Coming Home (1978)

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Waldo Salt (screenplay) and
Robert C. Jones (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 February 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

A man who believed in war! A man who believed in nothing! And a woman who believed in both of them!

Plot:

A woman whose husband is fighting in Vietnam falls in love with another man who suffered a paralyzing combat injury there.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Hospital | Love | Paraplegic | Orgasm

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Sally Hyde
Jon Voight	...	Luke Martin
Bruce Dern	...	Capt. Bob Hyde
Penelope Milford	...	Vi Munson
Robert Carradine	...	Bill Munson
Robert Ginty	...	Sgt. Dink Mobley
Mary Gregory	...	Martha Vickery
Kathleen Miller	...	Kathy Delise
Beeson Carroll	...	Capt. Earl Delise
Willie Tyler	...	Virgil
Louis Carello	...	Bozo (as Lou Carello)
Charles Cyphers	...	Pee Wee
Olivia Cole	...	Corrine
Tresa Hughes	...	Nurse Degroot
Bruce French	...	Dr. Lincoln
Mary Jackson	...	Fleta Wilson
Tim Pelt	...	Jason
Richard Lawson	...	Pat
Rita Taggart	...	Johnson
Claudie Watson	...	Bridges
Sally Frei	...	Connie
Tony Santoro	...	Porsche Salesman
Pat Corley	...	Harris
Gwen Van Dam	...	Mrs. Harris
Jim Klein	...	Willie Malone
Tokyo Ernie	...	Tokyo Ernie
Raul Bayardo	...	Mechanic in Wheelchair
Stacey Pickren	...	Sophie
James Kindelon	...	Marine at Gate
Joey Faustine	...	Marine at Gate
Arthur Rosenberg	...	Bruce
David Clennon	...	Tim
Kimberly Binion	...	Waitress Go-Go
Kirk Raymond	...	Surveillance Man
Bill Hale	...	Surveillance Man
Danny Tucker	...	Monty
Ned Van Zandt	...	Marine at Party
Dennis Rucker	...	Marine at Party
Jonathan Banks	...	Marine at Party
James G. Richardson	...	Marine at Party (as James Richardson)
Gary Downey	...	Intelligence Officer
George Roberts	...	FBI Agent
Bob Ott	...	FBI Agent
Gary Lee Davis	...	Marine Recruiter
Marc McClure	...	High School Class Pres.
Ron Amador	...	Himself - At Hospital
Kenneth Augustine	...	Himself - At Hospital (as Ken Augustine)
Cornelius Austin	...	Himself - At Hospital
Rick Blanchard	...	Himself - At Hospital
John J. Britt	...	Himself - At Hospital
James Lane	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Murdock	...	Himself - At Hospital
Fredrico Orange	...	Himself - At Hospital
Edward Ramirez	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Soto	...	Himself - At Hospital
Chris Sweeden	...	Himself - At Hospital
Curtis Waddy	...	Himself - At Hospital
James Williams	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Abatiell	...	Himself - At Hospital
Karn Alecksen	...	Himself - At Hospital
Blane Baker	...	Himself - At Hospital
Albert Arena	...	Himself - At Hospital
Don Boswell	...	Himself - At Hospital
James Bennett	...	Himself - At Hospital
Reynard Brooks	...	Himself - At Hospital
Philip Brasile	...	Himself - At Hospital
Joe Burghadt	...	Himself - At Hospital
Jon Brown	...	Himself - At Hospital
Bridget Chancelor	...	Herself - At Hospital
Albert Campos	...	Himself - At Hospital
John Crosson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Glen Christopher	...	Himself - At Hospital
Mary Elders	...	Herself - At Hospital
Romeo Cuellar	...	Himself - At Hospital
Mike Flippin	...	Himself - At Hospital
Everett Erickson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Bernie Folker	...	Himself - At Hospital
Adolf Flores	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Garrett	...	Himself - At Hospital
Wil Friedman	...	Himself - At Hospital
Richard Gilbert	...	Himself - At Hospital
Reginald Gibson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Gilbert Gunderson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Jim Gleason	...	Himself - At Hospital
Gary Lee Harris	...	Himself - At Hospital
John Hagelberg	...	Himself - At Hospital
Terry Jennings	...	Himself - At Hospital
Butch Hubbard	...	Himself - At Hospital
David Kiley	...	Himself - At Hospital
William Johnson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Kevin Lewis	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Kretschmann	...	Himself - At Hospital
Gordon Lewis	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Leslie	...	Himself - At Hospital
Richard Lubin	...	Himself - At Hospital
Dennis Link	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert McGee	...	Himself - At Hospital
Jeff Lucas	...	Himself - At Hospital
Louis Mares	...	Himself - At Hospital
Richard Malone	...	Himself - At Hospital
Marc Mikialian	...	Himself - At Hospital
Frank Martin	...	Himself - At Hospital
Susan Mirch	...	Herself - At Hospital
Jeff Minnebraker	...	Himself - At Hospital
Greg Najera	...	Himself - At Hospital
Morris Moorhead	...	Himself - At Hospital
Jerry Newman Sr.	...	Himself - At Hospital
John Craig Nelson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Brad Parks	...	Himself - At Hospital
Michael Palacios	...	Himself - At Hospital
Butch Rader	...	Himself - At Hospital
Brad Pickle	...	Himself - At Hospital
Richard Rodriguez	...	Himself - At Hospital
Robert Darrell Ray	...	Himself - At Hospital
Steven Scott	...	Himself - At Hospital
Albert Rowe	...	Himself - At Hospital
Greg Shepard	...	Himself - At Hospital
Maureen Shapiro	...	Herself - At Hospital
Hugh Farrington	...	Himself - At Hospital (as Hugh Smith)
Trace Sikora	...	Herself - At Hospital
Steve Sober	...	Himself - At Hospital
Kenny Snow	...	Himself - At Hospital
Rick Stevens	...	Himself - At Hospital
Craig Spruill	...	Himself - At Hospital
Ron Tarin	...	Himself - At Hospital
John Sweeden	...	Himself - At Hospital
Arthur Watson	...	Himself - At Hospital
Tom Walker	...	Himself - At Hospital
Rex Weigel	...	Himself - At Hospital
Michael Watson	...	Himself - At Hospital
John Williams	...	Himself - At Hospital
Bob White	...	Himself - At Hospital
James Worth	...	Himself - At Hospital
Howard Wolff	...	Himself - At Hospital
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hal Ashby	...	Passenger in Porsche Speedster Flashing the Peace Sign (uncredited)
Mark Carlton	...	Mark at Rap Session (uncredited)
Jaye Durkus	...	Gunnery Sergeant (uncredited)
Reuben Green	...	Platoon Leader (uncredited)
Mark Hateley	...	Luke's Neighbor (uncredited)
Sharon Hesky	...	Dancer in Go-Go Club (uncredited)
Ed Lang	...	Ed - Hell's Angel (uncredited)
Steven Price	...	Shad (uncredited)
Patrick Regan	...	Marine (uncredited)
Jan Michael Shultz	...	Lt. Roscoe (uncredited)
Leland Sun	...	PFC (uncredited)
Stephen Traxler	...	Steve at Rap Session (uncredited)
Marc Vahanian	...	Ronnie (uncredited)
Hildegarde Wendt	...	Waitress in Go-Go Club (uncredited)
Haskell Wexler	...	Officer Awarding Medals (uncredited)
Bill Willens	...	Hippie Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Hal Ashby

Writing credits
Waldo Salt		(screenplay) and
Robert C. Jones		(screenplay)
Nancy Dowd		(story)
Rudy Wurlitzer		uncredited

Produced by
Bruce Gilbert	....	associate producer
Jerome Hellman	....	producer

Cinematography by
Haskell Wexler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Don Zimmerman		(film editor)

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Michael D. Haller		(as Michael Haller)

Set Decoration by
George Gaines

Costume Design by
Ann Roth		(costume design)

Makeup Department
Bernadine M. Anderson	....	makeup artist: Ms. Fonda (as Bernadine Anderson)
Lynda Gurasich	....	hair stylist
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist: Ms. Fonda (as Lola McNally)

Production Management
Charles Mulvehill	....	production manager
Nicolas Hippisley-Coxe	....	location production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Bloom	....	second assistant director (as James Bloom)
Charles Myers	....	first assistant director (as Charles A. Myers)

Art Department
Alan Levine	....	property master (as Allan Levine)
James L. Schoppe	....	assistant art direction (as Jim Schoppe)
Claudia Gilligan Ivanjack	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Knudson	....	re-recording mixer (as Buzz Knudson)
Pat Suraci	....	boom man
Frank E. Warner	....	sound editor (as Frank Warner)
Jeff Wexler	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Sidney Ray Baldwin	....	still photographer (as Sid Baldwin)
Craig Denault	....	first assistant cameraman (as Craig De Nault)
Clyde Hart	....	key grip
Gary Holt	....	gaffer
Richard A. Mention III	....	second assistant cameraman (as Rick Mention)
Donald E. Thorin	....	camera operator (as Don Thorin)
Sunny Johnson	....	grip (uncredited)
Louis Niemeyer	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sally Dennison	....	additional casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jennifer L. Parsons	....	costumer: women (as Jennifer Parsons)
Silvio Scarano	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Scott Burrow	....	assistant editor
Mark Warner	....	assistant editor

Music Department
George Brand	....	music editor

Other crew
Michael Jacobs	....	technical advisor
Lucile Jones	....	friend who did everything
Caren Levin	....	friend who did everything
Michael Maslansky	....	unit publicist
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Spencer Quinn	....	location manager
Ken Ryan	....	accountant
June Samson	....	script supervisor
Dianne Schroeder	....	friend who did everything
David Wyler	....	friend who did everything
Janet Healy	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Mary Malin	....	assistant: Ann Roth (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Jerome Hellman Productions (as Jerome Hellman Productions Inc.)
• Jayne Productions Inc.

Distributors

• United Artists (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1978) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• atlas Film (1978) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Communications Co. (????) (USA) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Other Companies

• Ritek Digital Studios  DVD created by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Manhattan Beach, California, USA

Company:

Jerome Hellman Productions

Trivia:

The role of Luke Martin was originally offered to Sylvester Stallone.

Quotes:

Luke Martin:I have killed for my country, or whatever, and I don't feel good about it. Coz there's not enough reason, man, to feel a person die in your hands, or to see your best buddy get blown away.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nothing Like the Holidays (2008)

Soundtrack:

White Rabbit

Timely and excellent portraits of two veteran soldiers of Viet Nam returning as changed men, confused and disillusioned, to a woman they each love and a U.S. they can no longer reconcile with the pre-war ima

Sadly and surprisingly relevant, "Coming Home" offers the perspective of one man who's war experience renders him not only paralyzed but unable to deny his own real life experience as a wartime soldier to the extent that he can continue supporting his government's patriotic dogma that one man should kill, torture or oppress other soldiers, men, women and children to defend motives he now views, from a wheelchair, as questionable. Awakening to this perspective is a woman who, attempting to aid the war effort and make herself useful during her husband's time of military service to his country, volunteers her time at the local Veteran's Hospital.

As she encounters the soldiers just returned battle with countless physical and psychological wounds too deep to enable their return to duty, she begins to understand the impossibility of their task to "get back to a normal life" and starts a longer journey out from under her own unquestioning acceptance of obeying principles that manufacture circumstances that make the peaceful pursuits of love and family inconceivable.

Her own husband does return to her, an officer who spent his tour of duty doing what he has accepted all of his life is the "right thing" for his country but he, too, is terribly damaged by what he has seen. When he discovers that he has returned to a wife that has broken both the sanctity of their marriage and the very foundation of their commonality as people - namely, upholding the belief that you must endure and inflict and perpetuate the tortures of Hell, itself, if your government demands it of you - he is unable to find a way forward in his life. As the last institutions that served as the structure of his sanity and happiness are wrenched out from under him, he faces a void too horrible to walk into and turns to the only way out that he can perceive.

This film is shot in what seems a sincere approach to relating the stories that were, immediately post-viet nam, being widely reported of and experienced by those U.S. men and women returning from service. It attempts, via narrative, to correlate them to the cultural experiences of the public. It seems to try to offer insight into the collective trauma inflicted by the very idea that war, as an institutional means of problem solving, is an acceptable and patriotic belief that merits the sacrifice of our lives and sanity.

Though the film definitely has its own perspective, it maintains respect for each of the characters represented. It remains the imperative of each viewer to decide the question for themselves.