Customer Reviews

Dear America - Letters Home from Vietnam [VHS]

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the mid-nineties, when I was a high school student, my A.P. English teacher showed us clips from this movie as part of a weeks-long unit entitled war. Simply hearing the emotionally-laden words and viewing the clips of these young soldiers moved many of my classmates, not excluding myself, to tears. Almost a decade later, with the feelings and images still in my mind, I came online to order the dvd. The second viewing was as equally moving as the first. The ending is especially potent. An excellent addition to anyone's personal collection of media related to war/Vietnam/war literature.

Being a 5 years old boy living in Saigon (a peaceful but lively city even in war time) in 1972, I hardly noticed that the country was at war. If not for the facts that my father was an ARVN officer, news war footages on TV everyday, and once in a while seeing tanks & soldiers roaming & patrolling the countrysides, I wouldn't have thought or reminded of how much destructions the VN war brought to Vietnamese/US civilians, soldiers and their families.

Watching Dear America: Letters Home from VN for the first & only time on Veteran's day in the early 90's on PBS, I have found the utmost respect for all the young US men, women & their families who sacrified so much for that politically unwinnable war. I have watched, read a lot about this war from many different perspectives, but nothing has come close to truthfully provide personal experiences, heartfelt losses, and devastated destructions this war has caused as this documentary movie does.

I wanted to have a chance to watch this movie again for so long. It's so powerful in every sense of its word. It's a CAN'T MISS or a MUST SEE movie for educational & historical purposes/values. I have goose bumps from thinking about the movie now. I just can't wait to watch it again, the DVD is coming in a few days.

Our great battle in Vietnam was Long Tan, 1968 when a couple hundred Australians and Kiwi artillery, killed 1000 NVA or VC in a rubber plantation. The battle of Long Tan took place during a tropical downpour deliberately used by the enemy to hamper ANZAC defenses.
(Just thought I owed our "Diggers" their due before I begin!)

Dear America does a good job in giving you the "feel" of the war to the average soldier by seperating the "Americans:" the 19 year old boys who'd largely never been outside the USA from "Foreign policy America" and its "falling dominos" intervention in a 2,000 year of independence (against China, France, the U.S. and then China(1980-83 again), that Sen. Wayne Morse's warned would "lead to the deaths of untold American boys - and for nothing."

The letters home, trace well the shifting mood of these white poor and minorities boys: the kids with no money for the extended college enrolement needed to avoid the draft. We see these kids arc from cheerful youths "mugging" on 8mm home movies to "grunts" haggard beyond their years on TV news footage patrolling in(& to) Dylan's, "Hard Rain."
Others were bitter and confused, "they say we're fighting for something"...."the whole thing stinks, really."
Yet, as another soldier wrote, "even though most men thought the war was being fought incorrectly and we would not win....they went out and risked their lives as if they were defending the continental USA."

Aside from the perspective of the individual soldier and the music takes (me at least) back to the 60s era, "Dear America" has the pace and structure of a Hollywood production. In fact "Dear America" is so engrosing that at times you had to remind yourself that this was indeed real! For example the "Grunt's Primer" montage to the Stone's "Gimme Shelter" is in the same league as the "Ride Of The Valkyries," Helicopter attack in "Apocalypse Now."

And, watch the title sequence for John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son," the "grunts'" ironic anthem of the war. Personally, I think the sentiments of "Fortunate Son" are so telling that they should have gone up on screen as Creedence Clearwater played.
(I guess that, despite its 1978 release, Cold Chisel's "Khe Sanh" would have the same impact on our diggers.)

Fortunate Son and the rest of the music the boys listened to and their letters home combine to make Dear America as powerful a statement about war as the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front."

"Dear America," like "All Quiet," is a well constructed narrative, that brings presence and even urgency to a war now fading into history.

I too am a US History teacher, and I would mirror all said by my fellow educator. If I could share but one film on Vietnam with my students, Dear America: Letters from Vietnam would be the one!

Frank Yusko

Extraordinary documentary. This documentary reveals an emotionally panoramic view of the Vietnam War, a view that is painful and absolutely clear. The reading of the letters, the photos, the film footage and the soundtrack couldn't be more haunting for those who experienced the Vietnam War first hand or by waiting at home for the return of the person they love, as I did. Over the years, I have watched Born on the 4th of July, Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Coming Home, and various documentaries regarding the Vietnam War, but this documentary film got to me on a deeper level than any of them. It brought me back thirty-four years and then I couldn't help but see how the faces of war then look a lot like the faces of war today in 2004 and all through history. This is a timeless view of war from the intimate perspective that comes across in personal letters. I also recommend the book on which it is based, DEAR AMERICA: LETTERS HOME FROM VIETNAM. This film came to my attention when I recently saw an extensive list of movies in which Bob Dylan's music is used in the soundtrack.

To begin the video is an unforgetable portrayal of the horrors, confusion, and tragedy of war. The thing that sticks out in my mind is the closeness you feel for the common, everyday, and ordinary young men mentioned in the movie. Having talked to many veterans this closeness is exactly what develops during times of war. Not being able to experience war in our classrooms we can get a glimmer of the closeness from the movie. You see the faces, the emotions, the heartache, and for a lack of better words confusion and disilusionment that Vietnam brought to so many different people. The music is fantastic and adds a certain character and time to the experience of watching the video. I'm showing it, you should show it, and most of all reflect upon its message and purpose for being produced. A must show!

This is an outstanding piece on Vietnam. I recall seeing it when it first aired on HBO and have wanted to get it ever since. I agree completely with the other two reviews and suggest this for anyone looking for an unbiased account of the period. I took a class at the University of Michigan called the History of the Vietnam War and we did not view the movie as part of the class; however, the professor and teaching assistants all agreed that it is one of the best pieces on the war. It will touch you and probably bring a tear to your eye, but it is well worth it.

I've been waiting for a long time for it to come out in an affordable format. I recall trying to purchase it in VHS format close to 10 years ago, but it was $50-$75. By the time the price actually came down DVD's were coming out and I wanted to wait for the cleaner, better format.

If you enjoy pieces about Vietnam, war, history, or documentaries you can't go wrong with this DVD.

"Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam" is an extraordinary video. While it is technically a documentary, it is a very emotional, educational, and interesting account of the whole Vietnam conflict. While I am not some big sap, the end is heartwrenching and never fails to bring tears to my eyes. To me, this video does not set out to make a political statement pro or against the Vietnam War. It just tells the story by the soldiers who fought and for some, died there.

I have been VERY disappointed over the past several years that this wasn't released on DVD. The soundtrack has some of the best music of the era. Finally "Letters Home From Vietnam" will be seen and heard in the highest quality possible!

I am a 33-year old American History teacher. Were I not, I would still highly recommend this for those who lived through this era and those of us who were born after the conflict and only have secondhand knowledge of the time.

I originally saw this film on HBO, and, like another reviewer, recorded it for repeat viewing. My copy has long been unplayable, as I have watched and shown it over and over. I'm thrilled to see it's available here. I think it's the most powerful film I've ever seen - documentary, "indie" or commercial. The work that went into making this film by the Vietnam Veterans' Theatre Group is amazing. They reviewed and edited literally miles and miles of news footage, gathered letters home from families and friends, and in some cases were even able to link up the letter with film of the soldier who wrote it. The eloquence of the young soldiers and nurses will break your heart, and the increasingly haunted look in their eyes as the war wears on will stay with you for a long time. Couldn't I give it 10 stars???

My name is Michelle I am now 34 yrs old. the first time this come out on HBO my whole family sat down and watched it together I couldnt believe it but I saw my dad not once but 3 to 4 times i started crying I couldnt believe how lucky I was to see my dad on there, so was my dad this movie touched me and my dad he couldn't believe it. He even saw some of his buddies in the movie this was a touching show because it was real and not a made up war movie it was the real thing and to see me dad was to unreal for me.I can just imagine how many other families sat down and seen their dad on this type of show. Dear America letters home was wonderful. But I just now that that I was lucky to see my dad and to still be lucky enough to have my dad able to come home. The people that made this show did a wonderful job. I thank and for the actors that also helped in putting this show together. Thank you Michelle.