Return with Honor

An incredible doc interweaving interviews with P.O.W.s with amazing footage from the Vietnam war. Interviews include Arizona Senator John McCain & Ross Perot's Veep James Stackpole.

Really charasmatic storytellers and first rate production really make this movie an entirely riveting experience. How the hell did they get this footage? Very American (and patriatic film).

Would have liked to heard some of the Vietnamese's perspective but after all...it is the P.O.W.'s story. Very very engaging docu

I was fortunate enough to see this film at its sneak preview in Dallas a few years ago. This is a truly great film. The POWs featured tell their amazing, inspiring stories. They describe in graphic detail the hardships they endured, and the tremendous measures they took to survive and persevere. It also tells the stories of their families waiting at home. These men exemplified the core values of our nation's military. By the end of the film, nearly the entire audience, which was almost exclusively comprised of grown men, was in tears. Every American should see this film. This film solidifies the debt we owe to so many.

This was such a great movie. By the end of the movie, I was in tears. I just felt so proud to be an American and so very proud of two of my brothers, who served two tours each in the Vietnam War. This movie was very emotional and I felt that it showed us that we should be very proud and respect all the men and women who served over there regardless of what our opinion of the war was. And I will always remember the scene with the woman who had been in a concentration camp for over two years and the P.O.W. telling her that she should be standing in his place and that he should be thanking her. This was a very emotional film, one that I will not forget anytime soon.

I saw this film in March 1999 at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and was blown away. Remarkably candid, disturbing, and honest revelations from Vietnam veterans about their captivity and release, combined with remarkable archival footage of the prisoners from the war, made this film touching and inspiring. The directors are both previous Oscar winners, and this film shows their experience and skill in the medium. Wonderful film about a difficult topic, told by the veterans themselves.

"Return with Honor" is a fascinating documentary about the men who were held prisoner at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War.

For me, the most compelling part of the film is that it takes the viewer into the mind-set of these men while they were there. They went into combat with their minds full of glory and honor, but they found out the hard way that war really is hell. And then when they were released, they experienced euphoria at things we take for granted, such as ice water and clean sheets.

They took all sorts of torture from the guards, were humiliated for all the world to see, and yet they refused to let themselves become despondent or become indoctrinated. This is largely due to the influence of Jim Stockdale, who is not the dottering old fool he seemed to be during the 1992 Vice-Presidential debate. In this film, he comes across as a leader anyone should be proud to follow.

While, in general this film is very good and very moving, there were a few minor problems. First of all, there was only so much footage of the men taken while they were prisoners. This means that during much of the film, we see the same shots of the prison as it now stands over and over again. Also, the men's stories of torture are so similar, that at times it seems like overkill when one more man tells of his ordeal. Another problem is that the perspectives of the men's wives is given short shrift, and the perspectives of their children are completely ignored. One final problem is that, in order to give the film a feel-good vibe, the domestic unrest is skimmed over and the welcome home festivities are exaggerated.

Overall, I would say that a documentary of this type has been overdue to the American public for twenty-five years. While this is not the great film it could (and should) have been, it is still very good and I recommend it to anyone who knows anyone else who was in Vietnam.