Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Director Francois Truffaut famously said "There is no such thing as an anti-war film." People taking dramatic action, risking their lives, and doing noble deeds are the stuff of war films, even anti-war films. People rather like to see explosions and guns firing. The more terrifying and horribly war is presented, the more a purportedly anti-war movie feels like a recruitment film. Don't try to tell me that "Apocalypse Now" or "Full Metal Jacket" are truly anti-war when most people in the audience are getting revved up and excited during the action sequences. Hamburger Hill is an amazingly accurate film. In my opinion, it is the only truly anti-war film ever made. Of course, this means that not everyone will like it.

As the extra material points out, this was the 1st movie for many of the cast. Only Don Cheadle and Dylan McDermott have moved on, as I can tell. the rest have stayed rested.Courtney Vance played a racial character with over-the-top racism.While the movie is based on a true event, it was acted poorly and was a poor script. In retrospect you have to wonder why the commanders of this siege just didn't pull off all the troops and just napalm the whole hill for about 3 days.. I've seen most war movies and this has to rank around the very bottom in execution. "Inglorious basterds" was a better movie to watch.

This is an '80s style war movie where the focus is on the individual soldier instead of the war itself. There's another war movie that''s similar in this respect from the '80s called the "Full Metal Jacket".Although the movie depicts the worst battle, it's the characters of each man that gives this story the meaning. What happens to each of them, you need to see the movie, but it will keep you interested for the entire course of the film.The movie shows what happens to the recruits during and after the by then hugely unpopular war in Viet Nam. United States had no moral reasons to be there, and the modus operandi was not acceptable to the generally middle class Americans. The brutality of the combat, and the sentiment of the society plus the mindset of each solider forms an interesting landscape of the movie.In this sense, this is one of a kind movie on Viet Nam war. The conflict to the soldiers were not only external but also internal. Good movie that has meaning to those who were there and those who stayed behind.

"Hamburger Hill" came out in late summer 1987 but, after the mega-success of "Platoon" from the previous Christmas, it was decidedly underwhelming. Not that it's bad, it just pales in comparison to other Nam films like "Platoon," and "Apocalypse Now" (1979).The story focuses on one platoon as they try again and again to take hill 937 (that is, 937 feet high) during a 10-day period in May, 1969. The hill was nicknamed Hamburger Hill because enemy fire was so fierce that American troops were shredded like hamburger meat.The film has an excellent cast highlighted by Dylan McDermott and Steven Weber (from Wings) as squad sergeants, Courtney B. Vance as the medic "Doc," and Tim Quill, Don Cheadle and Anthony Barrile as privates, the latter who strongly resembles Boner from "Growing Pains." "Hamburger Hill" successfully details the lives of grunts during the Vietnam War who, not only have to face their enemy in SE Asia, but growing resistance from their contemporaries at home. Although the film definitely comes off as a Grade-B "Platoon" and "Apocalypse Now," it features quite a few aspects that make it unique and notable, like an episode of friendly fire, soldiers getting "Dear John" letters, mudsliding down the hill during warfare, etc.It's also notable for its documentary-like style. "Hamburger Hill" makes no attempt to divert to the deeper subtexts of those two more successful Nam films; it's a picture solely about the Vietnam experience of infantryman taking a hill. The futility of the endeavor is a microcosm of the futility of the Vietnam War itself.Obviously, this documentary-like style is appealing to many, as witnessed by the numerous high ratings, particularly those who prefer ultra-realism. Unfortunately, it's sometimes diminished by contrived sequences (acting, dialogue, etc.). Regardless, such an approach won't be satisfactory for those who favor a more substantial story, stronger characters and a deeper subtext.Concerning the film's depiction of the typical grunt, just once I'd like to see a movie dare to show soldiers, Marines, etc. doing something other than boozing it up and visiting prostitutes on R & R. Even if most enlisted men did this in Vietnam, I'm sure there were many who coped with the stress of combat in more healthy, positive ways.The film was shot in the Philippines and runs 110 minutes. Excellent locations, by the way.GRADE: C+