Vietnam! Vietnam! (1971)

Directed by

Sherman Beck

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

58 min

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 4 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film is a United States Information Agency documentary about the Vietnam War. It was shot in 1968 and narrated by Charlton Heston. The project went through many edits and script changes, and it was poorly received by critics.

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What happens

Vietnam! Vietnam! is a United States Information Agency (USIA) film about the Vietnam War. The film, narrated by Charlton Heston, was shot on location in Vietnam in October–December 1968 but not released until 1971. Though John Ford, the executive producer, went to Vietnam, he did not participate in production work there. Ford later did supervise the editing and rewrote the film scenario. Bruce Herschensohn, the producer, remarked that the purpose of the film was to provide a "balance" to the view which critics of the war were providing. Due to the changing political situation in Vietnam, the film went through numerous cuts and script alterations over a three-year period and, when finally released, managed to offend almost everyone. Critical reviews were unfavorable. USIA Director Frank Shakespeare left the decision on whether to order a copy of the film up to individual US embassies abroad, and only a few did. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• In the Year of the Pig (1968)
• Gonna Give You My Love (1971)
• Winter Soldier (1972)
• A Face of War (1968)
• Tell Me Lies (1968)
• Hearts and Minds (1974)
• Benefit of the Doubt (1967)
• Vietnam: A Television History (1983)