Casualties of War (1989)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Lang (book)
David Rabe (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam War | Vietnam | Village | Rape | Revenge

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	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	...	Oanh
Erik King	...	Brown
Jack Gwaltney	...	Rowan
Ving Rhames	...	Lt. Reilly
Dan Martin	...	Sgt. Hawthorne
Dale Dye	...	Capt. Hill
Steve Larson	...	Agent #1
John Linton	...	Agent #2
Vyto Ruginis	...	Prosecutor
Al Shannon	...	Wilkins
Wendell Pierce	...	MacIntire
Sam Robards	...	Chaplain Kirk
Maris Valainis	...	Streibig
Darren E. Burrows	...	Cherry
Sherman Howard	...	Court Martial President
John Marshall Jones	...	M.P. (as J.J.)
Holt McCallany	...	Lt. Kramer
Kady Tran	...	Yen - Oahn's Sister
Scott Gregory	...	Soldier Charlie 1
Ennalls Berl	...	Soldier Charlie 2
Vinh Tran	...	V.C. Interpreter
Somsak	...	ARVN Interpreter
Hataya Sarmount	...	Girl Villager
Ba Thuan T. Le	...	Oahn's Mother (as Ba Thuan T Le)
Nootch	...	Child Villager
Kwan	...	Child Villager
J. Chalerm	...	Villager Old Man Farmer
Sigma	...	Villager Woman
Po Powpi	...	Villager Old Man
Shaun Shea	...	Soldier
Kristopher Dunn	...	Soldier
Donal Gibson	...	Soldier
Shane Kerwin	...	Soldier
Niran	...	V.C. in Tunnel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Baldwin	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Stefan Ehlers	...	Sgt. Fuller (uncredited)
Amy Irving	...	Voice of girl on the train (uncredited)
Michael D. Jones	...	Passenger on Train (uncredited)
Jonathan MacLeod	...	Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Brian De Palma		(as Brian DePalma)

Writing credits (WGA)
Daniel Lang		(book "Casualties of War")
David Rabe		(screenplay)

Produced by
Fred C. Caruso	....	co-producer (as Fred Caruso)
Art Linson	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Stephen H. Burum		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bill Pankow

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Wolf Kroeger

Art Direction by
Bernard Hides		(as Bernard Hydes)

Set Decoration by
Peter Hancock
Hugh Scaife

Costume Design by
Richard Bruno

Makeup Department
Paul Engelen	....	makeup supervisor
Carl Fullerton	....	prosthetic makeup artist: Thuy Thu Le, San Francisco
Adam Hill	....	makeup effects moldmaker: Burman Studios
Mike Lockey	....	hair stylist (as Michael Lockey)
Bron Roylance	....	makeup supervisor: Michael J. Fox
Suzanne Stokes-Munton	....	wig supervisor

Production Management
Fred C. Caruso	....	unit production manager (as Fred Caruso)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Bennett	....	additional second assistant director
Brian W. Cook	....	first assistant director
Carl Goldstein	....	second second assistant director
Aldric La'auli Porter	....	first assistant director: San Francisco (as Aldric Porter)
Eric Schwab	....	second unit director
Annie Spiegelman	....	second assistant director: San Francisco
Michael Stevenson	....	second assistant director
Sompol Sungkawess	....	assistant director: Thailand

Art Department
Peter Hancock	....	property master
Tim Hatch	....	greens supervisor
Dave Midson	....	supervising dressing props
Michael O'Kane	....	painter
John Patterson	....	construction supervisor
Ray Pedler	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Richard P. Cirincione	....	sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Susan Sklar Friedman	....	apprentice sound editor
Kerry Fulton	....	apprentice sound editor (as Kerry Fulton-Peluffo)
Jay Kessel	....	assistant sound editor
Bruce Kitzmeyer	....	sound editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Kevin Lee	....	sound editor
Jimmy McDonough	....	sound editor
Peter Odabashian	....	sound editor
Mark Rathaus	....	sound editor
Maurice Schell	....	supervising sound editor
Leo Trombetta	....	assistant sound editor
Mark J. Wasiutak	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
John Baker	....	special effects
Terence J. Cox	....	special effects (as Terry Cox)
Yves De Bono	....	special effects (as Yves DeBono)
Trevor Neighbour	....	special effects
Sasisupa Sungvaribud	....	special effects coordinator: Thailand
Kit West	....	special effects supervisor
Trevor Wood	....	special effects

Stunts
Kenny Bates	....	stunts (as Ken Bates)
Ralph Garrett	....	stunts
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunts (as Billy H. Hooker)
Jeff Jensen	....	stunt coordinator
Bob Minor	....	stunts
Bernie Pock	....	stunts
Chad Randall	....	stunts
Danny Wong	....	stunts
Charles Croughwell	....	stunt double: Michael J. Fox (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan S. Blauvelt	....	first assistant camera (as Alan Blauvelt)
Bob Bridges	....	second assistant camera (as Robert Bridges)
John Clark	....	best boy
Gavin Horne	....	set grip
W.C. 'Chunky' Huse	....	key grip (as 'Chunky' Huse)
Larry McConkey	....	steadicam operator
Roland Neveu	....	still photographer
Douglas Ryan	....	camera operator (as Doug Ryan)
Laurie Shane	....	chief lighting technician
Danny Shelmerdine	....	first assistant camera
Tony Turner	....	dolly grip

Casting Department
Nancy Hayes	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julia Mansford	....	costume supervisor
Laurie Riley	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Phil Hetos	....	color timer
Anne McCabe	....	apprentice film editor
Debra C. Victoroff	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Sergio Marcotulli	....	music mixer
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Ennio Morricone	....	orchestrator
Sergio Marcotulli	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Tommy Tancharoen	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Sallie Beechinor	....	production coordinator
Alison Dickey	....	assistant: Sean Penn
Terry Dunn	....	assistant accountant
Dale Dye	....	technical advisor
Ray Freeborn	....	location manager
Nigel Goldsack	....	co-unit location manager
Monica Goldstein	....	assistant: Mr. DePalma
Ray Kybartas	....	trainer: Sean Penn
Erica Laine-Walian	....	assistant: Michael J. Fox
John Linson	....	production assistant
Elyse A. Mayberry	....	production office coordinator: Burbank (as Elyse Mayberry)
Golda Offenheim	....	production office coordinator: London
Ross Reynolds	....	helicopter pilot
Sioux Richards	....	script supervisor
Deborah Ricketts	....	research coordinator
Patti Roberts-Nelson	....	assistant: Mr. Linson (as Patti Roberts Nelson)
Brigette Roux-Lough	....	assistant: Michael J. Fox
Adele Sanders	....	production accountant
Maurice Schell	....	adr loop group
Linda Shapiro	....	assistant accountant
Ed Sienkaniec	....	catering supervisor (as Ed 'Bubba' Steinkaniec)
Art Smith Jr.	....	technical advisor: military
Mike Stokey	....	technical advisor: military (as Michael Stokey)
Doug Taylor	....	unit publicist
Vivian Treves	....	interpreter: Ennio Morricone

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lucernafilm - Gama (1991) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Pictures of Canada (1989) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1990) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (Extended Version)

Other Companies

• CBS Records  soundtrack
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints (as Deluxe)
• EFX Unlimited  titles and opticals
• Forum Studio  scoring studio
• Panavision  filmed in
• Reeltime Creative  trailer music
• Sound One Corporation  post-production facility
• Sound One Corporation  re-recording facility
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting New York
• Technicolor  film processing
• Unione Musicisti di Roma  choir
• Unione Musicisti di Roma  orchestra

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min | USA:121 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (extended version) | Brazil:18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Dolores Park, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The voice of "The Girl on the Train" voice was dubbed by Amy Irving, onetime wife of De Palma's friend Steven Spielberg.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the beginning and end of the movie Eriksson is riding the Muni Metro subway system in San Francisco which first opened in 1980, however another rider is prominently shown reading a newspaper with a headline about Nixon's resignation, implying the scenes take place some time around August 1974.

Quotes:

Eriksson:Can you imagine that? You escape Viet Nam and you die from an airline fatality.
Clark:Never happen, Cherry. You survive the Nam, you get to live forever, man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cinema Snob: The Expendables (#2.27)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Everybody Loves Somebody

Blistering assault on the degrading effects of warfare

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.