The Hanoi Hilton

I really do love the smell of conspiracy theories in the morning. Sadly the post of jw_55767 proves once again that most people prefer their ideological myths to reality.

So lets look more closely at some of JW's myths about this film. First, the theory that Hanoi Hilton disappeared because of a cabal of the rights favourite demon, "Hanoi Jane" and her media mogul husband Ted Turner. Turner. Wrong. Hanoi Hilton was released theatrically. It made, as IMDb notes less than a million dollars. All things being equal this means, if the market is always right as right wing apologists and polemicists usually maintain, Hanoi Hilton was voted down by American consumers and was not systematically hidden away by Ms. Fonda or her media mogul husband so no one could see it.

Second, another favourite strategy of right wingers is to play up the atrocities of the enemy, which did occur, war after all is hell, and play down those of their own country. In reality, however, Americans committed atrocities in Vietnam just like the enemy did. One of many examples: My Lai. Atrocities, of course, have occurred in each and every modern war and they were committed by all sides.

I felt it important to respond to the statement of the person from Minnesota re: The Hanoi Hilton. The torture tactics by the NVA were questioned in the motion picture. The idea that these horrid experiments were not employed is sheer liberal naiveté. I spent several days designing the sequence of the shots and making storyboards for (Lionel Chetwynd) the director based upon lengthy research and a grueling interview with a former (Congressional Medal of Honor recipient)American P.O.W. The distinguished officer described in great detail the many barbaric torture methods employed by his captors. It turned my stomach and revealed the dark evil side of humanity.

Very compelling and realistic portrayal of life as a N.Vietnam POW and how opinion at home affected their situation. You can read Jane Fonda's own broadcasts to verify that the "portrayal" of her and Tom Hayden was not a caricature. Few Americans understood the impact their views and actions had on American soldiers and POWs. There are several standout performances, especially by Moriarity, Pressman, Jones and "Starsky and Hutch" star,David Soul. Although intentionally episodic and semi-documentary in style-the period covered was after all, 9 years -the film is nonetheless compelling. However it's main goal seems to tell the story and not make great "film".This is not Mallick's " The Thin Red Line"(a superb, introspective film). H. Hilton's view that the strength of US military training and code of honor, the value and support of religion in tough times and it's admiration of the "average guy" is more in line with Scott's "Blackhawk Down" and Stephen Ambrose's influenced Speilberg film, "Saving Private Ryan" Neither of these films are as artistic as Mallicks-but all are true to the reality of the specific event.An interesting film to view in conjunction with the H.Hilton is the fictional and quite propagandist " Coming Home" starring Jane Fonda.In that film only Vets who denounced the war(nothing wrong with that)are given credibility. Fonda's husband in the film, Bruce Dern, is not only a joke as a soldier (his metal is for being shot in the rear end)but as a man-he has never given his wife an orgasm-that's left to hero Jon Voight, a paraplegic who renounces the war. Dern ultimately drowns himself. Talk about a loaded deck. No recognition in that film that an American GI who supports his country might have the character of any of the POWs in the Hanoi Hilton. These men were the "forgotten men" of the 60's/early 70's- The Hanoi Hilton was not at all popular at the box office and vilified by many in the Hollywood community when it was made-but it was ahead of it's time content-wise and quite brave for it.

Like anyone else who has seen this film, I stumbled across it quite by accident.

I enjoyed it and considered it to be an historically accurate portrayal of the experiences of POW's in North Viet-Nam to the best of my knowledge from other accounts by POW's.

I am a Viet-Nam veteran who has always been puzzled by the obscurity of this film. Why was it never released to theaters?

I am not a conspiracy theorist by nature, but I have always wondered if the wealth and power of Hanoi Jane Fonda might have had something to do with the stifling of this movie. If I am not mistaken, I believe she was married to the media mogul, Ted Turner at the time. Any thoughts?

This war drama is set in the 'Hanoi Hilton' prisoner-of-war camp. It focuses on a selection of American soldiers who are incarcerated there by the North Vietnamese over the course of the Vietnam War.

The potential for something quite powerful is certainly there in the serious subject matter that this film is based on. But sadly this is a movie that never really gets out of second gear and is ultimately a mediocre take on a serious subject. The movie's politics are fairly unambiguous and it depicts the communists as being fairly one-dimensionally evil. The portrayal of life in the camp seemed a bit overly idealistic too, with the American POWs more or less at liberty to disrespect their captors with very little consequence. I'm sure it was never quite as carefree in reality as it was depicted here. The cast has no stars and is serviceable at best but none of them really brings much dimension to their characters and consequently they are essentially rather lifeless. Ultimately, the film as a whole comes across as being somewhat underwhelming and is mainly redeemed by the fact that it's based on a real historical situation which at least makes it educational at least to some extent.