovich.
Ron Kovic, a teenager from suburban New York, is serving in the Marines. During his second tour in Vietnam, he accidentally kills a comrade and is later crippled in action.
6 – Good morning Vietnam
1987 – Barry Levinson – with Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana, Bruno Kirby
Based on the experiences of disc jockey Adrian Cronauer, the film is more concept than actual story: you put Robin Williams in front of the microphone and let him go wild. Still, he cleverly tackles the film’s ever-present theme of death, playing a man who tries to stay funny despite the ever-increasing loss of life on the battlefield. Robin Williams is truly extraordinary in a role that opens him up to the general public.
1965. Two years have passed since the Americans got bogged down in Vietnam. The morale of the troops goes down and with it the chances of victory. At a rear base in Saigon, in the demilitarized zone, host Adrian Cronauer arrives to take over the morning hours of military radio. Far from the dusty formats of official wooden language, his irreverent interpretations and the very rock art of his musical programming make the troops immediately attached.
7 – War losses (insults)
1989 – Brian De Palma – with Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Harvey, John Leguizamo, Ving Rhames
The film is inspired by real events such as Hill 192 and Daniel Lang’s novel Casualties of War: In 1966, American soldiers kidnap, rape and kill a young Vietnamese peasant woman.
Vietnam, 1966. Eriksson, a young teenager, is assigned to the squadron of Commander Meserve, a charismatic but brutal man almost his senior. During a difficult reconnaissance mission, Meserve saves Eriksson from certain death. Unfortunately, he can do nothing for the radio operator who is killed by the Vietnamese during an ambush. Although traumatized, the team is immediately sent back to the jungle. Meserve promises his people that they will give them a village girl as a “gift”. Eriksson witnesses the rape and murder of a powerless young Vietnamese woman. Tortured by the image of the young woman, Eriksson scolds his friends despite their threats.
8 – The Deer Hunter (Journey to the End of Hell)
1978 – Michael Cimino – with Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep
The Deer Hunter, the first American film about the Vietnam War, its trauma and psychological impact, was the subject of controversy, particularly due to its Russian roulette scenes, which were criticized for not witnessing any of the war’s events.
This did not prevent the film from achieving significant critical and commercial success and winning five Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken and Best Picture and Best Director for Michael Cimino.
In 1968, Mike, Steven, Nick, Stan and Axel work in a steel mill in Clairton, Pennsylvania and form a close-knit gang. Love affairs are going well in Clairton: Steven marries Angela, even though she is pregnant by someone else, and Nick flirts with Linda, much to Mike’s dismay. Outside of this tranquility, Mike, Steven and Nick are captured by the Vietnam War as they are mobilized to go to war.
