Fantastic movie about a horrible war & human condition

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2001)

I recently saw the REDUX version on the big screen, and I realized how much I had forgotten about this movie from the first time I saw it. This time, the portrayal of a war gone mad, with small men trying to survive and not much else, with no plan or purpose, just came across perfectly. You leave the theater staggering, the movie hits you with a flood of impressions that you just can't ignore. It is an experience rather than a movie!
In the redux version, there are several new scenes that make the movie hang together better, and also illustrate various things in exquisite ways. The little french holdout in the middle of Cambodia, the Playboy Playmates stuck in the mud... they all show a world in which survival is the only remaining motivation.
Every single scene is beautifully crafted, showing some aspect of Vietnam and the war, and also of human behavior under stressful situations.