Best drama/anti-war film I've ever seen

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2005)

Let me come out and tell you that Stone's my favorite director. In the late 80's and early 90's he has made films that will be screened, remembered en studied for a long time. Wall Street, JFK and Born on the Fourth of July are exercises of brilliance in it's prime.
In BotFoJ Stone shows us not just the pain of war, but the pain after the war. How does a nation cope with a war it did not want to fight and how does she respect the men and women who made the sacrifices she does not recognize, or at least does not want to know or care about? Stone's direction is fantastic, as is Richardson's cinematography. Stone's films haven't been the same since Richardson went on to become Scorcese's favorite man behind the lens. Cruise is very good, but never looses his pretty boy charisma, which does not help him this time around. Memorable scenes include the war scene's on the dusky beaches of Vietnam and the riots at the universities and the Republican Covention in 1974.
Stone is a master of recreating a very important period in US-history. A recreation with a critical eye mind you.