A Rumor of War (1980)

Director:

Richard T. Heffron

Writers:

John Sacret Young (teleplay), Phil Caputo (book)

Stars:

Brad Davis, Keith Carradine, Michael O'Keefe

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Davis	...	Lt. Philip 'Phil' Caputo
Keith Carradine	...	Lt. Murph McCoy
Michael O'Keefe	...	Lt. Walter Cohen
Richard Bradford	...	Gen. Merle Rupert
Brian Dennehy	...	Sgt. Ned Coleman
John Friedrich	...	Cpl. Pascarella
Perry Lang	...	Woodward
Christopher Mitchum	...	Capt. Peterson
Dan Shor	...	Manhole
Lane Smith	...	Sgt. Willliam Holgren
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Cpl. Kazmarak
Gail Youngs	...	Carol
Steve Forrest	...	Col. Atherton
Stacy Keach	...	Maj. Ball
Phillip R. Allen	...	Col. Perry (as Phillip Allen)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | vietcong | u.s. marine corps | helicopter | casualty of war | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bagliori di guerra

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles Fries Productions, Dick Berg-Stonehenge Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 191 min (video) 195 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The captain can be seen breathing after he is supposedly killed at the end of the film.

User Reviews

Difficult to obtain the original release

This was one of my favorite books when I first read it overseas as a young Marine grunt back in 1978. When I returned stateside just a year later I ,along with seven other Marines from my unit, was chosen to serve as an extra in this Phil Caputo movie which was filmed (mostly) just south of Mexico City. Owning an original VHS copy, I wanted to also obtain a DVD copy of the original cut. The problem is that the DVD copy that I bought online (same that's pictured here on IMDb - not the original cover) is an edited/foreign version with subtitles. Since then I've had my VHS copy burned to DVD, but I wish could find the original cut on DVD (professionally done). Oh, and my other beef with this foreign cut that sells online is that they cut out my only speaking scene with Lt. Cohen (Michael O'Keefe)...sad. Aside from the experience of being in the movie, I really enjoyed the final product as I thought it brought a lot of realism (both Marine Corps and Vietnam) to the screen. If you get a chance to see the original cut, I believe you'll enjoy it as I did.