Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (TV 1987)

Feature-length documentary film featuring real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home. ... See full summary »

Director:

Bill Couturié

Writers:

Bill Couturié, Richard Dewhurst

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Ellen Burstyn, J. Kenneth Campbell

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	(voice)
Ellen Burstyn	...	Mrs. Stocks (voice)
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	(voice)
Richard Chaves	...	(voice)
Josh Cruze	...	(voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Elephant grass (voice)
Robert De Niro	...	Great sewer (voice)
Brian Dennehy	...	(voice)
Kevin Dillon	...	Jack (voice)
Matt Dillon	...	Mike? (voice)
Robert Downey Jr.	...	(voice)
Michael J. Fox	...	Pfc. Raymond Griffiths (voice)
Mark Harmon	...	(voice)
John Heard	...	Johnny Boy? (voice)
Fred Hirz	...	(voice)

Storyline

Feature-length documentary film featuring real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home. Archive footage of the war and news coverage thereof augment the first-person "narrative" by men and women who were in the war, some of whom did not survive it.

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Plot Keywords:

letter | vietnam war | vietnam | correspondence | newsreel footage | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dear America

Company Credits

Production Co:

Couturie Company, Dear America, GBA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Soldier: [Writing a letter home] Darling, believe me, I try not skip a day in writing you. Whether or not I get a letter determines if it's a good day or not.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 1988 (1988)

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Soundtracks

"I SHALL BE RELEASED"
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by The Band

User Reviews

Very Strong Emotional movie

Nothing can capture the hopes and fears of the brave soldiers who fought and died for freedom like their own words. Take that and add the documentary films and photos taken in Vietnam and you have a reality that no fictional movie can capture but that hundreds of thousands went through every day, doing what they do best in a place they'd rather not be. The actors reading the letters manages to capture the sincerity and the emotions of the people writing them.

Highly recommended.