Writing a concise account of the Vietnam War, with its complexities and vagaries, is a daunting task. Yet, in his brief introduction to The Vietnam War on Film, David Luhrssen succinctly describes the conflict, its politics and its players. What follows that introduction is a nuanced and insightful analysis of the accuracy and cultural cache of 10 of the most influential films about the war: The Green Berets; Coming Home; The Boys in Company C; The Deer Hunter; Apocalypse Now; Platoon; Full Metal Jacket; We Were Soldiers; The Quiet American; Rescue Dawn.
The Green Berets (1968) was the only major-studio film about the war produced while hostilities were still raging. Luhrssen details Warner Bros.-Seven Arts’ reluctance to release the movie, which starred screen star and super-patriot John Wayne in a fictionalized account of the Special Forces members who were popularly and collectively known as the Green Berets. Concerned with the potential for public backlash—by this time, support for the war was waning, and protests were widespread—the studio hesitated, but ultimately released the film on July 4, 1968. While reviews were almost unanimously dreadful (the New York Times ranted, “It is vile and insane.”), the public saw enough reason to support the effort, and The Green Berets became one of the top 10 grossing movies of 1968.
Establishing the format he follows for the remaining nine films, Luhrssen moves to a subchapter covering historical background, then to an assessment of depiction and cultural context; and finally, he astutely summarizes the impact The Green Berets had on viewers and public discourse. Sidebars are interspersed throughout, providing additional information about relevant political movements, military leaders, and strategists on all sides of the conflict.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Oral history is the most powerful means for telling a story, and The Vietnam War on Film includes ample reflection from people who commanded troops and fought on the ground. The stories told are powerful reminders of the raw confusion of combat, and of the frustrations of waging a war that was enmeshed in controversy. As film viewers who are typically distanced from those experiences, we tend to embrace Hollywood’s version of the soundtrack, the voice, of war as a reality: R. Lee Ermey’s hilariously profane diatribes in Full Metal Jacket; Robert Duvall’s infamous Apocalypse Now exclamation, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” These stylized dialogues, having invaded the American consciousness, make real, living accounts all the more important for an understanding of the Vietnam War’s devastating impact.
The filmmakers waged their own private battles to get their stories on screen. Francis Coppola’s near disintegration in trying to complete Apocalypse Now—principal photography took three years—is a legend, a grueling journey that nearly cost him his sanity and his marriage. His wife, Eleanor, was on hand to document the production; her masterful Hearts of Darkness is one of the most compelling films about filmmaking ever made. Fascinating also is the account of Oliver Stone’s fiscal and artistic challenges in bringing his powerful story, the autobiographical Platoon, to life.
Luhrssen, whose previous books include Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen and Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism, has crafted an absorbing, well-researched and well-documented study, a scholarly yet accessible book. Revealing of many truths that tend to be forgotten in the wake of popular entertainment, The Vietnam War on Film is an important record of the war and the art it inspired.
