(2013-05-15 10:31:59)

Green Berets in HD

This review is from: The Green Berets [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Awesome HD. Viet Nam is a beautiful country--despite the war. John Wayne is typical. Came on time and in perfect condition.

(2013-05-15 02:49:10)

John Wayne at his patriotic best!

This review is from: The Green Berets (DVD) I saw this movie when it came to theaters when I was a kid, and it gave me chills to learn about the men who put their lives on the line in Vietnam! I bought this film to remind me of the greatness of this country and its armed forces!

(2013-05-11 02:52:43)

"If you wanna go where the war is, this is the way!"

The first feature film about American involvement in Viet Nam, "The Green Berets" (based on the book by Robin Moore) follows Colonel Mike Kirby (John Wayne) and his team of Special Forces warriors from Ft Bragg to the firebases and jungles of Viet Nam. Followed by newshound skeptic David Janssen, Kirby shows Janssen and the audience a vicious enemy and the strange world of South East Asia. "The Green Berets" makes no attempt to be neutral -- the Bad Guys are bad guys, the Good Guys are good guys (including Captain Nim, played by George Takei) and the issues are clear. Wayne and Moore made no doubt of their support and admiration for the American troops in Viet Nam, while only briefly touching on the serpentine politics of the war. Author Moore claimed that much of the book was a fictionalized retelling of actual events, and most of the vignettes are familiar to anyone who served there.Released in 1968, the film is more Disneyesque than later films such as "The Siege of Firebase Gloria," and the Ft Bragg location sets are much cleaner than the real jungles, but the US Army didn't pinch pennies supplying equipment and extras (in exchange, Wayne's Batjac Productions donated the accurately-duplicated Viet Nam village and firebase sets for training the REAL Special Forces soldiers following filming)."The Green Berets" also introduced the public to the modern military technology now taken for granted, from Claymore mines and the "Mighty Mattel" M-16 rifle to the "Attack Cargo" gunships ("Puff, the Magic Dragon") and the everpresent "Air Cavalry" concept via Huey helicopters.Production values are very good, and special features include theatrical trailers, multiple languages (including, ironically, French), and letterbox widescreen. END

(2013-05-10 14:07:54)

Laughing...........

This review is from: The Green Berets (DVD) Great war movie but it has nothing to do with the reality of Vietnam..........All I have to say to all the right wing flag waivers is go to Vietnam today...............The same people that fought us are running the country..........Their flag is flying all over the country..........American Corperations owned by Conservative Republican businessmen have factories, hotels and all kinds of businesses all over Vietnam making millions of dollars.............What was it all those guys died for???????????

sychonic

(2013-04-28 15:41:00)

Rousing action movie

The chief sin of this movie is that it was a total slap in the face of allthe rabid anti-American hippies and media elites who were peddlinghalf-baked socialism and inane guilt ridden U.S. vilification in the late1960s. In fact, a perfect representation of this crowd is portrayed in themovie by David Jansen. During the beginning of the movie, there's a sceneat the training camp where Aldo Ray gives a rather accurate description ofwhat was going on in Viet Nam. There is also an eerily precise predictionof what would happen if the Communists were to take power--in particular thekilling. As a cinematic outing, this is pretty standard fare--a rather ruthless enemyfought by heroic Americans. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands,of movies like it about World War I, World War II and Korea. For somereason, it galls people no end that someone would have the audacity to makea similar movie about Vietnam--right in the middle of the sixties no less. Well, as we have seen, many movies have gone on to portray the Americansoldier as no less heroic in Vietnam as he was in those other wars. But, in terms of villainous enemies, the Viet Cong and the North VietnameseArmy match the Nazis in terms of pure evil. The visceral hatred that thismovie sometimes elicits seems to be mostly from aging left wingers with anaxe to grind, or fru fru cultural elitists who live in mortal terror thatthey might somehow be seen as unhip. For all it's flaws--such as pine trees instead of Indochinese jungles, andpoorly made up extras as the Viet Cong, this is basically a rousingpro-American movie. War is never clean, nor fun--but war movies very oftenare. This one is hardly different than any other; and if one objects to it,well, start throwing out "The Sands of Iwo Jima", "The Longest Day", "Backto Bataan", even "Fort Apache" and "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon." Those wereall undeniably better movies than this one, but mostly from the perspectiveof technical skill, performances, and writing. All important aspects of amovie--and ones that the Green Berets suffer from in terms ofdeficiency--but hardly to put it in the "bomb" category. If you like action movies, and John Wayne, and it's hard to like one withoutthe other, since he is still a quintessential American icon, and will likelyalways be, see the movie and suspend the politics. Like it or not we werethere, but watch the movie and root for the yanks--we may not have won thewar, but in this movie we do just fine.

(2013-04-28 04:42:31)

Take that, Uncle Ho!

If you ever read Gustav Hasford's "The Short-Timers" (which "Full Metal Jacket" was based on) you know how he felt about this movie: "Let's watch the Duke and Mr. Sulu karate-chop Victor Charlie in a Kodicolor fantasy about Vietnam." In other words, he thought it was bunk. So does everyone else on the left, who have bought into the myth that Vietnam was a purely guerilla war and that the human-wave assaults employed by the NVA/VC on Col. Kirby's camp in the film would never have happened in real life. In point of fact almost 90% of the fighting in Vietnam was of the conventional type in the Central Highlands or the valleys ("We Were Soldiers") while only 10% of the troops were employed in the rice paddies you see in movies like "Platoon." Whenever the NVA fought out in the open, a la the Tet Offensive, they were well and truly beaten, but their leadership was ruthless and understood that by trading 5 Vietnamese lives for one American, the U.S. will to fight would eventually break. They knew the American public had only tepid support for Vietnam and would not accept the losses. The result, of course, we all know. Hanoi Jane what she wanted and so did Uncle Ho. Too bad Jane didn't go back in say, 1975 and spend some time in a re-education camp. They could have taken pics of her in a tiger cage, eating bugs and rotting from typhus.If you are reading this you probably know the story of the movie.John Wayne's Col. Kirby and his elite Special Forces "A" Team (no, not the one with Hannibal and Face and B.A. Barracus)is sent to Vietnam to establish base camps which offer protection to the local farmers from the murderous Viet Cong (whose crimes against their own people are well documented here). The soldiers teach the locals how to fight while providing basic medical care and 20th century improvements to their primeval way of life. There is the usual big John Wayne type battle as the VC try to overrun the camp, followed by a commando raid deep into enemy territory, and a tragic-heroic ending. But the movie is more than the sum of its parts. It is not mere entertainment, it is personal propiganda, designed to present the Duke's argument for why America was fighting in Vietnam at all. The only failing is its sappiness and jingoism, which make it easy for opponents to ridicule. But making fun of it doesn't take away the fact that the Duke's argument was based on something he is rarely credited for -- human decency. What "right" did we have in Vietnam? I guess the same "right" we had to land on the beaches of Normandy. We had no "right" at all -- it was just the "right thing to do", to support a bad government (South Vietnam) against a much worse government (North Vietnam) that used methods like mass killings of teachers, civil servants, nuns, missionaries, and village chiefs to destabilze the South and forcibly unite the country. You can argue about the legitimacy of taking sides in a civil war all day, but any country that uses methods like burying people alive and raping women to death as a matter of military policy probably deserves to be opposed, yes?Anyway, let me take a moment to say I LOVE THIS FREAKIN' MOVIE. Growing up, good old Washington D.C. Channel 20 (remember when you only had ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and your one local channel? Channel 20 was ours) played this movie, (along with "The Battle of the Bulge" and "The Bridge at Remagen" and some other classics) about once every other day. Even the thought of it brings a smile to my face. Here was a guy, John Wayne, who had the guts to make a film this flag-shakingly right wing at a time when patriotism was growing unfashionable and millions of people were abandoning and spitting on the ideals that he embodied -- which, by the way, a few of us still hold true. As a movie, "The Green Berets" has a hard ideology of anti-communism and shows the newfangled Special Forces as a sort of elite brotherhood consecrated to fight against it. I think a lot of the hate directed against this movie comes from the surity of Kirby's (meaning John Wayne's) beliefs. They are rock-solid and not up for debate or negotiation. He understands what will (and did) happen to Vietnam if the North wins the war, and fights bitterly to prevent this from happening, while simultaneously trying to win over a stubborn journalist who has legitimate doubts about our involvement. No question, this movie is jingoistic and predictable, a Vietnam war movie packed in WWII casing, but who cares?

(2013-03-23 00:57:36)

Great movie

This review is from: The Green Berets (Amazon Instant Video) Shows what patriotism meant years ago. Song "Silver wings" the lyrics just get me every time. Good cast and story.

cdmaher

(2013-03-22 12:33:04)

Plain and simply, a war film.

I hear people complaining of war films in such a way as "It wasn'taccurate", or "the viewpoint is bias". When I hear things like this Ijust feel like saying frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. I don'tcare if this film is accurate, that's not what I watch war films for. Iwatch war films for various different reasons. These are: 1. Guns 2.Explosions 3. People getting shot 4. The bad guys getting pwned (forwant of a better word) And this film compiles all 4. Screw historicalaccuracy, this film has John Wayne killing bad guys, what could bebetter for a rainy Saturday afternoon? A good film and one that anywar-film enthusiast should definitely see.

Doug Brown

(2013-03-19 06:33:06)

Message not misguided, just bad timing.

Before reading this, please know that I have mentioned what the movie isabout. So, if you have yet to see it, please do beforereading.This movie isn't the greatest, that is for sure. But the message was clear. Stopping Communism. It was one of the few, and I mean few, pro-Vietnam warpictures (and, honestly, I cannot think of another).If there had been more (or better), then maybe the tide of public opinionwould have been pro, instead of con.The acting was sub-par, to say the least. Very contrived. The actionsequences were boring. A better film would have made a more convincingargument. John Wayne gets an "A" for effort, but the film is adud.

Trond Enemo

(2013-03-18 20:57:36)

Patriotic movie

By making this movie in the midst of The Vietnam war John Wayne proved hewas man of courage and principle.Despite the growing anti-war moment in theUS at the time, Wayne had the courage to make a film that stood up for anddefended the troops fighting communism in Asia. The movie is very far fromperfect; unrealistic military tactics, bad special effect, overlong scriptand more, but it is still a movie that honors the military and thesacrifices made by those who saw communism in Vietnam as a threat toAmerican/western way of life. Wayne is to be commended for his effort tobolster patriotism and pride, no matter what his many critics say.Recommended.

(2013-02-23 11:47:54)

Old timer

They broke the mold when wayne died. Enactment of Marines, Soldiers,Airmen,and Naval personnel was top notch. Very authentic and especially of firebases.I don't think any actor today could have beat him.

(2013-02-22 21:54:10)

So-So War Flick; Seen Better, Seen Worse

There are some good battle scenes in here, particularly at night. Other than that, it's a so-so war movie and a little long. At 141 minutes, it could have been a lot better cut to two hours or even less.There is an interesting lecture to the press by the military early on and that's worth listening to, whether you agree with it or not. John Wayne played his normal tough-on-the-outside-but very human-on-the-inside role, which he so often did in his westerns. This movie also was made right when the Hays Code had been abolished but they still refrained from profanity, to their credit, although it certainly would have been understandable being a war flick.There were a number of lulls in here to show the soldiers being more than just killing machines. There is one very touching scene with a little boy whose soldier friend does not come back alive. From a war standput, there were Viet Cong booby traps that were brutal but interesting to see. Overall, I found it an "okay" war movie, but nothing special. Unlike most reviews that I've read here, I am just trying to evaluate the film without politics entering into it.

(2013-02-18 00:24:35)

I don't get it

This review is from: The Green Berets (DVD) DVD is clean it won't Play on any DVD player at all though!!! Maybe I didn't read something correct in the description

(2013-02-17 16:13:22)

Vietnam Era Movie

This review is from: The Green Berets [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Great story line and the supporting cast was well put together. Can't tell you the ending but, it will be one that you will remember. Very realistic work making this appear to have really happened. John Wayne was at his best in the Green Berets. Many Vietnam Vets say it is very real.

pwoods1

(2013-02-11 21:24:10)

The Duke is ageing and not convincing

As most viewers/readers of critiques would be aware of the trapentitled 'subjective viewing' and, given this film's lack ofcredibility, I'll cut straight to the chase.The Duke is far too old for his on-screen character. If the milieuwasn't being presented as Vietnam, it would be one of his own "oaters",and a bad one at that.The Green Berets are the equivalent of the British and Australian SASR.As an infanteer, we would refer to them, in derogatory fashion, as"super soldiers". Nothing, however, would have prepared them for thesight of an overweight, old, gung-ho, anacronism. John Wayne supportedthe Vietnam War - but this offer of support, albeit in a filmicsetting, is woeful, inaccurate, inflammatory, and insulting. Both forthe troops fighting in-country and the Vietnamese who denied andfinally expelled them.Without giving spoilers, I can't, in honesty, indicate how much I abhorthis film.I gave it a rating of two, just because of the notion of using M18A1claymores back-to-back. If you don't know of which I speak, look 'emup. Much like this 'film', they're anti-personnel mines: extremelydangerous and double-edged. (Seriously, look up the Claymore: aScottish double-edged sword.)

kjruk

(2013-02-11 06:40:40)

Is it Big John's worst movie?

It's not that Big John is too bad, but he does seem to sleepwalkthrough this film. Maybe it's not him, just the awfulness of the story.In the context of so many great war films this one has to be at thebottom end of the scale. It's on a par with the worst cowboys andIndians films when white man good Indian bad and it's fine to go turkeyshooting the guys with feathers. Even in the context of the times therewas no excuse for such blatant racism and hatred. It was obviously madefor the brainwashed masses who knew nothing about Vietnam's history anddidn't care anyway. A bit like the American public's attitude to Iraq.All they know is what they see and hear through the distorted prism ofTV.It's a crudely made film with a crude ideology behind it. To put therecord straight, Hồ Chí Minh fought on the allied side in the 2nd worldwar in order to get rid of the hated Japanese though it's hard todecide who they hated more- the Japanese or the French. Both races werebrutal arrogant colonialists - a bit like the British in India. Afterthe second world war all the old colonial powers tried to put the clockback to reestablish the old colonial rulers - and here it was theFrench. Hồ Chí Minh was promised freedom and reform by the US and theBritish, not a return to French masters. The allies did the same thingin the Middle East with the deadly results we have today. Anyway, theVietnamese naturally revolted and the rest is history as they say. TheUS turned the whole thing into a war on Communism and supported theevil thugs who took over in the South. In 1968 people who wanted toknow could read about the massive bombing and annihilation campaign,the napalm and possibly even worse - chemical warfare with AgentOrange. The facts were well known. With those facts so well known itshould have been impossible to make a stupid film like this.Anyway the film itself isn't even well made. Compare the battle sceneshere with lots of greater films like the Longest Day. And worst of all- the evil communists killed the kid's dog! Accidentally or was it?Those fiendish minds probably deliberately target the poor thing. Cuttearful little boy and big hearted American. And then I fell asleep...Hollywood is the dream factory that will not give us reality - not evenabout war. There are so many great and heroic true stories to tell butHollywood doesn't know how to do them.

tallguy62

(2013-02-04 01:15:15)

Way too Preachy!!!

This was a good action flick with John Wayne, who as an actor isgenerally always good. Who cares that he was aging? Everyone, evenactors age. There would be no decent cinema if all actors in movieswere 20-something, so some of you posters need to grow up.However, John Wayne's character was so ridiculous in the way hepreached about the horrors of Vietnam with David Janssen's character.It was OBVIOUSLY way too politically motivated. Some of the reviewershere said it was less political than other movies -- I would disagree.Nobody needs to be preached at when they go to an action flick, whetherpro or anti-Vietnam, unless they are expecting a documentary.A reminder about these types of movies and all movies, for that matter:Hollywood is NEVER true-to-life. Every "historical docu-drama" ishollywoodized; in other words, true stories are changed by producers,writers and directors based on what they perceive will be interestingto an audience (and will make money). Film is just like any other artand anyone who has had ART 101 knows that art is not nature; nor is arthistory. In other words, do not expect film to be historicallyaccurate; it NEVER is! There are countless examples. This movie is nodifferent -- it has a skewed view of the war. Other anti-Vietnam moviesalso had a skewed view.

banzaisgi

(2013-02-03 10:23:07)

As relevant today as it was then...

Coming at a time when the press was getting aligned with the studentleft and congressional left, it was the only true movie that dared toface off against the yuppie generation's parents.Burt Lancaster in Go Tell The Spartans and the movie Don't Cry It'sOnly Thunder were two more in their time periods that though low budgetand story intense, did put the message out that the enemy wasignorance, politics, and communism.Green Berets was the Strategic Air Command (among others) of its time.Get past the b.s. and look at the portrayal of the participants of allsides and you will see that it is more truthful than others give itcredit for.The movie relates that the Green Berets mission was not one of smokeand mirrors, but get in the dirt and live at the grass roots levels ofthose who were stuck between communism and a corrupted democratic govt.It doesn't need computer graphics or shock and awe effects to say thatthe military then was in a transitional stage. Where the conventionalwarfare military leaders thought that European land battle tacticscould win an Asian war.The special forces then and of today got the message...the cold warwasn't the true war, it was the war of the flea being waged in southAmerica, east europe, asia, and Africa.Enjoy the movie for what it is...Wayne's unashamed tribute to a newbreed of American soldier...the special operator. Remember, they wereall volunteers. Screened. And chosen for their people skills, not killskills.

(2013-01-29 08:49:56)

Green Berets

This review is from: The Green Berets (DVD) This is a great movie. After all its John Wayne. There is no one else like him.He was one of America's great.

(2013-01-28 23:08:51)

Americans will love it...left wingers go elsewhere!

My father served two tours in Vietnam and both he and I enjoyed this great John Wayne flick.The movie focuses on the Special Forces operating in Vietnam. It includes a huge battle at a base camp demonstarting the use of both ground and air forces in coordination, a combat technique employed today. It also features a secreat raid to capture a top VC officer.The movie shows something not often demonstarted in Oliver Stone and similiar lefties Vietnam movies-the suffering of Vietnamese by the commies and the loyal support of the Montanyards(sp?) to America.Maybe not 100% accurate but it is 100% American!