I was never there, but I liked "Go Tell The Spartans" and "Full Metal Jacket".
The one I found most un-realistic was "The Green Berets".
Your choices?

Hamburger Hill, The Odd Angry Shot.

Egad!! – The Odd Angry Shot.

I haven’t seen that in almost 20 years.  I’ve got a copy on tape somewhere if it hasn’t fossilized.

By Hollywood standards a lousy movie: no deep searing drama, no flashy special effects, no morality play, no conspiracies, no cover-ups, no wholesale slaughter of innocents, no heroes, no villains, no gratuitous sex.  Only in a foreign country could such a poor movie be made - I doubt it made any money at all!!

Actually, at least someone cared enough to be honest – I only wish it had been an American movie company and not an Australian one.

I would agree with Go Tell the Spartans

I tend to like Aussie movies, and [i]The Odd Angry Shot[/i] was no exception. The best part of the movie was that I was watching it with my two best friends. One was a liberal who kept anticipating the movie, and was always wrong.

I, for one, don't think [i]The Green Berets[/i] was bad. I certainly liked it better than [i]Platoon[/i], and that other movie about rapist GIs (starring that [i]Back to the Future[/i] lefty M. J. Fox).

I really loved [i]Go Tell the Spartans[/i], but I was a teenager when I saw it, I might not like it so much if I saw it again (I saw it in the theater).

I liked [i]Full Metal Jacket[/i], but it was almost [i]not[/i] a 'nam movie. It was boot camp followed by Hue, and while Hue was in 'nam, the movie didn't have the 'feel' of a 'nam movie.

What about [i]Apocolypse Now[/i]? In many ways it owes more to [i]Heart of Darkness[/i] than it does to 'nam. And in its depiction of 'nam one can find many problems. But it's a movie I really like.

I allways liked BAT 21 that movie with gene hackman and danny glover.

84 Charlie MoPic

Kuiper

p.s. how do you grade a Vietnam War movie on accuracy without having been there, I dont know.
No flame, but any movie based on any given situation in a war can only be judged by those that actually where in that situation.

Dunno about accurate, but Flight Of The Intruder is good also.

 
  " Uncommon Valor "

From all the things I've heard Platoon was
VERY realistic .  But I wasn't there either .

I like  " Apocalypse Now "  but that is just me .  It is based on Heart of Darkness but is not Exactly the same story . Several things are different .

Wouldn't it then also be true that someone who was in 'nam--but who wasn't in that specific situation--couldn't judge the movie, either.

Furthermore, if we can't judge a movies realism, we can't judge the actions of those who were there.

We can't say that acted cowardly.

We can't say they committed attrocities.

We can't say they acted heroically.

We were not there, so we can't say anything about it.

I don't buy this.

Events such as criminal trials are based on the idea that we can determine facts without having been present when the actions occured. The same is true of historical research, and other fields of study. We can determine accuracy without having "been there".

As for [i]Platoon[/i], the details, special effects, and equipment appeared to be fine, but the plot, with Sgt. Good and Sgt. Evil, was plain silly. If you want the word of someone who was there, I know two Marines who served in WW2, Korea and as civilian defense contractors in 'nam (one killed a VC or NVA in front of his son, my roommate, during the Tet Offensive). They both thought [i]Platoon[/i] was garbage. They both liked the boot camp portion of [i]Full Metal Jacket[/i], but thought the Hue portion was garbage.

This was a "go back to 'nam after the war and rescue the POWs" movie. This puts it more in line with some Rambo and Chuck Norris movies than actual 'nam movies. I guess it was the best movie of this type.

Back in the 80s, some people did try to sneak into 'nam to save POWs. Others raised money, claiming they were going to do this, then didn't follow through. SOF magazine had a special on this. It seems that some Hollywood types, including Clint Eastwood and William Shatner, contributed money for these operations.

If you take the russian roulette scene from "Deer Hunter" on it's own merit, yes it was pretty intense, but other than that I think it was a movie that happened to take place partially in vietnam. I think the movie tryed to deal more with friends going off to war, some getting left behind,and the survivors dealing with the adjustments back to civilian life. Personally I think it was a pretty lame attempt at that. Also, you cuold apply the russian roulette scene to just about any POW scenario from just about any war, meaning I don't think it applies to Vietnam specifically. I think that movie sucked and was a liberal/leftist cheesey cheap shot reflecting thier views/agenda in regards to U.S. involvement in Nam.
For me, I think the following were as realistic as could be attained:
84 Charlie Mopic
Hamburger Hill
Go Tell it to the Spartans(good, but not great)

I can appreciate certain aspects of movies like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Apocalyspe Now, but I tend to think of them as movies/storyies that are set in Nam but don,t necessarily reflect what was actually going on over there.

Well, this assumes that "realistic" = "average experience".

A realistic depiction of John Paul Vann's Vietnam experience would hardly be "average".

And an early 60's Special Forces advisor would have a very different Vietnam experience than a Marine at Hue in '68.



It seemed to me that [i]Platoon[/i] depicted the jungle well, and the hardware used on both sides at a certain period. Some of the combat scenes seemed realistic, although the level of close contact with the enemy was much higher than "typical". How many NVA or VC did [i]you[/i] see in combat? I know that some guys saw quite a few, but most didn't see [i]any[/i]. The scene of Sgt. Good doing his solo run through the jungle near the end was kinda cool, but "over the top", and his final "martyr" scene went way over the top.

One movie I haven't seen mentioned is [i]The Boys in Company C[/i]. I liked the scene where they called the airstrike on the empty hill, just to "spend a million dollers".

I was thinking of "Missing in Action"???



Just kidding.


Six

Something about the combat scene in Forrest Gump struck me as really "valid".

The suddenness, intensity, the chaos and the intense feeling of being overwhelmed by the situation were all there... and the reactions of the unit were also pretty characteristic... some  covering up, some rising to super human levels and some just freezing in place...

Classic.... exactly as I have seen it in non-military crisis situations.  

Word is that Mel Gibson is making an ultra realistic VN flick that will rival Pt. Ryan. I've heard he is or will soon be filming at Benning.  Apocalypse Now is being re-released with an extra 45 or so min. that didn't make the original version.  Should be interesting.

The Mel Gibson Movie in question finished filming at Ft. Benning in May if memory serves me right. It's name is "We Were Soldiers Once: And Young"- It is about the battle of the Ia-Drang Valley in 1965-with the First Cav. (Air)-It starts with their training at Ft. Benning then their movement to V.N. then onto the battle and the retrograde to L.Z.s X-Ray and Columbus and if I heard right the ambush that they walked into. There is a cool scene of a formation in Doughboy Stadium with helicopters buzzing the formation (my roommate and a few co-workers are somewhere in the first rank and also some of my buds. were in a running scene with Mel Gibson).
Mel gibson stars as Col. Hal Moore the 1/7th's CO (I think that is the unit portrayed in the movie?). Sam Elliot plays SGM. Basil Plumley, Madeline Stowe plays some role also.
At a retreat ceremony on Ft. Benning all the actors were present and some of the survivors including Hal Moore. My friends have some funny stories about the movie though and the major actors concerned-and a certain scene at Ft. Benning involving a M.O.H. awardee (who is played by a Black Hat from Airborne School).
As for Viet-Nam movies I really don't have a favorite-but my fathers' favorite one is "Platoon Leader" (he served there himself from 67-68).  

I am sure that this has been asked before, but why is a foreign born more of an American history, Green Beret, nationalistic actor than the Family Sheen commies and their ilk?

I don't know if this helps, but according to a site dedicated to the Short Timers, Dale Dye found over 50 historical/equipement related errors in Full Metal Jacket, but I like it any how.  As far as the plot it is semi autobiographical, and was realistic in the sense that most of the events actually took place, but may or may not be typical.

I am sure that this has been asked before, but why is a foreign born more of an American history, Green Beret, nationalistic actor than the Family Sheen commies and their ilk?

Mel Gibson was born in upstate New York, his family moved down under when he was in his teens. He, more than Tom Selleck, should be the next NRA head.

These two get my vote. Actually I've been looking for a copy of "The Odd Angry Shot", any ideas guys???


Platoon & Born on the 4th of July SUCK just like the liberal Oliver Stone himself. IMO

The Green Berets was indeed propoganda...but none the less I still like the movie(anyone that doesn't like the DUKE is a Commie [:D]


Platoon Leader is my pet movie (Sgt Spoon makes a statement..."It's Goooood" .


Now with that said THE BEST wasn't a movie, it was TV the evening in April '75 that I watched with my buds after work...The Fall of Saigon !!!


I was 20 yrs old...

Most realistic?  Couldn't tell you, I wasn't there (my dad was - twice; in 1965 and 1968).

My favorite Vietnam movies, however are "The Boys in Company C" and "Go Tell the Spartans".  Well told stories and excellent acting in both.  I much prefer R. Lee Ermey's portrayal of a drill instructor in "The Boys in Company C", to his later performance in "Full Metal Jacket".

The Green Berets had many realistic things in it. Montangnards(spelling ???).
Booby traps. plus I've heard that the part where they kidnaped the General was bassed on fact.
besides muldoone was the shit
second favorite, i like Platoon the best out of all the '80s vietnam movies.
Bob was a hard  S.O.B.( cheesy story though)

I'm not passing judgment on their accuracy, viewpoint, etc. - too young to have gone to VN -but I enjoyed "Boys in Company C".  Only caught pieces of it on TV, so I'll have to rent the whole shebang one of these days.

Another R. Lee Ermey movie I enjoyed - and I'm surprised no one remembered it! - is "Siege of Firebase Gloria".

-Bill
San Mateo, CA

I liked the Vietnam part of "Forrest Gump" except for the enemy using red tracers -- but that was the only screw-up I saw for that part of the movie.

Murph

Vote for Seige at Fire Base Gloria
although a lot of the action was filmed in daylight, & the hueys I thought were flying a bit low, & the cong were Philippians, I really liked it.