The Green Berets
Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for two missions in South Vietnam. The first is to strengthen a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy. The second is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.
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- Cast:
- John Wayne , David Janssen , Jim Hutton , Aldo Ray , Raymond St. Jacques , Bruce Cabot , Jack Soo
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
I'll tell you why so serious
Best movie ever!
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
It is very real and close to the reality of Vietnam. A lot of American movies make the American soldiers look bad. This is wrong. All the left-wing movie director did this in order to stop the draft. My Grandfather a United States Marine officer fight for America in Korea and Vietnam. He would not lie to me and he love freedom. We need patriotism in this country. Make America great again, President Trump!
This movie begins with a Green Berets officer named "Colonel Mike Kirby" (John Wayne) receiving orders to put together a small team and relocating them to a hastily built garrison called "A Camp 107" which is located in the northern part of South Vietnam bordering both Laos and Cambodia. Also traveling with them is a reporter by the name of "George Beckworth" (David Janssen) who doesn't believe that the United States should be involved in this conflict and needs to see things first hand to ascertain the truth. But as convinced as he is nothing can prepare him for what he finds at "A Camp 107". Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film has more than its share of right-wing bias which is clearly demonstrated by its appeal to patriotism and openly promulgated by a "good guys versus bad guys" mindset. To be sure, there have been other films produced after this one which present a more left-wing view and they are often just as dogmatic in their perspective. Be that as it may, despite the obvious bias, this film contains a good amount of action, some decent comedy here and there and a rather touching moment at the end. That said, while this certainly isn't a great movie by any means, I thought it was still entertaining for the most part I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
The Duke goes to Vietnam with a flag wrapped around his body (and his mind) to fight a modern day war with World War II patriotism and the result is a can of rotting spam.Wayne's cronies Cabot and Hutton are along for the ride to try and show that America is truly #1, though it's hard to think Vietnam was a place where Wayne's officers would put on a tuxedo in the evening and frequent the posh nightclubs of Saigon.Not a war movie for the guys who served in Vietnam nor for anyone else who is concerned with true history, because this film is baloney.'Provo' is played by Luke Askew, the hippie whom Peter Fonda picks up on the highway in 'Easy Rider'.
I suppose you have to give John Wayne credit. By 1968 the Vietnam War was already becoming unpopular, protests against it were erupting, America's allies were publicly opposing it. Making a movie that would be essentially a defence of U.S. involvement in Vietnam took some guts. Of course, Wayne's fan base was likely made up of the more conservative types in American society, but still. Making a pro-Vietnam movie in 1968 would have been cutting increasingly against the grain. And, no doubt owing to Wayne's stature, even anti-Vietnam actors wanted roles in this - notably David Janssen as anti-war reporter George Beckworth, who follows the unit as a war correspondent, and Star Trek's George Takei, who took on the role of Captain Nim, a ruthless South Vietnamese officer.Now, I'm no expert on the Vietnam War or anything military to be honest. But to my amateur eye, this seemed rather well done and the military scenes seemed authentic. Of course, it's the reverse of what we usually associate with movies about Vietnam. In this, the U.S. is noble, and fighting for a just cause against the atrocities of the communist, North Vietnamese enemy. In fact, all that is made so clear that in the end Beckworth becomes a supporter of the U.S. involvement. And, unlike most Vietnam movies, this movie doesn't focus on young draftees but on the special forces, who likely were much more professional and who probably had higher morale.Perhaps in a reflection of one of the basic reasons for the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, the prime weakness of the movie for me was a lack of clear focus or purpose. The movie has a tragic figure - the young Vietnamese boy who has only a dog as a companion and who bonds with one of the U.S. soldier. In the end, it finally settles into a purpose - to capture a senior North Vietnamese general. But for the most part, this just depicts war.It does provide an interesting and alternative perspective that's worth watching - and it shouldn't be dismissed for its bias, it should be evaluated on its merits. On that basis, it isn't great, but it's a worthwhile watch. (6/10)