So, what’s the best movie of those six and why? If you think there’s one that belongs there which I haven’t listed, do mention it.
Poll to follow?
Without seeing a poll or a list yet, ‘We Were Soldiers’ maybe?
ETA Nope. Apocalypse Now. Then WWS. Then FMJ. I like ‘Siege of Firebase Gloria’, but I’m not sure it’s near ‘best’ status.
Apocalypse Now is the best movie, period.
Ah, there it is.
I’ve only seen three of them, but I’d put those in order: Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Jacob’s Ladder.
Of those not listed, I’d put Coming Home ahead of Jacob’s Ladder, though it barely qualifies as a Vietnam War film.
That Go Tell the Spartans is not on this list but Jacob’s Ladder is renders the poll instantly laughable.
(no vote)
No vote. *The Odd Angry Shot *puts them all in the shade, as does The Boys In Company C *and Go Tell The Spartans.
*Where R. Lee Ermey first hit the scene as Sgt. Loyce. His role in FMJ is derivitive at best.
What? No The Green Berets?
I boycott this poll.
As the sun sets slowly in the east . . .
Despite the fact that the ending was laughable and it literally only told half the story, I would vote for We Were Soldiers. That is for how it showed the war. As a movie Full Metal Jacket.
I liked Platoon. It showed an America at war with itself and didn’t use the same old Vietnam movie music we’ve come to know and love. They were playing Okie from Muskogee!
I voted Apocalypse Now (non-redux version). “We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won’t let them write f**k on their airplanes. Because? It’s obscene!” That line works on so many levels.
Hard to pick between Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Like the war that inspired it, Apocalypse Now was a good idea, but overblown, self-indulgent and ultimately a mess. Amazing how you can get a 3-4 hour movie out of a maybe 100 page novella. I still like Apocalypse (even if I never fall asleep anymore between the tiger scene and the boat docking at Kurtz’s compound) but I think it’s a step behind the other two.
Haven’t seen, but want to, 84 Charlie MoPic and We Were Soldiers. Go Tell The Spartans and The Odd Angry Shot look really good too; thanks for the recommendations.
During the time in the 90s when Hollywood was churning out a new Vietnam War movie seemingly every week, I would have really liked to have seen film versions of Chickenhawk and Fields of Fire.
Agreed. Platoon took liberally from this movie (and Platoon was an excellent movie).
I suspect that if you asked veterans of the war which movie came closest to their experience, they’d say Platoon. Despite my general distaste for Oliver Stone, I think Platoon is the best of the bunch.
Movies which maybe should have been included in the poll:
Platoon, hands down. Apocalypse Now is just a remake of* Heart of Darkness*.