Author Topic: A good movie, a bad night (Read 768 times)

Hangtime · « **on:** January 20, 2003, 08:43:10 PM »

I like a good 'war' flick, hey; who didn't enjoy the Longest Day, or 12 O'Clock High.. From Here to Eternity... you know; Hollywood War movies.

I especially liked WWII era Movies, good fun hollywood stuff.

But lately, I'm not enjoying war movies as much anymore. It started with Saving Private Ryan. That one numbed me up in the theatre. Kinda left me feeling hollow and morose. A loooong time ago I watched Apoclypse Now.. swore I'd never watch another Vietnam movie... made me really angry. "Whatta bunch of BS.." I thought. Made me feel like kickin Coppola in the balls. Sure wasn't my war.

I saw 'Blackhawk Down'.. I was screwed. I walked out even more depressed than I was after SPR. "no more of these... " I'm thinkin. I don't need to be reminded of what it's like to see men die like that. I got truly drunk for the first time in many years. I managed to sleep ok that night.

Rented "We Were Soldiers Once..." last night. Recent tread topics spurred me to it, and I'd heard from some friends it was 'pretty good'.

Sucked me in slowly it did.. the schmaltzy daddy scenes, the training, the guys standing on the ridge at Benning listening to the skip radio broadcast... tripe. I was actually relieved, this one was gonna be a cornball hero movie.

20 minutes later I had to turn it off. (Blackhawk Down was my very last 'in theatre' war movie. never again I said..) My hands were shaking.. I was breathing hard. I did not feel well. I almost hurled.

Took awile before I could turn it back on.. but I finished it. The last charge was BS, and the terrian where I was was nothin like that. But the rest of it hit home. Hard.

Bad night last night... got a bottle of Dewars here with me, this one should be better.

I dunno for sure what it was... the movie really brought nothin new to the screen about Vietnam. It did however bring home what it felt like. To me. It caught the terror, the incredible ferocity and the feeeling of being uttery powerless to make it stop.

Thank god there was a remote. That made it stop.

I think I'm gettin unstable in my old age. Stuff like this never used to bug me this much... obviously; I need to switch to something stronger in the recreational drug catagory and stay the hell outta the video store. New personal rule.. unless it's made by disney; I ain't watchin it.

midnight Target · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2003, 08:45:49 PM »

~~to you for being there Hang.~~

DA98 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2003, 09:11:42 PM »

Can you believe that when I saw SPR at the theater, there were guys LAUGHING when any soldier was killed or wounded in a specially gore manner? I had a strong impulse of leaving the theater at the scene where the landing boat drops the ramp... and the slaughter began. It was really disgusting, seeing that, and knowing that REAL people, men not much younger than me, had to live thru that...

~~! Hang...~~

senna · « **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2003, 09:28:52 PM »

A personal thanks to you Hangtime.

mason22 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 20, 2003, 09:41:26 PM »

Hang, i have something for you in the Doobie doo thread in our forums.

Raubvogel · « **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2003, 09:58:37 PM »

I thought that was a well-made movie....it had some of the usual Hollywood crap, but it came across very powerfully.

Don't feel bad Hang, the first time I watched Blackhawk Down I had to leave the room about 1/2 way through it. It hit close enough to home that I really didn't care to watch anymore. Had a sudden urge to have an M60 in my hands again

I think it's good in a way though, the less they sugar coat these things, hopefully the more people will understand.

wulfie · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2003, 12:20:19 AM »

Hangtime, when and what unit and what MOS? Just curious. My Dad and 2 Uncles were over there.

Drinking alone when in a bad mood is bad dude. Even if I'm mixing the drinks alcohol is a depressant.

Stick with the Hollywood movies. The other movies, ideally (as in the director's motive for making SPR), are meant to show people that haven't witnessed such situations first hand that the Hollywood movies are not 'what war is all about'. Having been shot at no need for you to watch those in my opinion. It's like Jerry Rice buying a copy of 'Any Given Sunday'.

For what it's worth, the movie 'Apocalypse Now' is based on the book 'Heart of Darkness', which was based heavily on a true story: A CIA field officer with a military background was sent to organize/train/command an army of non-South Vietnamese (in a Nation bordering Viet Nam) and use them to conduct harassing attacks, gather intelligence, etc. He went a little off the deep end in that he stopped checking in when he was supposed to (never targeted friendlies or any other such nonsense, just decided to keep going after the bad guys but started doing all his own top level planning as well). They sent some guys to 'bring him back in from the cold' (no intention of killing him - this was real life) and they suceeded. He lives in the U.S.A. today. A pretty interesting guy - he was one of the 3 CIA officers who tossed the Dali Lama in a car, sped on mountain roads at insane speed to the last non Chinese controlled airstrip in Tibet, and the 4 of them (plus a couple of pilots) took off with PPSh bullets impacting the aircraft.

I've never really been into war movies since I joined the military. 1 possible exception: 'The Great Escape' (not technically a 'war' movie though).

Mike/wulfie

icemaw · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2003, 12:26:16 AM »

Band of brothers is a very good series. The troop drop on dday was incredible.

Dead Man Flying · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2003, 12:44:06 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by wulfie
For what it's worth, the movie 'Apocalypse Now' is based on the book 'Heart of Darkness', which was based heavily on a true story:

Errr... I seriously doubt that "Heart of Darkness" was based on the true story you just mentioned. Not unless it occurred before 1924, the year that Joseph Conrad died. Or before 1899, the year that the novella was written.

-- Todd/Leviathn

senna · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2003, 01:05:58 AM »

>Hangtime, when and what unit and what MOS?

Ehem, yes and if you dont mind me asking and what did Easymo do as well? Sorry to be nosey, just curious.

Animal · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2003, 01:07:19 AM »

Apocalypse Now wasnt trying to be realistic. It was more of a look into the dark side of humanity. It just happens to take place during the Vietnam war.

Awesome movie by the way.

Hangtime dont ever watch Band of Brothers.

Ecliptik · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2003, 01:12:27 AM »

I was about to say the same thing as Levi just did. Heart of Darkness is about a British sailor named Marlow and takes place in the Congo during the 1880's or 1890's when the region was still in turmoil as the various European powers (England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Portugal and Russia) were struggling to gain colonial control.

Wulfie, I have no idea where you got that idea.

Hang, my hat's off to you for your service to our nations.

As for Apocalypse Now, it is personally one of my favourite movies if not my favourite. I fully realize that it is not an accurate portrayal of the Vietnam war, nor is it meant to be. The movie merely takes the themes of Heart of Darkness and sets them against Vietnam as a backdrop. The movie is not just about Vietnam, although I liked some of the political scenes in Redux. The whole thing is like a character study of Kurtz and Willard, good, evil and temptation, the psychology of war and horror in general. The messages of the movie are embodied in the first and last parts of the movie. In the briefing and in Kurtz's monologues. Most people think that the movie goes pretty haywire after the Do Long bridge scene, but those ending scenes are the best I think.

whgates3 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 21, 2003, 01:12:30 AM »

heart of darkness was set in colonial africa on the congo river...there are probably a lot of war movies of the type you like that you have not yet seen. this site has a very complete list of military aviation movies:
http://www.coastcomp.com/av/fltline2/avmovie.htm

straffo · « **Reply #13 on:** January 21, 2003, 02:28:14 AM »

Hang ! Ice age is the cure you are searching I bet

See here : http://www.iceagemovie.com/

It's not a disney but it work to get ride of stress (at least it work for me)

davidpt40 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 21, 2003, 02:59:18 AM »

I read the book "Dispatches", a reporters account of the Vietnam War. Then a few years later, I was watching Apoc Now-redux, and I noticed a few things in the movie taken right out of the book.

Most noticable was when the black soldier at Do Long bridge had his customized M79 grenade launcher. He fires at the wounded NVA, killing him. This were nearly identical to a scene in real life at Khe Sahn where a marine killed an NVA sapper stuck in the wire.