43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
They Didn't Know the Half of It, June 29, 2002
This review is from: Vietnam:in the Year of the Pig [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If by chance you've stumbled upon this documentary, count yourself lucky. This film helped change a nation without the benefit of the subsequently revealed Pentagon Papers or now known confirming documents. In retrospect it seems a cautious, subtle condemnation of the war. Nevertheless, the film remains important in various ways: cameras on location could accidentally reveal an unintended story; the truth could be discovered despite secrecy; and, careful storytelling can change the opinion of a nation.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting, January 13, 2004
This review is from: Vietnam:in the Year of the Pig [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This may well be one of the finest documentaries ever made. Some of it is luck in that the time in which it was made allowed Antonio to speak with US polititions from a (sadly) bygone era and, yes, both sides of the aisle were interviewed. It could reasonably be viewed as well inside the anti-Vietnam War camp, as a warning for any of you who supported the war. But, in fairness, it seems to be more of a precocious examination of how and why the US lost (this is made before the Tet Offensive). I wouldn't dismiss it on ideological grounds.
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thirty Years' Time . . . ., April 30, 2005
This review is from: Vietnam:in the Year of the Pig [VHS] (VHS Tape)
. . . has not diminished the power of this documentary. I sought it out in the used market and found it at last. Get a copy for your Viet Nam era collection and stack it with "The Anderson Platoon", "Medium Cool", "Getting Straight", "Alice's Restaurant", "The Green Berets", and others made during, not after, that conflict.
I watched it again today - the anniversary of the reunification of Viet Nam - with my two youngest sons who are interested in that war, having played virtual versions of it in their video worlds.
Seems the conflicting ideologies were all given pretty fair treatment to me. See the internet movie data base (imdb) for the strange bedfellows cast of original characters, including General Curtis "bomb them back into the stone age" LeMay to Daniel "Brother of Philip" Berrigan.... Original and amazing combat footage supplied by North Viet Nam includes the 1954 fall of Dien Bien Phu. There is some horrifying footage of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc, and revealing, candid interviews with American enlisted and officers in the field. In short, if you are at all interested in the Viet Nam War and have read or are planning to read Christan Appy's "Patriots", be sure to buy this video for yourself and your family and friends. I am a Viet Nam combat infantry veteran.
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