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Directed by: John Irvin Starring: Don Cheadle, Dylan McDermott, Courteney B Vance, Steven Weber. A company of the 101st Airborne is tasked with taking a NVA held hill. It will be a very bloody affair. This film had more of an impact on me than either FMJ or Platoon. The battlefield seems very vivid and real, with its sloshy red terrain. The characters are well portrayed, Courteney B Vance especially stands out as the passionate medic 'Doc'. I ended up caring about the characters and hating the Military brass for what seemed like a pontless attack on the hill. The battle scenes are very gritty. Not spectacular in a SPR sense but very brutal and well dirty. Some of the close up gore effects are a little dubious though (Especially a scene half way through involving a Vietnamese fighter and a M60) The film also deals with the situation back in the states and I couldn't help but empathize with the feelings of abandonment that the troops felt. The common soldier was being blamed for what the goverment ordered them to do. I saw this when I was 11, made me realize for the first time that war is no fun. Add in the magnificent Philip Glass score, and you have a film capable of making a lasting impression. A sorely underrated work! RATING: 4.5 PROS: Brutally realistic, Great performances from virtual unknowns. CONS: Slightly cheap effects, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093137/plotsummary
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Jun 25, 2004 16:38
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an associate of mine recommended this film to me, and maybe it's because he assured me it was great film and the best war film there was, but i found it a bit underwhelming. films like FMJ and Platoon have standout moments and actors that i recall very clearly, but Hamburger Hill was just kind of there... nothing bad about the film, but nothing that excited me like i had anticipated. but i guess that might just have been the result of the overhyping. all in all, it's a solid film. 3.5.
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Jun 26, 2004 08:34
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I'd have to put this at number one of my favorite Vietnam war movies. It held much more power than FMJ or Platoon, and that's saying something, especially when talking about the latter. All the deaths really got me, people didn't just get shot and die, nor did they have really prolonged deaths. A great middle ground. The ending is powerful, more so knowing that the US just marched back down the hill and the Viet Kong marched right back up. I think movies like this are important especially now with all the anti-war sentiment going on. Some may forget that the grunts just fight, if you want to protest the war, you should look to the brass. Over an excellent film. Some cheap effects (in one scene you can clearly see the tube that an explosion came out of) but thats overshadowed by everything else. 4.
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Oct 21, 2004 07:08
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