Vietnam War

The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

The Fog of War, the movie that finally won Errol Morris the best documentary Oscar, is a spellbinder. Morris interviews Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and finds a uniquely unsettling viewpoint on much of 20th-century American history. Employing a ton of archival material, including LBJ's fascinating taped conversations from the Oval Office, Morris probes the reasons behind the U.S. commitment to the Vietnam War--and finds a depressingly inconsistent policy. McNamara himself emerges as--well, not exactly apologetic, but clearly haunted by the what-ifs of Vietnam. He also mulls the bombing of Japan in World War II and the Cuban Missile Crisis, raising more questions than he answers. The Fog of War has the usual inexorable Morris momentum, aided by an uneasy Philip Glass score. This movie provides a glimpse inside government. It also encourages skepticism about same. --Robert Horton

Dear America - Letters Home from Vietnam

All the confusion, pain, despair, and even hope of the men and women who served in Vietnam is captured in Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. Read by dozens of actors such as Harvey Keitel, Matt Dillon, and Kathleen Turner, these letters show a more human story of the war than we see in most media outlets and reveal real people in real situations trying to explain or understand. The footage, some newsreel, some shot by the servicemen and servicewomen, reveals a tension between the soldiers' actual experiences and the presentation their loved ones received from television. The soundtrack weaves the songs of the 1960s with the readings to create a compelling aural snapshot of the time, which complements the video exceptionally well. While it's not a "feel-good" movie, the viewer does get a sense of the indestructibility of human dreams. --Rob Lightner

This classic HBO documentary features reenactments of actual letters written by soldiers during the Vietnam war. In each case, a famous celebrity voice (Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams, and others) reads the letters to us.

The Vietnam War (History Channel)

No Description Available.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 15-JAN-2008
Media Type: DVD

National Geographic: Inside the Vietnam War

INSIDE THE VIETNAM WAR (DVD MOVIE)

The Hanoi Hilton

Vietnam War With Walter Cronkite

For decades, the war in Vietnam was the central drama on the stage of Southeast Asia. It was an intensely publicized war, the first television war that came roaring into the living rooms of America every night. Walter Cronkite tells the story of the long and divisive conflict as seen through the eyes of CBS News. Dan Rather, Morley Safer and Ed Bradley report the stories of American courage, failed programs, an elusive enemy and ultimately an end to a tragic war. It is all graphically shown in these superb CBS documentaries which tell the story of the most divisive war in American history and its effect on those who fought it.

Vietnam - A Television History

A multi-part series on the Vietnam conflict, covering the history of Indochina, the French wars, and United States involvement, using actual film footage from news and government archives.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: NR
Release Date: 27-JUL-2004
Media Type: DVD

Exactly why was America in Vietnam? This remarkable and essential seven-volume series--six years in the making and originally broadcast on public television in 1983--tells the agonizing history of Vietnam's lengthy conflicts with some of the largest powers on Earth. While the primary focus is on the United States' miserable efforts to prop up a porous, anti-Communist government in South Vietnam as a bulwark against Chinese and Soviet expansionism, the series' makers expend no less energy detailing important antecedents to America's intervention. Of vital interest are the first two hours, which tell the compelling story of France's 80-year colonial rule in Southeast Asia and the rise of a European-educated generation of Vietnamese intellectuals turned warriors, chief among them the architect of Vietnam's prolonged revolt against the West, Ho Chi Minh. By the time a viewer comes to understand how and why America shrugged off Vietnamese independence after World War II, it is easier to grasp the tragic context for the disastrous military campaign of the 1960s and '70s. The rest of the series covers the various expansions of America's war in Vietnam through a succession of presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon, carefully explaining the sundry issues that drove each commander-in-chief to send more money, more troops, and more weapons into a seemingly unwinnable and dubious battle. The later volumes take the story into Laos and the horrible siege of Cambodia by a U.S.-supported Khmer Rouge, and examine the history of the antiwar movement in America. No stone is left unturned in this important project, which runs some 13 hours and should be considered one of the most important television series in history. --Tom Keogh

Hearts and Minds - Criterion Collection

A courageous and startling film, Peter Davis' landmark documentary Hearts and Minds unflinchingly confronts the United States' involvement in Vietnam. Using a wealth of sources-from interviews to newsreels to documentary footage of the conflict at home and abroad-Davis constructs a powerfully affecting portrait of the disastrous effects of war. Explosive, persuasive, and shocking, Hearts and Minds is an overwhelming emotional experience and the controversial winner of the 1974 Academy Award® for Best Documentary.

Return With Honor: The American Experience

Men who piloted the hottest fighter planes in the world found themselves suddenly transformed from hotshots to humiliated prisoners during the Vietnam War. The story of how American prisoners survived in North Vietnam's notorious prison camps is dramatically told in this documentary, an installment of the American Experience series on PBS. The men, who survived appalling treatment, relate their experiences, and vintage footage, including propaganda films shot by their captors, portrays what they endured. A former POW describes how he was coached before being put on public display, yet he spelled out the word "torture" in Morse code by blinking his eyes, a defiant action that can clearly be seen in footage that the North Vietnamese provided to the world's media. Another former prisoner, who somehow survived massive injuries despite being denied medical care, describes how he had to lie on the concrete floor of his cell for nearly a year, just trying to get his arms and legs to function again. These inspirational stories lead up to an emotional climax as the prisoners, including Arizona Senator John McCain, describe what it was like to be freed after their long captivity. This is a deeply moving and inspiring story told by men who overcame great depths of human suffering. --Robert J. McNamara

RETURN WITH HONOR tells the powerful, moving story of American pilots shot down over North Vietnam and their challenge to survive with honor as POW's. A tribute to heroism, endurance, and brotherhood under duress, the film recalls the transformation from top-gun aviators to captives. Told in their words, rich with survivor humor, and complete with North Vietnamese archival footage, the film is a universal story of honor and duty.

Vietnam: An Inside Look