Vietnam War in film The Vietnam War has been the subject of many films . One of the first major films based on the Vietnam War was John Wayne ' s " The Green Berets " ( 1968 ) . Further cinematic representations were released during the 1970s and 1980s , including Michael Cimino ' s " The Deer Hunter " ( 1978 ) , Francis Ford Coppola ' s " Apocalypse Now " ( 1979 ) , Oliver Stone ' s " Platoon " ( 1986 ) — based on his service in the U . S . Military during the Vietnam War , Stanley Kubrick ' s " Full Metal Jacket " ( 1987 ) , " Hamburger Hill " ( 1987 ) and " Casualties of War " ( 1989 ) . Later films would include " We Were Soldiers " ( 2002 ) and " Rescue Dawn " ( 2007 ) . Other films in this genre include films that deal more with the issues veterans face at home after returning from the war . Films of this type include " Taxi Driver " ( 1976 ) , " Heroes " ( 1977 ) , " Coming Home " ( 1978 ) , " Combat Shock " ( 1986 ) , " First Blood " ( 1982 ) , " The War at Home " ( 1979 ) , " Born on the Fourth of July " ( 1989 ) , " Jacob ' s Ladder " ( 1990 ) , " Heaven & Earth " ( 1993 ) , " Forrest Gump " ( 1994 ) , " Dead Presidents " ( 1995 ) , and " Music Within " ( 2007 ) . Representation of the Vietnamese in Vietnam War Films . According to a study by Martin Novelli , the depiction of the Vietnamese in American war films is woefully stereotyped . Vietnamese civilians are usually shown as passive victims , prostitutes , or conniving with the enemy , while North Vietnamese or NLF guerilla fighters are frequently drawn as cruel torturers or effeminate cowards , and the ARVN are described as incompetent . In Walsh and Louvre ' s opinion , " the ideology of such films speaks of several basic and widespread public attitudes towards the war " . Dr . Donna Alvah at St . Lawrence University reported that students taking her class , " The United States and the Vietnam War " , when writing an introductory essay on their understanding of the war , often show a view point that reflects the common perception shared by most Americans born after the war . According to Dr . Alvah , the student ' s conception of the Vietnam War are " largely gleaned from movies , documentaries , music , and other popular cultural expressions , as well as from older relatives who served in the war , or who in any case hold strong opinions about it . ” Post - war films . After the Vietnam War ended in 1975 , there was an increase in films that were more " raw " , containing actual battle footage . A FilmReference . com article noted that filmmakers " appeared more confident to put Vietnam combat on screen for the first time " during that era . These post - war film representations have generally been more realistic and gritty , such as " The Deer Hunter " ( 1978 ) and " Apocalypse Now " ( 1979 ) . The musical " Miss Saigon " focuses on the end of the war and its aftermath . In cinema , noted films that have shaped the popular conception of the war include " Apocalypse Now " , " Platoon " , " The Deer Hunter " , " Hamburger Hill " , " Forrest Gump " , " Full Metal Jacket " , " Good Morning , Vietnam " , " Born on the Fourth of July " , and the " Rambo " films . It was represented on television by the series " Tour of Duty " .