The Green Berets [Blu-ray]

Director: Ray Kellogg, John Wayne, Mervyn LeRoy Ray Kellogg

Overview

The Green Berets is an exciting war film that was lambasted by critics who at the time of its release opposed the war in Vietnam. Wayne's role is similar to his part in The Longest Day (1963), but it was evident to the worldwide public that the same bravado that flew well in World War II crash-landed in 1968 in the wake of a very different war and political time. Wayne plays the hard-nosed rough-and-ready Colonel Mike Kirby who heads a courageous bunch of tough-as-nails Green Berets determined to capture an important enemy general. They are accompanied by a skeptical reporter who soon becomes a gung-ho red-white-and-blue patriot as the Colonel and the others lecture and show him why they must defeat the "commies." Interestingly, despite the massive anti-war sentiments of the times, the film grossed over $11 million at the box-office and is especially notable for the fine battle scenes. The film also features the hit song "Ballad of the Green Berets," sung by Sgt. Barry Sadler.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/05/2010
UPC:	0883929091553
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	G
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	2:22:00
Sales rank:	18,198

Special Features

Vintage featurette; the moviemakers: the making of the green berets; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Wayne	Col. Mike Kirby,Lt. Jamison
David Janssen	George Beckworth
Jim Hutton	Sgt. Petersen
Aldo Ray	Sgt. Muldoon
Raymond St. Jacques	Sgt. Doc McGee
Bruce Cabot	Col. Morgan
Jack Soo	Col. Cai
George Takei	Capt. Nim
Luke Askew	Sgt. Provo
Irene Tsu	Lin
Edward Faulkner	Capt. MacDaniel
Jason Evers	Capt. Coleman
Mike Henry	Sgt. Kowalski
Craig Jue	Hamchunk
Chuck Roberson	Sgt. Griffin
Eddy Donno	Sgt. Watson
Rudy Robins	Sgt. Parks

Technical Credits

Ray Kellogg	Director
John Wayne	Director,Executive Producer,Producer,Producer
Mervyn LeRoy	Director
Rudy Robbins	Stunts
Ray Kellogg	Producer
Stan Jones	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

John Wayne's gung-ho Vietnam War film has long been the subject of ridicule and it would be fair to say that, in hindsight, it becomes obvious that the Duke did not have the most comprehensive grasp of the historical issues involved in the war. Yet, viewed strictly as the kind of standard war movie that Wayne had churned out by the dozen in his career, it's reasonably well made. He stars as a Green Beret colonel who takes a reporter skeptical about the war (David Janssen) with him on a mission to capture an enemy general, hoping to convince the man, and, by extension, the American population, why we should be in Vietnam. Aside from the laughable script, which is little more than an elaboration of the kind of knee-jerk anti-communist rhetoric than Wayne had been spouting in his public appearances around the country during the period, the film has some effective battle scenes, and the cast does a credible job with notable work by Janssen and St. Jacques. Some commentators have expressed surprise that a film about such an agonizing and unpopular war could do as well at the box office as it did. It is worth remembering that Wayne had been for years the most popular star in American films, and remained so as late as 1995, 16 years after his death. As author Garry Wills has observed, he was the symbol of the United States in combat, despite never having fought in any war. Historians have pointed out that in Vietnam, the kind of heroics Wayne enacted in his films proved fatal in practice, and his name became a joke among the troops, synonymous with such stupidly suicidal action. To put The Green Berets in context, one might see it on a double bill with Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986), a film made by a director who had fought in Vietnam.