The Green Berets

It's easy to understand why so many viewers hated this movie. It goes against everything the media and entertainment industries (The same thing?) have put forth regarding the Vietnam War since the 1960s. ...Vietnam was a bad war, America was wrong, etc., while the North Vietnamese and VC were just peace/freedom loving folk...

What was so wrong about trying to stem the tide of communism, or to prevent south Vietnam from falling to the communist north? "The Green Berets" made the case that it was a noble goal, and brave Americans worked hard to achieve it.

This is not the best war movie, or even the best Vietnam war movie out there. Mel Gibson's "We Were Soldiers" is far superior in that it is less overtly political, much more realistic, and still shows a positive view of the American effort in southeast Asia. Check it out.

The Green Berets: 5.5 of 10

It is probably impossible to assess the content of this film in other than the context in which it was developed and presented. My own first viewing was in 1968 a matter of mere weeks before having to report for duty in the US Armed Forces. At that time I did not know whether or not I would have to go to Viet Nam as many of my friends already had. Some had already been killed or wounded in action. In this context, the film is one I will never forget.

John Wayne made this as a political film in an attempt to counter the rising tide of what he and others like him saw as treasonous protests against the government and the military over the conflict in Viet Nam. This horrid almost-war was tearing many families apart in controversy. Wayne wanted to make a patriotic statement of support for the Armed Forces who had been so good to him. He was denied several attempts at enlistment in WWII and was classified 4F. He made films to support the allied war effort then and hoped to show support again even though this was never a real war. Instead he was widely ridiculed by a rabid leftist press.

Yes, the film was definitely not accurate in the way we have come to demand of today's films. Such accuracy may have been impossible in the political climate of the day. There was deep seated anger in the upper military echelon for not being allowed to wage an actual war. Every engagement between forces was won by the Americans, but they were forbidden from the beginning to the end from pressing an attack. The result was perhaps history's worst military "Catch 22"; fight and then wait for the enemy to regroup, rearm and reattack. I still know military people who hate the entire media for the brow-beating they gave the military and Congress, who - in turn - forbade the military from pressing more aggressive action.

Wayne was also attempting to counter people in the entertainment industry whom he and others considered traitors (then and still) such as Jane Fonda, who visited and spoke in support of North Viet Nam.

It was this climate Wayne stepped into. His effort was genuine but it resulted in a cameo of the war rather than something palpable. Something that good has yet to be made. Much of what went on, real high drama and touching personal stories, has been almost entirely ignored by Hollywood. Thus, this also remains one of the few films of the hugely controversial era.

At no time in the final scene is the time of day ever indicated. The scene was filmed on a beach near Fort Bragg, North Carolina on the Atlantic Ocean so it HAD TO BE a RISING sun and not a setting sun. (The scene does not last long enough to show any motion of the sun in either direction anyway!) Since Kirby's team had just been extracted from deep in hostile territory, it is more likely than not that they would have been extracted at night, arriving back at the base at dawn.

The sneering criticisms of this scene by left-wing critics are a perfect example of how far out of the way they went to find fault with this film.

The only thing wrong with this movie was that John Wayne's character, COL Kirby, was not Ranger qualified.

Forget the trite lines and poor special effects. Viewers who criticize this film for not having a meaning or realism miss its point. This was John Wayne giving support to the troops the best way he knew how- by making a patriotic John Wayne movie. Nobody ever criticized Bob Hope for entertaining the troops, so why pan the Duke for doing the same? This movie was no more borish or weak than the Saturday morning serials we used to cheer in the 30s, 40s and 50s. If you want a deeper message see The Searchers (and if you look closely, you WILL see some parallels...)

North Vietnam and the VC had great PR throughout the war---they managed to dupe most of the world into believing they were peace loving victims of Western imperialism. For some reason, the press never focussed on their use of cold terror and outright mass murder to force their aims on the people of RVN. People forget that we were not in Vietnam to save Vietnam; we were there to stem the tide of world wide communist expansion. We didn't lose in 1975; we won in 1989 when the Wall came down.

So John Wayne's "The Green Berets" was a little schmaltzy. Warm beer tastes flat, but better than no beer. The actors' roles, on both sides, were caricatures of their respective types.

I saw this movie when I was stationed on Okinawa in 1969. Everyone cheered, no one whined. No civilian I ever met liked it. So what? Regardless of politics, most Americans who served in Southeast Asia did so honorably. This is an honorable movie.

Col. Mike Kirby (John Wayne who traveled to Vietnam in June 1966 and got the idea to make this picture about the army special forces on that trip) picks two teams of crack Green Berets ( Aldo Ray , George Takei , Jim Hutton , Edward Faulkner , Raymond St Jacques , Patrick Wayne , John's son , among others) from U.S. Special Forces troops for a mission in South Vietnam . Being accompanied by cynical War correspondent George Beck (David Janssen) briefing about the American military involvement in the war in Vietnam . First off is to build and control a camp that is attempting to be taken by the Viet Cong , the second assignment is to Kirby and a select group of his men are then ordered on a special mission to capture a high-level enemy Colonel .

This exciting wartime picture contains thrills , violence , noisy action , breathtaking battles and absurd situations . Don't miss the ending scene where the sun sets in the East , including a patriotic as well as famous music . Nice acting by John Wayne , as usual , he was prompted to make the film as a response to the growing anti-Vietnam War movement in the US . John Wayne's character , Col. Mike Kirby, is based on the real-life Lauri Törni, who later on called himself Larry Thorne . The latter was a Finnish army captain who fought in the Second World War during the Winter War (1939-40) and Continuation War (1941-44) against the Soviet Union . He emigrated to the US in the late 1940s and in 1954 joined the US Army . Very good support cast , plenty of familiar faces such as Jim Hutton , Aldo Ray , Raymond St. Jacques , Bruce Cabot , Patrick Wayne , Edward Faulkner and Luke Askew . The film was panned by reviewers , general public and many soldiers serving in Vietnam found the film offensive . Being partially based on real events , as the defensive battle that takes place during the second half of the movie is very loosely based on the Battle of Nam Dong , during which two Viet Cong battalions attacked a small outpost in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam . Even George Takei (he missed nine episodes of Star Trek) has admitted in interviews that while he was grateful to be cast in this film , he nevertheless strongly disagreed with the film's pro-war message and felt the finished movie was very bad . Green Berets was released soon after the Tet Offensive and the My Lai Massacre getting negative critiques , too . However , a lot of critics deemed this war film much better than its reputation would suggest . Possibly due to the film's extremely lousy critical reactions , it's been a long-held belief by many people that it was also a box-office flop . Actually , it was one of John Wayne's biggest box-office successes , attracting millions of moviegoers and ending up being the 13th highest grossing movie of 1968.

Colorful cinematography in Panavision by Winton Hoch , filmed on location in Columbus, Georgia , and Ft. McClellen, Alabama . Much of the film was shot in 1967 at Ft. Benning, Georgia, hence the large pine forests in the background rather than tropical jungle trees . Good production design , some of the "Vietnamese village" sets were so realistic they were left intact, and were later used by the Army for training troops destined for Vietnam . Impressive and rousing musical score by Miklós Rózsa , similarly composed to previous epics as Ben Hur , King of Kings , El Cid . Lavishly produced by Batjac , Wayne's company and Warner Bros was concerned about letting John Wayne direct the movie because of the fact that his previous directorial effort , El Alamo (1960), had been an expensive flop . They therefore only agreed to let him do the film if he agreed to co-direct with a more experienced director, and Wayne chose Ray Kellogg . The studio agreed, despite Kellogg's only having ever directed a few "B" pictures such as : ¨The Giant Gila Monster , My dog buddy , The killer shrews¨ , because of his impressive track record as a second unit director on a number of major studio releases . Being John Wayne's final war film , although Undefeated (1969) and Río Lobo (1970) contained some war scenes .