What's interesting to me about this two part TV movie about one soldier's experience before, during and after the Vietnam War is that it never takes a side, pro-or-against. Certainly it shows that all war is bad, even when necessary, because even the winning side looses in one way or another, between casualties, life changing injuries (both mental and physical) and how society is altered in many ways. For Brad Davis, going to war is an improvement on being a 22 year old man still living at home, obviously being suppressed by domineering parents. The first scenes focus on his disgust with the sameness of his dull home town, and he's rebelling with a cause, trying to discover his own identity.
The story is basically a series of events, as life always is, and how one event can change the course of someone's life. A scene where one group is singing "Dixie", while another sings "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as an objection, then the marines in command break into "From the Halls of Montezuma", shows the difference in ideals of these three groups, showing a domestic war going on just as Davis is about to go to war. When the last song is heard just as instrumental in the closing credits, it's a somber mixture of various instruments, arranged in a way that indicates a tragedy from which no one can recover.
Supporting Davis (giving another brilliant performance that sadly reminds the viewer of the greatness of an actor taken far too soon) are Michael Ontkean and Keith Carradine as his fellow recruits, Brian Dennehy as their direct sergeant who is nobly supportive of his men, a young Jeff Daniels as the chaplain, and Steve Forrest and Richard Bradford as the commanding officers. Laurence Fishburne is recognizable as one of the other recruits, a smaller part. I didn't really learn anything new about the Vietnam War, but this is certainly up there with other classics on this topic from around the same time that would increase later on in the 80's.
The story is basically a series of events, as life always is, and how one event can change the course of someone's life. A scene where one group is singing "Dixie", while another sings "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as an objection, then the marines in command break into "From the Halls of Montezuma", shows the difference in ideals of these three groups, showing a domestic war going on just as Davis is about to go to war. When the last song is heard just as instrumental in the closing credits, it's a somber mixture of various instruments, arranged in a way that indicates a tragedy from which no one can recover.
Supporting Davis (giving another brilliant performance that sadly reminds the viewer of the greatness of an actor taken far too soon) are Michael Ontkean and Keith Carradine as his fellow recruits, Brian Dennehy as their direct sergeant who is nobly supportive of his men, a young Jeff Daniels as the chaplain, and Steve Forrest and Richard Bradford as the commanding officers. Laurence Fishburne is recognizable as one of the other recruits, a smaller part. I didn't really learn anything new about the Vietnam War, but this is certainly up there with other classics on this topic from around the same time that would increase later on in the 80's.