An extremely thought provoking movie

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2007)

Like most Vietnam veterans, my father would probably NOT want to see this movie. All these years later he still won't talk about his experiences there.
This movie is violent and confronting - particularly with how it depicts the treatment of the Vietnamese civilians. Some truly disturbing scenes are included that will bring tears to your eyes. You wish that none of it ever happened but sadly that is not the case.
All of the actors are perfectly cast and perform admirably in what must have been similar conditions to what the real soldiers would have experienced during the war.
The soundtrack is surprisingly good - particularly the extensive use of the classical Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings". A similar affect was gained with the use of Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni's Adagio which is used right at the end of Peter Weir's "Galipoli" (1981) and includes some great classics of the era like "Hello - I love you", "Dock of the Bay" and "Respect". Gotta love 60's music! You might cringe at the behaviour displayed by some of the US troops - sadly this is not altogether unfactual. It is a violent film also so definitely not for the squeamish.
Any good movie is one that makes you think "what would I have done in that situation?". For me this includes the treatment of the Vietnamese people and the battles. This is one of those movies.
Recommended! Confronting but Ultimately a superior war movie about a war that should never have occurred.