Review of Hamburger Hill (1987) by Van R — 11 Sep 2009
Forget about all those other pretentious Vietnam War epics such as PLATOON, THE DEER HUNTER, FULL METAL JACKET and APOCALYSE NOW. The best Vietnam War movie is the John Irvin film HAMBURGER HILL, a gripping true-life account of ten bloody days in 1969 on Hill 937 as the U.
S. Army battled to eradicate the enemy from a chunk of real estate that claimed 70 percent casualties on the U.S. side. Sometimes our own killed as many men as the enemy. The friendly fire scene is engrossing.
Director John Irvin and scenarist James Carabatsos plunge us into a world of pain, heartache, and misery as young G.I.s are ordered into battle like cannon fodder. Most of the action takes place on the hill either between the Americans and the hard-bitten Vietnamese troops or in the base camps where white G.
I.s clash with African-American Joes. Peter MacDonald lensed the action and you feel yourself up to your neck in filth and bullets as the heroes clamber up that deadly hill eleven times. No sooner do individual G.
I.s become interesting than they are knocked off. HAMBURGER HILL depicts the futility of war and is comparable to the original ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. This memorable and disturbing combat classic benefits from a strong, credible cast headed by Dylan DcDermott and Don Cheadle.
This review of Hamburger Hill (1987) was written by Van R on 11 Sep 2009.
Hamburger Hill has generally received positive reviews.
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