Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.Four African-American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 41 wins & 198 nominations total
Johnny Tri Nguyen
- Vinh Tran
- (as Johnny Trí Nguyen)
Lam Nguyen
- Quân
- (as Nguyen Ngoc Lâm)
Anh Tuan Nguyen
- Chavy
- (as Nguyen Anh Tuan)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe five "Bloods" seen throughout the movie in present-day scenes are named Paul, Melvin, Otis, Eddie, and David. These are also the individual names of the five members of African American vocal group The Temptations. Their fallen "Blood", who was the leader and inspiration for the others during their days in the Vietnam War, was named Norman. Songwriter Norman Whitfield produced virtually all of The Temptations' music during their time at Motown Records during the '60s and '70s.
- GoofsThe amount of gold in their backpacks is much too heavy to be carried and tossed around as shown in the movie.
- SoundtracksInner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
Written by Marvin Gaye (as Marvin P. Gaye) and James Nyx
Performed by Marvin Gaye
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises
Featured review
overrated by the media critics
On Metacritic it's labeled with "must-see" with currently 8,2 stars by 47 critics total.
Well, what a let down.
The importance of the topic is undeniable. There are some good ideas, legendary, beautiful music by Marvin Gaye and a great cast creating a few touching and funny moments.
Nonetheless the story feels too chaotic to be called outstanding! What's going on?! There are some cringe worthy, unnatural conversations, some Tarantino'ish bloodbaths and an Indiana Jones-like gold hunt, not in a good way. Also there is plenty of more or less known historical footage pressed in often too hasty, so it is necessary to pause every now and then to be at least able to read the text. I find this technique of film making for a fictional story quite lazy, especially if it's used so excessively often. (Other than with documentaries) It's too easy to make a film catchy by using real, uncensored footage of brutal events like executions.
At least I watched the whole movie, but not at once. Needed a break in-between.
In general I love the older Spike Lee's. After a long time and the high praise of the media I just expected a more genuine, profound, realistic, if too still artistic approach to this important topic.
Concluding the only clever and genuine thing were the scenes, which looked like flashbacks, just with the same old characters playing themselves at war back then...first it felt strange, but I interpreted it as dream sequences caused by PTSD. If it is so, I don't know.
Well, what a let down.
The importance of the topic is undeniable. There are some good ideas, legendary, beautiful music by Marvin Gaye and a great cast creating a few touching and funny moments.
Nonetheless the story feels too chaotic to be called outstanding! What's going on?! There are some cringe worthy, unnatural conversations, some Tarantino'ish bloodbaths and an Indiana Jones-like gold hunt, not in a good way. Also there is plenty of more or less known historical footage pressed in often too hasty, so it is necessary to pause every now and then to be at least able to read the text. I find this technique of film making for a fictional story quite lazy, especially if it's used so excessively often. (Other than with documentaries) It's too easy to make a film catchy by using real, uncensored footage of brutal events like executions.
At least I watched the whole movie, but not at once. Needed a break in-between.
In general I love the older Spike Lee's. After a long time and the high praise of the media I just expected a more genuine, profound, realistic, if too still artistic approach to this important topic.
Concluding the only clever and genuine thing were the scenes, which looked like flashbacks, just with the same old characters playing themselves at war back then...first it felt strange, but I interpreted it as dream sequences caused by PTSD. If it is so, I don't know.
helpful•9754
- mapika
- Jun 19, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- 5 Chiến Hữu
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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