It don't mean nothing, man. Not a thing. (Hamburger Hill (DVD))

Member Name: Kepler

Product:	Hamburger Hill (DVD)
Date:	12/03/04 (653 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realistic battle scenes, Loads of action

Disadvantages: A bit slow in places, Very violent

Hamburger Hill is the supposedly poor cousin of the two highly acclaimed Vietnam War films, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. While the latter two films were released to critical acclaim, Hamburger Hill received a somewhat mixed reaction from the press. Hamburger Hill is directed by John Irvin and was released in 1987 and unlike the other two films is based around an actual battle that occurred during the war.

The film follows the fortunes of the 101st Airborne Division as they fight to gain control of Hill 937 (it?s height in metres) which after the battle was renamed ?Hamburger Hill? for obvious reasons. The battle lasted for ten days and during that time the Americans were forced to use three battalions of soldiers to remove the Vietnamese presence from the hill. The defending forces, The 28th North Vietnamese Regiment were entirely wiped out in the attack. Just a month later the 101st Airborne Division was helicoptered out of the area and the North Vietnamese took up positions on the hill once again. The decision to remove the troops was highly criticised and critics pointed to it as an example of the futile tactics used by the American commanders during the war. Hamburger Hill aims to retell the story of the battle and highlight the ferocity of the fighting that took place during those ten days.

The film starts with a group of soldiers bogged down in the A Shau Valley, (the area where the hill is located) and under heavy enemy fire they are forced to retreat back to their camp. The camp is then the setting for the first half of the film and we are shown how the American soldiers lived and some of the entertainment that they were partial to whilst they were stationed in Vietnam (wink, wink). One of my favourite scenes from the camp shows Doc Johnson (Courtney B Vance) educating a group of new recruits on personal hygiene and the various diseases, which they may have the misfortune to contract during their service. The first half of th
e film play
s out rather slowly as the characters are developed and we see the first sign of the divide between the ?black? and the ?white? soldiers. We are introduced to the main cast of characters including Sgt. Franz (Dylan McDermot) who is charged with leading the assault on Hill 937, ?Doc? Johnson (Courtney B Vance) and a whole host of soldiers who will take part in the battle.

After a mortar attack on the camp the 101st Airborne are moved back into the A Shau Valley and ordered to take the hill. On the 10th May 1969 the troops make their way through the jungle to secure the base of the hill and the next day the battle for the hill begins. The rest of the film then focuses on the battle for the hill and the initially failed attempts of the American soldiers to grab a foothold on the hill. The battle scenes in the film are quite horrific and some of them are just utterly disturbing which means that this is definitely not a film for the squeamish. One particularly harrowing scene from the film comes as the soldiers near the end of the battle and their own helicopters begin to fire down on them mistaking them for North Vietnamese troops. No matter how many times I watch this film I still can?t help but shout out in frustration as the helicopter fire rips through the American soldiers.

The performances in this film are of a good standard and the actors seem to lend themselves well to the characters they play. Dylan McDermot is excellent as the suffering Sergeant who has to lead his war weary troops up and down the hill time after time. The best performance of the film however, comes from Courtney B Vance who plays ?Doc? Johnson the veteran medic who has a chip on his shoulder and is only too happy to expound his philosophy upon anyone within earshot. We also get a glimpse of the other side of his character though, of his anguish at the needless loss of life and his futile attempts to save the wounded soldiers and Courtney B Vance expo
ses his characte
r brilliantly. The remainder of the cast perform fairly well and to be honest there are so many other soldiers that at times it can become quite difficult to work what is happening to who. The characterisation in the film is somewhat restricted outside of the two main characters but we are at least given an insight into each of the characters and a hint at their feelings towards the situation they find themselves in.

The real beauty of this film however, is in its depiction of war, playing more like a documentary then a film it aims to highlight the brutality of war and doesn?t concern itself with needless style and simply concentrates on the story at hand. The plot is kept simple and there aren?t any twists or changes in direction, which means that you always know where the film is heading. This is where the film suffers for some people though and at points the film does drag a little especially during the beginning half in the camp. Hamburger Hill is probably not the most entertaining of the three well talked about Vietnam films but it is certainly the most realistic. If you like your war films more factual and less ?Hollywood? then I would definitely recommend Hamburger Hill.

Cast List

Pvt. Joe Beletsky Tim Quill
Pvt. Bienstock Tommy Swerdlow
Doc Johnson Courtney B. Vance
Duffy Harry O'Reilly
Sgt. Frantz Dylan McDermott
Gaigin Daniel O'Shea
Galvan M.A. Nickles
Languilli Anthony Barrile
Lt. Eden Tegan West
McDaniel Don James
Motown Michael Boatman
Murphy Michael Dolan
Pvt. Washburn Don Cheadle
Worcester Steven Weber

Film Information

Running Time - 112 minutes
Certificate - 18
Colour - Colour

Summary: