Hamburger Hill (1987)

A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

Director:

John Irvin

Writer:

James Carabatsos

Stars:

Anthony Barrile, Michael Boatman, Don Cheadle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Barrile	...	Pvt. Vincent 'Alphabet' Languilli
Michael Boatman	...	Pvt. Ray Motown (as Michael Patrick Boatman)
Don Cheadle	...	Pvt. Johnny Washburn
Michael Dolan	...	Pvt. Harry Murphy
Don James	...	Pvt. Elliott 'Mac' McDaniel
Dylan McDermott	...	Sgt. Adam Frantz
Michael A. Nickles	...	Pvt. Paul Galvan (as M.A. Nickles)
Harry O'Reilly	...	Pvt. Michael Duffy
Daniel O'Shea	...	Pvt. Frank Gaigin
Tim Quill	...	Pvt. Joe Beletsky
Tommy Swerdlow	...	Pvt. Martin Bienstock
Courtney B. Vance	...	Spc. Abraham 'Doc' Johnson
Steven Weber	...	Sfc. Dennis Worcester
Tegan West	...	Lt. Terry Eden
Kieu Chinh	...	Mama San

Storyline

A brutal and realistic war film focuses on the lives of a squad of 14 U.S. Army soldiers of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infanty Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the brutal 10 day (May 11-20, 1969) battle for Hill 937 in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam as they try again and again to take the fortified hill held by the North Vietnamese, and the faults and casualties they take every time in which the battle was later dubbed "Hamburger Hill" because enemy fire was so fierce that the fusillade of bullets turned assaulting troops into shreded hamburger meat.

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Plot Keywords:

hill | vietnam | vietnam war | sergeant | gore | 

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Taglines:

The most realistic portrayal of the Vietnam War ever filmed . Because it's the only one that's true.

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Genres:

Drama | War | Action

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

French English

Release Date:

28 August 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

937: Posición de combate

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Gross:

$13,839,404 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Near the end of the film, there is a scene where a soldier, his face covered with bandages, is blindly reaching out to his comrades as they hurry past him. This is taken from a famous picture taken at the real Hamburger Hill.

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Goofs

Although the practice of subduing unit shoulder patches was officially adopted during the Vietnam war, there were some units that refused to subdue their patches because of unit pride. The 101st Airborne Division was the major one that never subdued their shoulder patches. The 101st did not subdue the patch until BDUs started to be worn.

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Quotes

Doc: Okay. The war started for you when you farted... and said "Good mornin', Vietnam".

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Crazy Credits

The following poem is shown at the beginning of the credits: If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. Major Michael Davis O'Donnell 1 January 1970 Dak To, Vietnam

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Connections

References Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Gimme Some Lovin'"
Written by Steve Winwood, Muff Winwood and Spencer Davis
Performed by The Spencer Davis Group

User Reviews

I was there. This film gets it right.

I was an infantryman in the field in Vietnam. There are only 2 Vietnam movies that are even close to real - this one and Apocalypse Now, and they are both as close as a movie can get.

Hamburger Hill gets it right in many ways, the banter among the grunts, the fatalism mixed with the desire to survive a vicious war, the emotional stress of seeing your fellow GI's become casualties. The GI jargon used in the writing is the most authentic in any movie about that war. But most of all it depicts the incredible, to me mystical, bravery which drives any man into terrible battle in any war, on any side. This movie is an unpretentious marvel.

As for Apocalypse Now, it gets it right in a very different way. Everything in that movie actually happened in Vietnam, crazy as each scene may be to one who wasn't there. Take it scene by scene. Believe everything you see. (Except, of course, the whole Col. Kurtz - private army - assassination theme, which was out of the book about war in South Africa. It made a great hook for this movie, but no U. S. Army senior officer ever went off the deep end like that.)