Top Ten Favorite VIETNAM WAR Movies
Below is a list of my favorite movies set during the Vietnam War:
TOP TEN FAVORITE VIETNAM WAR MOVIES
1. “Operation Dumbo Drop” (1995) - This Disney film is a loosely based adaptation of true events, as related by retired U.S. Army Major Jim Morris; involving the U.S. Special Forces in the tiny South Vietnamese village of Dak Nhe in 1968 and a search for an elephant. Directed by Simon Wincer, Ray Liotta, Danny Glover and Dennis Leary starred.
2. "Path to War" (2002) - John Frankenheimer directed this HBO movie about the Vietnam War via the eyes of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his cabinet. Michael Gambon, Alec Baldwin and Donald Sutherland starred.
3. “Forrest Gump” (1994) - Robert Zemeckis won his Best Director Oscar for this magical adaptation of Winston Groom’s 1986 novel about the life journey of a simple man from Alabama. One of the best sequences of the movie featured the main character’s experiences during the Vietnam War. Oscar winner Tom Hanks starred.
4. “Air America” (1989) - Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. co-starred in this hilarious adaptation of Christopher Robbins’ 1979 book about the adventures of Air America pilots during the Vietnam War. Roger Spottiswoode directed.
5. “The Deer Hunter” (1978) - Michael Cimino won a Best Director Oscar for his Oscar winning movie about Pennsylvania steel workers and their experiences as U.S. Army infantrymen and prisoners-of-war during the Vietnam War. Robert DeNiro, Oscar winner Christopher Walken, John Savage and Meryl Streep starred.
6. “Platoon” (1986) - Oliver Stone won his first Best Director Oscar for this harrowing Oscar winning account of a U.S. Army platoon in Vietnam during the late 1960s. Charlie Sheen and Oscar nominees Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe starred.
7. “Off Limits” (1988) - Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines starred in this atmospheric murder mystery about two U.S. Army C.I.D. agents investigating a group of Army generals who are suspects in the murders of Vietnamese prostitutes in war-torn Saigon. Fred Ward and Scott Glenn co-starred. Christopher Crowe directed.
8. “Dogfight” (1991) - River Phoenix and Lili Taylor starred in this story about a Vietnam-bound U.S. Marine corporal who finds love with a shy and plain San Francisco girl, after participating in a game in which he and his buddies try to find and date the “ugliest” girl possible. Nancy Savoca directed.
9. “Garden of Stone” (1987) - Francis Ford Coppola directed this adaptation of Nicholas Proffitt’s novel about the U.S. Army’s Honor Guard during the Vietnam War. James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, D.B. Sweeney, Mary Stuart Masterston, Laurence Fishburne and Dean Stockwell.
10. “Bat 21” (1988) - Gene Hackman, Danny Glover and Jerry Reed starred in this adaptation of a true account about the controversial and costly rescue of a U.S. Air Force navigator during the Vietnam War. Peter Markle directed.