Heaven & Earth (1993)

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Le Ly Hayslip (book) and
Jay Wurts (book) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

An amazing true story of survival.

Plot:

The final movie in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy follows the true story of a Vietnamese village girl...

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Buddhism | Suicide | Prostitution | Rape

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Haing S. Ngor	...	Papa
Bussaro Sanruck	...	Le Ly - Age 5
Supak Pititam	...	Buddhist Monk
Joan Chen	...	Mama
Thuan K. Nguyen	...	Uncle Luc
Hiep Thi Le	...	Le Ly
Lan Nguyen Calderon	...	Ba
Thuan Le	...	Kim
Dustin Nguyen	...	Sau
Mai Le Ho	...	Hai
Vinh Dang	...	Bon
Khiem Thai	...	Brother In Law
Liem Whatley	...	Viet Cong Captain
Michelle Vynh Le	...	Viet Cong Cadre Woman
Tuan Tran	...	Rapist

Also Known As:

Entre ciel et terre (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Alcor Films

Trivia:

The film was based on the book "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places", which Le Ly Hayslip wrote about her experiences during and after the Vietnam War.

Quotes:

Steve Butler: [showing Le Ly some photographs] This is Mom's eighth dog. She has the eight ugliest dogs in the United States!
[he and Le Ly laugh]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Quentin Tarantino/Smashing Pumpkins (#21.5)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Minuet

Forget Vietnam

I don't understand why most people don't appreciate this movie. I guess one reason is that it's not easy to look at your own people, US soldiers, as enemies, or at your country - in the final - as the land of fatty meaninglessnes. Or maybe they were expecting something different from Stone, something more than that history - not so unusual as someone observed - of a simple vietnamese country girl. The point, for me, is that this is not a film about the vietnam war, which is only the background. If you make the effort to forget the vietnam war, its historical and cultural legacy, to avoid being on the side of one of the armies (maybe is easier for me, being an italian), you'll discover one of the most intense movie about the family and the bonds with the earth where you belong. Stone through the story of this simple girl succeeded in telling the story of entire humankind, analizing those which are its roots, its ties, its hopes, its condemnations. Honestly, one of the best movies I've ever seen. Sincere, profound, touching. True.