Born on the Fourth of July [Blu-ray]

Overview

The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/15/2019
UPC:	0191329089903
Original Release:	1989
Rating:	R
Source:	Universal Studios
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	2:25:00
Sales rank:	5,924

Special Features

From the NBC News Archives: Backstory: Born on the Fourth of July; Feature Commentary with Director Oliver Stone; 100 Years of Universal: Academy Award Winners; 100 Years of Universal: The 80's

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Cruise	Ron Kovic
Kyra Sedgwick	Donna
Raymond J. Barry	Mr. Kovic,Actor
Caroline Kava	Mrs. Kovic
Willem Dafoe	Charlie
Jerry Levine	Steve
Frank Whaley	Timmy
Bryan Larkin	Junger Ron,Patty Kovic
Josh Evans	Tommy Kovic
Stephen Baldwin	Billy Vorsovich,Actor,Vet,Platoon
Seth Allen	Junger Tommy,Platoon,Voices,Himself
Jamie Talisman	Jimmy Kovic
Sean Stone	Junger Jimmy,News Reporter
Anne Bobby	Susanne Kovic
Erika Geminder	Junge Patty
Tom Berenger	Recruiting Sergeant
Vivica A. Fox	Hooker
Amanda Davis	Baby Patty,Young Steve
Kevin Harvey Morse	Jackie Kovic
Jessica Prunell	Young Donna
Jason Klein	Young Timmy
Richard Panebianco	Joey Walsh
John Pinto	Young Joey
Robert Camilletti	Tommy Finnelli,Tommy Finnelli
J.R. Nutt	Young Tommy
Philip Amelio	Young Billy
Michael McTighe	Danny Fantozzi
Cody Beard	Young Danny
Ryan Beadle	Ballplayer
Harold Woloschin	Umpire
Richard Grusin	Coach
Ed Lauter	Legion Commander
Liz Moore	Fat Lady at Parade,Massapequa Mom
Sean McGraw	Young Donna's Father
Dale Dye	Infantry Colonel
Stacey Moseley	Young Donna's Friend
Bob Tillotson	Truck Driver
John Getz	Marine Major
David Warshofsky	Lieutenant
Jason Gedrick	Martinez
Michael Compotaro	Wilson
Markus Flanagan	Actor
R.D. Call	Chaplain
Corkey Ford	Actor
Rocky Carroll	Willie
Willie Minor	Eddie
Billie Neal	Nurse Washington
Richard Poe	Frankie
Abbie Hoffman	Strike Organizer,Actor
Jake Weber	Donna's Boyfriend
Reg E. Cathey	Speaker
Edie Brickell	Folksinger
Keri Roebuck	Actor
Geoff Garza	Young Radical
Joseph Reidy	Student Organizer
Holly Marie Combs	Jenny
Melinda Ramos Renna	Actor
Cordelia Gonzalez	Actor
Karen Newman	Actor
Edith Diaz	Actor
Anthony Pena	Actor
Eduardo Ricardo	Cab Driver
Tony Frank	Mr. Wilson
Jayne Haynes	Mrs. Wilson
Lili Taylor	Jamie Wilson [Georgia]
Elbert Lewis	Actor
Peter Crombie	Actor
Chuck Preiffer	Actor
Chip Moody	TV Anchor
William Knight	Actor,Official
David Carriere	Actor
John Galt	Fat Republican,Actor
Jack McGee	Actor
Richard Haus	Recruiting Sergeant
Mike Miller	Actor,Neighbor
Ellen Pasternack	Neighbor
Joy Zapata	Neighbor
Paul Abbott	Platoon
Claudio Brook	[Vietnam]
Michael Smith Guess	Platoon,Platoon
James LeGros	Platoon
William Mapother	Platoon
Christopher W. Mills	Platoon
Byron Minns	Platoon,Actor
Ben Wright	Platoon
John Falch	Actor
Dan Furnad	Actor
Fred Geise	Actor
Greg Hackbarth	Actor
Don Wilson	Actor,Actor,Corpsman
SaMi Chester	Aide
Chris Pedersen	Actor
Chris Walker	Actor,Aide
Dave Herman	Actor
Bruce MacVittie	Actor
Damien Leake	Actor
David Neidorf	Actor
Paul Sanchez	Actor
Richard Lubin	Actor
Peter Benson	Actor
Sergio Scognamiglio	Actor
Bob Gunton	Doctor
Mark Moses	Doctor
Mike Starr	Actor,Man
John Del Regno	Actor
Gale Mayron	Actor
Lisa Barnes	Actor
Tom Sizemore	Vet
Andrew Lauer	Actor
Michael Wincott	Actor
Ivan Kane	Actor
Ed Jupp Jr.	Villa Vet
Michael Sulsona	Actor
Kevin McGuire	Actor
Ken Osborne	Actor
Alan Toy	Actor
Frank Girardeau	Actor
William Wallace	Actor
Eagle Eye Cherry	Vet
Brian Tarantina	Actor
Frank Cavestani	Actor
Jimmy L. Parker	Actor
Kristel Otney	Actor
Pamela S. Neill	Actor
Jodi Long	Actor
Michelle Hurst	Actor
John C. McGinley	Official
Lucinda Jenney	Actor
Lorraine Morin-Torre	Actor
Annie McEnroe	Actor
Real Andrews	Actor
Jenna von Oÿ	Junge Susanne
Claude Brooks	Platoon
Kevin Harvey	Actor
Brian Larkin	Young Ron
Rick Masters	Man
Begona Plaza	Charlie's Whore [Villa Dulce]
Ron Kovic	Veteran at Parade (uncredited)
John Williams	Composer

Technical Credits

Oliver Stone

Ron Kovic

Dave Freeman

Oliver Stone	Producer,Screenwriter,Director
A. Kitman Ho	Producer
Wylie Stateman	Sound/Sound Designer
Michael Minkler	Sound/Sound Designer
Tod A. Maitland	Sound Mixer
Ron Kovic	Screenwriter
William Curtin	Special Effects
Gil Arceo	Stunts
Alexander Kitman Ho	Producer
Clayton Townsend	Producer
Dave Freeman	Screenwriter
Joseph Reidy	Producer
William A. Purcell	Special Effects
Gregory Watkins	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Much of modern America's understanding of the Vietnam War has been shaped by films, not the least of which being Oliver Stone's Platoon. In Born on the Fourth of July, Stone revisits the topic to show us the damage the war did back home. Aiding him is Tom Cruise, whose powerful performance as real-life veteran Ron Kovic earned him the right to never again be thought of as "just a pretty face." Both were nominated for Oscars for work which many claimed was the best of their careers; Stone took home the Best Director trophy. Based on the autobiography of Kovic, the film is a brutally honest account of how the devastation of war extends far beyond the battlefield. In our somber hindsight, we may have less ideological, patriotic innocence than the all-American Kovic at the start of the movie -- but also like Kovic, we certainly don't have much left by the film's end. Stone brilliantly portrays the nowhere-to-turn rage of the Vietnam Vet: angry at the war, angry at the military, yet often hated by those who feel the same way but have never worn a uniform. Like Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July is a historical drama that truly merits the word "important," the kind of film that future generations should watch so as to never forget their past. Despite its pain, however, the film is inspirational, a story of one man's triumph over hate, self-pity and his own personal demons. By rising above his own hardships to make certain the nation recognized and remembered its mistakes, Kovic proves he's still an all-American boy after all.

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