Review of The Green Berets (1968) by Scott C — 12 Jul 2011

Patriotic 'Nam flick, made at a time when public opinion towards the war was swaying very much in the direction of negativity, an attitude shared by David Janssen's "Why are we here?" journalist who follows John Wayne's hard-nosed Colonel into the bush. Naturally his opinion is softened as he witnesses firsthand the heroism and humanitarianism of the Grunts and the barbarism of the Cong. Oh, don't kid yourself, this is pure propaganda - the Americans (and their ARVN comrades, who conveniently provide the cannon fodder) are constantly portrayed as brave and benevolent towards civilians while their enemies are faceless, violent barbarians who rape, torture and murder their way through countless innocent villages in the name of communism, mwahaha!! Still, it's easy to mock 40 years after the fact so you can forgive the flag-waving excess. In fact you could argue that similar movies are made about Iraq and Afghanistan today. There's a huge, chaotic battle scene that's very well shot (if completely over the top) but then they go and spoil it by not wrapping things up, instead adding on a whole extra Dirty Dozen/James Bond act that feels like it's from another movie! There's some very goofy humour too that also feels out of place.

The Green Berets is worth a watch if you're a fan of the war genre if for no other reason than to experience some genuine 60's propaganda (and George Takei!!) but if you find it tough to even make it through the cheesy-as-hell opening credits then get out while the going's good.