Russian roulette
One of the most talked-about sequences in the film, the Viet Cong's use of Russian roulette with POWs, was criticized as being contrived and unrealistic since there were no documented cases of Russian roulette in the Vietnam War. Associated Press reporter Peter Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the war, wrote in the "Los Angeles Times", "In its 20 years of war, there was not a single recorded case of Russian roulette ... The central metaphor of the movie is simply a bloody lie." Director Cimino was criticized for a one-sided portrayal of all the North Vietnamese as sadistic racists and killers.