Oooh another poll!!!

[capncnut]

"Listen soldier, <distant explosion> I want you to make a life or death decision. Do you hear me? <huge explosion> What are you hiding from marine? Get up!"

Anyway, what's your favourite Vietnam war flick. It's pretty obvious what mine is. :D

[deadpunk]

FMJ...but, I'm biased. It's the most realistic take on Marines there is to date.

OooRah!

[MinionZombie]

I slapped one down for Apocalypse Now, but they're all great Vietnam flicks (although Hamburger Hill is probably at the bottom of that particular pile, it's up against some greats there).

FMJ and Platoon are ideal for university viewing with mates, I remember we all sat down to watch Platoon which I bought on DVD simply because I didn't have my VHS copy with me, haha. We all sat down to watch it after being out at a party and I think we'd forgotten how tough a movie it is, rather than the likes of FMJ which you can have a bit more fun with, same goes for A-Now...

[Dommm]

Voted FMJ but thats probs because I have never managed to watch the whole of AN. One day I will finish watching this.

[LouCipherr]

"Charlie don't surf." :lol:

I like all the movies listed, but AN has always been my favorite - if just for Robert Duvall alone. :D


Kilgore: You wanna surf, soldier?
(soldier nods yes meakly)
Kilgore: That's good, boy, because it's either surf or fight.

and who could forget:


Kilgore: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. One time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours. I walked up it when it was all over; we didn't find one of 'em ... not one stinking gook body. They slipped out in the night -- but the smell -- that gasoline smell -- the whole hill -- it smelled like ... victory...

Willard: You know, some day this war's gonna end..

Kilgore (sadly): Yes, I know.

:D

[bassman]

This is tough. Really tough.

In terms of being close to the real experience of Vietnam, i'm thinking "Platoon".

In terms of being a damn well crafted film, I'm thinking "Deer Hunter", "Full Metal Jacket" and "Apocalypse Now"(the original....NOT the Redux version). Except, the big problem with "AN" is that it's really not a film about the war. It's just a movie set in Vietnam

Damn....all the choices are good. I think i'm going to have to go with "The Deer Hunter". I've always had a soft spot for that flick. "AN" is a close second, though.

[Danny]

im saying non of the above, my favourite vietnam film is b far r-point. i can totally recommend.

[MinionZombie]

I think what Apocalypse Now offers is a film about the madness of Vietnam, and what it did to some of the people out there...it's touched on/shown in other movies, but I think the overall vibe of AN is the madness of it all...hell yeah, Platoon really is a tough cookie, and Adagio for Strings ... dude ... you can't play a round of paintball without that running through your head...and you just know you're going to "do an Elias" when you're outnumbered...:sneaky:

[Tricky]

Those are all great films,i voted apocalypse now but i enjoyed all the films listed there!I also enjoyed we were soldiers which isnt listed,because its probably the only vietnam film there is where the soldiers fight like trained professionals and act like sane men (as its set in the early stages before the madness and rock n roll set in) most of the film is raw combat as well,and in the cinema it was brutal!As i said though,all of those are great vietnam films!

I voted apocalypse now because its an epic journey,the whole film draws you in & just oozes menace the closer they get to kurtz & further away from the relative sanity (or insanity) of "conventional" warfare.The redux version is the one for me,it has more depth & delves into the vietnam conflict a lot more than the original cut (especially the french plantation scene) and of course it has that scene,you know the one,with the helicopters...
I'd love to see the 6 hour version of apocalypse now,apparently it does exist,but probably will never see release

[MinionZombie]

Ah mate, 6 hours of Apoc Now? Yes please! :):cool:

Hell yeah, We Were Soldiers is a good flick, it's also got some depth to it - and it shows the other side in a more 'shades of grey' manner, rather than totally faceless, or "they're just bad, mmmkay?"

WWS is quite brutal at times, and you do get sucked in and feel a part of the conflict ... and whatshisname (chopper guy) does a pretty good job of looking like he's seen way to much sh*t in one day...

[bassman]

I'd love to see the 6 hour version of apocalypse now,apparently it does exist,but probably will never see release


If I remember correctly, there is a section in the new "Full Dossier" dvd package that states quite clearly that this was the first edit Coppola had of the film but after the MANY edits to follow, most of that extra footage was tossed.

I think the Redux version is basically all of the remaining footage.

[Mutineer]

How can you not include WE WERE SOLDIERS in that mix ?

I chose Platoon based on it's ability to bring the viewer into the world of the grunt. No other war film has been able to do that while staying the most realistic of all the entries; visceral

Apacalypse Now is the best looking and most poetic of the choices and Casualties of War seems even more contemporary due to the recent IRAQ rape scandal.

The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
Hamburger Hill
Full Metal Jacket
Casualties Of War

[_liam_]

we were soldiers?!
never roll your eyes at me for taking drugs again!:lol:

this is a VERY tough poll. so tough, i'll have to come back later...

[Tricky]

Whats wrong with we were soldiers??ok it got panned by the artistic critics lobby,but veterans of that particular battle said it was a good and accurate version of events.Depends if you want an arty film or a film that shows raw combat from ground level,face down in the dirt as it were

[_liam_]

yeah it was a fair watch, but it doesnt rank alongside the rest of those classics. it's way too long, a bit mushy, gibson doesnt really fool me and some of the effects were a bit gash.

[capncnut]

I very nearly chose FMJ because R. Lee Ermey is so damn cool. It's one of those two-sided movies where both halves are amazing. The music in the second part is so hypnotic, pure Kubrick.


I think the Redux version is basically all of the remaining footage.
I agree and I loved the Redux version btw. :thumbsup:

[bassman]

I agree and I loved the Redux version btw. :thumbsup:


I enjoyed it and it was great to see it on the big screen and all.....but it just felt cluttered. I guess I was used to the flow of the original release. The Redux, while enjoyable, seemed to just be too much. After all....it's not Coppola's definitive version. He just did it for the fans but still says that the original is his true pride and joy.

[MinionZombie]

Annnnd ... the ending of the film doesn't have that long-ass 'napalmed palm trees' shot for the credits, instead you've got sh*tty normal scrolling credits...:rolleyes:

I loved the original final shot, then they got shot of it in the Redux version.

The original is the version of the film, but the Redux version is a cool watch nonetheless as it adds extra meat to an already awesome bone. :cool:

And aye, that makes sense, WWS is a top banana film, but it's not in the same league as the classics listed in this 'ere pollage...

[coma]

I like all of them but more specifically;

We were soldiers had good battle scenes and the wife stuff was good, but I though it was flat emotionally and too dull in too many areas.
Deer Hunter has the great Vietnam scenes but is more about some friends imo.

Hamburger hill had too many Nam cliches.

Apocalypse now, while very cool, is not realistic at all and is more Metaphor than Vietnam film. Nam is just the setting. It also gets a bit pompous. Surf the beach and Martin Sheen freaking out in his fruit o the looms are classic scenes. Heart Of Darkness, the Doc his wife made, is way better than Apocalypse now and is probably hr best making of film.

Sean Penn was over the top in casualties of war. It was very good but the weakest of that cycle pf films.

For me its a toss up between Platoon and Full Metal Jacket.
Full Metal Jacket has all the great characters but, while not a flaw, is more of a style film than something trying to document the way it was. It was more a feeling. Which is valid.

Though Platoon was more about the day to day of grunts and I liked that a lot. Growing up I knew a lot of Nam vets and they told me stories and Platoon was the MOST like the pictures in my head I got from those war stories and the Camaraderie that I was told about.
Also, it was the first Nam film, strictly about Nam and not a metaphor or a style piece. All Nam all the way through. So Thats why I chose Platoon.

Coming Home was good, but that was a after the war pic and I havent seen it in many years and maybe it didnt hold up well.

[Tricky]

The problem i found with the deer hunter was the vietnam scenes werent explained,what was the story of the village that michael wakes up in?what happened to the dead guys in special forces gear that were all round him?when the others arrive and we see the NVA advancing across the field,did the americans put up a fight & how did they end up captured?i'd have liked to have seen a bit more about their tours of 'nam leading up to the russian roulette part

[capncnut]

I agree Trick. While I still say that The Deer Hunter is still a top, top flick, the continuity is just awful. Makes it really hard to concentrate on the story.

[Debbieangel]

I said "Full Metal Jacket"
Alittle side info for ya...when my kids went through basic training(both of my kids) they told me their "TI's" told them that they watched this film after each rotation cycle to keep sharp so they could see if any recruits broke under the pressure of training and you know maybe go psycho on them.
Oh ya TI is Air Force for drill sargeant.
Here is a very old movie if ya want to watch its called "The DI" starring Jack Webb as the Drill Sargeant its very good.
Another one is during the Vietnam era was called "Tribes". Very good movie!

[DVW5150]

The problem i found with the deer hunter was the vietnam scenes werent explained,what was the story of the village that michael wakes up in?what happened to the dead guys in special forces gear that were all round him?when the others arrive and we see the NVA advancing across the field,did the americans put up a fight & how did they end up captured?i'd have liked to have seen a bit more about their tours of 'nam leading up to the russian roulette part

I believe that part of the the story is left unexplained. Visual subtext, to make you think. I like it when you see the aftermath of an incident, it gives variables to the story.Combat is not like most movies, "Theres the enemy, kill them."(FMJ) Confusion, blood, screaming,& a projectile could rip through you in any second. I thought to my self," Why didnt I get hit? "
I cant vote in this poll, I cant put one of those films over another, they are all very good... Hamburger Hill comes to mind.
One film that was an HBO movie,"84 Charlie Mo-Pic" , its on dvd ...
Platoon changed me, I saw it at the theater in 86, the only thing I thought about for weeks after that was my dad.It brought all my wonder up to the surface, about what happened to him. Why did my father go in 1965 to fly a uh-1d in the worst possible place on earth.Why did he return in '67, come home in late '68 to be spat on by a waitress in a diner.Him being spat on by a waitress is one of my first memories.This country needs to look at what happened in Vietnam, should never ever stop remembering.
BTW,please watch "Black Hawk Down" if you havent already. Its alot to take...
Watch that flick...if you havent already.


Whats wrong with we were soldiers??ok it got panned by the artistic critics lobby,but veterans of that particular battle said it was a good and accurate version of events.Depends if you want an arty film or a film that shows raw combat from ground level,face down in the dirt as it were

My father flew in & (thankfully) out of Ia-drang valley.There is one incident they did not show, the m-16s blowing up in our soldiers faces. This really happened for the first 2-3 years the M16 was issued, the barrels werent made well enough, warped from the heat, causing them to explode when the the trigger was pulled.My Dad said(one of the only things he said about it) some of the wounded he transported out of that valley were injured or killed this way.
One thing I am sure some dont know, one of the designers was Mattel of the M16?...False, the hand grip was what Mattel made. The first shipment in 1965 had the Mattel embem on the grips, it was removed.

[Cody]

FMJ All the way