Casualties of War (1989)

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

Director:

Brian De Palma (as Brian DePalma)

Writers:

Daniel Lang (book), David Rabe (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Harvey

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

During the Vietnam war, a girl is taken from her village by five American soldiers. Four of the soldiers rape her, but the fifth refuses. The young girl is killed. The fifth soldier is determined that justice will be done. The film is more about the realities of war, rather than this single event.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war | water buffalo | scarf | railroad trestle | beer drinking | 

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Taglines:

Even in war... murder is murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

18 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pecados de guerra

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,201,261, 20 August 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,671,317

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 119 min (Extended Cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Finland this movie is called "Sodan arvet", which means "Scars of War" in English.

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Goofs

During the firefight on the bridge, after intense firing, one soldiers reaches over to pull another soldier to get started down the bridge by grabbing the muzzle of his gun. That act would create severe burns on his palm.

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Quotes

Meserve: Oh, you wanna take an attack posture wit' me? Yeah, you got a weapon. Clark got a weapon, Clark got a knife! We all got weapons! Anybody can blow anybody away, any second. Which is the way it ought to be. Always.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of David Spade (2005)

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Soundtracks

Hold On I'm Coming
Written by David Porter & Isaac Hayes
Performed by Sam & Dave
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

A Brutal Depiction Of A Brutal Event In A Brutal War

It seems to me that the ultimate moral of this story might be that in war everyone is a casualty in some way, shape or form - even those who are never wounded and stay personally above the brutality. "Casualties Of War" is a depiction of an actual (and sickening) event that was first reported in the New Yorker magazine in 1969 in which a squad of American soldiers kidnap, rape and murder an innocent, young Vietnamese girl.

The two main protagonists in the movie are played by Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Penn is Meserve - the sargeant in command of the squad who develops the plan for the kidnap, rape and murder. He represents one type of casualty - a kid, promoted way beyond his years, in a situation he should never have been in, watching friends and comrades dying on a daily basis, becoming jaded and unfeeling as a result. You feel no sympathy for his character, but you recognize the tragedy of his character - and of the other members of the squad who let themselves be pulled into the plan. Fox, on the other hand, is Eriksson - the squad's conscience. He knows this is wrong, and he refuses to participate, even trying to help the girl escape, only to be derided and ridiculed by the others as either a coward or a homosexual. After the girl is killed, for no real reason, he reports the incident to his superiors, only to hear repeated variations on the theme "let it go. War is war." This is probably Michael J. Fox's most powerful movie role ever - a definite change of pace from the teen-oriented comedies that had made him famous. He's also a casualty, of course - haunted forever by the sickening scene he had witnessed. And of course, there's the real casualty - the young girl dragged out of her home and away from her mother who endures a nightmare before being killed.

This is most definitely a powerful, disturbing and brutal movie that definitely makes it point.