22 February 2013

Was There a 1980s Boom in Vietnam-themed Films?

While writing and musing about the television Vietnam War-drama "China Beach" earlier this week, it occurred to me that there was a bit of a box-office boomlet in the late 1980s, after Oliver Stone's first of three Vietnam movies achieved critical and box-office success. I'd christen it the "Platoon"-boom, but the whole thing could've just as easily be said to have started with "Rambo: First Blood Part II" (1985).

Regardless, at the time, it seemed that America was not only finally ready to talk about Vietnam, but to watch it on TV and on the silver screen. For entertainment purposes.

I started collecting a list of movies and television shows about war—features and fictions, not documentaries—and could use some help fleshing it out. My hypothesis is that major theatrical releases peak approximately 10 years after the "end" of a given conflict.

Because they take so long to finance, shoot, and produce, of course, the start of the presumed trend could probably can be assumed to pre-date the release by a couple of years. There's also the question of how many of these works might have been based on books, which take their own times to produce.

Either in the comments section of this post, or our the Red Bull Rising Facebook page, please feel free to add your suggestions of other titles!

War-themed Movies and TV about U.S. Involvement in Vietnam:
1980s
1990s

2000s
*****

I guess the next step would be to brainstorm similar lists of war-themed movies telling stories of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. And maybe the Cold War. And the Global War on Terror. Here are starts on the first two:

War-themed Movies and TV about U.S. Involvement in Iraq:

1990s
2000s

2010s
*****

War-themed Movies and TV about U.S. Involvement in Afghanistan:

1980s
2000s
2010s

2 comments:

  1. Please don't forget The Return.

    Kelli (Linda Cardellini), returning from her military tour of duty in the Middle East, has high hopes for resuming her old life in her midwestern hometown. Her hopes are gradually dashed as her relationships with her family and friends suffer; they have moved on, and she cannot adjust...She undergoes a gradual breakdown, but persists in her efforts to reestablish her life.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_(2011_film)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Outstanding recommendation--thanks! Sounds right on target!

      Delete

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