Vietnam War Filmography
updated (7/07)

1968, America is hard to see . 1988. 1 videocassette (90 min.). Film covers the year 1968 in the history of the United States and is an account of the events surrounding the American presidential campaign of 1968, from McCarthy's entry in the race through the election. The year 1968 saw the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the Vietnam war worsening, President Johnson's withdrawal from the race for reelection and the nomination of Humphrey, LBJ's choice. VHS 3144

1968 the year that shaped a generation . 1998. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Examines the turbulent political and social landscapes of 1968 by combining archival footage with interviews of key witnesses involved in the year's most pivotal events, including the TET offensive in Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the riot at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. VHS 5315

America's enemy, 1954-1967 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This episode presents a view of the war in Vietnam as experienced by the followers of Ho Chi Minh and described by American soldiers and P.O.W.'s. Looks at the effects of Hanoi's growing socialization of the North, and the results of U.S. bombing and guerilla and conventional warfare. DVD 2325, VHS 1176

America's mandarin, 1954-1963 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment reviews America's role as the anti-communist force in South Vietnam upon the withdrawal of the French from Indochina and examines U.S. support for the autocratic South Vietnamese President, Ngo Dinh Diem. Looks at how dividing Vietnam caused Catholics and pro-French northerners to flee to the south; how, in 1960, the National Liberation Front arose in an effort to overthrow the South Vietnamese government; and how Diem was overthrown by the Right, rather than the Left. DVD 2325, VHS 1173

America takes charge, 1965-1967 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment tells how the Viet Minh and FLN responded to the big American buildup during the Vietnamese war and presents an American soldier's view of war with a most-often unseen enemy. Also demonstrates various buzz words of the war, using Operation Cedar Falls as an example. DVD 2325, VHS 1175

Anatomy of a springroll . 1993. 1 videocassette (56 min.). A Vietnamese immigrant cooks the dishes of his childhood and keeps his cultural connection alive. VHS 3988

Apocalypse now . 1999. 1 videodisc or 1 videocassette (ca. 153 min.). Coppola's vision of man's heart of darkness revealed through the madness of the Vietnam War. The odyssey of Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) as he journeys up-river through the physical and emotional minefields of Vietnam to find and eliminate a fellow officer, Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has set himself up as a god in the jungles of Cambodia and is conducting the war in his way. DVD 27, VHS 162

Apocalypse now redux . 2001. 1 videodisc (202 min.). A United States Army officer/trained assassin is sent into the depths of a southeast Asian jungle to seek out a renegade colonel and terminate his command during the Vietnam War. DVD 1338

Asia today: Thailand and Vietnam . Asia today. 1998. 1 videocassette (50 min.). One of the five programs in the series, Asia today,which explores the rapid development taking place across Asia. A general introduction of Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand is a country of 61 million people in an area comparable to that of France. A diverse tropical climate, with an average of 19 days of rain per month and a major output of rice. It has been a monarchy since 1238 but remains a constitutional monarchy, with Buddhism defining Thai culture. The history of Vietnam has been one long struggle for autonomy until only the last few years with conflicts with China, the French, the Americans, and again with the Chinese. The country ranks only behind Thailand and the US as the world's largest producer of rice. VHS 5594

Berkeley in the sixties . 1990. 1 videocassette (117 min.). Captures the events of the 1960's - the birth of the Free Speech Movement, civil rights marches, anti-Vietnam War protests, the counter-culture, the women's movement, and the rise of the Black Panthers - in all their immediacy and passion. Archival footage is inter-woven with present-day (1991) interviews and 18 songs from the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, the Band, and many others to present a history of Berkeley, California, in the 1960s. VHS 1088

Bombies . 2001. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Millions of cluster bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War. This film explains the devastation that is still being wrought on the people of Laos by the remaining unexploded bombs. VHS 7398

Born on the fourth of July . 2004. 1 videodisc or 1 videocassette(145 min.). A young man joins the army and fights in Vietnam, only to become a wheelchair-bound paraplegic resulting from battle. He then becomes a loud voice in the anti-war movement. Based on Ron Kovic's book. DVD 1159, VHS 3537

Change, change . A Walk through the 20th century with Bill Moyers. 1983. 1 videocassette (58 min.). A bittersweet retrospective of the 1960's, a decade of upheavals, that includes the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, a man on the moon, the civil rights movement, and technology. Also looks at the part that television played in bringing about some of these changes. VHS 2361

Chicago 1968 . 1995. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.). Explores the atmosphere surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Insight into factors contributing to events is provided through interviews with writers, politicians, anti-war activists and historians. VHS 3729

Choosing sides: I remember Vietnam . 1998. 2 videocassettes (ca. 48 min. ea). To protest or remain silent. To face jail or possible death. To desert or enlist. This is a compelling look back at an era defined by conflict and controversy, capturing the mood of the nation through the stories of individuals. Hear from a priest who sheltered draft dodgers in his church, an African-American man forced to choose between enlistment and informing on the Black Panthers, and a West Point graduate who found a home in the peace movement. Their stories, and those of many others, are juxtaposed with extensive archival footage and an evocative sixties soundtrack. VHS 7606

Coming home . 1990. 1 videocassette (130 min.). Set in 1968, film is a love story set against the social upheaval of the Vietnam war. Sally's (Jane Fonda) husband Bob (Bruce Dern) is serving in Vietnam. She volunteers to work at a San Diego veterans hospital where she finds Luke (Jon Voight), an old friend from high school who has returned from Vietnam a paraplegic. She begins to fall in love with Luke. DVD 2085, VHS 1943

Communism and the cold war . Understanding our world. 1991. 1 videodisc. Side one: presents the major events of the Cold War, along with a wide selection of supporting resource material. It includes commentary by national leaders and decision makers, as well as prominent writers and scholars who witnessed the conflict from both sides. -- Side two: explores the impact of the Cold War in various regions of the world, and presents case studies of regional conflicts (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East, Cuba, Central America, and South America) which reflected superpower rivalry. VDD 260

Cul de sac: A suburban war story . 2002. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Combining newsreel footage and contemporary interviews, this film begins with the news story of Shawn Nelson, the man who, in May 1995, emerged from a mineshaft dug in his backyard to seize a 60 ton tank and rampage through the streets of his suburban San Diego neighborhood. This is extended to the larger story of this defense-industry dependent working class community from the 1950's to the 1990's, during which time it decayed into a desperate strip-mall wasteland. Interviewees sketch the rise and fall of the one-time boomtown, tracing the neighborhood's social ills to World War II, the Vietnam War, and recent industry layoffs. VHS 7270

Cutter's way . 1982. 1 videocassette (105 min.). When his best friend is accused of murder, a disabled Vietnam veteran tries to solve the case. VHS 109

Cyclo . 1996. 1 videodisc (123 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. In the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, a young cyclo (a pedicab driver) tries to eke out a meager living for his two sisters and elderly grandfather. When his bicycle is stolen by a local gang, he descends into the gruesome underbelly of this corrupt and violent city. Unbeknownst to the Cyclo, his older sister has turn to prostitution to please the man she loves. DVD 711

Daughter from Danang . 2003. 1 videocassette (ca. 83 min.). Heidi seems the proverbial "all-American girl" from small-town Pulaski, Tennessee. But she was born Mai Thi Hiep in Danang, Vietnam, the daughter of an American serviceman and a Vietnamese woman. At the war's end, her mother, hearing rumors that racially mixed children would be persecuted, place the 7-year-old girl on an "Operation Babylift" plane to the United States. Twenty-two years later mother and daughter are miraculously reunited in Danang. But what seems like the cue for a happy ending is anything but as Heidi and her Vietnamese relatives are caught in a heart-wrenching clash of cultures. VHS 7300

Deadly mistakes?: Video dialogues produced and directed by Walter Miale . Democracy dialogues. 2005. 2 videodiscs (405 min.). Provides a series of short films looking at events and related U.S. policy mistakes from the past and the 21st century. Disc 2 contains six extended interviews. Events and issues covered include Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam war, Cold War, U.S. interventions in the Third World, nuclear weapons, invasion of Iraq and the war in Columbia. DVD 1572

Dear America: Letters home from Vietnam . 1987. 1 videocassette (84 min.). Documentary account of the Vietnam War from the actual letters of the men and women who served there; also uses home movies, news footage and music of the period. VHS 558

The deer hunter . 1988. 2 videodiscs (177 min.). Tracks a group of steelworker pals from a Pennsylvania blast furnace to the cool hunting grounds of the Alleghenies to the lethal cauldron of Vietnam. It is a drama of friendship and courage and of what happens to these qualities under stress. DVD 1706, VHS 729

Diexie jietou = A bullet in the head . 1990. 1 videocassette (118 min.). Explores themes of friendship, honor, and betrayal in the context of the Vietnam war. In 1967 Hong Kong, Ben (Leung) is engaged to Jane (Yeun), while his friends, the clownish Frank (Cheung) and the ambitious Paul (Lee) have less certain futures. On Ben's wedding night, the trio kill a local gangster. Anxious to get out of town, they agree to deliver medicine and Rolex watches to a Saigon crime lord, Mr. Leong. Upon their arrival in Vietnam, however, a terrorist attack destroys their merchandise. Broke and desperate, they ally themselves with Luke (Yam), a CIA operative out to stop Leong from assisting the Vietcong. After a shoot-out a Leong's Saigon brothel, Ben, Frank and Paul escape with a trunk of gold leaves, but are captured by the NVA and tortured. Luke arrives with the US Army to rescue them. In the melee, Paul critically wounds Frank and Ben and flees with the gold. After being nursed back to health by Buddhist monks, Ben returns to Saigon where Frank, thanks to the bullet Paul put in his head, is now a crazed drug addict. Ben tearfully puts him out of his misery. Back in Hong Kong, Ben is reunited with Jane, meets his three-year-old son for the first time, and resolves to settle the score with Paul. Paul is now a wealthy businessman, about to be named successor to a major crime boss. In front of all his associates, Ben presents Paul with Frank's bullet pierced skull. The subsequent shoot-out leaves Paul dead and Ben wounded and alone. VHS 5765

The end of the tunnel, 1973-1975 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict.This segment tells how, with the North Vietnamese spring offensive of 1975, the South Vietnamese army collapsed and American soldiers returned home to ignominy, rather than admiration. DVD 2325, VHS 1182

Fire on the water . Crisis to crisis with Barbara Jordan: Crisis to crisis. 1983? 1 videocassette (56 min.). Looks at the conflict between Vietnamese refugees and native Texas shrimp fishermen along the Gulf coast and their reactions to the fear that there will not be enough to go around for both groups. VHS 6913

Fires in the third world . Messengers from Moscow. 1995. 1 videocassette (54 min.). This program features the testimony of top administrators of Soviet policy, as well as KGB agents and military leaders, who reveal the Kremlin's hand in Cuba and Vietnam-the two most explosive crises of the Cold War. This episode includes rare home movies from the Krushchev family personal archives, and new insights into controversial events like the Cuban Missle Crisis. VHS 3693

First kill . 2002. 1 videocassette (54 min.). Documentary about the line between good and evil, focusing on the contradictory emotions that war evokes, such as terror and anger, but also seduction, fascination and excitement. Includes interviews with journalist and author Michael Herr, war photographer Eddie Adams, and other Vietnam veterans. They discuss their aversion and attraction to war and killing. These interviews are juxtaposed with scenes from the war and images of young Vietnamese and foreigners in present day Vietnam who continue to show a fascination with the war and its memory as they tour former battlefields. VHS 7272

The first Vietnam War, 1946-1954 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This episode tells how the Viet Munh, led by Ho Chi Minh, tried to oust the French from the rest of the peninsula, how the French influence ended with their defeat at Dien Bien Phu and the 1954 Geneva conference which resulted in a cease-fire and the temporary division of the country. VHS 1172

The fog of war: Eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara . 2004. 1 videodisc (ca. 107 min.). The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara. McNamara was one of the most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th century. Now, he offers a candid and intimate journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American history. He offers new and often surprising insights into the 1945 bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War. DVD 791

Forrest Gump . 1995. 1 videocassette (142 min.). Through three turbulent decades, Forrest rides a tide of events that whisks him from physical disability to football stardom, from Vietnam hero to shrimp tycoon, from White House honors to the arms of his one true love. VHS 3707

From the barrel of a gun . The Pacific century. 1992. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Describes the revolution began by Asia's political leaders following WW II. Shows how the Pacific war, the cultural revolution in China and the Vietnam War stem from the roots of nationalism. The end of colonial dominance and the subsequent rise of nationalism and communism are told through the lives of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese revolutionary, and Sukarno, the founding father of Indonesia. VHS 1903

Full metal jacket . 1988. 1 videocassette (117 min.). Vietnam war drama which begins with a depiction of the brutality of Marine Corps training and then shifts to Vietnam, focusing mainly on a group of Marines responding to the Tet Offensive of 1968. DVD 1886, VHS 1583

Give war a chance . 1998. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This episode of Frontline explores the bitter divide between military and civilian attitudes of what, where, when, and why America employs military force. Peter Boyer discovers an unprecedented divide between what American diplomats want and what the military is prepared to deliver. From opposite vantage points, Leighton "Snuffy" Smith and Richard Holbrooke discuss the long-lasting shadow that Vietnam has cast over subsequent use of military intervention. VHS 5916

Going upriver . 2004. 1 videodisc (88 min.). Take an extraordinary inside look at character and moral leadership during a time of national crisis. Delves into the life of John Kerry and focuses on the key events that made him a national figure and the man he is today. Particular emphasis is placed on his bravery during the Vietnam War and his courageous opposition to the war upon his return. The story of an American generation that came of age in the tumultuous '60s and that has now come to national leadership at the beginning of a new century - when issues of war and morality once again hold center stage. DVD 1014

The Green Berets . 1997. 1 videodisc (142 min.). John Wayne leads his Special Forces troops against a deadly and determined enemy. The film combines rugged action with spectacular special effects. DVD 503

Guns, drugs and the CIA . 1987. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Investigate charges that the CIA has used drug lords and drug money to fight secret wars around the globe for 40 years. These same drug dealers have used CIA money, equipment, and protection to increase the flow of illegal narcotics. Focuses on two of the CIA's largest covert operations, the Contra war in Nicaragua and the secret war in Laos during the Vietnamese Conflict. VHS 768

Hair . 1988. 1 videocassette (122 min.). Young Oklahoman and Vietnam draftee Claude Bukowski walks into a "happening" in New York Central park - an undulating mass of hippies singing, dancing and cavorting to the music of the age of Aquarius. Enter the beautiful debutante Sheila and instantly Claude and Sheila are smitten. VHS 1426

Hamburger Hill . 1988. 1 videocassette (94 min.). Fourteen American soldiers in Vietnam battle for a mud-covered mound of earth that chews up soldiers like meat. VHS 2025

Hearts and minds . Criterion collection: Criterion collection (DVD videodiscs). 2002. 1 videodisc (112 min.). Examines the American involvement in Vietnam, and is a chronicle of the war from a psychological perspective. Includes interviews with General William Westmoreland, former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, Senator William Fulbright, Walt Rostow, and Daniel Ellsberg, as well as American Vietnam veterans and Vietnamese leaders. Presidents Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon are shown in rare footage. DVD 395, VHS 32

Heaven & earth . 1994. 1 videocassette or 1 videodisc (142 min.). The true story of Phung Thi Le Ly Hayslip who emigrated to the United States from Ky La, a rice-farming village in Central Vietnam near Da Nang. Beginning with the French destruction of her village in the early 1950's, Le Ly and her family suffer all the atrocities of war, until she meets an American soldier who takes her home to California. Finally, after overcoming culture shock and a troubled marriage, Le Ly, on her own, achieves peace and security for herself and her children. DVD 1160, VHS 3532

Homefront USA . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment explains how the years of heavy U.S. involvement in Vietnam, 1965-1973, changed America. Tells how the country polarized into hawks and doves, and portrays the interplay between the reporting of events, public opinion and policymaking. VHS 1181

I'm sorry I was right: Eugene McCarthy . 2001. 1 videodisc (ca. 29 min.). "A documentary portrait of the politician and poet, Eugene McCarthy. With rare archival footage, lively interviews, and good humor, McCarthy tells us about his work as a politician, the lessons of the Vietnam War and the dangers of corporate control of the public mind. A writer of 21 books, he also recites a choice selection of his poetry."--Container. DVD 1497

In whose interest? 2002. 1 videocassette (28 min.). Film focuses on US intervention in Guatemala, Vietnam, East Timor, El Salvador and Palestine/Israel. VHS 7264

Jacob's ladder . 1998. 1 videodisc (116 min.). Jacob is a man living in a nightmare. Having survived Vietnam, he's back home in New York City. But memories of both his wartime demons and the accidental death of his son haunt and terrorize him. Jacob's grip on reality begins to slip and only his friend can save him. DVD 112

The JVC video anthology of world music and dance Southeast Asia 1 - Vietnam/Cambodia . JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance. 1988. 1 videocassette (48 min.). Presents examples of music and dance from Southeast Asia documented by text. 7765

Kent State: The day the war came home . 2001? 1 videocassette (47 min.). This program looks back on the reasons for the violent attack on anti-Vietnam-war student demonstrators on the Kent State University campus in 1970. Shows the build-up of the protest against the Vietnam War, especially by the youth of the country and the Black Panthers, and follows the stories of the four students who were killed by National Guardsmen. Includes interviews with former students who witnessed the events including a wounded student-activist, a now paralyzed student, a former National Guardsman and a sociology professor. VHS 6686

The killing fields . 1985. 1 videocassette (142 min.). Dith Pran is an aid, translator and friend of two journalists who are covering the war in Cambodia. He is eventually exiled to the labor camps in Cambodia's countryside, where he endures four years of starvation, torture and war before escaping to Thailand. DVD 1874, VHS 168

KPFA on the air . 2000. 1 videocassette (56 min.). In 1949, America's first listener-supported community radio station, KPFA, began broadcasting from Berkeley, Calif. The station quickly became a living testament to free speech and cultural diversity -- a vital community of the air that often found itself embroiled in conflict. This film reviews KPFA's passionate 50-year history, including its founding by pacifists and poets, through alternative news coverage of the McCarthy hearings, peace issues, race relations, nuclear disarmament, nuclear power, student protests, the Black Panther Movement, and the Vietnam War, to the present day challenges that confront this ongoing experiment in democratic media. VHS 6494

LBJ . 1991. 2 videocassettes (240 min.). Documents the rise and fall of Lyndon B. Johnson from his early years in Texas politics to the presidency of the United States in which he pushed through Congress a series of historic domestic programs such as Head Start, Equal Opportunity Housing, Medicare, and Civil Rights. Includes still photos, family movies, rare Navy Signal Corps footage, and interviews with those who were closest to Johnson. VHS 1569

LBJ goes to war, 1964-1965 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This episode looks at how, following the assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson inherited "revolving door" coups in Saigon as none of Diem's successors was able to control the South and how the FLN guerillas controlled the countryside as the South Vietnamese army disintegrated. Also looks at the Tonkin Gulf incident and how Johnson secretly approved open-ended deployment of American troops. DVD 2325

Learning to say no . Secret intelligence. 1988. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This program documents the broadened political consciousness within the Agency as the country grappled with the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War and the assassination plots against Fidel Castro during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and with the Agency's use to spy on private U.S. citizens during the Nixon administration. The CIA's covert activities were investigated by the Church Committee in the early 1970's. VHS 835

Legacies . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment looks at the painful reminders of the war such as veterans' issues of delayed stress syndrome and the effect of Agent Orange, as well as the difficulty of the Vietnamese in relating to their victory. Reviews the impact of the war's conclusion, both in Vietnam, which has experienced widespread political repression, and in Cambodia, which has suffered a genocidal holocaust under Khmer Rouge's regime. Attempts to assess the present mood and future prospects of the '60s generation-children of the post-WW II baby boom who came of age during the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War. VHS 1183

Little Dieter needs to fly . 2001. 1 videodisc (74 min.). Growing up in post-WWII Germany, all Dieter Dengler, the son of a Nazi slain during the war, dreamed about was becoming a pilot. At age 18 he emigrated to the United States and worked odd jobs until he was accepted into the Navy and began pilot training. He was sent to Vietnam around 1966 and on his first mission was shot down and taken prisoner. There, the Vietcong tortured him until Dengler engineered a hair-raising escape and eventually returned to the U.S. His story is recounted here via interviews with Dengler, archival footage and new footage seamlessly spliced together. DVD 451

The lover . 1993. 1 videocassette (115 min.). A poor French teenager engaged in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover through a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters. But though the lovers are able to transcend their differences in age, race and class, theirs is a future that French colonial Vietnamese society will never allow. DVD 2123, VHS 3808

Nixon . 1990. 3 videocassettes (174 min.). Covers the span of Richard M. Nixon's political life from his early political career to his resignation from the presidency. VHS 1757

No man's land: The fall . Century: events that shaped the world. 1999. 1 videocassette (42 min.). During the Vietnam war the image of desperate people clinging to an evacuation helicopter atop the U.S. embassy, only hours before North Vietnamese troops arrived is seared into the American consciousness. This program uses the story of South Vietnam's last days as a prism through which the dark side of American foreign involvement can be seen. How did the White House and the Pentagon so completely misjudge America's ability to thwart a people's revolution in Southeast Asia? VHS 5926

No neutral ground: Cambodia and Laos . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment looks at Vietnam's smaller and technically neutral neighbors. Shows how the U.S. extension of the war into Cambodia and Laos, in an effort intended to stop attacks and supplies coming across those borders, hurt those countries more than it hurt the object of the attack. Looks at the post-conflict holocaust in Cambodia. VHS 1179

Ordinary Americans: The Vietnam war . 1997. 1 videocassette (35 min.). Provides an historical overview of the Vietnam war personalized by accounts of participants. Contrasts the actions of politicians with the experiences of ordinary citizens. Shows how the war was waged on two fronts: in the fields and jungles of Vietnam and on the college campuses and streets of the U.S. and describes the war's financial and human costs. VHS 7758

Peace is at hand, 1968-1973 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. Richard Nixon had promised, if elected, to end the war in Vietnam. This segment looks at the frustrating, four year long attempt of Vietnamese and American diplomats to reach the Paris peace accord. Examines the ways Nixon and Henry Kissinger tried to end the war as Vietnamization increased, U.S. ground troops were withdrawn except for some advisers to the South Vietnamese army, and prisoners of war were exchanged. Also looks at the role the spirit of detente with Russia and China played in the peace process. DVD 2325

Platoon . 1988. 1 videocassette or 1 videodisc (120 min.). Chris Taylor (Sheen), a young soldier, arrives in Vietnam and quickly discovers that his worst enemies are not just the Viet Cong, but gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and the anger growing within himself. Sgt. Barnes (Berenger) and Sgt. Elias (Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and against each other, dangerously dividing the loyalty of the platoon. Based on the first-hand experiences of director Oliver Stone. DVD 1158, VHS 1069

Power and terror: Noam Chomsky in our times . 2002. 1 videodisc (72 min.). "Chomsky places the terroist attacks of 9/11 in the context of American foreign intervention throughout the postwar decades--in Vietnam, Central America, the Middle East and elsewhere."--Container. DVD 965

Public memory: A film about American memorials . 2003. 1 videocassette (68 min.). Discusses the design, meaning and purpose of public memorials built to commemorate wars and tragedies. This documentary asks: why do some memorials move us, why are others forgettable, what do they really mean, and all memorials still relevant today? The program covers a specific group of memorials, including: the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial Cairn, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and plans for the first African-American lynching monument (the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial), among others. Examines what we can learn from controversial memorials and the many complex issues involved in memorializing the victims of crimes against humanity and terrorism. VHS 7737

The quiet American . 2003. 1 videodisc (101 min.). A story that led to the events of the United States military involvement in Vietnam. Here, a love triangle between a British journalist, his mistress, and a mysterious CIA operative evolves into a much greater mystery that eventually leads to murder and deception. DVD 720

Rebels with a cause . 2000. 1 videodisc (109 min.). Uses archival footage and interviews with activists involved to trace the history of Students for a Democratic Society through the 1960's. Growing out of student involvement with the black civil rights movement in the South, SDS grew quickly with the escalation of the war in Vietnam. Discusses how the Black Power movement shook the SDS, and the women's movement grew out of it. After 1968, the SDS was thrown into internal conflict with the Weathemen faction and the surveillance of the FBI. Interviewees talk about the legacy of the SDS for them. DVD 558

Regret to inform . 2000. 1 videocassette (72 min.). Film maker, Barbara Sonneborn, makes a pilgrimage to the Vietnamese countryside where her husband died. She explores the meaning of war and loss on a human level and weaves interviews with Vietnamese and American widows into a vivid testament to the legacy of war. VHS 6467

Remember My Lai . 1989. 1 videocassette (58 min.). In 1968, American soldiers massacred over 500 adults and children in a Vietnamese hamlet called My Lai. Film explores the legacy of that savage day on the men who were there and the Vietnamese who survived. Features interviews with the villagers and former soldiers. VHS 771

Return with honor . 2000. 1 videocassette (102 min.). Looks at American fighter pilots shot down over Vietnam and their dramatic transformation from self-confident Top Gun type aviators to prisoners-of-war. Weaving interviews with the airmen and their wives with footage from Vietnam's government archives, film provides an account of how these men survived repeated bouts of torture, long periods of solitary confinement and harrowing loneliness. In chronicling their determination to return home with honor and dignity, the film is a testament to their sacrifice, resilience and courage. VHS 6422

Rising above: Women of Vietnam . A woman's place. 1996. 1 videocassette (50 min.). Documentary examines the social and economic progress made by women in Vietnam since, and before, the end of the Vietnamese Conflict in 1975 and at their present day efforts to avoid being relegated to the role of second class citizens. Film looks at the lives of five women including Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dinh, who was a general and deputy commander of Vietcong forces, and Mrs. Binh, who negotiated with Henry Kissinger at the Paris Peace Accords. VHS 4921

Roots of a war . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This episode offers a short history of the century during which France dominated Vietnam leading up to the rise of Ho Chi Minh. Tells how, in the last days of World War II, the tiny country was the scene of chaos, great power rivalries, and a power vacuum. DVD 2325, VHS 1171

Sartre par lui-même = Sartre by himself . 1989. 2 videocassettes (197 min.). The existential philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre discusses his life and writings, his efforts on behalf or the French Resistance, his opposition to the Algerian and Vietnam Wars and his views on feminism. VHS 4256

Smothering dreams ; Thousands watch . Daniel Reeves video retrospective. 1989. 1 videocassette (40 min.). Smothering dreams: An impressionistic replay of Reeves' Vietnam combat experiences juxtaposed with a reverie of childhood war play -- Thousands watch: an image-processed work that demystifies the suicidal nature of the use of nuclear weapons. VHS 684

The speeches of Richard M. Nixon . 1990. 1 videocassette (55 min.). You can hear his infamous "Checkers" speech, his historic explanation of American involvement in Vietnam, his ground-breaking trip to Communist China, his speech to the Soviet people, his denials of any wrong-doing in the Watergate scandal, his final resignation press conference. VHS 1215

The story of Vinh . Ethnic studies video collection. 198. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This film is the story of Vinh Dinh, son of a U.S. serviceman and a Vietnamese mother, who makes the journey from Vietnamese to American culture, from youth to manhood and from false dreams to harsh reality. VHS 1959

Surname Viêt, given name Nam . 1989. 1 videocassette (108 min.). "Vietnamese-born Trinh T. Minh-ha's profoundly personal documentary explores the role of Vietnamese women historically and in contemporary society. Using dance, printed texts, folk poetry and the words and experiences of Vietnamese women in Vietnam -- from both North and South -- and the United States, Trinh's film challenges official culture with the voices of women. A theoretically and formally complex work, Surname Viet Given Name Nam explores the difficulty of translation, and themes of dislocation and exile, critiquing both traditional society and life since the war." (Summary from Women Make Movies website: http://wmm.com). VHS 5996

A tale of love: A film . 1995. 1 videocassette (108 min.). Portraying the Vietnamese immigrant experience through Kieu, A tale of love follows the quest of a woman in love with "Love". The film is loosely inspired by The tale of Kieu, the Vietnamese national poem of love which Vietnamese people see as a mythical biography of their land. VHS 6812

Television's Vietnam . 1984-1985. 1 videocassette (116 min.). Two separately produced hour-long programs which evaluate the coverage of the Vietnam war by the American press, focusing particularly on the PBS series, Vietnam, a television history. VHS 1170

Tet . Vietnam: the ten thousand day war. 1981. 1 videocassette (30 min.). Documents the Tet Offensive as the watershed of the war. DVD 2325

Tet, 1968 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This segment tells how attacks during the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) in 1968 occured in areas the United States thought to be secure, including Saigon. Shows the effects of this turning point in the war, including the beginning of peace talks. VHS 1177

The trials of Henry Kissinger . 2003. 1 videodisc or 1 videocassette (80 min.). Did Henry Kissinger sabotage the 1968 Vietnam peace talks for his own personal gain? Did he orchestrate the secret bombing of Cambodia? Did he authorize covert operations to overthrow a Chilean President? This explores how a young boy who fled Nazi Germany grew up to become one of the most powerful and controversial figures in United States history. DVD 1555, VHS 7157

Trick bag: What the fuck are these red squares? ; Hum 255 . Kartemquin films. 1992. 1 videocassette (64 min.). Three short documentaries explore social conditions and race relations in Chicago. Trick bag interviews gang members, Vietnam veterans, and factory workers. What the fuck are these red squares? documents a teach-in at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the Vietnam War. Hum 255 begins in 1968 with the striking students at the University of Chicago and follows with the return of two expelled students one year later who confront currently enrolled students about social and moral values and responsibilities. VHS 3868

Vietnam: A television history . 1983. 13 videocassettes (60 min. each). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. VHS 1171-1183

Vietnam: In the year of the pig . 1986? 1 videocassette (105 min.). Follows the history of the Vietnamese struggle from the 1930s to the 1960s. Traces the growth of American involvement and suggests possible consequences. Includes interviews of participants and observers. VHS 3149

Vietnam memorial . 1988. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Depicts the five-day National Salute to Vietnam Veterans sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, during which veterans and their families rallied in Washington, D.C. to dedicate the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Constitution Gardens, November 1982. Records the extremes of emotions experienced by these individuals, from sadness to joy and pride, and their reactions to the American people's indifference and detachment. VHS 547

Vietnam's unseen war: Pictures from the other side . 2002. 1 videodisc (60 min.). Journey deep behind battle lines to experience a different side of the Vietnam War - the side seen only through the lenses of North Vietnam photographers. Renowned British photojournalist Tim Page travels back to the land where he nearly lost his life to meet with North Vietnamese war photographers, revealing remarkable, never-before-seen photos and personal stories long hidden by time and tragedy. DVD 870

Vietnam: The war at home . 1986. 1 videocassette (ca. 100 min.). The evolvement of the anti-Vietnam war movement at the University of Wisconsin is used as a microcosm of the national protest movement throughout the 60s and 70s, showing how the anti-war movement grew as a genuine people's revolt and how American foreign policy and American values at home were challenged and changed. The postscript describes the reception of the original film "The war at home.". VHS 2469

Vietnamizing the war, 1968-1973 . Vietnam, a television history. 1983. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Series analyzes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War using archival footage and interviews with participants on all sides of the conflict. This episode shows how rapidly deteriorating morale among American troops in Vietnam led Richard Nixon to begin withdrawing from the country and turning the war over to the Vietnamese. Describes the social problems such as racism and drug abuse that was polarizing the American army. As America pulled out, the North Vietnamese pushed further into the south resulting in hardships and casualties for the Vietnamese people. DVD 2325, VHS 1178

Voina okonchena, bor'ba prodolzhaetsia . Inside the Soviet Union. 1990. 1 videocassette (55 min.). A Soviet documentary filmed within a year of the Communist victory and the reunification of Vietnam in 1975. Includes a visit to the South Vietnamese prison on Poulo Condore (Con Son) Island and interviews with former prisoners and Viet Cong cadres, but focuses on government reconstruction and "re-education" efforts. These include the re-education of former South Vietnamese soldiers, recycling of war materiel, rejuvenation of the port of Saigon, a crackdown on black markets and profiteering, and the re-education of street children and orphans created by the war. VHS 3089

We were soldiers . Widescreen DVD Collection. 2002. 1 videodisc (138 min.). Lt. Col. Hal Moore is the commander of the First Battalion, Seventh Cavalry. As part of the Pleiku Campaign of late 1965, Moore is assigned to action at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, an area known to be overrun by North Vietnamese troops and nicknamed "The Valley of Death." Moore soon finds himself and his men contained to an area about the size of a football field, surrounded by more than 2,000 enemy troops and engaged in the first major battle of the war. Heroism becomes the order of the day as the men refuse to yield, in spite of heavy losses of life. DVD 635

The Weather Underground: A documentary . 2003. 1 videocassette (93 min.). "Thirty years ago, with these words, a group of young American radicals announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. Fueled by outrage over the Vietnam War and racism in America, they went underground during the 1970s, bombing targets across the country that they felt symbolized "the real violence" that the U.S. government and capitalist power were wreaking throughout the world. From pitched battles with police on Chicago's city streets, to bombing the U.S. Capitol building, to breaking acid-guru Timonthy Leary out of prison, this carefully organized clandestine network attempted to incite a national revolution, while successfully evading one of the largest FBI manhunts in history." --from www.docudrama.com. DVD 1726, VHS 7558

Why Vietnam?Historic film classics: Historic film classics (Chicago, Ill.). 1997. 1 videocassette (25 min.). Presents the official U.S. government rationale used in 1965 to justify our involvement in Vietnam citing the "domino theory" and the idea that "aggression unchallenged is aggression unleashed." Opening with a speech by President Johnson intending to enlist support for the war, the film shifts to a series of images equating the threat of Communism with that of the Third Reich. Can be useful in explaining the cold war context of this war and in examining governmental techniques of persuasion. VHS 7163

A world of dreams . Wisdom of the dream. 1989. 1 videocassette (53 min.). Interviews with advocates of Jung's theories reveal his enduring influence on modern life. Analyst John Beebe considers a key scene in Hitchcock's "Notorious" in Jungian terms. Dr. Harry Wilmer explains his remarkable research into the "healing nightmares" of Vietnam veterans. VHS 5133

Wounds of war, Vietnam . 1993. 1 videocassette (29 min.). A look at the impact of the Vietnam War on American and Vietnamese lives almost 20 years after we left Vietnam. VHS 3105