Important films of Vietnam War era
(Digital History ID 3728)

  • Apocalypse Now(1979)
    Director Francis Ford Coppola's exploration of Americans in Vietnam was inspired by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
  • Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
    Based on the autobiography of Ron Kovic, the Oliver Stone follows him from a gung-ho recruit, inspired by a highly militarized culture, into a wheel-chair bound paraplegic and anti-war leader.
  • Casualties of War (1989)
    Based on a true story by Daniel Lang, the film examines an army private's response to the rape and murder of a Vietnamese civilian by American troops.
  • Coming Home (1978)
  • Full Metal Jacket (1987)
  • Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
  • Green Berets (1968)
    The only Vietnam War film made while the war was still going on, this John Wayne movie combines elements of the Western and the World War II combat film in an effort to portray the American effort in Vietnam in a sympathetic light.
  • Hamburger Hill (1987)
    A highly realistic depiction of the 1969 battle between the 101st Airborne Division and the Vietcong over Hill 937 ("Hamburger Hill") in the Ashua Valley.
  • Heaven and Earth (1993)
    Oliver Stone's portrait of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a South Vietnamese woman, Le Ly Hayslip, and her suffering after the war was over.
  • Killing Fields (1984)
    Based on an article by New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg, the film tells the story of Dith Pran, Schanberg's friend and translator, who was captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and his struggles to escape.
  • Platoon (1986)
    This film offers an unflinching look at a platoon’s experiences and the moral dilemmas that the soldiers face.
  • A Rumor of War (1980)
  • We Were Soldiers (2002)
    Based on a book by Lt. Col. Harold Moore and journalist Joseph Galloway, the film focuses on the first engagement of American soldiers with the North Vietnamese in November 1965, when nearly 400 inexperienced troopers from the U.S. Air Cavalry were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers

Copyright Digital History 2021