Green Dragon (2001)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Timothy Linh Bui

Writers:

Timothy Linh Bui (screenplay)
Timothy Linh Bui (story)
(more)

Release Date:

23 April 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A story from a war that had been forgotten

Plot:

The story of some Vietnamese refugees as they first arrive at Camp Pendleton in the United States as the Vietnam war ends in 1975.

Plot Keywords:

Refugee Camp | Vietnam War | Military Life | 1970s | Race Relations

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Patrick Swayze	...	Gunnery Sergeant Jim Lance
Forest Whitaker	...	Addie
Duong Don	...	Tai Tran
Hiep Thi Le	...	Thuy Hoa
Billinjer C. Tran	...	Duc (as Billinjer Tran)
Kathleen Luong	...	Second Wife
Phuoc Quan Nguyen	...	Loi
Long Nguyen	...	Quang Hai
Catherine Ai	...	Hien
Phu Cuong	...	Old Man
Kieu Chinh	...	Kieu
Trung Nguyen	...	Minh
Jennifer Tran	...	Anh
Linda Tran	...	Thuy Hoa's Sister
Tuan Tran	...	Tuan
Le Van Tuoi	...	Uncle Tien
Joe Ho	...	Binh
Elyse Dinh	...	Red Cross Volunteer
Michael Minh	...	Vietnamese Soldier
Victor Thang Do	...	Viet Worker
April Tran	...	Barber
Monique Letran	...	Q. Hai's Wife
John Gripentrog	...	American Server
Phong Atwood Vo	...	Man on Crutches (as Phong Vo)
Vu Manh Don	...	Viet Man with Jacket
Hieu Nguyen	...	Man in Quanset Hut
Hien Nguyen	...	Man's Wife
Tom Nguyen	...	Vietnamese Volunteer
James D. Dever	...	Marine
Michael Salamon	...	Lance Corporal
Tran Cong Nghi	...	Priest
Erv Immeman	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (as Erv Immerman)
Loan Nguyen	...	Vietnamese Camp Announcer (voice)
Leo Trombetta	...	American Camp Announcer (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gerald Ford	...	Himself (1975 speech) (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Timothy Linh Bui

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Timothy Linh Bui		screenplay
Timothy Linh Bui		story
Tony Bui		story

Produced by
Tony Bui	....	producer
Tajamika Paxton	....	producer
Elie Samaha	....	producer
Alison Semenza	....	executive producer
William B. Steakley	....	line producer
Andrew Stevens	....	producer
Quynh Trinh	....	co-producer
Forest Whitaker	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jeff Danna
Mychael Danna

Cinematography by
Kramer Morgenthau

Film Editing by
Leo Trombetta

Casting by
Rene Haynes

Production Design by
Jerry Fleming

Set Decoration by
Betty Berberian
Monique Le Tran

Costume Design by
Ghia Fam

Makeup Department
Edward Morrison	....	hair stylist: Mr. Whitaker
Nia Nguyen	....	key hair stylist
Thu Nguyen	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Maureen Norton	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Bui	....	second unit director
Daniel Carrey	....	first assistant director
Samantha Deane	....	second second assistant director
James Velasquez	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Mark Anderson	....	property master
Lance DeSpain	....	lead scenic artist
Monique Le Tran	....	on-set dresser
Colin McGreal	....	storyboard artist
Michele R. Miller	....	mural artist
Christopher Schultz	....	on-set dresser
Frank Svengsouk	....	mural artist
Patrick Tonioli	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Felipe Borrero	....	production sound mixer
Lorita de la Cerna	....	foley mixer
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin Hamilton	....	dialogue editor
Kevin Hamilton	....	sound editor
Kevin Hamilton	....	supervising adr editor
Tim Song Jones	....	boom operator
Scott C. Kolden	....	supervising sound editor
Kelly Vandever	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Tom Ceglia	....	special effects
Albert Lannutti	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Chris Ervin	....	digital artist: main title sequence
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging: THDX (uncredited)

Stunts
Warren A. Stevens	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
David Blundell	....	gaffer
Marc Carter	....	first assistant camera
Bennett Cerf	....	camera loader
Helen Chough	....	first assistant camera
Cooper Donaldson	....	gaffer: second unit
Edward A. Gutentag	....	Steadicam operator
Scott Herrick	....	best boy grip
Colin Hudson	....	Steadicam operator
Joel Jaspan	....	key grip
Dan Lynch	....	grip
Jamie Maxtone-Graham	....	cinematographer: second unit
Melissa McManigal	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Andrew Mogel	....	assistant camera
Tobin Oldach	....	camera intern
Caleb H. Poynter	....	gaffer: second unit
Jeff Ridley	....	key grip: second unit
C. Shipley	....	grip
Joshua Stern	....	set lighting technician
Peter Stone	....	still photographer
Demian Scott Vaughs	....	dolly grip (as Demian Vaughs)
John Vetter	....	second assistant camera
Jason Wawro	....	first assistant camera: second unit

Casting Department
Peter Alwazzan	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Malou Magnusson	....	costume supervisor
Malou Magnusson	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Joel T. Pashby	....	assistant editor
Chuck Winston	....	color timer

Music Department
Irving Berlin	....	composer: song "White Christmas"
Brad Haehnel	....	music mixer
Andrew Lockington	....	orchestrator
David Sabee	....	orchestra contractor

Transportation Department
Gary D. Fennell	....	transportation coordinator
Michael A. Nordenstrom	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Jamiah Adams	....	production assistant
George Anastassatos	....	assistant: Ms. Semenza
Erik Anderson	....	assistant: Mr. Samaha
Leland Buck	....	security officer
Michael Connor	....	assistant: Mr. Whitaker
James D. Dever	....	technical advisor: military
Jake Donohoe	....	assistant production accountant
Kristen Figeroid	....	assistant: Mr. Stevens
Luis Frausto	....	production assistant
Shawn D. Haney	....	military liaison (as Capt. Shawn D. Haney)
Marla Hathaway	....	craft service
Robert Hepburn	....	set medic (as Robert E. 'Sarge' Hepburn)
Amy Huth	....	assistant production coordinator
Rodney Itier	....	assistant: Mr. Samaha
Jozsef Kovacs	....	security officer
Linda Kwan	....	script supervisor: English
Heather Lipson	....	choreographer
John L. Long	....	production assistant
Don Meredith	....	set medic
Roy Ruiz	....	security coordinator
Benjamin Sacks	....	production coordinator
Michael Salamon	....	assistant: Timothy Bui and Tony Bui (as Michael 'Serp' Salamon)
Cathy Thomas	....	assistant: Ms. Paxton
Laura Torrance	....	studio teacher
Ted Torre-Bueno	....	production assistant
Jim Valdez	....	assistant: Mr. Stevens
Onni Vosdoganes	....	production coordinator
Dona Williams	....	production accountant

Thanks
Nam Loc	....	special thanks
Robert Wheaton	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Franchise Classics
• Franchise Pictures
• Rickshaw FIlms
• Spirit Dance Entertainment
• TGD Productions

Distributors

• Manga Films (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Alpha Filmes (Brazil) (video)
• Columbia TriStar (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (USA) (laserdisc)
• Nordisk Film (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Silver Nitrate Films (2002) (USA)
• TGD Productions

Special Effects

• Robot Rumpus

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies

Also Known As:

Puff the Magic Dragon (USA) (working title)
Untitled Bui Brothers Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing situations, nudity and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:GP | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company:

Franchise Classics

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the movie, Minh (the young boy) walks the length of the darkened Quonset hut. He goes to the end and looks through the set of double doors. The very next scene switches to the exterior. He is now exiting a single door, because he has come out on the side of the building.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

WATCH IT

I would recommend this movie to anyone who would like an accurate perspective of the South Vietnamese people. Unlike the previous critic, I will leave any misinformed politics aside. Although the war was highly political, and the movie does comment on the war, the film is not based on any political agenda like the previous critic leads you to believe. Instead, I believe the movie's focus is on the human stories of people struggling to forge a new life after their country was taken away from them. What is refreshing and what gives the movie credibility is that the director and most of the actors are Vietnamese, many of whom went through similar experiences as depicted in the movie after the war. In that sense, the movie is real, not just some form of propaganda "intended for the not-too-bright oversentimental without-a-dose of a history-lesson or critical thought Americans." It is a movie for Americans, Vietnamese immigrants such as myself, and people who dare regard the United States as the great and imperfect hope that it is.