The Greatest Vietnam War Movies Of All Time
The Vietnam War lasted for almost 20 years, between 1955 and 1975—one of America's longest military conflicts. With its origins in post-World War II, Vietnam, and the anti-communist United States, this era of combat produced some of the greatest war movies of the 1980s and beyond. Let's examine some of the greatest Vietnam War movies of all time.
Forrest Gump
This one's less of a tale of warfare and more of a movie about a soldier from that war. From Lieutenant Dan's dealings with PTSD to Forrest and Bubba's involvement in Vietnam and the demise of the latter, Forrest Gump (1994) offers a cursory glance at the war, preferring to focus on the aftereffects of the conflict on Forrest and others.
Paramount, Forrest Gump (1994)
First Blood
First Blood (1982) is the first installment in the Rambo franchise. It's one of the best-known John Rambo movies and gave Sylvester Stallone his big break. However, First Blood is more than just an action flick with guns and explosions. It's a tale of a soldier struggling with PTSD from the Vietnam War and a country that doesn't appreciate him. A great action movie, for sure, but a much deeper message lies beneath the surface.
Faith Of Our Fathers
If there had ever been a Vietnam War movie that connected fathers and sons, it would be Faith of Our Fathers (2015). The movie introduces the viewer to John and Wayne (yes, really), two strangers who coincidentally lost their fathers in the war. The movie explores their sense of loss and their fathers' unknown bond in flashbacks. It's a compelling, more recent entry on our list that explores serendipitous connections through tragedy.
Pure Flix, Faith of Our Fathers (2015)
The War
Another excellent movie about what happens to soldiers when they return, The War (1994), stars Kevin Costner and Elijah Wood. Costner plays a rejected and dejected Vietnam veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. Costner's role as Stephen Simmons is portrayed with grace and shines a light on what life must be like for veterans who struggle after returning from conflict despite having an excellent support system around them.
Tigerland
Joel Schumacher's best-reviewed movie by critics, Tigerland (2000), is a poignant anti-war movie; Colin Farrell plays Roland Bozz, a draftee who goes to elaborate lengths to get out of his service. Detailing his strong defiance against the conflict and all of the loopholes he uses to get out of service, Tigerland is far from your typical anti-war film. It's an exploration of righteous conscientious objection.
Twentieth Century, Tigerland (2000)
Da 5 Bloods
Spike Lee's excellent Da 5 Bloods is a film about racism in the United States during the Vietnam War. It explores all that African-American soldiers had to endure both on the frontlines in Vietnam and at home in the fight for equal rights. One of Spike Lee's most powerful recent movies, Da 5 Bloods, is among the best movies about the Vietnam War era.
Coming Home
Starring Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, and Jane Fonda, Coming Home (1978) depicts the consequences of the Vietnam conflict for those who returned, featuring Voight as a person with paraplegia with whom Jane Fonda's character falls in love after working with him at the VA. This romantic drama sees the complexity of navigating love in the context of soldiers deeply affected by war. Coming Home won Best Actor (Voight) and Best Actress (Fonda) as the film was runner-up for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Platoon
Another contender for the greatest Vietnam War movie of all time is Platoon (1986). Starring Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, and Tom Berenger, and depicting the cost of war on the soldiers in combat, Platoon deals with disillusionment within the ranks, the appalling actions of some on the ground in Vietnam, and the brutal reality of the war. Platoon won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Born On The Fourth Of July
Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) is the second film in the Vietnam War-themed trilogy by Oliver Stone. Stone was a Vietnam veteran turned film director who produced three of the greatest Vietnam War movies of all time. Born On The Fourth Of July stars Tom Cruise as Ron Kovic, a wounded veteran and anti-war activist. Kovic begins the film as a committed patriot, but after the conflict leaves him with PTSD and alcoholism, he turns into an anti-war activist. Ron Kovic is real, making Born On The Fourth Of July all the more poignant.
Universal, Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Heaven And Earth
Heaven And Earth (1993) is the final installment from Oliver Stone. Based on the book When Heaven And Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip about her experiences during and after the Vietnam War, Le Ly Hayslip is portrayed by Joan Chen, a young Vietnamese woman who goes from resistance fighter against the Americans and the French, to the lover of a US Gunnery Sergeant, Steve Butler (portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones). The cost of the war is borne out throughout the movie, despite the pair moving to San Diego together in a touching final installment from Stone.
Warner Bros., Heaven & Earth (1993)
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter stars Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, and Robert De Niro. It follows three Slavic-American friends throughout their final days before they all ship overseas to Vietnam and during their time served there. Widely considered one of the greatest American films of all time, The Deer Hunter is an epic that is not to be missed.
Universal, The Deer Hunter (1978)
Good Morning, Vietnam
One of Robin Williams' greatest movies, Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) tells the story of Adrian Cronauer, an American radio DJ who reported live from Vietnam during the conflict. The film explores censorship issues and shows how the media is pivotal in informing the public of the truth.
Touchstone, Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
Hamburger Hill
Hamburger Hill (1987) tells the brutal, heart-wrenching story of the Battle of Hamburger Hill. The ridge over Dong Ap Bia and Hill 937 represented little strategic value to the United States, yet as depicted in the movie, they kept throwing bodies at it. Hamburger Hill stars Don Cheadle and Steven Weber and is a gut-wrenching retelling of an American catastrophe.
Go Tell The Spartans
Go Tell The Spartans (1978) stars Burt Lancaster as the commanding officer of an Army outpost in Vietnam, who must fight against the North Vietnamese Army despite being outgunned and outmaneuvered. Based on the short story by Daniel Ford, The Incident At Muc Wa (1967), Go Tell The Spartans received high praise for its realism despite a limited theatrical release.
United Artists, Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
Full Metal Jacket
One of Stanley Kubrick's finest movies and one of the greatest Vietnam War movies ever, Full Metal Jacket (1987) tells the story of a group of US Marines from boot camp to the battlefields of Vietnam. Following this group through the point of view of one particular soldier, Full Metal Jacket deals with the brutality of training for Vietnam and the US Marines' drill sergeants, as well as the brutal reality of war, which the men in the unit are being prepared for.
Warner Bros., Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Apocalypse Now
Starring Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Marlon Brando, and Martin Sheen, Apocalypse Now (1979) tells the tale of a US Army Captain who must take out one of his own, Colonel Kurtz (Brando) after he deserts his post and becomes an ivory trader with an army of his own. The movie features some of the most incredible action scenes of the 20th century and is undoubtedly one of the greatest Vietnam War movies ever.
United Artists, Apocalypse Now (1979)
Rescue Dawn
After being shot down over Laos, German-American pilot Dieter Dengler plots his escape from a Laotian prison with his fellow captors. Rescue Dawn (2006) sees Christian Bale play the lead role in one of the most iconic Vietnam War movies of the 21st century.
The Green Berets
The Green Berets (1968) is a blast from the past starring Western hero John Wayne. This unabashedly pro-American, pro-war movie is considered one of Wayne's best and was one of the first films to depict the pro-military position during the Vietnam War.
Warner Bros., The Green Berets (1968)
The Visitors
The Visitors (1972) depicts the horrible choices made by soldiers who served in Vietnam. When a veteran receives a visit from two of his ex-Army buddies, the true horror of what they were ordered to do while in Vietnam is slowly revealed in this gripping, compelling epic.
United Artists, The Visitors (1972)
Birdy
Presented in flashbacks, Birdy (1984) was one of Nicolas Cage's early works, starring alongside Matthew Modine. The pair recount their traumatic experiences in Vietnam. It was chosen as one of the top 10 films of 1984 by the National Film Review Board.
TriStar Pictures, Birdy (1984)
Purple Hearts
The tale of love amidst war is as old as time, but Purple Hearts (1984) does it so well that it deserves a spot on our list. It tells the story of a surgeon and a nurse who fall in love while serving in the US Navy in Vietnam. Purple Hearts contrasts the incredible violence surrounding the pair as they fall in love.
Warner Bros., Purple Hearts (1984)
Coordinates Of Death
Coordinates of Death (1985), created by a team of Soviet and North Vietnamese producers, provides an important alternative viewpoint to the Vietnam War. Despite its propagandistic nature, the movie offers an important counter-narrative to the American exceptionalism so frequently found in war movies.
Gorky Film, Coordinates Of Death (1985)
Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder
In Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder (1982), a US Army doctor at a Saigon orphanage must keep the children safe from the chaos of the war. This touching film explores the effects of war on children.
Sanrio, Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder (1982)
The Post
Starring Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Bob Odenkirk, The Post (2017) is a Steven Spielberg movie about the release of the Pentagon Papers and the fight by The Washington Post to do their jobs as journalists in the wake of political pressure. This release of classified military documents would change public opinion of the Vietnam War.
Twentieth Century, The Post (2017)
The Expendables
Since revamped into a series by Sylvester Stallone, the original The Expendables movie from 1988 was made by a Filipino and American film crew. This all-out action movie tells the story of an elite special forces team that moves behind enemy lines in Vietnam to free an American POW.
Premiere Productions, The Expendables (1988)
Air America
Starring Mel Gibson and a very young Robert Downey Jr, Air America (1990) tells the story of a young Air Force pilot who is recruited into a covert CIA operation to transport weapons and supplies into Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict.
Tunnel Rats
One of the most harrowing and well-shot movies on our list is Tunnel Rats (2008), based on the real-life duties of "tunnel rats" during the Vietnam War—American soldiers whose job it was to go into the dark tunnel systems used by the Vietnamese and flush out the NVA soldiers hiding within them. Coming across booby traps, the enemy, and the darkness, Tunnel Rats is an edge-of-your-seat thriller in every sense of the word.
Vivendi Entertainment, Tunnel Rats (2008)
We Were Soldiers
Widely considered the greatest Vietnam War movie of all time, We Were Soldiers (2002) tells the harrowing tale of the Battle of La Drang, the first major American combat operation of the Vietnam War. Starring Mel Gibson, and based on the book by Lieutenant Hal Moore, "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young", We Were Soldiers is a compelling account of the horrors faced by the soldiers in Vietnam and is considered one of Mel Gibson's greatest-ever movies.
Paramount, We Were Soldiers (2002)
The First Casualty Of War Is Innocence
Casualties Of War (1989) is a very difficult watch. It stars Michael J Fox and Sean Penn as two soldiers with very different ideas about how to treat prisoners of war. When Penn and Fox's unit kidnap a young Vietnamese girl, Fox must step in to save her life and honor, while Sean Penn's evil character has an entirely different objective. Casualties Of War is a compelling tale of the struggles of peer pressure and the effects of war on a soldier's sense of morality.
What was the greatest Vietnam War movie you've ever seen? Let us know in the comments below.
