Review a Movie that Describes Some Aspect of the Vietnam War

For this extra credit assignment, you are to watch and then review a feature length film that describes some aspect of the Vietnam War. Include with your review the trailer from the movie.

* * * * * * * * * 

Oliver Shepard Reviews the Movie Good Morning Vietnam

My name is Oliver Shepard and during the summer of 2016, I watched a movie entitled Good Morning Vietnam.

This movie was released on January 15, 1988. It is 2 hours long and brought in 123.9 million dollars at the box office. The director of the movie is Barry Levinson and the star of the movie is Robin Williams. Roger Ebert, a very accomplished film critic who wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the movie 4 out of 4 stars. 

This movie was set in Saigon in 1965. It puts a funny twist on a serious event but it also has a lot of good information on the Vietnam war. The movie showcased what the soldiers went through during the war, and displayed the hardship that the southern Vietnamese people faced. Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, a man who becomes the new radio DJ at a US base in Saigon, and becomes very popular for his comedy and honesty. As his popularity grows he is given better and more frequent air time. He has a signature intro “Good Moooorning Vietnam”. He soon falls in love with a vietnamese woman, Trinh, and starts teaching the english class she is in to get closer to her. To do this he goes into the class and pays off the teacher so that he himself can teach it. He then starts talking to her but shortly after her brother intervenes. Her brother, Tuan, and Adrian become friends and he lets him talk to his sister. Tuan ends up being part of the Northern Vietnam army AKA the vietcong and blows up a building in Saigon. Adrian goes to report on the matter but his general wants to keep it under wraps, so when he spills the beans he gets in trouble. He gets fired but rehired soon after as the troops were enraged that they couldn't listen to him on the radio anymore. The base they are staying in in Saigon gets evacuated and Adrian has to say bye to Trinh and Tuan. He leaves with one last radio call by saying, “Gooooooodbye Vietnam.¨ 

This movie showed how powerful one voice can be. Robin Williams character, Adrian, uses his voice to rally the troops and improve moral. He had a very important role in keeping the troops spirits up so they would keep fighting and continue to have hope in their hearts. It also shows the hardship that the Southern Vietnamese people faced as American troops occupied much of their land. I found it to be a great movie as it captured my attention from the start and held it throughout the movie. Robin Williams was hilarious, and his comedic factor flowed well with the overall message of the movie. Overall, I felt it was well put together and I enjoyed watching Good Morning Vietnam.

Good Morning Vietnam (official movie trailer)

* * * * * * * * * *

Colin Bailey Reviews the Movie Forrest Gump

My name is Colin Bailey and during the summer of 2016, I watched a movie entitled Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump was directed by Robert Zemeckis in 1994 and is about 2 hours and 25 minutes long. It stars Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Robin Wright, and many more. 

Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) tells the story of a young boy named Forrest who was born in Alabama with a mental disability. His mother (Sally Field) always told him not to let people tell him that he is different. With just receiving braces for his legs, Forrest struggles with making friends at school except one girl named Jenny. Running from trouble, Forrest breaks his braces and finds his talent of running. Years later, Forrest enlists in the Army and is sent to Vietnam to fight in the war. After receiving a bullet wound (in the buttocks) and losing his friend Bubba (Mykelti Williamson) to a bullet, Forrest is then sent home with many awards and a determination to keep a promise he made to Bubba, minutes before Bubba’s death and that is to enter the shrimping business that Bubba had started. 

While shrimping, Forrest pursues his love for Jenny (Robin Wright). His mother, Mrs. Gump, then becomes ill and is bedridden. Forrest caring much for his mother, spends every last moment with her by her side until she passes. At the end of the film, Forrest finds Jenny as a successful person with a great life and a child. The couple have a child named Forrest, named after his father. And like all sad movies, Jenny dies from a sickness, leaving Forrest alone with his son and relating back to the beginning of the film. 

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where Mrs. Gump waits for the bus to school with Forrest and telling him to never let anyone tell him that he is different. 

I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Vietnam War.

Forrest Gump (official movie trailer)

* * * * * * * * * *

Keyi Hu Reviews the Movie Platoon

My name is Keyi Hu and during the summer of 2016, I watched a movie entitled Platoon

Recently I watched the 1986 movie Platoon. Directed by Oliver Stone and running about 113 minutes, Platoon is one of the most breathtaking movies I have ever watched. Despite this, it is not a perfect source for understanding the history of Vietnam War. In the film, Charlie Sheen plays Chris Taylor, a new soldier in the Vietnam War, and the only volunteer on the battlefield. The movie covers Taylor’s experience in a platoon in the Vietnam War.

The movie elicits a wonderful reaction from its audience. Produced in the form of a memory, the movie has more reliability than most war films. Also, it shows a lot of problems occurring during the war and drives people to an anti-war mindset by depicting the inhumane in realistic scenes. The movies suggest that the Vietnam War was a horrible decision. In the movie, most of the troops fighting in the war are poor and likely mistreated at home. The soldiers are seen suffering from lack of sleep, bug bites, and unbearable weather. Their enemy, the Vietnamese army, is more familiar with the environment and terrain and repeatedly ambushes them, taking many lives in the process. Those soldiers often blame politics and the wealthy for their suffering. 

The most impressive scene to me is when Elias, another soldier, is running in the jungle and is shot as shown in the picture above. He watches his men leave by helicopter to get help. Behind him was hell: a great explosion and abundant Vietnamese soldiers wanting to kill him. This scene accurately expresses the betrayal and despair suffered by the character. 

While I found the film moving and inspiring, I do not think it would serve as a good resource for learning and I would not recommend watching it in a high school history class for several reasons. First, even though the film reflects the battlefield in Vietnam War, it does not cover details and reasons of the Vietnam War. Additionally, Platoon seems to only offer a one-sided perspective of the war. With no political thought and strategy, the movie does not gives us enough information we need. The film does not provide views from other on this war. In another aspect, the movie is R-restricted, making it inappropriate for a high school class. Although it is not a good learning resource, Platoon is a thought-provoking anti-war movie and probably the most breathtaking war movie made. 

* * * * * * * * * *

Yiming Wang Reviews the Movie Hamburger Hill

My name is Yiming Wang and during the summer of 2016, I watched a movie entitled Hamburger Hill

Recently, I watched the movie called Hamburger Hill. It was made 1987 in the U.S. and lasts 112 minutes and stars Don Cheadle, Dylan Mcdermott, and Steven Weber. The movie was directed by John Irvin, written by James Carabatsos and produced by Marcia Nasatir. 

This movie tells us a story that a group of big American boys joined the 101st Airborne. They then were engaged in a brutal, actual battle. Then these big boys tried to get John Irvin did a really good job on bringing a realistic to his audiences. From the first scene through each of the assaults on the hill, realism was achieved. I can feel the anger of these soldiers when their brothers dead, the hopelessness when they failed on getting the hamburger after 9 times, and the insistence of them when they shout out never give up. 

Protests, race relations, bureaucracy, and media sensational are all in the background. The Hamburger Hill has brought me into a lifelike world which contains realistic traits in the 19th century, such as racism towards the black people, people getting lost in the war, the remarkable brotherhood that connects everybody in the Airborne together. There is a scene that when the helicopters shot the wrong people. Those American helicopters killed American soldiers. At that moment I can actually feel how brutal and ruthless war is. However, the 101st Airborne never give up on getting the hamburger hill. They take the hope of living of their teammates and bring despair to their enemy. This is a movie about a group of men fighting together, and probably more for each other than for any of the supposedly noble goals or god or even country. This is a movie that tells us a story about real men fight, real men die.

The Hamburger Hill shows its audience how does a real war look like. It is not other war movies which opponents cannot even shoot one bullet to main characters or some hero killed all of the enemies and saved the whole country. It is a movie that can give us an impression that major characters of a movie can die. No individualistic heroism is shown, this movie keeps telling us that only a team can survive and win a war. The Hamburger Hill is so realistic that there is no stars, no over the top heroics, no secret mission. Brutally realistic and historically accurate film. 

Overall it is a great movie that brings us back to the 90s with a group of soldiers with men’s blood. They overcome all the problems and unite together. Their persistence makes them indestructible. It was really touching to see the complex expression on these soldiers faces. This is definitely a movie that people should watch, even though it will not give a fairly good experience while watching, but the emotions are real.

* * * * * * * * * *

Samantha Edmonds Reviews the Documentary Dear America

My name is Samantha Edmonds and during the summer of 2016, I watched a documentary entitled Dear Ameria

Recently, I watched the 1987 movie Dear America: Letters From Vietnam directed by Bill Couturie. Running under 90 minutes, the film stars Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., and Michael J. Fox, among others.

Dear America was one of the best war films that I have ever seen. This documentary is based on the book which is printed from the soldiers and nurses that served in Vietnam. In my opinion, this movie was so powerful because of its truth and authenticity. Nothing can really capture these optimistic hopes and dark fears of the soldiers who fought like this film can. The certain chronological order the director follows from the first day in the surf at the beach to the final days of exhaustion really convey the change that came about from the war. Watching footage of soldiers opening their letters makes you realize that the pieces of paper they were their only contact with the real world. The raw video footage highlighted the fact that the film depicted first hand experiences. The soldiers would talk about patriotism and new friendships, but they slowly begin to change their feelings. This film has no plot except for all of the thousands of soldiers that had indescribable experiences when they went to a Vietnam. Many of them were wounded mentally or physically and would be, for the rest of their lives.

Nothing is too gross injury-wise because that wasn’t the goal for the film. It isn’t too show the bloody gory side of war as much as the sentimental, emotional drama deriving from the letters. I really enjoyed hearing some voices of different actors reading the letters. The final letter really sums up the entire movie because it was so moving and memorable. This letter was written by a mother to her son she lost in the war. I learned that this letter was placed at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.