Vietnam War films on DVD and VHS

This list is confined to movies currently available in video. (I've omitted the "vetploitation" films and the PW rescue fantasies.) Click on a highlighted link and the Amazon VHS video or DVD page will come up.

I'd appreciate additions or corrections to this list, and comments on the movies shown here. -- Dan Ford

Air America - A traffic helicopter pilot is enlisted to work for Air America, a CIA airline flying contraband into Laos during the Vietnam War. While there, he learns that they are also shipping opium out of the country for the local drug lords. One of the few comedies about the war. Writers: John Eskow and Richard Rush, from Christopher Robbins' book. Stars: Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. Also available in VHS

Apocalypse Now - An American military assassin journeys up river into Cambodia on an assignment to find and kill an American colonel who has gone beyond the limits of the military's code of warfare. Considered by many to be the quintessential anti-war movie. Vaguely based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Writers: John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, and Michael Herr. Stars: Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, and Marlon Brando. Also in VHS

Born on the Fourth of July - Ron Kovic joined the Marines as a gung-ho recruit, went to Vietnam, and came back home paralyzed. Naturally he was somewhat annoyed; he endured an ordeal of physical and mental rehabilitation before becoming an antiwar activist and striking it rich with a book and this film. Writers: Oliver Stone and Ron Kovik. Stars: Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Caroline Kava, and Raymond J. Barry. Also in VHS

Casualties of War - A soldier watches helplessly as his squad (what else?) kidnaps and rapes a Vietnamese girl; later he manages to bring the squad to justice. Writers: David Rabe, from a New Yorker article by Daniel Lang. Stars: Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Also in VHS

China Beach - The pilot for the immensely popular Vietnam soap opera TV series. Directed by Rod Holcomb. Stars: Dana Delaney etc. (VHS only)

China Gate - A preposterous special-ops romp. But note the date: 1957. We should have paid more attention! (I saw this flick at the rec hall in Coligny Caserne. south of Paris, where daytimes I served as troop information lecturer.) Nat "King" Cole is an American in the French Foreign Legion intending to finish the job he'd started in Korea. Written, produced, and directed by the masterful Sam Fuller. Stars: Angie Dickinson, Gene Barry, and Nat "King" Cole. Also in VHS

Coming Home - While her Marine captain husband is in Vietnam, a woman volunteers at a V.A. hospital and becomes emotionally and intimately involved with one of the patients. Her husband comes home, disillusioned by the war, and tries to cope with his wife's infidelity. Writers: Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones, from a story by Nancy Dowd. Stars: "Hanoi Jane" Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern. Also in VHS

The Deer Hunter - Three patriotic steel workers go to Vietnam and find that the experience alters their sense of self and community. One of the first and still one of the best films about the war. Writer: Deric Washburn, from a story by Michael Cimino, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker, and Washburn. Stars: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. Also in VHS

Full Metal Jacket - Politically incorrect, I know, but I really enjoyed this one. That all this stuff could have happened to one bunch of guys is beyond belief, but that every bit of it happened to somebody, I certainly believe is possible. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, of course. Stars: Matthew Modine and Vincent D'Onofrio. Also in VHS

Flight of the Intruder - Pilots from an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam resolve to bomb Hanoi and are shot down. Writers: Robert Dillon and David Shaber, from the novel by Stephen Coonts. Stars: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson, and Rosanna Arquette. Also in VHS

For the Boys - Two USO entertainers tour the fronts in World War II, the Korean War, and finally Vietnam where the woman's only son is killed. Writers: Marshall Brickman, Neal Jimenez, and Lindy Laub. Stars: Bette Midler and James Caan. Also in VHS

Go Tell the Spartans - - "One of the noblest films, ever, about men in crisis." Set in the early 60s. Lancaster is a war-weary major obliged to garrison a village that the French had once tried and failed to defend. (Not a bad prediction for 1967, huh?) Writer: Wendell Mayes, from Daniel Ford's novel, Incident at Muc Wa. Stars: Burt Lancaster and Craig Wasson. [MORE] Also in VHS

Good Morning, Vietnam - An Armed Forces radio disk jockey is a hit with the American soldiers and Vietnamese but antagonizes his superiors. Based on the life of Adrian Cronauer. Writers: Larry Brezner and Mitch Markowitz. Stars: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, and Tung Thanh Tran. Also in VHS

The Green Berets - A Green Beret command defends a military outpost and kidnaps a Viet Cong leader. Hawkish John Wayne flick. He's too old for the job, and the country certainly isn't Vietnam! Be sure to catch the final scene, when the sun sinks into the East. Writer: James Lee Barrett, from the novel by Robin Moore. Stars: John Wayne, David Janssen, and Aldo Ray. Also in VHS

Hamburger Hill - Recreation of the 1969 battle involving the 101st Airborne Division. One of the good ones. Writer: Jim Carabatsos. Stars: Michael Dolan, Anthony Barrile, and Michael Patrick. Also in VHS

Indochine - In 1930s Indochina, a woman manages her rubber plantation but loses her French lover, a naval officer, to her adopted Indochinese daughter. The lush scenery is spectacular; I found the story tiresome. Writers: Regis Wargnier, Louis Gardel, Erik Orsenna, and Catherine Cohen. Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Perez, and Jean Yanne. Also in VHS

Little Dieter Needs to Fly - Don't let the title put you off--this is a splendid documentary by Werner Herzog about a German lad who joins the USAF and is shot down on his first mission. He escapes, and after a harrowing trek through Laos is rescued. Later made into the feature film Rescue Dawn, which (trust me on this one!) isn't half as good.

The Lost Command - French soldiers fail courageously at Dien Bien Phu and go on to fight for a losing cause in Algeria. Writer: Nelson Gidding, from The Centurians by Jean Larteguy. Stars: Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, and George Segal. Also in VHS

The Lover - An adolescent French girl becomes the lover of a well-to-do Chinese man in 1920s Saigon, but their love is forbidden by the social order of the era (or so it says here: her age would make it dubious in any era!). Filmed in Vietnam. Not really a war movie, but worth watching for the spectacular Vietnam scenes. Writers: Gerard Brach and Jean-Jacques Annaud, from the novel by Marguerite Duras. Stars: Jane March and Tony Leung. Also in VHS

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision - Academy Award winning documentary about the 20-year-old Yale undergraduate who designed the "Wall" in Washington, and the infighting that added the statues to it, for better or worse. Also covers her later career. Director: Frieda Lee Mock. Star: Maya Lin. (DVD only)

Off Limits = Two pros from the Criminal Investigation Detachment (CID) track down the killer of Vietnamese prostitutes in 1968 Saigon. Writers: Christopher Crowe and Jack Thibeau. Stars: Willem Dafoe, Gregory Hines, and Amanda Pays. Also in VHS

Operation Dumbo Drop - Based on a true story about Green Berets and an elephant. One of the few comedies from the Vietnam War. Stars: Danny Glover. Also in VHS

Platoon - Oliver Stone takes on the Vietnam War. Okay, okay, he knows more about it than JFK's assassination, but is he any more inclined to tell the truth? A real stinker, in my opinion. Stars: Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe. Also in VHS

Purple Hearts - Navy doctor falls in love with feisty nurse in Vietnam. Stars: Ken Wahl and Cheryl Ladd. One of the few romances about the war. (VHS only)

Rescue Dawn - Werner Herzog goes Hollywood to reprise Rescue Dawn, his splendid docco about Dieter Dengler's epic trek through the rain forest. Stars: Christian Bale. Also available in Blu-ray

Uncommon Valor - An American colonel brings together the remaining members of his son's platoon for an attempted POW rescue sortie. Based on a true incident. Writer: Joe Gayton. Stars: Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, Fred Ward, and Patrick Swayze. Also in VHS

We Were Soldiers - The best Vietnam film ever made, and the finest war movie of recent years. Based on the book We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young (why did they ever change the title?). Stars: Mel Gibson. Also in VHS