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Casualties of War (1989)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
18 August 1989 (USA) moreTagline:
Even in war... murder is murder.Plot:
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
Blistering assault on the degrading effects of warfare moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Michael J. Fox | ... | PFC. Eriksson | |
| Sean Penn | ... | Sgt. Tony Meserve | |
| Don Harvey | ... | Cpl. Thomas E. Clark | |
| John C. Reilly | ... | PFC. Herbert Hatcher | |
| John Leguizamo | ... | PFC. Antonio Diaz | |
| Thuy Thu Le | ... | Tran Thi Oanh / Girl on Train | |
| Erik King | ... | Cpl. Brown | |
| Jack Gwaltney | ... | PFC. Rowan | |
| Ving Rhames | ... | Lt. Reilly | |
| Dan Martin | ... | Hawthorne | |
| Dale Dye | ... | Capt. Hill | |
| Steve Larson | ... | Agent #1 | |
| John Linton | ... | Agent #2 | |
| Vyto Ruginis | ... | Prosecutor | |
| Al Shannon | ... | Wilkins |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
113 min | USA:121 min (extended version)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreCertification:
Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (extended version) | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:MFun Stuff
Trivia:
The film originally went into development at Paramount but was ultimately done for Columbia. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When a soldier steps on a landmine, other soldiers takes a picture of his corpse. Eriksson and one soldier goes to look that corpse which now lies on an opposite side of the road. moreQuotes:
Eriksson: Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do. Maybe we gotta' be extra careful because maybe it matters more than we even know. moreSoundtrack:
Magic Carpet Ride moreFAQ
What year does this this movie take place?more
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CASUALTIES OF WAR
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Sound format: 6-track Dolby Stereo
(35mm and 70mm release prints)
During a routine field trip at the height of the Vietnam War, a young soldier (Michael J. Fox) rebels against his commanding officer (Sean Penn) and other members of his patrol when they kidnap a defenceless Vietnamese girl (Thuy Thu Le) and subject her to a terrifying physical ordeal.
Unfairly overshadowed by the simultaneous theatrical release of Oliver Stone's pompous - but still impressive - BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989), Brian DePalma's CASUALTIES OF WAR recreates a harrowing incident from the Vietnam conflict - first reported in 'New Yorker' magazine in 1969 - in which a group of otherwise decent men succumbed to their own worst impulses and committed a terrible crime. Filmed with typical cinematic bravado by master craftsman DePalma, the movie uses every inch of the scope frame to convey both the duality of the landscape (vast swathes of breathtaking countryside, where sudden death lurks around every corner) and the moral vacuum which stretches the two central characters (Fox and Penn) to breaking point. Crafted with blistering simplicity by screenwriter David Rabe (himself a Vietnam veteran and author of the acclaimed stageplay 'Streamers'), the soldiers are depicted as brave individuals whose principles are shattered by their traumatic combat experiences, leaving Fox to essay the role of peacemaker in a world where all the rules have been turned upside down. Thuy - a model with no prior acting experience - is truly heartbreaking as the soldiers' terrified prisoner, and her ultimate fate is so horrific (arguably the most disturbing set-piece of this director's entire career), many viewers will be too appalled to see the film through to its inevitable conclusion. All in all, this uncompromising drama emerges as one of DePalma's strongest films to date.