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Movies / On DVD / Hearts and Minds
Hearts and Minds

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Hearts and Minds (1975)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:28

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.3/10

Consensus: A powerful, unflinching exploration of the Vietnam War, with first-person stories from both sides of the conflict, Hearts and Minds still hits the mark decades after its release.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

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... 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]

Starring: Clark Clifford, George Coker, Daniel Ellsberg, J.W. Fulbright

Starring: Clark Clifford, George Coker, Daniel Ellsberg, J.W. Fulbright, William Westmoreland, George S. Patton, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Milhous Nixon, Brian Holden, Robert Muller

Director: Peter Davis

Director: Peter Davis
Producer: Bert Schneider, Peter Davis
Studio: Rainbow Films

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Hearts and Minds

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 >> >|
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Derek Adams

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:34 AM

Time Out

tomato
5/5

Colin Kennedy

Still shocking, still powerful, still prudent. What is it they say about the more things change?

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 01 2006 03:38 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
9/10

Michael Abernethy

The urgency of Hearts and Minds, its anger and its articulation, its insistence that effects of war be visible, and its cogent analysis of connections among politics, media, and the military, all seem apt lessons for today.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 07 2009 12:09 PM

PopMatters

splat

Armond White

Davis’ visual argument overwhelms rationality.This was the beginning of Red/Blue antagonism -- turning benighted patriotism against an opponent’s humanity.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Mar., 25 2009 11:00 AM

New York Press

tomato
5/5

Dan Lybarger

It's Michael Moore's favorite documentary. See it anyway.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 21 2009 12:26 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato

Louis Proyect

The definitive Vietnam War documentary and arguably the greatest political documentary ever made.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2009 12:59 PM

rec.arts.movies.reviews

tomato
5/5

Phil Hall

Quite simply, one of the greatest non-fiction films ever made.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2009 05:36 AM

Film Threat

tomato
3.5/4

Jeremiah Kipp

Hearts and Minds is an essay told in a voice of thinly controlled moral outrage, which sometimes dribbles over into seething hate.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 19 2009 12:57 PM

Slant Magazine

tomato

Jim Ridley

Not only the definitive American documentary about the war in Vietnam but a landmark political action.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 17 2009 05:36 PM

Village Voice

tomato
4/5

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

A definitive anti-war documentary which won an Academy Award in 1974 and has been restored for release in theaters.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 12 2009 07:40 PM

Spirituality and Practice

tomato

Donald J. Levit

Ahead of the pack, filmmaker Peter Davis illustrates the human toll on 'victor' and 'vanquished.'

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 11 2009 05:37 PM

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

tomato
8/10

Mark R. Leeper

Even after three and a half decades this film still will be controversial and still has a real impact.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2009 05:16 PM

rec.arts.movies.reviews

tomato

Anton Bitel

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 09 2007 01:34 PM

Eye for Film

tomato
4/5

Emanuel Levy

No review available.

comment Comment | Jun., 27 2005 05:14 AM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato
4/5

Vincent Canby

Hearts and Minds is a tough film but it is no mere rehash of sad events. It is always aware of the primacy of man when man's given even half a chance.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 09 2005 03:15 AM

New York Times

tomato
5/5

Daniel M. Kimmel

No review available.

comment Comment | Mar., 24 2005 06:50 PM

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

N/R

Stuart Klawans

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 03 2005 10:16 PM

Nation

tomato
5/5

Pablo Villaca

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.

comment Comment | Feb., 09 2005 06:21 PM

Cinema em Cena

tomato
10/10

Jack Garner

It is a carefully structured yet highly emotional argument against the war in Vietnam.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 03 2004 02:51 PM

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

tomato

Lisa Kennedy

A reminder of how the best documentaries can resonate years after their release.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 12 2004 02:36 PM

Denver Post

 
 
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