The long conflict in Vietnam spawned an entire genre of movies that range from low-budget horror films to epic anti-war statements. Each film often revolves around a loss of innocence and the brutal realities of life in a combat zone. There’s so many to choose from, but only a handful can be called “the best.”
10. How Sleep the Brave
Made on a comically low budget, How Sleep the Brave follows the ill-fated patrol of a squad of young, inexperienced American soldiers in the jungles of Vietnam. They are led by the murderous Lieutenant “No Hands” Young, a man who is feared and hated by the Vietcong guerrillas. Just don’t ask him how he got his nickname.
Incredibly, the film was shot in a forest in Berkshire, England, and most of the uniforms were rented from the local Army and Navy store. Despite these limitations, How Sleep the Brave is a tough, brutal little movie that gives us a window into the harsh realities of the conflict.
9. Rescue Dawn
German director Werner Herzog brought his considerable talents to the setting of the Vietnam War in Rescue Dawn. A slow-burning arthouse film that has Christian Bale’s character Dieter shot down in communist Vietnam. A stirring story of survival and the triumph of the human spirit, Rescue Dawn is full of lingering jungle shots and quiet moments. If you are looking for action, Rescue Dawn is not for you. But if you are interested in a story of human struggle against all odds, then it is well worth a watch.
8. The Odd Angry Shot
Australia contributed thousands of troops to the American-led war effort in Vietnam. The Odd Angry Shot is an Aussie-made film that looks at the story of the elite Australian SAS (Special Air Service). There is little action — most of the movie follows the antics of the men holed up at base, where their biggest enemy is boredom. They spend most of their time drinking, playing cards, and complaining.
When we see them out on patrol, the fighting is short and sharp, just as it was in real life. The movements of the actors in these combat scenes are highly realistic. Though it has a serious message, The Odd Angry Shot is the most comical film on this list, and the scene where the men have organized a fight between the platoon spider and a scorpion must be one of the funniest in the movie.
7. Hamburger Hill
A film that looks at racism in the American Army in Vietnam, Hamburger Hill follows a unit of Airborne troops as they fight a literally uphill battle in horrendous weather conditions against a dug-in enemy force. At first, we see the unit on patrol and at base, before moving the action to the historical battle of Hamburger Hill, which saw the Americans take heavy casualties. Uncompromising and violent, the film features some excellent performances.
6. The Siege of Firebase Gloria
R. Lee Ermey was a real-life American Marine. He gained fame as drill instructor Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket. But in 1988, he decided to take a leading role in The Siege of Firebase Gloria. This film is wall-to-wall action, and Ermey brings a grizzled reality to his portrayal of an American soldier who must take command of a bunch of recruits at a remote firebase when overwhelming numbers of Vietcong attack it. The fighting is furious, the violence extreme, and the viewer can tell that Ermey was heavily consulted on historical accuracy.
5. The Deer Hunter
Robert De Niro stars in the war epic The Deer Hunter. Though a large part of the film is set in America, the segments looking at the horrors of the conflict are particularly harrowing. De Niro’s character, Michael, is captured and tortured by being kept waist-deep in rat-infested water. The scenes where Michael and his fellow prisoners are forced to play Russian roulette with each other are tense to the point of being almost unwatchable. Showcasing how the lives of ordinary people are disrupted by the war, The Deer Hunter makes five on this list.
4. Platoon
Charlie Sheen is a raw recruit catapulted into the horrors of the Vietnam conflict. Willem Dafoe is the caring and motherly Sergeant Elias. Tom Berenger is the brutal Sergeant Barnes. As the title suggests, Platoon follows a single platoon of American soldiers as they work, kill, and die in the jungles of Vietnam. Charlie Sheen’s character turns from an impressionable youth into an efficient killing machine.
3. We Were Soldiers
“Hollywood got it wrong every damned time.”
So wrote Colonel Hal Moore in the preface to his best-selling book, We Were Soldiers Once, and Young. Moore oversaw the first major American battle in the war. Mel Gibson plays Moore in the film adaptation and gives us an almost minute-by-minute view of the fight, which involved a small American unit going up against a much larger Vietnamese force. Unlike many Vietnam films, which deal with small patrols and limited firefights, We Were Soldiers is shot much more on the scale of Saving Private Ryan. The viewer really feels the pressure from all sides as the American force is pushed back into an ever-smaller perimeter.
2. Full Metal Jacket
Probably the finest anti-war film on this list, Full Metal Jacket is not just one of the best Vietnam films ever made, it’s one of the best films period. R. Lee Ermey gained everlasting fame as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, a man tasked with turning ordinary young men into stone-cold killers. The first half of the movie follows the brutal training of the recruits, then the second half transports the action to Vietnam. Featuring some of the most memorable lines in movie history, Full Metal Jacket is a must-see.
1. Apocalypse Now
The river cruise from hell, Apocalypse Now marked out Martin Sheen as a major star. A psychedelic trip into the heart of darkness, Sheen is Captain Willard, a man tasked to assassinate “with extreme prejudice” an American Colonel who has gone off the deep end somewhere in remote Cambodia. The Colonel is Kurtz, played with disturbing unreality by the incomparable Marlon Brando. The trip is beset by dangerous wildlife, unbearable heat, and a cast of characters warped by war. Apocalypse Now is best seen rather than described and makes number one on this list.