Vietnam war films.

[scott808]

The MASH talk (I know that was set in Korea) has got me thinking about Vietnam War films. Of all the movies which do you think was the most influential in shaping public opinion?

 

For me it has to be Apocalypse Now.

 

Not sure about the most influentual movie. But before my boss died, (heart attack a few years ago. Ex-Airborne, Fort Benning) He told me that Aplocalypse Now was most accurate movie that he saw and it always reminded him of Nam. He was there in the early 60's to train the South Viet. troops. But later, he figured out that they were actually training him.

 

Just one of many stories he told me...

 

[Pom Michael]

Lazyphil, not obsessed, but an avid collector and when I started to collect these books there was not a demand so most were throw-aways from Libraries. You would not believe some of the shit that was happening in Vietnam in the late '50's and early '60's. Most of the academic works were from Michigan State University - for some reason they were specializing on Vietnam.

 

Here is a great picture site - basically page by page of Tim Page's Requiem Project which printed photos from Photographers who died during the war. Outstanding book if your interested in this subject matter.

 

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue9711/req14.htm

 

Cheers!

[limbo]

Thanks for the link PM,

 

Very interesting. Wish I had the chance to read some of those books as well.

Along the road I lost some fine books as well.

[was_usvirgin]

For me it has to be Apocalypse Now.

 

Likewise. I was fortunately young enough to miss out on the war, but I think that some of the surreal scenes in the movie helped my generation begin to understand what it must have been like.

 

I had a friend whose dad did special effects for the movie and lost most of his hearing after an explosions fuck up in the Philippines.

 

[Torneyboy]

Me to...a very powerfull movie

[chuckwoww]

Smells like victory.

[was_usvirgin]

How cool is youtube?

Link

[Flashermac]

Apocalypse Now was fun ... but absolute insanity. Maybe sort of like VN as seen by Timothy Leary. And the thing was based on a Joseph Conrad story set in Africa!

 

I remember a little known low budget flick called The Lieutenant or something like that. It was about a brand new platoon leader arriving in RVN and what happened to him. I thought it was one of the most realistic I've seen. (Platoon is not, nor is Full Metal Jacket.)

 

Most war flicks simply are not realistic. My dad and his friends always said that about WWII films too.

 

 

[Sukhumvit]

Great link. V interesting reading. Haven't been to VN for nearly 8 years. Praps time to make another visit.

 

Anyone remember the tv series about WW2 in Burma which I think was called Merrills Marauders? I know that there was a book of that name and I think the tv show was the same. That played in the early 70's. :question:

[Flashermac]

One of my father's friends was a retired US Army master sergeant who'd served in the CBI Theatre. He told me the most realistic film he'd ever seen was 'Operation Burma', starring Errol Flynn and about Merrill's Marauders. He said the part where the Niponese gents are crawling around at night, trying to find Merrill's men in their foxholes, still gave him the shivers. Oddly enough, I've read that the Brits got extremely pissed off about the film, since it only mentioned Slim in passing. Well, it was about Merrill's Marauders ... what did they expect?