Underplayed Gems

Dien Bien Phu (1992)

Dien Bien Phu poster
Original title
Diên Biên Phu
Directed by
Pierre Schoendoerffer
Genre
war film
Country
France
Runtime
2h 26m
Rated
U
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 44 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This film depicts the 55-day siege of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, a decisive battle of the First Indochina War. It follows soldiers from both the French and Vietnamese sides through the brutal fighting and final days of French colonial rule in Indochina.

epicrealisticsolemnintensehistoricalgrittygrand-scalesomber

What happens

Diên Biên Phu (French for Điện Biên Phủ) is a French 1992 epic war film written and directed by French veteran Pierre Schoendoerffer. With its huge budget, all-star cast, and realistic war scenes produced with the cooperation of both the French and Vietnamese armed forces, Dîen Bîen Phu is regarded by many as one of the more important war movies produced in French filmmaking history. It portrays the 55-day siege of Dien Bien Phu (1954), one of the last battles by the French Union's colonial army in the First Indochina War during the final days of French Indochina, which was soon after divided into North and South Vietnam. This was a prelude to the Second Indochina War, known in the United States as the Vietnam War. The film was nominated for "Best Music Written for a Film" ("Meilleure musique") at the 1993 French César Awards. The Điện Biên Phủ original soundtrack was composed and partially performed by pianist Georges Delerue, featuring Japanese vocalist Marie Kobayashi. In 1994, at a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the siege at Dien Bien Phu, director Schoendoerffer published a behind-the-scenes book called "Diên Biên Phu - De la Bataille au Film" (Dien Bien Phu: From the Battle to the Movie). In 2004, during the 50th anniversary commemoration, Schoendoerffer published a full-length version of his movie in DVD format. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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