Review of The Green Berets (1968) by Harry W — 30 Apr 2014

Co-directed by John Wayne and Ray Kellogg, this project came about after Wayne visited South Vietnam in 1965, and wanted to do a film about the work the U.S. Army were doing there, he optioned Robin Moore's 1965 book of the same name, and set about producing the film out of his own pocket.

Despite good intentions, it's now incredibly dated, and Wayne seems incredibly out of place in the film. It begins at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where newspaper reporter George Beckworth (David Janssen) is critical of the American presence in Vietnam, but Green Beret Colonel Mike Kirby (John Wayne) who is about to be shipped out with his platoon to South Vietnam, invites Beckworth along, to see for himself first hand what the Green Beret troops do out in the field.

Kirby is sent out with his team to intercept the Communist forces, while out there, they meet Sgt. Petersen (Jim Hutton) from another platoon, who Kirby asks to join. Kirby's team also give aid to the South Vietnamese Army, dealing with Colonel Cai (Jack Soo) and Captain Nim (George Takei).

It's essentially an out and out propaganda film, which comes across as very heavy-handed and jingoistic. While this may have been a passion project for Wayne, it was denounced after the Vietnam War ended, and the likes of Apocalypse Now and Platoon showed what it was REALLY like.