Flight Of The Intruder (movie)

Title: Flight Of The Intruder

Directed by: John Milius

Year/production: 1991, USA

Cast: Danny Glover, Brad Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, ...

Runtime: 115 min

Year 1972, Vietnam, pilot Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) and his bombardier flays in a mission to destroy some strategic vehicles. After bombing it looked like there were no vehicles, and bombardier is shoot to death. Jake starts to question the purpose of this mission. He starts to fly with experience bombardier Virgile Cole (Willem Dafoe) and together they fly on self mission…

This movie is ok, sometimes boring but still ok. Good actors plays here and also pictures of jets in fly are nicely done. At the end 3 planes are destroyed by some anti aircrafts gun which is a little bit stupid but I still like it because it is about Vietnam war which is cool.

Rescue Dawn (movie)

Title: Rescue Dawn

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Year, production: 2006, USA

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, ...

Runtime: 126 min

American pilot (born in Germany), Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) after crush of his plane was captured and being hold prisoner during Vietnam War in Laos. He and other prisoners decided to escape but he didn’t realize that the true prison is the jungle. This movie is based on true story.
The movie has very nice pictures and music. The story is not the most intense but you can watch it with a pleasure and some tension.

American Boys (book)

Title: American Boys

Author: Steven Philip Smith

Year: 1975

Steven Philip Smith served in 1966 in Vietnam. This book is his debut and is based on his experience. It is a story about four friends from different part of US and different environments. They got into the army because of different reasons and being boring in West Germany they volunteered to vietnam war where they were told to kill or die. This book is really realistic and shocking.

We Were Soldiers (movie)

Title: We Were Soldiers

Directed by: Randall Wallace

Year, production: 2002, USA/Germany

Cast: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Chris Klein, Sam Elliot, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Kerin Russell, Don Duong, Ryan Hurst, Rober Bagnell, Clark Gregg, ...

Runtime: 138 min

This is a story of the first big battle between American soldiers and North Vietnam soldiers. Marines from American combat division, were surrounded by 4,000 North Vietnamese soldiers...

Broken arrow, broken arrow...

I like this movie very much. Best actors in this movie for me are Mel Gibson, Sam Elliot and Barry Pepper.

The Iron Triangle (movie)

Title: The Iron Triangle

Directed by: Eric Weston

Year, production: 1989, USA

Cast: Beau Bridges, Haing S. Ngor, Liem Whatley, Jim Ishida, Ping Wu, Johnny Hallyday, Bobby McGee, ...

Runtime: 91 min

The story is based on the diary of an unknown North Vietnam soldier. This Viet Cong soldier colonel Tuong (Haing S. Ngor) protects captured marines captain Keene (Beau Bridges).

It is a low budget movie showing Vietnam war from Vietnamese perspective.

The Iron Triangle was an area in Vietnam close to Saigon captured by US Army and South Vietnam army in 1967. There were some headquarters of North Vietnamese in that places.

Everybody speaks English even Vietnamese in this movie.

Bat 21 (movie)

Title: Bat 21

Directed by: Peter Markle

Year, production: 1988, USA

Cast: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, David Marshall Grant, Jerry Reed, Eric Andersson, ...

Runtime: 105 min

Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman) an expert in missile weaponry was shot down in 1972 when he did an reconnaissance flight so he had to parachute behind the enemy line. His only contact is a pilot capt. Clark (Danny Glover) from a observation plane. He parachuted in the middle of 30.000 North Vietnamese (invasion troops). Because of his knowledge it is very importand to rescue him before North Vietnames catch him. Hambelton has a radio and trays to escape. He got an instruction where is the place from which he will be rescued.

His radio call is Bat 21.

Good performance of Gene Hackman.

Heaven & Earth (movie)

Title: Heaven & Earth

Year, production: 1993, USA/France

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Hiep Thi Le, ...

Runtime: 140 min.

It is a true story of a Vietnamese girl Phung Le Ly (Hipe Thi Le). She had a very hard life during the war and after. She was raped by Vietcong, after war she had to work as a prostitution until Steve Butler blayed by Tommy Lee Jones (special forces oficer) married her and took her to America. After Vietnam war Steve had more problems to adopt to life in US then she had.

This is a third part of Vietnam War trilogy. First part is Platoon, second part is Born on the Fourth of July.

http://allwars.blogspot.com/2006/09/platoon-movie.html

http://allwars.blogspot.com/2006/11/born-on-fourth-of-july-movie.html

Apocalypse Now (movie)

Title: Apocalypse Now

Year, production: 1979, USA

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Cast: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest,Harrison Ford, Albert Hall, Denis Hopper, Scott Glenn, ...

Runtime: 153 min. (Redux version: 202 min.)

Some says, the best Vietnam war movie. Perhaps they are right but I like Platoon more

http://allwars.blogspot.com/2006/09/platoon-movie.html

Captain Willard played by Martin Sheen was sent on a mission to kill one guy (Marlon Brando) who thinks that he is a good for local people somewhere in Cambodia.

The redux version is cool, 49 minutes longer. I saw redux version only one time and the extra part is french epizod where they meet with Frenchmen. The film is really great and you can see there young Harrison Ford more less from the Star Wars time ;).

Update:

I have just seen a document on Discovery about soldiers from River Division 593 (rivier patrols) from Vietnam War. They said that the way this movie is showing the River Division is not true. They never took drugs like it was in the movie and behave like in the movie. The only thing that is true is a boat.

Tigerland (movie)

Title: Tigerland

Year, production: 2000, USA/Germany

Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Cast: Collin Farrell, Matthew Davis, Shea Whigham, Clifton Collins Jr., Russell Richardson, ...

Runtime: 100 min.

It is about trainning before vietnam war. Pvt. Roland Bozz (Collin Farrell) has a gift getting into the trouble and he doesn't really like to be on the trainning. It is not about war in Vietnam but it is a war movie I think.

Born on the Fourth of July (movie)

Title: Born on the Fourth of July

Year, production: 1989, USA

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Cast: Tom Cruise, Caroline Kava, Raymond J. Barry, Josh Evans, Jamie Talisman, Anne Bobby, Dale Dye, Tom Berenger, Tom Sizemore, Oliver Stone, William Baldwin, ...

Runtime: 145 min.

This is a biography of Ron Kovic. He was paralyzed in the Vietnam war after he was shoot. When he came back he became anti-war activist. He just thought that he is betrayed by his country for which he fought.

This movie is not a typical war movie, more like a drama but I think it should be here. There is not much fight and shooting. It is about the changes of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) after war. For me it is another great movie about vietnam war just after Platoon. It is also consider as a second part of Oliver Stone's vietnam war trilogy. First is Platoon and the third is Heaven & Earth.

Full Metal Jacket (movie)

Title: Full Metal Jacket

Year, production: 1987, USA

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Cast: Matthew Modine, Kirk Taylor, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Kevyn Major Howard, John Terry, Jon Stafford, ...

Runtime: 116 min.

There is a creazy trainning and brutal war in the city Hue in 1968 but this film is strange. It differs from other war movies maybe because Stanley Kubrick is a director.

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Something for FPS PC gamers. The trainning in the Medal Of Honor - Pacific Assault is taken from that movie, I think. Battlefield Vietnam is also based on this film (the Hue city map).

The Deer Hunter (movie)

Title: The Deer Hunter

Year, production: 1978, USA

Directed by: Michael Cimino

Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Maryl Streep, George Dzundza, Chuck Aspegren, Shirley Stoler, Rutanya Alda, Pierre Segui, Mady Kaplan, ...

Runtime: 182 min.

Shows how the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.

The movie got 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture in 1978.

The part from the war is rather short but I could not stop think about it after wathing it first time. Rober De Niro is one of the best actors I think, doesn't mater what characters he is playing.
It is a big pleasure to watch these actors as they playing.

Hamburger Hill (movie)

Title: Hamburger Hill

Year, production: 1987, USA

Directed by: Jhon Irvin

Cast: Anthony Barille, Michael Boatman, Don Cheadle, Michale A. Nickles, Michael Dolan, ..
Run time: 112 min.

This story was written by John Carabatsos who was in vietnam in the 1ts Air Cavalary in 1968-69. He has interwieved soldiers that fought on the hill 937 on 10 of May 1969.

The movie is not just about the fight at Hill 937, which then was called a Hamburger Hill. A 1/3 part of the movie takes place in the camp and shows how was the life there.
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I liked that movie very much. I haven't seen it again for a couple of years. I need to refresh my memory some day.

Casualties of War (movie)

Title: Casualties of War

Year, production: 1989, USA

Directed by: Brian De Palma

Cast: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Harvey, John C. Reilly, Thuy Thu Le, ...

Runtime: 113 min.

Very good movie about war in Vietnam and specially about what it does to people. I liked Micheal. Sean Penn is very good as always.

5 American soldiers take a vietnam girl from a village where she lives. She was raped by 4 of these soldiers. The fifth (Michael J. Fox) did not. The young girl is killed after all. The fifth soldier wants to punish the other four. The film is more about the realities of war and what war makes with people.

The movie is based on true story.

Platoon (movie)

Title: Platoon

Year, production: 1986 , USA

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Cast: Tom Berenger, Wiliem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Jony Depp, ....

Runtime: 120 min.

Vietnam war movie. One of the best war movie I have ever seen. Charlie Sheen started a big career after that movie.

Young american soldier Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) came to Vietnam and very quickly he found out that there are many other things to be worry about then Viet Cong enemies. Two officers (Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) fight not only with the enemy but also with each other....

The best part is when Elias (Willem Dafoe) is daying. The music in that part is great. I felt like I will be crying during that.