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 Zomergasten: Episode #3.1 (1990)

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Soundtracks

"GIMME SHELTER"
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Performed by The Rolling Stones

User Reviews

Interesting Documentary, Powerful At Times

Letters and film footage from actual soldiers and nurses who fought in Vietnam are read aloud and shown in this "documentary." The letters are read by famous actors and actresses.

It turns out to be a sometimes-powerful moving saga of Vietnam through the eyes of those who were there but, remember, it's the filmmakers deciding what letters are read. That means you get an anti-Vietnam War bias, but it's not as blatant as one might think.

There is some good footage of bombings and nothing really gross, injury-wise, to view, most likely because this was made-for-TV.

The most moving part of the show was the last letter, from a mom to her son who had died 15 years earlier in Vietnam. That letter is a real tear-jerker. Overall, an excellent documentary, one of the better ones of its era.