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Hearts and Minds (1975)
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Theatrical Release: 11-11-2005
Synopsis: A landmark in documentary feature films, this Academy Award-winning documentary is an insightful critique of the US's cataclysmic involvement in Vietnam. The film exposes the duplicitous nature of the American government, obsessive in its quest to squelch Communism and advance its own... A landmark in documentary feature films, this Academy Award-winning documentary is an insightful critique of the US's cataclysmic involvement in Vietnam. The film exposes the duplicitous nature of the American government, obsessive in its quest to squelch Communism and advance its own imperialist agenda, documented here in a media-savvy trail of propaganda ranging from archival footage, excerpts from press conferences, newsreels, and clips from jingoistic Hollywood war pictures. Director Peter Davis also uses damaging interviews (including disturbingly racist comments from US soldiers and General William Westmoreland), pop music from the period, and material he shot himself in Vietnam to create an indelible visual essay against war. Eschewing narration, the film has a cinema verite style, which gains its power from juxtaposition and the severity of its images. Released only two short years after the January 1973 agreement that brought home U.S. troops, the film stands as one of the strongest films condemning the war and the America's involvement in it. HEARTS AND MINDS's title derives from a now-infamous speech given by former President Lyndon Johnson in which he stated, "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live there." [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: Clark Clifford, George Coker, Daniel Ellsberg, J.W. Fulbright, William Westmoreland
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 6, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 16.9
- Single Side - Dual Layer
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. Peter Davis - Director
- Outtakes
Additional Products:
- Booklet
Reviews
If you were ultimately disappointed by the agitprop entertainment of Fahrenheit 9/11, then check out its older, wiser brother to see how a real documentary is made.
Se na época de seu lançamento este importante filme serviu como denúncia das atrocidades norte-americanas no Vietnã, hoje funciona como triste constatação de que nada mudou.
It is a carefully structured yet highly emotional argument against the war in Vietnam.
A reminder of how the best documentaries can resonate years after their release.
It's one of the best documentaries ever made, a superb film about the thoughts and feelings of the era, the whole festering, spirited animus of it.
Davis's film seems as much a prosecution of the present as it is of the recent past; only the names and geographies have been changed.
Elicits a palpable emotional and intellectual effect...strikes the same sad note of discord thirty years later.
The unnerving brilliance of the film owes to the director's skill at assembling information and allowing it to speak for itself.
An ambitious attempt to explain American involvement in Vietnam and its consequences


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