Product Details

• Actors: former Viet Cong of Cu Chi Province
• Directors: Mickey Grant
• Format: Black & White, Color, Director's Cut, Drama enhanced, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• VHS Release Date: October 1, 2001
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1930049005
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,801 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #1 in	Video > Documentary > History > Military History
  #56 in	Video > Documentary > Military & War > Vietnam War

Editorial Reviews

The Hollywood Reporter

Fascinating...The film brings home this facet of war in immediate and nerve-shattering terms.

Product Description

During the war in Vietnam, thousands of people in the Vietnamese province of Cu Chi lived in an elaborate system of underground tunnels. Originally built in the time of the French colonial occupation, the tunnels were enlarged during the American presence. When Americans began bombing Cu Chi, the survivors went underground and based their operations against the Americans, often underneath American camps. Hidden beneath destroyed villages were hospitals where children were born and surgery was performed on casualties of war; underground were schools and public places where lovers met. There were even theaters with song and dance and traditional stories. The Cu Chi Tunnels is a disquieting film to watch if you were a direct enemy of these people. For you, it might not be easy to watch old guerillas bragging about the number of Americans they killed. But when these same guerillas talk of their fear of "the deep eyed people" with their magic weapons, and about the girls they loved, and how the darkness of the tunnels was like an endless night - then these people might become very human to you. The film becomes a film not about killing and darkness, but about light and love and the power of the human spirit.

Vietnamese with English subtitles.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humanizing the enemy, December 27, 2001

By A Customer

I had an incredible range of emotions the first time I saw this film. You get to know these brave individuals, men and women, who fought to survive against all odds. But when you realize their survival pended on the deaths of Americans, you are caught in a very uncomfortable situation...having to recognize the enemy not as pure evil, but instead as humans on the same level as you. Watch it twice...at least.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wow!, June 5, 2003

By	"missyellis" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews

I'm in college, and wasn't born yet during the Vietnam War. My college professor showed this video in class, and I was blown away. I've seen interviews before of American vets, but this was the first time I saw something with the Vietnamese that fought against the Americans. I was against war before I saw this film, but my feelings are even more strong now. I bought the video for my dad who's interested in history, and he thought it was great too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Human Documentary, April 13, 2006

By	Armed & Christian (Indy, IN USA) - See all my reviews

I have only two "complaints" about this film. First, the short, dramatized tunnel cave-in scenes were pretty cheesy, especially when it became obvious that despite fantastic camera angles and use of motion that there was no actual collapse. Second, I would have liked to seen footage of the tunnels themselves, even if only as they are today, and perhaps some schematics. I realize that this is not a documentary about the tunnels themselves, per se; but mostly about the lives, deaths, and sacrifices made by the Vietnamese people of Cu Chi district. In this, Mr. Grant's film is magnificent and well done. The interviews are both informative and thought-provoking as old warriors reminisce about the American War (as they call it). As one earlier reviewer said, it puts you in an uncomfortable position to see these people as fellow humans who lived, laughed, and loved, and not simply as "the enemy." It is likewise shocking to watch some of the interviewees and realize that some of them must have been in their early teens when they became "heroes of the Liberation Army." There is no propaganda that I could detect in this production; just a well done, human look at the people who fought and survived to tell about it. I recommend this work, and am glad that I bought it. Watch it, let it sink in, and then watch it again.