Hearts and Minds (1974)

Director:

Peter Davis

Release Date:

17 November 1975 (Sweden)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Plot:

A documentary of the conflicting attitudes of the opponents of the Vietnam war.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Vietnam War | Propaganda | Racism | Militarism

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Georges Bidault	...	Himself
Clark Clifford	...	Himself
George Coker	...	Himself
Kay Dvorshock	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Daniel Ellsberg	...	Himself
Randy Floyd	...	Himself
J. William Fulbright	...	Himself (as J.W. Fulbright)
Brian Holden
Robert Muller	...	Himself
Khanh Nguyen	...	Himself
Walt Rostow	...	Himself
William C. Westmoreland	...	Himself

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:R | Brazil:14 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Linden, New Jersey, USA

Company:

BBS Productions

Trivia:

In a Moviefone interview, Michael Moore cites this as one of his inspirations to begin making films.

Quotes:

Gen. William Westmoreland: The Oriental doesn't put the same high price on life as does the Westerner. Life is cheap in the Orient.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Doesn't pull any punches

There are certain subjects so horrendous and so important that fictionalizing them, regardless of the good intentions of the film maker, can only trivialize them. "Schindler's List", "JFK" and "The Deer Hunter" come to mind.

Give me a good documentary any time, and this is one of the best.

It takes the silly rhetoric of our leaders and juxtaposes it with images showing the horrendous results of their short-sighted policies.

If you want to know what the VietNam war was really all about, (and why so many of us were against it,) skip "Apocalypse Now", "Go Tell the Spartans" and "Full Metal Jacket" and watch this one.