"The Green Berets" has received a lot of flack over the years, a lot of it undeserved. I admit there's a lot about the movie that doesn't work - the tone and attitude of the movie is from the 1940s, not 1969. The subplot about the war orphan is cliched and heavy-handed. The movie was shot in an area that looks nothing like Vietnam. There are some weird attempts at humor. And yes, Wayne didn't have a clear idea as to what the Vietnam conflict was about.
Most of the controversy about this movie comes around this fact. However, looking carefully, one sees that not all of the politics are incorrect. The scene at the beginning, for example, makes clear that soldiers of ANY conflict are just following orders from the government. If you disagree with a conflict, blame the government, not the soldiers.
Also in the beginning, the movie makes a point that the Soviets were giving assistance to the South-East communists - which was true. Wayne's statement suggesting that the Soviets were trying for some kind of world domination actually isn't that far-fetched. Before the Soviet Union fell, there were numerous times when the Soviets gave assistance to other communist countries and forces. (As well, this short beginning scene has most of the politics in the entire movie!)
Some of the protests about the movie are to do with the fact that the North Vietnamese are portrayed as being vicious, and the Americans as a kind of holier-than-thou. While it is true that the Americans committed some atrocities during the conflict, the North Vietnamese committed FAR MORE. The scene in the movie where innocent Vietnamese villagers are killed by the enemy because they accepted help from the Americans has actual basis in fact. Still not convinced, ex-hippies? If the North Vietnamese weren't so bad, why were there thousands of boat people? And take a look at the based-on-true-stories movies "The Hanoi Hilton" and "The Killing Fields" to get an idea of how brutal the South-East Asian communists were to P.O.W.s and ordinary people.
"The Green Berets" also has some excellent battle sequences. In fact, Wayne was so impressed with second-unit director Kellogg's direction of these scenes, he gave him co-directing credit. I will admit that the shot with the toy helicopter did ruin things somewhat. Elsewhere, however, the military hardware and battle techniques are overall very accurate. (Wayne got full cooperation from the U.S. military)
You might think I like this movie. Actually, I don't - I overall didn't like it because it was too slow, and with a lot of boring chat. Still, I don't think it's anywhere near the bomb/laughfest it's been unfairly branded. And I think a lot of people agree: It was the 11th highest grossing movie of 1968, generating $8.7 million in rentals - a HUGE amount in those days! It's also been issued several times on video, and Warner Bros. chose this movie as one of its first "oldies" DVD releases. So clearly a lot of people haven't minded - or didn't care - about its "message".
Most of the controversy about this movie comes around this fact. However, looking carefully, one sees that not all of the politics are incorrect. The scene at the beginning, for example, makes clear that soldiers of ANY conflict are just following orders from the government. If you disagree with a conflict, blame the government, not the soldiers.
Also in the beginning, the movie makes a point that the Soviets were giving assistance to the South-East communists - which was true. Wayne's statement suggesting that the Soviets were trying for some kind of world domination actually isn't that far-fetched. Before the Soviet Union fell, there were numerous times when the Soviets gave assistance to other communist countries and forces. (As well, this short beginning scene has most of the politics in the entire movie!)
Some of the protests about the movie are to do with the fact that the North Vietnamese are portrayed as being vicious, and the Americans as a kind of holier-than-thou. While it is true that the Americans committed some atrocities during the conflict, the North Vietnamese committed FAR MORE. The scene in the movie where innocent Vietnamese villagers are killed by the enemy because they accepted help from the Americans has actual basis in fact. Still not convinced, ex-hippies? If the North Vietnamese weren't so bad, why were there thousands of boat people? And take a look at the based-on-true-stories movies "The Hanoi Hilton" and "The Killing Fields" to get an idea of how brutal the South-East Asian communists were to P.O.W.s and ordinary people.
"The Green Berets" also has some excellent battle sequences. In fact, Wayne was so impressed with second-unit director Kellogg's direction of these scenes, he gave him co-directing credit. I will admit that the shot with the toy helicopter did ruin things somewhat. Elsewhere, however, the military hardware and battle techniques are overall very accurate. (Wayne got full cooperation from the U.S. military)
You might think I like this movie. Actually, I don't - I overall didn't like it because it was too slow, and with a lot of boring chat. Still, I don't think it's anywhere near the bomb/laughfest it's been unfairly branded. And I think a lot of people agree: It was the 11th highest grossing movie of 1968, generating $8.7 million in rentals - a HUGE amount in those days! It's also been issued several times on video, and Warner Bros. chose this movie as one of its first "oldies" DVD releases. So clearly a lot of people haven't minded - or didn't care - about its "message".