The Green Berets (1968)

Director: John Wayne, Ray Kellogg
Starring: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton

Synopsis:
A Special Forces colonel leads a relief force for a forward base and later heads up a mission to capture an NVA general.

Impressions:
Pretty much every movie about the Vietnam War is made by the opposition, so the fact that this is a rare (if not the only) exception to the rule pretty well gave me an overwhelming compulsion to see it. We'll leave my individual politics out of it and just look at the film as objectively as I can manage. If you're accustomed to Hollywood's usual output regarding Vietnam, this film will feel really strange. Actually, it feels a lot like one of the WWII movies made until the early 60s. "The Ballad of the Green Berets" sung at the beginning feels a lot like the song for The Longest Day. The scrounger character SGT Peterson seems like he came right out of one of the WWII comedies. In a word, it's an anachronism but in its novelty, it's a little refreshing. The Duke is doing his thing and among the standouts I liked were Aldo Ray as MSG Muldoon and George Takei as Captain Nim. There are some special effects failures and such, but I did like how they portrayed SF operations in their advisory capacity with anti-VC groups like the Montagnards. This movie has its share of problems, but if you want a change of pace from your typical Vietnam movie, give this one a try.

Rating:
Watch It