War and War Movies

MR. Richard Carvell was the director of Department of Radio and Television of College of Communication in Arkansas State University, also he used to be service US military. He joined the Vietnam war from June 1970 to June 1971. In this interview, he talks about the Vietnam War and Vietnam var movies. Let us see what is his perspective about Vietnam War and Vietnam War movies.
These percious photos are from Mr Richard Carvell.

When talking about war movies, people may be impressed by many heroes, different shocked clips, and impressive stories. However, actually, there are not many people joined the real war, and not many people knew what the real war is. Different people have different perspectives about movies. We can say we like the war movies, but it doesn’t mean we like the war. War and war movies are two totally different definitions.

Orange and blue drums   Copyright Rich Cavell 2013

When the first time I saw this photo, I did not see anything different with normal pictures, but after Mr. Carvell explain to me, I suddenly realized that it is a special photo. Does anybody find something special in this photo? I give you all a hint. Please see the orange and blue drums. These orange and blue drums makes this photo special.

If you do not know what these orange and blue drums are, Please click this Button.

NO NAME     Copyright Rich Cavell 2013

Mr. Carvell shares this photo with us. When I saw this photo, my feeling is if the beautiful American lady was not wearing the military uniform, it is going to be a really harmonious photo.

Thank You Mr.Richard Carvell.

The first…

As time goes by, people may forget things that happened before. However, sometimes, people will never forget some things happened at the first time. 

You can know some basic information about the Vietnam War in my first blog. This time I am going to talk about the first, the first person of Vietnam War movies, the first movie bout the Vietnam War, and the first movie about Vietnam War. 

 

 

The First Person of Vietnam War Movies

Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He produced movies, which are ‘Platoon’, ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ , and ‘Heaven and Earth’ are called Vietnam Trilogy.

‘Platoon’ is the first film in Oliver Stone’s trilogy about the Vietnam War. It deals with the day-to-day life of the infantry grunt, battles between forces of good and evil, and the absurdity of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The film that followed in the trilogy was‘Born on the Fourth of July’, where the viewer follows a U.S. Army veteran who has been crippled in the Vietnam War and his struggle to come to terms with his place in the post-war world. The last film of the trilogy was ‘‘Heaven & Earth’‘, a true story about a Vietnamese woman who has lived a life full of hardship, fighting for survival in Vietnam. She falls in love with an American soldier and they move to America. As well as having made this trilogy about Vietnam, Stone also co-wrote and directed the biography of Richard Nixon, Nixon, where the viewer gets a glimpse into the political side of the war during Nixon’s presidency.

We can get more information about the great movie ‘Platoon’

The First Movie doubt the Vietnam War

The Boy in Company C

‘ The Boys in Company C’ (1978) is the first movie to reflect the real Vietnam War and the first movie since 1968 about actual combat in Vietnam (Francis Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” will be the second, if it ever completes its interminable post-production).Writer Rick Natkin and director Furie try to make the film all things to all people. There was incompetence and corruption by the American government and military–but those brave boys did their best and came out better for it. This simplistic approach–ignoring how their experiences affected the psyches of those who came home–cripples the film and prevents it from rising above the status of B-picture entertainment.

First movie about Vietnam War

The Green Berets

‘ The Green Berets’ is the first movie about Vietnam War, also one of the weakest and most preposterous right-wing agitation and propaganda. This is really the only mainstream movie about the Vietnam War, made during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1975. It is interesting from a cinematic perpsective.  Starring and directed by (in part)  John Wayne, and co-starring war movie staple Aldo Ray, the entire picture feels like it was meant to mirror the classic war movies of the 40′s and 50′s.

 

DO NOT FORGET

Part 2 http://youtu.be/rIsHII4VZKY

Part 3 http://youtu.be/D8PTh-MkxO4

Part 4 http://youtu.be/A58tKzSwI_k

Part 5 http://youtu.be/nkLE5lC-9Vw

Part 6 http://youtu.be/lqvSXc4WU8c

THE REAL WAR WILL NEVER GET IN THE BOOKS

Ten years, for a person, it is almost 1/10 of life, but for a country, it is just enough time for making a decision. There are not lot of people remember what happened 40 years ago. History likes an ocean, past days like rivers. Eventually, rivers are going to merge into the ocean. We may remember that there was a river, but we never know where the original source of the river is.
In the Vietnam War, US solders spent more than ten years in Vietnam. Vietnam spent more than ten years to defend America. We do not need to say who was right or wrong. Time will finally wash many memories away. Everything is forgettable.

People may not remember why the Vietnam War happened and how many countries joined the Vietnam War. People may not take long time to read some books to realize some stories from Vietnam War. But please remember there were 3,300,000 people never go back their home after the war.

Vietnam War movie is a really important section of war movie. We can realize that there are too many movies that represent different opinions. In different countries, people produced Vietnam War movies in their own perspectives. People produced Vietnam War movies that had different meanings in different times. There are too many Vietnam War movies that present differences.

However, movies are not real life. Movies are cultural artifact that created by specific culture, which reflects their culture, and, in turns, affect themselves. Movies are considered to be an important art form, a popular entertainment way and a powerful method for educating, or indoctrinating citizens.

But, I hope that I can find some deeper meanings through these art form-movies about the Vietnam War.

Through these important Movies, hopefully, we can realize more …