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Image via Warner Bros.
The Vietnam War marks a significant historical period, especially as more than just a war American troops heavily fought but didn't win. While peace marches took place across the United States between 1965 and 1973 (the period of US participation on the side of South Vietnam), antiwar filmmakers and other artists created testaments of their own. Just after the troops retreated, a slew of legendary directors took to depicting the stories of the mental and physical anguish soldiers experienced there.
These movies can also be interpreted as anti-government statements, since there was no bigger humiliation in the eyes of US leaders than loss. To the people who suffered the consequences, these movies question the decision makers and pose a mirror to the psyche of most war participants. The most essential movies about the Vietnam War are statements about the absurdity and heaviness of warfare and are often among the best movies of all time; their cultural impact resonates to this day, 50 years after the war's final breath.
10 'We Were Soldiers' (2002)
Directed by Randall Wallace
Image via Paramount Pictures
We Were Soldiers was based on the book of the real-life participant of the Vietnam War, Liutenant Hal Moore. To write the book, Moore had help from the reporter Joseph Galloway, who often covered the troops and was a war correspondent; their novel was adapted to the screen in 2002, with Mel Gibson portraying Moore in the biopic. The story (in the book and the movie) covers the events of the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam, where Moore led troops into battle.
With most Vietnam War-centric movies, the emphasis is on the psychological state of the soldiers during the war, having an anti-war sentiment about them. We Were Soldiers does deal with some mental anguish of its characters, but it's more focused on the action that took place during the Battle of Ia Drang. While the lengthy battle scenes depict the heavy nature of war, this movie acknowledges the fallen American soldiers and the members of the North Vietnamese army. It's one of the rare true accounts of the Vietnam War put on screen that doesn't cover the heavy psychological effects of war on its participants, but it's still relevant and essential precisely because of that POV.
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We Were Soldiers
Release Date March 1, 2002
Director Randall Wallace
Runtime 138 Minutes
9 'Casualties of War' (1989)
Directed by Brian de Palma
Image via Columbia Pictures
Casualties of War is a difficult movie to sit through; the incessant violence against the most powerless victims of war displays one fate out of many, likely very similar ones. When a squad of five soldiers led by Sergeant Tony Meserve (Sean Penn) are denied leave, Meserve orders them to kidnap a Vietnamese girl. As they take her with them to a secluded cave where they plan to assault her, one of the soldiers, Private Max Eriksson (Michael J. Fox), heavily opposes them.
While Casualties of War is about this assault, it's also about just how morality like Eriksson's isn't worth much in a setting fueled by violence, pain, and suffering. Sean Penn portrays Tony Meserve with a rawness and strength that commands everyone in his squad; he's one of those people capable of changing opinions and convincing people of anything. While the audience is represented through Eriksson, the powerlessness of his character is also a symbol of how much continuous exposure to violence makes only a few still find it wrong. Casualties of War was based on a real event reported by Daniel Lang of The New Yorker in 1969; Quentin Tarantino believes it's the best movie about the Vietnam War.
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During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Release Date August 18, 1989
Runtime 113 Minutes
8 'Rescue Dawn' (2006)
Directed by Werner Herzog
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Werner Herzog made a documentary and a feature film about the German-American pilot Dieter Dengler and his time in Vietnam as a prisoner of war. The documentary is called Little Dieter Needs to Fly, and the feature Rescue Dawn, which stars Christian Bale as Dengler. When Dengler was only 18, he enlisted in the US army for citizenship in 1966; his lifelong obsession with being a fighter pilot also brought him to that position in the army. Dengler got shot down in Laos during a mission, and ended up living in a prison with other POWs.
His escape plan isn't welcomed with a lot of enthusiasm from the other prisoners, as they endure intense torture and hunger. Since Herzog is known for depicting the most extreme human behaviors, the same goes for Rescue Dawn. However, even extremist torture doesn't completely emphasize the heaviness of war. For Herzog, the filming location was essential, so they filmed in Thailand, and Christian Bale endures as much as he depicts Dengler's fate through the arduous jungle. As Roger Ebert wrote about the cast performances, "the conviction in their work came from the fact that they were really doing it in the hellish place where it was really done."
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During the Vietnam War, a U.S. Navy pilot's mission goes awry, leading to his capture and imprisonment in a Laotian POW camp. Amidst the harsh conditions and psychological torment, he befriends fellow prisoners and formulates a daring escape plan. The story captures his relentless struggle for survival, the bonds formed in captivity, and the sheer willpower required to overcome unimaginable obstacles in a quest for freedom.
Release Date September 9, 2006
Director Werner Herzog
Runtime 126 minutes
7 'Hamburger Hill' (1987)
Directed by John Irvin
Maybe the least known feature on the list, Hamburger Hill, is a great example of a forgotten classic depicting the events of the Vietnam War. It follows the real-life stand-off on Hamburger Hill that took place in May 1969 between the US Army's 3rd battalion and the North Vietnamese Army settled on a heavily fortified ridge. The movie's story centers around the five newest recruits of the 3rd battalion who are pushed into the strife of war instantly; without delay, the action in the movie begins and continues, attempting to break even the strongest among them.
Similarly to We Were Soldiers, Hamburger Hill focuses on the fighting and the mental and physical difficulties of battle. Immersing viewers in the gritty action makes Hamburger Hill an exceptional war movie, though not as introspective as many anti-war movies preferred. That doesn't mean the characters don't go through difficult times; there's a lot of pressure to keep it together, especially during a bloody battle. Hamburger Hill is one of the most underrated war movies, and a great addition to the roster. The cast is star-studded, too; it includes Don Cheadle, Courtney B. Vance and Dylan McDermott, among others.
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Hamburger Hill
A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
Release Date August 28, 1987
Director John Irvin
Runtime 110 Minutes
6 'Good Morning, Vietnam' (1987)
Directed by Barry Levinson
Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Robin Williams is the face of Good Morning, Vietnam, and the most memorable part of this war comedy. Though it gets serious in the moments it needs to, Good Morning Vietnam also brings humor into a grave situation (which war undoubtedly is), making the soldiers there laugh and forget they're in the jungles riddled with violence for a moment. Williams portrays Adrian Cronauer, who was a real-life DJ and broadcaster during his time in Vietnam; he would start off each of his morning radio shows with the legendary phrase "Good morning, Vietnam!" elongating the words in a comical fashion.
In the movie, Cronauer hosts a morning radio show for the soldiers and locals who love his content, despite being disliked by his superiors. When he starts pursuing a Vietnamese woman one day, Cronauer's efforts are halted by her brother; as they become friendly, Cronauer gets into some trouble in his regiment. This story helps the movie go forward, but its most memorable parts are certainly Williams' radio hosting improvisations. Good Morning, Vietnam helps brighten the horror-like landscape of war for its characters, and is genuinely one of the best R-rated comedies out there.
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Good Morning, Vietnam: Set during the Vietnam War, an irreverent radio DJ arrives in Saigon to host a military radio show, bringing humor and music to the troops. Balancing entertainment with the harsh realities of war, his unconventional style challenges authority and impacts those around him, creating a mix of comedy and drama.
Release Date December 23, 1987
Runtime 121 Minutes
5 'Born on the Fourth of July' (1989)
Directed by Oliver Stone
Image via Universal Pictures
Another real-life inspired story, Born on the Fourth of July follows the life of Ron Kovic, a decorated soldier who participated in the Vietnam War and got wounded and paralyzed. Tom Cruise portrays Kovic while he and Oliver Stone wrote the movie together, based on his autobiography of the same name. Kovic has since become an anti-war activist and author, resulting in getting arrested at least a dozen times for his activism against the war until 1975.
Ron Kovic is a fascinating man, which was what Oliver Stone must have thought, too, when he decided to make Born on the Fourth of July into a feature film. Tom Cruise embraces Kovic's boldness and dedication to the things he believes in, starring in one of the best roles of his career. When Kovic joins the Vietnam War, his platoon leaves a baby behind after destroying a village; this is a recurring theme in Kovic's PTSD, as the movie shows, and a point of regret that fuels his inner conflict. His activism depicts the struggle of many war opposers and government critics, but it's also a culmination of all the suffering he endured while fighting in Vietnam and later.
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Born on the Fourth of July
Release Date December 20, 1989
Director Oliver Stone
Runtime 145 Minutes
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Image via Warner Bros.
The star-studded cast of Full Metal Jacket isn't enough to depict the terror that the movie immerses in. It's a unique war retelling, since it focuses on the soldiers' mental states a bit more than the catastrophic events in Vietnam. It opens with soldier training, led by the ruthless and methodical drill instructor Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). He humiliates the soldiers during boot camp, focusing on one of the overweight soldiers, Leonard Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), in particular. The squad leader, Joker (Matthew Modine) avoids participating in Lawrence's bullying, and observes his change in demeanor over time.
The boot camp prepares the soldiers for what awaits them, but it doesn't really tell them just how bad things are on site. A little after boot camp, when Joker becomes a sergeant, he's tasked with reuniting with his squadron, but they end up becoming targets for a Viet Cong sniper. Full Metal Jacket was based on the book The Short Timers by the Marine Corps veteran Gustav Hasford; Hasford was one of the screenwriters for the movie, helping Kubrick establish a gritty and claustrophobic atmosphere in the story about the psychological strains of joining a war. It's one of the boldest anti-war statement features that also has the sentence "Me so horny. Me love you long time."
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Full Metal Jacket
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Release Date July 10, 1987
Director Stanley Kubrick
Runtime 116 minutes
3 'Platoon' (1986)
Directed by Oliver Stone
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Oliver Stone is the master of making great Vietnam War movies. Platoon serves as one of the most intense examples of how the cards of fate were dealt to soldiers serving their duty in Vietnam. Before Born on the Fourth of July, Stone made Platoon, which reflected on his own war experiences; these two movies were connected and completed as a Vietnam War trilogy when Stone made Heaven & Earth. Charlie Sheen steps into the role of the protagonist, fresh soldier Chris Taylor, assigned to the 25th infantry division.
Taylor soon realizes the dynamics of his division fall into two factions - those who are more pragmatic and cynical, like their unofficial leader, Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), and those who employ more empathy, like Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). The story quickly starts to show how war destroys people's perception of violence; to the soldiers in the 25th Infantry, it becomes a means to an end, putting people who should be working together against each other out of fear and the desire to survive. Stone's personal war experience seeps into the movie, which was praised for its storytelling; especially intriguing is Barnes, a character that seems like a caricature of a villain, but is, according to Stone, based on a man he served under and was not embellished by any bit.
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Platoon
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Release Date February 6, 1987
Director Oliver Stone
Runtime 120 Minutes
2 'Apocalypse Now' (1979)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Potentially the most iconic war movie, Apocalypse Now is often the representative of Vietnam War stories. It's one of the best war movies, but more importantly, one of the best movies ever made. Though it was incredibly challenging for Francis Ford Coppola to put the whole thing together, it ended up being one of the most harrowing dives into the horrors of war made for the big screen. Apocalypse Now doesn't wait - it jumps right into the story about Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) on his third tour in Vietnam. His task is to gather people and find Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who went rogue in Cambodia and now runs a private militia.
The journey Willard and his men embark on is long, difficult, and makes up the biggest part of the movie. They encounter other soldiers, and even a French family living calmly on their plantation amid such chaos. The terror of war is continuously present, with Coppola using the art of film to depict the simultaneous glory and pain of waging a war in certain scenes. The culmination is the encounter with Kurtz, which shows more than anything the psychological impact of war on every participant. Apocalypse Now is best viewed in the Final Cut version that Coppola prefers, though the Redux version shows the full story the best.
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A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Release Date August 15, 1979
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Runtime 147 minutes
1 'The Deer Hunter' (1978)
Directed by Michael Cimino
Image via Universal Pictures
Robert De Niro has had many great roles in his long career, but starring in The Deer Hunter is surely his best work. He himself said that some of the scenes in the movie were the most emotional ones of his career, and that playing Mike was an exhausting experience. The Deer Hunter itself is heavily emotional and draining; it follows Mike and his best friends, Nick (Christopher Walken) and Steven (John Savage) before, during, and after enlisting in the Vietnam War.
The three friends are from a small industrial town; the first part of the movie shows their lifestyle and Steven's wedding celebration, together with their dynamic and personalities. Mike is followed throughout the movie as a stoic and silent man with bouts of anger after witnessing the last straw. When they end up in Vietnam, the men are forced to play Russian Roulette while held captive, something that Nick later perfects so well that he becomes a shell of himself. Steven suffers physical loss and doesn't feel right returning home, while Mike tries to continue life after becoming shattered physically and emotionally by the high stakes of war and its consequences. The Deer Hunter is a complete movie, with three intensely emotional acts that fly by, but not before leaving a lasting imprint on its viewers.
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The Deer Hunter
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Release Date December 8, 1978
Director Michael Cimino
Runtime 183 minutes
KEEP READING: The 10 Best Anti-War Movies Set Before the 20th Century, Ranked
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