FTA

I'm glad the docu refrains from lengthy preachments against the Vietnam war. Instead the narrative's a mix of anti-war songs, dance numbers and comedy sketches, but most importantly are the revelatory comments from soldiers themselves about personal feelings toward the army and life stateside. Many are on the humorous side, yet short in length. Nonetheless, their overall impact remains unmistakable.

Fonda and Sutherland both sing and comment, each serving more as continuity between sections than as major spokespeople. That mainly allows the focus to be where it should be: namely, on the servicemen and women of all races and their anti-war, anti-army feelings. Perhaps unexpectedly, there are no stagings in Vietnam itself, probably because of Defense Department restrictions. (After all, this is not Bob Hope.) Instead the show travels across the Pacific ending in Japan and lingering images of 1945's a-bomb blasts. Still, the overlapping message remains basically the same across the changing locales and service-personnel.

Anyway, whether you agree or not with the anti-war stance, the docu's well worth catching up with. And though 50-years have passed, the underlying feelings are as relevant now as they were then.

One of the guys who was there, shared this with me. I looked it up today because Donald Sutherland just passed away, but most importantly, I knew some of these Marines. I was once married to one of them. This film was and still is, a very important timepiece. It was a bit slow but I liked Donald Sutherland smile at parts. Imagine my surprise, when I heard a familiar voice! There was this Marine from Beaver Dam, KY. That I knew quite well. He was a character and he also hated this war. These guys were drafted into a war that they didn't believe in. One young man said, "it was jail or the military." I suppose that most people except that age group, those who served or in my case, knew some of the guys who got a speaking role.

Like Fonda's facelift(s) this film has aged poorly. Sutherland, a Canadian, never had any skin in the game. Fonda was (is) the definition of white privilege. It is hard to imagine the fate of a black man who climbed aboard an anti-aircraft gun in North Vietnam.

I headed for Vietnam in March 1972. I did not need this film to help me see the ethics of what I was doing. Fonda was preaching to the choir, so self-absorbed that she was oblivious to see that she was in it for the fame and Hollywood acceptance, not saving anyone else.

The film was egotistical when it was made, and it still is. It's restoration is another act of egotism. "look at me daddy; look at me."

Jane will always be Jane. I just wish she would stop trying to pull me into her entourage. I get to be both proud and ashamed of my Distinguished Flying Cross. She will never have one!! Even better, I don't want her in my fan club. I think I will die gracefully. I wish her the same.

Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland headline an anti-war tour around military establishments. In the opening, Jane claims that there is a large contingent of military personnel opposed to the war. This is their response to the Bob Hope patriotism and pro-war USO tours. The film was pulled quickly after Jane's Hanoi visit and most copies destroyed. This is a very compelling time capsule. The anti-war movement can be portrayed as lamb to the slaughter. In this case, this group is quite confrontational. I am especially struck by the lyrics from the Okinawa singing group. This is unapologetically anti-Americanism. Some of this goes over the line for me but I didn't live through that time. As a film, it's a little rough technically at times. The filmmaking is not the best but that is not the most important.

unfortunately, in other reviews made about this film there is a lack of

understanding. The time and place of this movie are the two things that are of utmost importance to comprehend, only with the comforting feeling of ignorance can the point of this material be avoided. Being the residual of a post-Vietnam society that resides in the same state on this day of November 1st, 2004 as it did when this film was made, can we still be so blinded by the pure'ed peas of pride. I would hope, all attention deficits and outside influences aside that you would be capable of seeing this film with an open mind.

i applaud your effort. HL