One of the first American films specifically about the Vietnam War was also one of the most hawkish, offering a pro-intervention perspective at the height of the conflict. Filmed along the conventions of a World War II action drama, a gung-ho colonel battles the vicious Viet Cong while protecting innocent civilians, befriending .. Read more
| Starring | John Wayne, David Janssen, Aldo Ray, Jim Hutton |
|---|---|
| Director | John Wayne, Ray Kellogg |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
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One of the first American films specifically about the Vietnam War was also one of the most hawkish, offering a pro-intervention perspective at the height of the conflict. Filmed along the conventions of a World War II action drama, a gung-ho colonel battles the vicious Viet Cong while protecting innocent civilians, befriending an orphaned boy, and reforming a liberal newspaperman's misguided political views.
| Starring | John Wayne, David Janssen, Aldo Ray, Jim Hutton, Raymond St. Jacques, Bruce Cabot, Jack Soo, George Takei, Patrick Wayne, Luke Askew, Irene Tsu |
|---|---|
| Director | John Wayne, Ray Kellogg |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 16 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 21 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, English Blu-ray: Greek, Castilian Spanish, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, French, Portuguese, Danish, German, English, Swedish |
| Released | DVD: 21 Feb 2005 Blu-ray: 18 Jan 2010 Production year: 1968 |
| Format | DVD |
Most of the films made about the American involvement in Vietnam are highly critical and were produced long after the American withdrawal from that shameful conflict. John Wayne, however, saw Vietnam as a new Alamo, staunch Republican that he was, and both starred in and co-directed this flag-waving action adventure. There's no denying the epic sweep of the Panavision action scenes, but even for Duke fans this is heavy-going, thick-eared nonsense. It's impossible to divorce the movie from the man, and Vietnam was nobody's Alamo. If you close your mind, you could try watching it as a transplanted western, but who can close their mind to the true horrors of such a conflict?
The Duke tells it like it was in Vietnam froma hawk's eye view, with the Vietcong spending their time setting fiendish... read more on Time Out
Jingoistic formulaic film with a 'build em up to knock em down' approach to complex moral and practical issues. Intended to serve as nothing but a pro American, anti communist soapbox for John Wayne. Its real value is as an example of propaganda in popular film. Highly recommended to somebody interested in depiction of conflicts within popular film.
Jingoistic formulaic film with a 'build em up to knock em down' approach to complex moral and practical issues. Intended to serve as nothing but a pro American, anti communist soapbox for John Wayne. Its real value is as an example of propaganda in popular film. Highly recommended to somebody interested in depiction of conflicts within popular film.