10 Vietnam War Movies You Must See Before You Die
The following 10 Vietnam War Movies are the ones you absolutely must see. There are more. Many I have seen, some I have not. You may be astonished that one of the most famous ones, Apocalypse Now, is not among them… I wanted to stick to 10 and these are my 10 choices. I always found Apocalypse Now slightly dubious. Whatever. The list is in chronological order. I did not want to weigh them against each other as they show quite different aspects of the same war.
The Deer Hunter (1978): Young second generation Russian-Americans volunteer to prove themselves and serve their country. In Vietnam they are captured and suffer as POWs and are forced to play Russian roulette. They come home disillusioned and physically and psychologically broken.
Platoon (1986): Infantry combat. A young man volunteers to go to Vietnam and soon sees his dreams shattered. He gets caught between two antagonistic officers, the ultimately good Sgt. Elias and the mean Sgt. Barnes.
Hamburger Hill (1987): No-nonsense infantry combat at its toughest. A group of soldiers of mixed social backgrounds and ethnic origins must fight a senseless battle for a hill.
Full Metal Jacket (1987): Artsy movie. First part is an unforgettable look at boot camp horrors. The second centers on street fighting in Vietnam. Unusual setting. Vivid, haunting pictures.
Jacknife (1989): A brilliant De Niro in the role of a memorable Vietnam vet. (More details on this movie in my post).
Born on the 4th of July (1989): Maybe the ultimate anti-war statement and a in-depth exploration of masculinity. A movie that makes you cringe.
84 Charlie MoPic (1989): Documentary style but much better than the Iraq movie Redacted. Embedded journalists follow an infantry combat unit in the bush.
Heaven and Earth (1993): A look at the other side. What was the meaning of this war for Vietnamese civilians?
Tigerland (2000): Boot camp. We see the soldiers train long before they are shipped out. Tensions rise until a drama unfolds.
We Were Soldiers (2002): The only Vietnam War Movie that truly attempts to show more than one side. Close look at the Vietnamese command. Heavy combat. Story switches between battle field and home front where the wives wait for the letters who will inform them they have become widows. Very emotional but not unproblematic movie. Too much trying to make us believe it was a “good war”.
Maybe you disagree with this list. Let me know which ones you would choose. Which one do you really prefer?
Overlord: An Overlooked War Movie Masterpiece
The British war movie Overlord is one of the most original and best war movies I have ever seen. Since its coming out in 1975 it has mostly been forgotten although it was highly accalimed at the time. That it is widely unknown today is really a pity. It is quite a simple movie, very short as well, only some 70 minutes, but it touches you like not many other. Overlord tells in a very personal way the story of a young man, Tom Beddows, who is going to war. He goes to boot camp, meets a young girl and knows he will be part of a big offensive that will send him to France. He will be part of Operation Overlord which was the codename of the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces in WWII on June 6 1944 ( better known as D-Day). Tom doesn´t really want to be where he is but eventually gets accustomed to his new environment and the idea of going into battle. All through the movie he has dreams where he sees himself dying and he is quite convinced he wont return. Finally we see him being shipped out together with his comrades who are all afraid of what awaits them.
As such this may not seem very special but the way this is done is just great. The movie was filmed in black and white and the story of Tom Beddows is interwoven with original footage of bombed cities, planes, bombed trains, the landing itself and many other elements. This is done so well that the alternating parts blend into each other as if they were one movie.
Since it focuses so closely on one person (with just a few exceptions) it is very intimate. You get the feeling that this is not just anyone going to war but a young guy you might know and like since Tom is gentle and endearing.
All the original footage, that is very well-chosen, is by far more convincing than many CGI or reenactment parts of other movies.
It’s a perfect little movie that would probably even be appreciated by people who would normally never watch a war movie. Should you ever want to convince someone that the genre deserves its appreciation Overlord could be your choice to prove it.
It might also be great as a way to teach WWII in schools as there is no gratuitous violence.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) or Two Brothers Torn Apart by the Irish Civil War
The Wind that Shakes the Barley opens on a group of young men joyfully playing a game of hurling. After the game has ended we watch them return home to their modest houses. Some are still standing together smoking and talking, when all of a sudden a group of British soldiers approaches out of nowhere confronting them with the fact that they did break the law. Meetings are strictly forbidden and even a game of hurling is considered to be an assemly and thus a possible act of rebellion. The scene heats up immediately when the young men answer in Gaelic upon being asked their names. The episode ends in a blood bath, one of the young men being beaten to a pulp and dead.
This is shocking. One can hardly believe one’s eyes since this is no invention. The British subjugated the Irish fiercely and anything resembling rebellion from their side ended in severe punishment.
Ken Loach´s movie The Wind that Skakes the Barley (the title is taken from an Irish Ballad) embraces both moments in Irish history, first The Irish War of Independence and then The Irish Civil War. At the core of the story that is set in county Cork are the two O´Donovan brothers, Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Pádraic Delaney). At the onset of the war Damien is about to leave his native Ireland for London where a position as a doctor at a hospital is waiting for him. Seeing the brutality and the cruelty his people face and knowing that his brother will be leading a guerilla party, he stays to join them. At that time the British government sent the so-called “Black and Tans” to brutally reinforce their power. The old IRA started to strike back.
After long months of heavy fighting they were asked to sign a treaty which would guarantee the Irish their own government and established the Irish Free State. However six Northern counties would stay within the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. This is the moment when the Civil War erupts and Pro Free State (headed by Michael Collins) troops fought the Anti-treaty forces. In the movie the tragedy unfolds as the brothers go different ways. Teddy accepts and supports the Free State while Damien wants to fight until all of Ireland is free. He believes that they have fought in vain if they give up now. It is unbelievable but the Civil War cost finally more lives than the War of Independence.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley was as hard to watch and as depressing as L´armée des ombres. The methods applied resemble those applied by the French Resistance. They wouldn’t even shy away from killing their own in the event of betrayal. We also see people being shot and people being tortured.
This movie is also hard to watch since it reveals a really ugly aspect of the British Empire. If you are British this will be hard to accept, if you like the British it will be equally hard and if you are Irish this will truly infuriate you. One can simply not understand why the Empire had to make the already impoverished, famished and sick Irish suffer so much. I read that this part of their history is not really taught in English schools. I think many English people would be shocked and astonished when they see this and might understand a lot better what was ultimately behind the Troubles.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is very intense. The pictures of the beautiful, lush green countryside contrast starkly with the brutalities depicted. The story of the two brothers who end up torn apart by their conflicting ideals is very tragic. and both actors do a great job
There is no doubt that this movie deserved the Palme d´ Or it won in 2006. Even though I am sure the movie could not cover all the aspects and the whole complexity of the Wars, it raises the awareness. It´s simply stated a brilliant movie. But it is not entertaining for one second. Harsh but recommended viewing really.
Sometimes in April (2005) Part I
This is Part I of the HBO production Sometimes in April on the war in Rwanda (see Friday’s post) starring Idris Elba and Debra Winger. As I said, I haven’t seen it yet but it looks as if the whole movie has been posted in bits on YouTube. It seems well worth watching.
Some Actors of The Wire and their Roles in Recent War Movies
I am not the most avid viewer of series but there are some I did or do enjoy a lot. Six Feet Under was just excellent and so is True Blood. I also quite like Dexter. One of the best series however is The Wire, pretty awesome. Maybe you liked The Wire too and were wondering what some of the excellent actors did after the The Wire has ended.
Set during the British Civil War, The Devil´s Whore is a very convincing historical drama. Dominic West, Detective Jimmy McNulty in The Wire, stars as Oliver Cromwell. This mini series is a must-see for everybody interested in British history. It does take some liberties with some facts but still it is more than just good.
Idris Elba who played the unlikable baddie Russell “Stringer” Bell in The Wire can be seen in the leading role in Sometimes in April. I have not seen this yet but I read that it is the best movie that has been done on the war in Rwanda. Far better than Hotel Rwanda. It is a TV production, maybe that is the reason why it is not widely known. Unlike Hotel Rwanda it really looks into the history of Rwanda and the reasons for the conflict.
Last but not least, James Ransone, who played the annoying character Ziggy Sobotka, stars as Cpl. Josh Ray Person at the side of Alexander Skarsgard in Generation Kill. A very good performance.
Ok, it is slightly off topic, but what series do you think are outstanding? Any preferences? Suggestions?
Hope and Glory (1987) Trailer
War seen with the eyes of a child… Endless holidays, summer. An enchanted time that has gone forever.
Hope and Glory is one of the Top 100 war movies of all times. Sheer beauty.
Review will follow soon.
Under Fire: A Century of War Movies, edited by Jay Slater (2009)
Under Fire is simply a must-have for people seriously interested in war movies or even movies in general.
It contains a collection of essays on all sorts of topics regarding war movies, from WWI to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many different people have contributed to this very dense work. Well-known film critics and academics alike.
This is really something to sink your teeth into. Quite demanding reading but extremely insightful.
For example did you know how important YouTube´s influence was on contemporary Iraq movies (yes, I even started to understand Redacted)? Or how Vietnam changed the war movies? Do you know a lot about British propaganda movies of WWII? Did you consider to interpret Starship Troopers as WWII and Nazi satire?
These are only a few topics of many that are analysed in these very thoroughly researched essays.
Sure, this is no movie guide as such. It is not recommending or rating anything. Under Fire provides criticism and analysis for those who like to interpret not only the apparent but also the subtext.
This book is really worth having and I am quite excited about this find that manages so well to show the variety, the depth and the virtuosity of war movies.
Here you find the link to the publishing house. It contains an interview with the editor and interesting additional chapters.
Katyn (2007) or The Crime and the Lie about a Gruesome Massacre on Polish Officers
This is an outstanding movie. Truly outstanding from every possible point of view. Narrative style, cinematography, actors, story, technical aspects. Absolutely great.
The Polish movie Katyn is about the massacre of some 22000 Polish officers by the Russian army and the subsequent disposal of their bodies in the Katyn forest in 1940. Once the mass grave is found in 1943 the so-called Katyn list is established. After having waited anxiously for the return of their fathers, husbands, sons and brothers the families are now informed if or if not their loved ones have been among the victims. However not all the victims are on the list. Many more a still missing and may or may not have been murdered. Many wives still wait for their husbands in 1945.
The movie focuses on two families. One is the family of a Polish General, the other the family of a Polish officer. The story is told in two sequences. The first half tells the story until the massacre, the second tells the story of the lie and ends again with the massacre but this time shown much more explicitly (The way these murders were executed…How can people do this to people?). After the first half we think the story should be over but in reality it only just begins. Seeing it first from the point of view of the victims, we are then guided towards the point of view of the families who wait for them. Their ordeal is a different but very cruel one. Even though everybody knows who killed those officers, officially it is said to have been a massacre committed by the Germans. To say otherwise would be very dangerous. The political climate of the time that made it impossible to even mention a critical view of this incident until 1989 is palpable in all its atrocity.
On my DVD of this movie is an interview with the Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. He tells the interviewer how difficult it was to make this movie. He didn´t know how to tell the story. Should he tell his father´s story, who had been among those officers, or his mother´s who was one of those who did not give up hope until 1945. He decided eventually to tell both stories, juxtapose them, have one mirror the other. This is very skillfully done. Wajda belongs to the so-called Polish Film School and has made many movies, two of his better known earlier ones also deal with WWII: A Generation aka Pokolenie (1955) and Kanal (1957) about the Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.
This film is truly the work of a master, of someone who does not just deliver a story but who weaves it carefully, adding symbolism and criticism alike. And still it is highly watchable.
10 Reasons Why you should (re) discover Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
I am probably going to review this movie at length in a few days. It is worth to look into some cultural elements. Here, as a starter, 10 reasons why you should watch Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.
- Highly original. Really not your everyday material.
- It is not sufficiently known or almost forgotten.
- POW movie that is by many people believed to be better than Bridge on the River Kwai.
- The main title, Forbidden colors, is very haunting (there are two versions, the instrumental one by Ryuichi Sakamoto and the vocal one by Sakamoto and David Sylvian).
- Beautifully filmed.
- Japanese culture and esthetics (Samurai, hara-kiri, honor, belief in demons and what not).
- Not your average war movie theme. Captain Yonoi is tragically attracted to Maj Celliers.
- Nagisha Oshima has directed it (he is famous for his very sensuous and erotic movies, albeit bordering the sadomasochistic. Undertones are clearly present here.)
- Great acting. Not only by the two singers Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Bowie but also by Tom Conti and Takeshi Kitano.
- Very impressive. Once you have seen it, you will never forget it.
Intimate enemies aka L´ennemi intime (2007)Trailer
French movie about the “war” that was officially no war.
Stay posted. Review will follow tomorrow.
