The Green Berets (film)
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The Green Berets is the title of a 1968 film starring John Wayne and featuring George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, and Aldo Ray. It was originally based on the 1965 book of the same name by Robin Moore, but the screenplay departs significantly from the book.
The Green Berets has a strong anti-communist and pro-Saigon theme, which resonates throughout the movie. The movie was produced at the height of the Vietnam War, during the same year as the infamous Tet offensive against the largest cities in the south. It was the atmosphere of growing discontent with the war that prompted John Wayne to make a film countering the anti-war message.
John Wayne had been a long time supporter of the Vietnam war though he himself avoided any service during the Second World War. He had visited the troops in Vietnam, and he wanted The Green Berets to be a tribute to the soldiers in Vietnam. He directed the film and turned down the role of Major Reisman in The Dirty Dozen to do so. The movie justifies America's involvement in what it describes as "a global crusade against communist domination of the world". It illustrates the point, by showing the Soviet- and Chinese-made weapons, which were commonly issued to NVA and VC soldiers.
The film is presented in two main parts. In the first part, a reporter against the war is taken to Vietnam. The reporter is gradually convinced that the war is absolutely correct in every respect. A siege battle looking like something out of a western is presented. In the second half of the film, Wayne leads a special ops team into enemy territory to capture an important VC field commander who lives in a mansion surrounded by bodyguards where he entertains his women guests. Critics will often point out that the special ops mission looks more like a scene from a World War II film set in occupied Europe than anything that happened in Vietnam.
The hopeful spirit of the movie ends with a subtle reassurance that America will be victorious. It also ends with a famous scene of Wayne walking on the beach, watching the sun set with a young orphan named Ham Chuck and the message, "You're what this war is all about, Green Beret!". Critics often point out that the sunset is ironically in the wrong direction for Vietnam.
Two years later, Wayne released a documentary No Substitute for Victory which more formally outlines his views and ideas about Vietnam, the Cold War and what he considers the whole history of post-WWII appeasement of communism.
Trivia
- An interesting side note is the great similarities between The Green Berets and Heartbreak Ridge (1986). In both films, the missions are similar; both star a popular "western" actor, and both were produced by Warner Brothers. There are major differences, however; Clint Eastwood's character is considered less one-dimensional and Heartbreak Ridge is far less overtly political.
- The defensive battle that provides the first portion of the combat part of the movie is very loosely based on the Battle of Nam Dong, which took place in the night of July 6, 1964. Two Viet Cong battalions attacked a small outpost defended by a mixed force of Americans, Australians and South Vietnamese. After the successful defense of the outpost, the commanding officer, Capt. Roger Donlons was awarded the Medal of Honor.
- The two leading Vietnamese characters in the film were actually portrayed by Japanese-Americans (Jack Soo and George Takei).
- This film was made with the full co-operation from the American military.
- The film made the 2005 list of Roger Ebert's most hated films for being a "heavy-handed, remarkably old-fashioned film."
- Richard Pryor has an uncredited cameo as a jeep driver.
- Bruce Lee was the martial arts coordinator for the film and Chuck Norris was one of the martial arts performers.
- The film closes with a dramatic shot of the sun apparently setting into the sea by Da Nang. Critics frequently mention this scene, because the coastline in Vietnam faces east and the sun actually sets in the west. This was filmed near Fort Bragg, North Carolina where the coastline also faces east.
- This film is the only film made about the Vietnam war during the Vietnam war.
External links
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