Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) (TV)

Director:

Bill Couturié

Writers:

Bill Couturié (writer)
Richard Dewhurst (writer)

Release Date:

September 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Photograph | Newsreel Footage | Correspondence | Voice Over Letter

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

Dear America

Runtime:

Germany:83 min | USA:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Dear America

Quotes:

Mrs. Stocks: [In a letter to her KIA son, left at the Vietnam Memorial] Dear Bill, I came to this black wall again, to see and touch your name. William R. Stocks. And as I do, I wonder if anyone ever stops to realize that next to your name, on this black wall, is your mother's heart. A heart broken fifteen years ago today...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#3.1)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

GRACE

A Heartfelt Way to a Time and Place

This film presents the Vietnam War from the American perspective and primarily from the perspective of ordinary American soldiers. It is chronological and describes essential events to put the soldiers' stories into context. While it might help viewers to know basic facts about the war beforehand, the film stands alone. I think this would be an excellent film to show students when discussing, for example, the Cold War.

This film is a remarkable documentary because it presents various sides to a complex story in such a short running time. I think the film succeeds because it simply reports the truth. I am not American and appeals to American patriotism or God's blessing of America tend to roll my eyes, not make them tearful. But this film makes the lives of these guys plain to a universal audience.

Once the film started, I was so captivated that I ignored the narration and never even thought about who was speaking. I was only grateful the filmmakers chose people practiced in reading text clearly. Ignore the famous names connected to this film. That's not the story at all. The images and music, however, are part of the story. But not front and centre. That place is reserved for the ordinary words of ordinary Americans.