A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
Michael Boatman
- Pvt. Ray Motown
- (as Michael Patrick Boatman)
Michael A. Nickles
- Pvt. Paul Galvan
- (as M.A. Nickles)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe reception among Vietnam veterans was very positive towards the film's authenticity and brutality.
- GoofsAlthough the practice of subduing unit shoulder patches was officially adopted during the Vietnam war, there were some units that refused to subdue their patches because of unit pride. The 101st Airborne Division was the major one that never subdued their shoulder patches. The 101st did not subdue the patch until BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) started to be worn.
- Quotes
Sgt. Frantz: Who is it?
Doc: How the hell do I know? He's got no goddamn head.
- Crazy creditsThe following poem is shown at the beginning of the credits: If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. Major Michael Davis O'Donnell 1 January 1970 Dak To, Vietnam
- Alternate versionsThe Magna Pacific DVD Release: Sep 18, 2002 UPC: 9-315841-999491 is cut as when Duffy kills an NVA soldier with his M-60 the body explodes in gore and when Duffy is then killed by another NVA soldier that soldier is then shot in the back of the head and blood spurts out.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood Vietnam (2005)
- SoundtracksWhen a Man Loves a Woman
Performed by Percy Sledge
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright
Featured review
Realism and Radicalism
This is an excellent depiction of the insanity that was the war in Viet Nam. My view as a naval officer during a scenic tour of the Mekong near the Cambodian border and the Vietnamese city of Chau Phu, permitted me to be a witness to many, many occasions involving the wholesale abuse of humans by humans. The strain on mind, body and soul takes years (if ever) to repair and this film captures it. There are brief glimpses of this agony in some of the other films mentioned here in the reviews, e.g., Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Each of these films have merit but are deeply flawed. Apocalypse Now is steeped in moral allegory to the expense of an accurate portrayal of the war; Full Metal Jacket is only 2/3 completed; Platoon becomes a Levi-Straussian moral tale with an arch villain and virtuous hero-- the latter heinously slain by the former with revenge exacted by the weary sojourner on the odyssey. OK. What do we have here with Hamburger Hill? A story? Heroic acts? Action? Not really. What we have is the horror and insanity of war. The film ends on the same pointless note as it began. But, you know what? Reading through the detractors of this film who touted the other potential three and slammed this one, I would not hesitate to bet they were never there. I could glance at the reviews and pick out the vets-- not just on the basis of whether they liked this film or not but of how they reacted to it. I know and know damn well. I too was there, brothers. See this film. It's well produced, directed and the cast is damn good. Check it out.
helpful•15314
- artzau
- Apr 23, 2001
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $13,839,404
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,360,705
- Aug 30, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $13,839,404
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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