Hamburger Hill (1987)

A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

Director:

John Irvin

Writer:

James Carabatsos (as Jim Carabatsos)

Stars:

Anthony Barrile, Michael Boatman, Don Cheadle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Barrile	...	Pvt. Vincent 'Alphabet' Languilli
Michael Boatman	...	Pvt. Ray Motown (as Michael Patrick Boatman)
Don Cheadle	...	Pvt. Johnny Washburn
Michael Dolan	...	Pvt. Harry Murphy
Don James	...	Pvt. Elliott 'Mac' McDaniel
Dylan McDermott	...	Sgt. Adam Frantz
Michael A. Nickles	...	Pvt. Paul Galvan (as M.A. Nickles)
Harry O'Reilly	...	Pvt. Michael Duffy
Daniel O'Shea	...	Pvt. Frank Gaigin
Tim Quill	...	Pvt. Joe Beletsky
Tommy Swerdlow	...	Pvt. Martin Bienstock
Courtney B. Vance	...	Spc. Abraham 'Doc' Johnson
Steven Weber	...	Sfc. Dennis Worcester
Tegan West	...	Lt. Terry Eden
Kieu Chinh	...	Mama San

Storyline

A brutal and realistic war film focuses on the lives of a squad of 14 U.S. Army soldiers of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the brutal 10 day (May 11-20, 1969) battle for Hill 937 in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam as they try again and again to take the fortified hill held by the North Vietnamese, and the faults and casualties they take every time in which the battle was later dubbed "Hamburger Hill" because enemy fire was so fierce that the fusillade of bullets turned assaulting troops into shredded hamburger meat.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war | hill | vietnam | jungle | combat | 

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Taglines:

War at its worst. Men at their Best.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The television trailer had the song (featuring the title-chorus) "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by The Animals playing throughout.

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Goofs

Soldiers in Vietnam would not have fired so many rounds in fully automatic mode (like a machine gun), 1) they would have run out of ammunition quickly and 2) automatic fire draws attention; attention draws more incoming fire.

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Quotes

Sgt. Frantz: Who is it?
Doc: How the hell do I know? He's got no goddamn head.

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Crazy Credits

The following poem is shown at the beginning of the credits: If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. Major Michael Davis O'Donnell 1 January 1970 Dak To, Vietnam

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Alternate Versions

The Magna Pacific DVD Release: Sep 18, 2002 UPC: 9-315841-999491 is cut as when Duffy kills an NVA soldier with his M-60 the body explodes in gore and when Duffy is then killed by another NVA soldier that soldier is then shot in the back of the head and blood spurts out.

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Connections

References Platoon (1986)

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Soundtracks

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
Performed by Otis Redding
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper

User Reviews

Realism and Radicalism

This is an excellent depiction of the insanity that was the war in Viet Nam. My view as a naval officer during a scenic tour of the Mekong near the Cambodian border and the Vietnamese city of Chau Phu, permitted me to be a witness to many, many occasions involving the wholesale abuse of humans by humans. The strain on mind, body and soul takes years (if ever) to repair and this film captures it. There are brief glimpses of this agony in some of the other films mentioned here in the reviews, e.g., Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Each of these films have merit but are deeply flawed. Apocalypse Now is steeped in moral allegory to the expense of an accurate portrayal of the war; Full Metal Jacket is only 2/3 completed; Platoon becomes a Levi-Straussian moral tale with an arch villain and virtuous hero-- the latter heinously slain by the former with revenge exacted by the weary sojourner on the odyssey. OK. What do we have here with Hamburger Hill? A story? Heroic acts? Action? Not really. What we have is the horror and insanity of war. The film ends on the same pointless note as it began. But, you know what? Reading through the detractors of this film who touted the other potential three and slammed this one, I would not hesitate to bet they were never there. I could glance at the reviews and pick out the vets-- not just on the basis of whether they liked this film or not but of how they reacted to it. I know and know damn well. I too was there, brothers. See this film. It's well produced, directed and the cast is damn good. Check it out.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

28 August 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hamburger Hill

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,360,705, 30 August 1987

Gross USA:

$13,839,404

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,839,404

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1