Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley

A made for television movie that's well worth seeing. The trial takes up most of the screen time and for the most part is fairly accurate. It's apparent, to me, a feeble attempt was made to make Lt. Calley an average young man who believed he was just following orders.

The scenes outside of the courtroom (only a few) didn't work for me. I didn't find any of them even remotely believable.

If this was an attempt by Kramer to show Calley as a mere scapegoat, I think he failed. Only those wanting to see Calley as a victim and capable of ignoring all the facts of the case will see it that way.

I did find the trial engrossing. The acting: fair at best. Harrison Ford crying on the witness stand may win the acting honors. The worst was the sadness shown by all the characters as the death of one American soldier is described. (No remorse shown for the testimony about a child picked up by the arm, tossed into a ditch filled with dead bodies and shot by Kramer's victim.) Netflix has this movie. Watch it now and than you can compare it to Oliver Stone's Pinkville coming out in 2008 or 2009.

I bought this movie at a cheap price but it was worth more than most movies you spend much more money on. This is a great dramatization of the court martial of Lt. William Calley in his involvement in the Mai Lai massacre. The cast includes a brief but important performance by Harrison Ford as an emotional witness who breaks down during his testimony. This shows what a confusing and convoluted way that the Vietnam War was fought. The soldiers do not know friend from foe and innocent civilians are killed because of it.

Whether or not you believed the Vietnam War was right or wrong, this drama is a must see. It shows that the war had contradictions in both the command and combat had behaved. 10/10