Hamburger Hill 20th Anniversary Edition

Well worth watching Read more

If your into military movies you'll love this Read more

Good movie Read more

Great move to bad you can’t buy it on prime for your on line library. Read more

I served three combat infantry tours in Vietnam, and this is the movie that best captures the realities of the U.S. military field experience there (the other movie that's worth seeing is the more recent "We Were Soldiers"). "Hamburger Hill" has the right music -- the soundtrack is full of songs I never knew the names of, but tunes that I remember hearing in Vietnam and that help to bring back the world as it was then. You see the ubiquitous helicopters, although no movie, including this one, has ever used anywhere near the number of choppers that were actually used in Vietnam. I've seen as many as 100 around a major operation, but it's rare to see more than a dozen at a time in a movie. I would guess that the cost is prohibitive for movie makers. War is an expensive proposition. No movie can convey the smells of a place, but "Hamburger Hill" comes close with its images of field conditions, and it catches everything else -- the sights, the sounds, the language, the cliches, the basic training knowledge common to all grunts, the attitudes toward those outside your unit -- including higher command, Vietnamese, media people, and politicians -- and even the social revolution that was rocking America while the troops, who fought for ground that would not be held, knew they would never be allowed to chase the enemy back to his lair, so next week, or next month, or next year you'd be fighting for the same hill again. For those who were there, this movie takes you back. For those who weren't, this movie, better than any other, tells it like it was. There's a special place in heaven for writers and directors who make truthful art like this. Read more

The most startling aspect of this gripping account of the 101st Airborne's assault on Hill 937 is that this was not even the bloodiest battle fought by the 101st in Vietnam. That one took place at Dat To and produced more than five times the U.S. casualties, occasioning the throw-away parenthesis of one of Hill's actors, '*that* was a hill ....'. Hamburger Hill, as it came to be known, was arguably a defensible military move. Its real importance to the national memory is a function of how it triggered outrage back home at what seemed an inordinate sacrifice of human life for a hill that was soon abandoned. It may be that the purpose of a 'search and destroy' battle was not understood, making the desertion of such hard-fought soil appear callous to the point of insanity. The film only touches upon those matters, focusing instead on the daily, muddy, bloody grind of the grunts charged with taking the hill. WIth none of the star quality of, say, Oliver Stone's Platoon, the viewer instead is taken in by the simply grittiness of the soldiers and the muddy hell they were tasked to climb. They did what they were asked, of course. In the final scenes, one is struck by the absence of celebration when they realize what they've accomplished. Weariness and grief trump the hypotheticals of joy. For anyone wanting to come to grips with the Vietnam experience by the flawed window of cinema, Hamburger Hill must be on the list of must-sees. Less edgy and political than Platoon and Full Metal Jacket (the late 80's release of those films bookended and to some degree overshadowed this one.). What happens here is closer to the ground. The mud. The blood. The cameradie of surviving brothers too weary to smile. The tears. Read more

I have read many reviews from those of you that weren't there and you totally miss the point of this movie. If you want a faery tale based on the fantasys of Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick, then that is your choice. This movie; however, is light years ahead in reality compared to any other movie of the Vietnam War. The story is a salute to the American fighting man and his willingness to gain objectives. Few people know that there were 44 provinces in South Vietnam and that the 4 provinces that comprised I Corps accounted for 44% of all US casualties. It really was a different war there although actions in '65 thru '67 in the Central Highlands were just as fierce and challenging. The Ashau Valley was conqured, with great sacrifice, in 1968 and 1969 by The Marines, The 1st Cav and by my proud unit the 101st Airborne. I was there in operation Somerset Plain in August 1968. I was on the lower levels of Hamburger Hill when we backed off and let the Air Force Bomb Hanburger Hill for 24 consecutive hours. When we entered the valley, both sides were lined for miles with 37MM and 51 cal anti-aircraft guns. Out of 50 Slick Hueys and 26 supporting gunships, 15 of the choppers were shot down before we touched down on the valley floor. That mission was doomed from the start. A Company 2/502 was hit by an Air Force National Guard F100 that dropped a 500# bomb directly on their position killing 15 of my Brothers and wounding 55. Due to casualties in the war a standard company of 200 men could not get replacements fast enough to field more than 100 men. We spent 19 days on the west ridge of the valley before pulling out. My unit B Co. 2/502 is the Strike Force unit of the 13th Valley fame. However, the two major engagements Hamburger Hill and Ripcord were both fought by the 3rd Brigade of the 101st. Hats off to the 3rd Brigade and all who served in Vietnam. Most I Corp grunt units were like mine taking 1 in 4 killed and 50% wounded every year. If you were in the mountains, Hamburger Hill was your story, any other movie is a faery tale.. Read more

Brutal movie about a brutal time in the history of the United States and Vietnam I'm glad it's all over. These movies are to be standard films that everyone ought to watch to remind them how brutal war is Read more