French director Schoendoerffer , was acclaimed in France at 1973 Cannes Film Festival for his Drum Crab ( '' Le Crabe Tambour '' ) movie , but he is most known in the United States through his 1967 Oscar - winning Vietnam War B&W documentary , The Anderson Platoon .
French director Schoendoerffer , was acclaimed in France at 1973 Cannes Film Festival for his Drum Crab ( '' Le Crabe Tambour '' ) movie , but he first met success with it 's 1965 317th Platoon Indochina War feature . 
 However , he is most known in the United States through his 1967 Oscar - winning Vietnam War B&W documentary , The Anderson Platoon .