The answer is no, another answer might be that it was a vietnamese tacticalshortterm victory and a chinese long term victory. One of the first war movies filmed in vietnam, great realistic battle scenes. Vietnam war vietnam war french rule ended, vietnam divided. In an utterly banal sense, the united states could have won the vietnam war by invading the north, seizing its urban centers, putting the whole of the country under the control of the saigon. What is the summary of the story bowaon and totoon. Nevertheless, like the boys in company c, go tell the spartans failed to attract a large audience and quickly passed from view despite praise from critics and the military. But this financial draining may not have been possible without the unprecedented stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Whats more, the american vietnam war veterans who appear in the film are uniformly articulate, introspective, and wellinformed. It would turn out to be one of the most arduous productions in the history of cinema, taking over three years to complete and nearly destroying. Army reported 58, 177 losses in vietnam, the south vietnamese 223, 748.
One excellent film, greatly overlooked, is go tell the spartans. Opinion the war we could have won the new york times. The story of a marine grunt in the first battle of khe sanh april 1967 duration. After the vietnam war ended in 1975, there was an increase in american films that. The vietnam war in forty quotes council on foreign relations. Ken burnss acclaimed and powerful documentary the vietnam war.
China launched an offensive in response to vietnams. Take the vietnam war, the countrys first television war. The deer hunter is the greatest film about the vietnam war, exposing not just the hell of battle but the ways in which it broke the psyche of those who experienced its conflicts. So they kept grinding for a while, hoping the vc would take enough casualties to give up but the willingness of the us to fight the nvavc wherever they were worked against. What if the united states won its intervention in vietnam and was able to successfully push back the nva. America was certainly no stranger to political violence, but 1968 appeared to bring the bloodletting to new heights. Famed documentarian errol morris won an oscar for this intimate. Join as we count down our picks for the top 10 vietnam. This examination of the vietnam war is not a detailed account of the battlefield struggle. Ask the vietnamese about war, and they think china, not the u. Kennedy and lyndon johnson during the height of the war in vietnam. As a result, the film has come the closest of any film about vietnam yet released to capture the american experience in the war. While some films criticize armed conflicts in a general sense, others focus on acts within a specific war, such as the use of poison gas or the genocidal killing of civilians e. America pulled out of the war when the nlf north vietnam forces invaded south vietnam.
By the time vietnam won the war i was sick of my country. The story of the first major battle of the american phase of the vietnam war, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news. Although burns and novick dont besmirch veterans as flagrantly, their misrepresentation of the war and its warriors has reopened old wounds. Thoughts on the liberation of saigon and the end to.
S was able to invade north vietnam without threat of retaliation. But what becomes clear clearer than ever while watching the vietnam war is that this was a war between lies and truth. It was the peoples army of vietnam pavn or the vietnamese peoples army vpa who won the war. By the time the vietnam war was finally over on april 30, 1975, i was one foot out of this country so to speak. When the last helicopter rose above the american embassy in saigon on april 29, 1975, the us had been winning the vietnam war for over a decade. This article lists notable films related to the vietnam war.
Role of the united states in the vietnam war wikipedia. In honor of that group and all vietnam vets on vietnam war veterans day, we put. How walter cronkites broadcast changed the vietnam war. The deer hunter is the greatest film about the vietnam war. The career of vo nguyen giap military leader, guerrilla warfare 1993 duration. Objectively, the communists of north vietnam achieved their wartime goals of reuniting the country and gaining its independence. As we rethink the vietnam war, we have to grapple with its. What ken burns omits from the vietnam war providence. Three friends from a small pennsylvania town enlist and go to vietnam. The most important reason why vietnam won the war is that america followed a chess strategy in the war while vietnam used sun tzus strategy.
Us or vietnam page 3 waff world armed forces forum. Frances long colonial history in french indochina, the us war with japan in the pacific, and both joseph stalin and mao zedongs pledge in 1950 to support ho chi minh. In 1975 the vietnam war drew to an end, in a shocking turn of events the mighty united states of america had been defeated by the communist north, and were forced to. A young soldier in vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man. An american soldier and a viet cong guerrilla find common ground. Brad davis, keith carradine, michael okeefe, richard bradford. Whatifhub the vietnam war wasnt an utterly american war, even though t. The first indochina war also known as the french indochina war, was a major conflict in the asian region known as indochina, which is made up of the modern nations of vietnam, cambodia, and laos. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war.
Vietnam war french rule ended, vietnam divided britannica. It can be argued that america lost the political war against the vietnamese communists. Germanamerican dieter dengler christian bale was a u. Those who argue that the united states won the war point to the fact that the u. Until 1968, walter cronkite believed what his government told him about the vietnam war.
Why america lost the vietnam war full documentary youtube. Vietnam war was between south vietnam, usa vs north vietnam. A article noted that american filmmakers appeared more confident to put vietnam combat on screen for the first time during that era. The legend makers is such an emotional movie about the vietnam war. I had filed for my co deferment at my local draft board the summer i graduated high school, in 1969. The 9 best vietnam war movies americas military entertainment. Set in saigon in 1965, during the vietnam war, the film stars robin williams as a radio dj on armed forces radio service, who proves hugely popular with the troops, but infuriates his superiors with what they call his irreverent tendency. Wikimedia commons has media related to vietnam war films films about the vietnam war 19551975 andor its aftermath subcategories. Why are we so obsessed with films about the second world war. Crocker says she wont be watching ken burns documentary on the vietnam war this week. The series is also available for digital download, and can also be seen on netflix and kanopy. In my book i reveal the best kept secret of the twentieth century. America won world war ii is a form of hollywood history in which a story implies or outright states that the united states singlehandedly won world war ii. Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states.
The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Supposedly, general giap had written in how we won the war that in the aftermath of the tet offensive of 1968, the communist leaders in vietnam had. American holocaust exposes one of the worst cases of sustained mass slaughter in history, carefully planned and executed by presidents of both parties us dedicated generals and foot soldiers, knowingly or unknowingly, killed nearly 5 million people, on an almost unimaginable scale, mostly using incendiary bombs. After the vietnam war ended in 1975, there was an increase in american films that were more raw, containing actual battle footage. Why did america lose the vietnam war despite having an. The conflict has deep historical roots, most recently the first indochina war between the communist north and the frenchbacked south, and the subsequent splitting of vietnam into north and south. The criteria used for judgement are the public records of the achievements or failures of those goals and objectives. Their demeanor and what they have to say reflect very well on the 2. The goal was not achieved, therefore, the us lost the war. The memories of a us marine lieutenant in vietnam who slowly gets disillusioned as the war progresses. He was an oldschool journalist, a patriot, a man who came. The vietnam war had its origins in the broader indochina wars of the 1940s and 50s, when nationalist groups such as ho chi minhs viet minh, inspired by chinese and soviet communism, fought the colonial rule first of japan and then of france.
The role of the united states in the vietnam war began after world war ii and escalated into full commitment during the vietnam war from 1955 to 1973. As we rethink the vietnam war, we have to grapple with its racial implications ken burns may not sentimentalize vietnam, but he continues to whitewash the role of race in the conflict. Its an iconic war and it inspired some awesome movies. The communists in north vietnam actually signed a peace treaty, effectively surrendering. The new medium and the lack of government censorship granted the average person living in the u. Vietnam war, 195475, a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, known as the viet cong, against the government of south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. The vietnam war the us entered the war to reach an objective. Final cut, francis ford coppolas latest rendition of his 1979 vietnam war epic, premiered at the tribeca film festival right on time to correct the media hysteria surrounding.
Why spa city woman will avoid vietnam war documentary this. A lady introduce her husbands name with saying by which can stop or move train. The question of who won the vietnam war has been a subject of debate, and the answer depends on the definition of victory. I have proven that the united states won the war because of the paris peace accords, its massive contribution to preventing the spread of communism, it bankrupted the soviet union, prevented massive deaths by the soviet union, won every battle in the war, killed over a million communists in the war, and forced vietnam to pay war reparations. In the spring of that year, having completed his second godfather film, francis coppola told an interviewer that his next movie would deal with vietnam, although it won t necessarily be politicalit will be about war and the human soul. Michael cimino, who won a best director oscar for his highly acclaimedand controversialvietnam war film, the deer hunter, died july 2 at age 77. In just five minutes, learn the truth about who really lost the vietnam war. Washington the vietnam war is universally regarded as a disaster for what it did to the american and vietnamese people. Good morning, vietnam is a 1987 american comedydrama war film written by mitch markowitz and directed by barry levinson. How i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb 1964 use parody and black comedy to satirize wars and conflicts. In operation junction city, vietnam wars biggest operation, feb.
Later one marine gets back to san francisco, where he realises that. Huffman sebastian stan and other surviving veterans of the battle to finally. Iraq, afghanistan, vietnam john musgrave is a marine veteran who. The french indochina war broke out in 1946 and went on for eight years, with france. The us couldnt win the war without invading north vietnam and they couldnt win the war with north vietnam unless they invaded china, which wouldve led to world war iii.
Best war movies of all times vietnam war movies best full movie duration. First of all, you have to examine why the invasion happened in the first place, it was because of sinosoviet rivalry china identified that the largest threat to itself was the soviet union and the fact that after the vietnam war in which the ussr, prc and vietnam. Before i move onto the scenario, let me illustrate why i put the word won in quotation points. Last month, i did a series of posts commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of u. The north vietnamese army and viet cong, however, are said to have lost more than a million soldiers and two million civilians. The third and final film of oliver stones vietnam war trilogy, it is a portrait of a vietnamese woman, who survives the horrors of her wartorn country and.
Both films were decidedly antiwar in their outlook, reflective of a broader. The film received some criticism at the time for its unabashed onesidedness. Ill be venturing into an era that is laden with so many implications that if i select some aspects and ignore others, i may be doing something. William westmoreland won his bigunit campaign but lost confidence that the war could be won. I watched four episodes last week, but i think i realized it wasnt smart for me to keep on. Instead, it looks at the goals and objectives as stated in the rhetoric of americas leadership. The reason i started studying the vietnam war 25 years ago was due to my belief that the antiwar left unfairly besmirched americas vietnam veterans. In film, people are able to portray people and events to fit the needs of the. The third and final film of oliver stones vietnam war trilogy, it is a portrait of a vietnamese woman, who survives the horrors of her war torn country and marries a gunnery sergeant troubled by.
The vietnam war was released on bluray and dvd on september 19, 2017. The united states bled the soviets dry through proxy wars and the nuclear arms race. Americas top critics are unanimous in their praise for the vietnam war. These american post war film representations have generally. Backed by seemingly unending us support, south vietnam lost the war. Depends on how you define lost but the general consensus is that the u. By the time truth won, more than 3 million people were dead, 58,000. The war was fought by france, the longtime colonial ruler in the indochina, and vietnamese, cambodian, and laotian communist rebel forces. What wouldve happened if the united states won the. You have to understand the power of china is totally different story comparing to vietnam. Its impossible to come up with a definitive list but, for comparison, wikipedias list of films.