Hamburger Hill (1987)

Hamburger Hill: Directed by John Irvin. With Anthony Barrile, Michael Boatman, Don Cheadle, Michael Dolan. A very realistic interpretation of one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

“Extremely brutal and fierce true story about one particular group in the 101 Airborne Division, who spend ten days and eleven battles trying to claim a muddy and well-occupied hill thatu0026#39;s dubbed u0026quot;Hamburger Hillu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe cast in this film were mostly unknown like Dylan McDermott (who made his film debut here) and Steven Weber who both play the platoonu0026#39;s two weary and determined sergeants, Don Cheadle is one of the five new recruits, Michael Boatman and Courtney Vance are also in the cast. Itu0026#39;s certainly well-acted by McDermott and Vance..u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJohn Irvin (u0026quot;The Dogs of Waru0026quot;) directed the film and here, he lets the emotions of the soldiers go very far but not too far and the same can be mentioned for the battle scenes. Also, Irvin take a page of Robert Aldrichu0026#39;s WW2 classic and unforgettable melodrama u0026quot;The Dirty Dozenu0026quot;. Instead of making instant up close shots as Aldrich did, Irvin slowly moves the camera in and it captures the unpredictable feeling that any of the G.I.s have. I wasnu0026#39;t moved, yet I was amazed as well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJim Carabatos (u0026quot;Heartbreak Ridgeu0026quot;) wrote the movieu0026#39;s story and like Irvin, Carabatos is careful in making the tale absolutely clear and very understanding to the viewer. The point that Irvin and Carabatos are trying to make is fascinating and simple: No one here is trying to be the hero nor the villain because surviving the war is a more important factor than trying to be gutsy and wind up being killed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Hamburger Hillu0026quot; isnu0026#39;t the type of war movie like Oliver Stoneu0026#39;s u0026quot;Platoonu0026quot; or Stanley Kubricku0026#39;s u0026quot;Full Metal Jacketu0026quot; were, but it tends to be like Terrence Malicku0026#39;s u0026quot;The Thin Red Lineu0026quot; was a few years ago. Itu0026#39;s a fierce and very thoughtful film”