Reviews (78)

Realism - but not truth
This is a very realistic movie about the combat experience at Hamburger Hill. It will probably become to Vietnam what "Battleground" has become to the Battle of the Bulge -- a classic, a very realistic portrayal of the experience, conveyed via fictitious characters.

But the biggest difference in the selling of "Hamburger Hill" from "Battleground" is that the promotional text for "Hamburger Hill" tells us "The most realistic portrayal of the Vietnam War ever filmed. Because it is the only one that's true." And yet when the small print rolls at the end of the movie, we see that these characters in the squad are entirely fictitious and not to be confused with anyone who actually ever lived -- and died.

This is not a minor point. We need to know what is fact and what is fiction. If we allow Hollywood "truth" to inform our decisions at the expense of real truth, then real truth is going to grab us by our tender parts someday, and we are going to be shocked to realize that we were off in some in-our-head fantasy that kept us from knowing the truth.

There were real men, with real names and probably not so Hollywood-viable lives in that squad. Perhaps someone someday will tell us their real story.

So, I do recommend this movie -- highly so. What is told here needs telling -- and thinking about. But please do not tell us it is the truth: keep the line between fact and fiction clear, or we will all suffer for it eventually.

The toughest movie about the Vietnam War
"Full Metal Jacket" and "Platoon" are probably better movies ABOUT the war in Viet Nam - this is one of the only movies IN the War. Other reviewers have referred to a lack of plot; they're right. This is not a tale, it's a chronicle, a portrait of a series of events and of the men who lived them. Every soldier who went to war and survived two or more battles will see Truth in this movie - especially the truth that brotherhood is the only explanation for surviving combat. Those who do not assume responsibility, who do not recognize the job to be done and do it do not survive, let alone prevail. Hill 937 was one of those places where the 101st made their names to shine, and the sergeant's warning to the reporter could be the division's watchword: get out of here - you haven't earned the right to be here. "Hamburger Hill" shows soldiers earning their right, and that's enough.

"The battle of every war cliche in existence"
This is a sucker's movie. We're supposed to retire our minds and emotionally offer our feelings and hearts on a platter to whatever happens on the screen.

Goodness! Combat is SO dirty and muddy. Isn't that just so squalid. Nice that no one gets sick and the guns work, isn't it?

My, my! They are having such fun with the always so cute, hot and cold running Vietnamese whores. And unlimited beer available with the brothel, out there in the 'boonies.

Oh, dear! Racial tensions, fights (that the Blacks always pick and always win)... but really-we-hang-together-and-value-one-another-when-it-counts. Because after all we're all really victims of the System and the Man.

Right, sure! The attack makes no sense and we know it doesn't and they are cutting us to pieces and killing us all, but somehow we are going to keep attacking and we care and we are going to win and get that hill, not for the officers or the Army but for ourselves and as a point of pride to honor our dead....yet remember brothers to chant "it don't mean a thang."

No worries. We take no special precautions or security out of the line, have no problems with mines and booby traps, and none of the local Vietnamese seem actually to be VC. Kind of like we're doing grown-ups camping. And we're to believe this works for them?.

Yeah, right! Officers, command structure, regs, training, supply, rotations, Army, etc. are all invisible. It's just us EMs messin' around and having a set of peer group interactions.

"Realistic." Sure! No interfaces with the ARVNs, civil authorities, US civilian and paramilitry programs. It's us and a shadowly enemy that we sporadically fight.

Makes sense? Our medic is a fruitcake, an ideologue, and a whiner; but we all forgive him and actually love him because he's there when it counts. And despite being a self-pitying, racist, Section 8 case does a wonderful, competent, courageous job for us in combat.

And somehow we're fighting in the rainy season, to take a hill, trying to climb almost straight up, and without artillery or aircraft fire support being any use (except for the predictible cliche - it kills some of US from time to time). This is not how any infantry works -- and for sure not the casualty-shy, lazy, and keep-the-fight-at-a-distance U. S. Army.

I FEEL a lot. But I try to anchor it in realities, not the shoddy schlock that this movie represents. It's trying to emotionally goose the audience. Characters, plot, and anything else that might have made it more than a few good special effects shots were clearly beyound the capacities of the people responsible for this mess.

Good
Not as flashy or over-the-top as some other war films, 'Hamburger Hill' is still a solid and worth the watch. What keeps the movie together is the character study and racial tension between the American soldiers. The plot is very thin, but the movie is done well.

Best of a short list
As a Marine combat veteran with almost three years in Viet Nam, I know this was the best movie made about the war of the top three movies made in the 80s about Viet Nam (four if you count Apocalypse Now Redux - more of a psychedelic view of the war rather than reality). Hamburger Hill shows Grunts at the various stages of their tour in country, the individuals and their wants and desires, and how they died.

By comparison, Platoon was good, but with a typical Stone political bent and philosoiphical ending. Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket was just plain poor, with a typical left-wing view about something Kubrick obviously knew very little. The best part of that movie was the boot camp section and only then because the DI, Lee Ermey, had been a real Marine DI.

Hamburger Hill was factual and the various actors played their parts with the guts and truism that many in Hollywood fail to produce (ala Sheen in Platoon).

Hamburger Hill is a solid war movie in general, a solid Viet Nam movie in particular and one that deserved much more credit than it received. Two thumbs up... ... Read more

Amazon.com

Overshadowed by GoodFellas when it was released in 1990, State of Grace gradually emerged as one of the best New York gangster films of its decade. It was also the first to feature the Irish American mob known as the Westies. Here, their territory west of Times Square is being gentrified by an unwelcome infusion of yuppie cash, squeezing them into a reluctant alliance with Mafia kingpins. Frankie (Ed Harris) is the boss; little brother Jackie (Gary Oldman) is his volatile muscle; their friend Terry (Sean Penn) has returned from an extended absence, harboring a dangerous secret while rekindling his love for Frankie and Jackie's sister Kathleen (Robin Wright, Penn's future wife). Giving one of his scariest, most violent performances, Oldman offers stark, brutal contrast to Harris's pent-up fury, while Penn breathes life into his character's standard-issue dilemma. A former protégé of Steven Spielberg's, director Phil Joanou handles this gritty potboiler with confident, unobtrusive style, ramping up the tension of divided loyalties, even as the plot grows increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Excellent Gangster film
Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) returns to Hell's Kitchen after a ten year absence. He immediately falls back in with his childhood friend Jackie ( Gary Oldman), whose brother Frankie ( Ed Harris)is now running a powerful Irish mob. Frankie's organization is looking to make a deal with the Italian Mafia, and Jackie wants Terry brought in to make things run smoother. Unfortunately, Terry is also an undercover cop, and his sole purpose for coming back is to infiltrate Frankie's organization. Things become even more complicated, when Terry manages to rekindle an old romance with Jackie's sister Kathleen (Robin Wright). Now Terry is torn between his job, and remaining loyal to his friends and the woman he loves.

When people bring up the subject of mob films, State of Grace is never mentioned. The story behind the film is very captivating because it shows the fine line between standing by your friends, and doing what's right. The film does a very good job at masking Terry Noonan's intentions because you can never tell which side he is truly playing for. State of Grace is an original in the mob genre because it offers a look at the Irish mob, instead of the Italians. The Irish are natural born fighters and extremely violent. This is what made State of Grace such a powerful mob film. The cast is first rate in this film featuring Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reily, and John Turturo. Each actor involved was brilliant in their roles.

Overall, State of Grace is probably one of the best mob films I have ever seen, and one of the most underrated films ever made. The story was captivating from beginning to end, the entire cast did a first rate job, and you get to take a first hand look at the Irish mob.

A solid 5 stars...

An Irish "Novel" of friendship and betrayel
I watched this movie about ten times and think it's one of the most underrated movies around. Coming along with a great cast like Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris and Robin Penn Wright, this movie caught me again and again from the first second to the last.
Set in Hell's Kitchen New York the movie let's you breathe in the Irish athmosphere and tells a bloodthirsty story of friendship & betrayel. Sean Penn plays Terry Noonan, an undercover policeman who was infiltrated in an Irish gang lead by the Flannery brothers ( fantastic play by Gary Oldman and Ed Harris ). The film reflects very good Noonan's split emotions beeing a cop investigating against his former friends and the growing love to the sister of the Flannery brothers ( above average play of Robin Penn Wright ).
The film combines a good story, great actors, silent and short eruptions of violence and maybe one of the most impressive shoot out final ever ! Fantastic camera work!
If you like films like "Good Fellas" and "Reservoir Dogs" you should not miss this one. If you hide yourself behind a pillow when violence comes into play, leave it.

Interesting
State of Grace is a good movie with great actors. The film follows a conventional storyline but is "buoyed up" by the novelty of the subject, the Irish Mob. About half way through the movie, the various characters start to interact in interesting ways, and the film acquires a momentum that it keeps until the end.

Unfortunately, none of the characters seems sufficiently developed to draw the viewer completely into the turmoil that is unfolding on the screen. Terry is the most complex character portrayed, but ultimately, at the end of the movie, I didn't really care what happened to Terry or his girlfriend, Kathleen. For me, becoming involved in a character's experience on screen is what separates adequate films from great films.

I give State of Grave three and a half stars. State of Grace is no Goodfellas, but watch it for compelling performances by Sean Penn and Gary Oldman, for the unique subject matter and for some fun action sequences. However, if you want to be inspired, or devastated, or watch a movie that conveys broader themes than what is happening physically on screen, I would recommend watching something else. This movie is a snapshot into a world, nothing more, nothing less. It left me with a vague feeling of emptiness and I won't be adding State of Grace to my DVD library anytime soon.

A GANGSTER FILM WITH A UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL STYLE.
*** ½ stars rating for this film. "State Of Grace" is not a copy of "The Godfather" or "GoodFellas", it's a story about a second-rated group of gangsters that are trying to gain respect and territory in New York. The first thing that you can notice in "State Of Grace" is the cast: Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reilly and John Turturro, among others.

In Hollywood there are three actors that can portray over-the-top villains, and still be believable and threatening. One of them is Gary Oldman, in a very convincing performance. The other two guys are Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper, but the role in "State Of Grace" was perfect for Gary Oldman.

"State Of Grace" is a movie that never is boring, these anti-heroes are so well portrayed by the cast, that the characters have a very human quality, they are very complex and multidimensional characters, and as a result, the audience is always interested in them. The biggest selling point of "State Of Grace" is the fact that the film never tries to imitate "The Godfather", and that originality is welcome.

A Turning Point in Gangster Movies
I first seen this movie soon after it was released (VHS) and was very impressed considering most people hadn't heard of it. It was refreashing to see a director who finally wanted to make a movie about the Irish Mob, who afterall were the longest established organised crime group in NY. I strongly disagree with a reviewer from Medford, NY who described Oldman's character as somewhat over the top. In my opinion, this is Oldman's finest performance to date! Having read many books on the Westside Irish Mob (as they refered to themselves) including The Westies by T.J English, Oldman brought the real life character Mickey Featherstone to life on our screens in Oscar style fashion! Believe me , these characters are not your average Italian style gangster; slick-back hair, well dressed killers. Most of these men had no such delusions of grandeuer when it came to how they looked. Many were hard drinking heroin addicts who if hadn't been shot, would have killed themselves anyway! These story lines have a much harder edge than your average Italian/Jewish gangster film because of a notorious drug and drinking culture that the other two etnic crime groups considered to be sloppy and unprofessional. Other films such as Southie have tackled these issues also, portraying a family from the projects coming to terms with alcoholism, drug abuse and gun culture. Don't get me wrong, I love Goodfellas and The Godfather but you have to admit, you won't beat the Irish when it comes to telling a story with typically unique ingredients. Jonau, indeed, could have been far more brutal in his portrayal of these men. Storys of a victem's head being taken on a pub crawl of the westside are now legendary. Ed Harris and Sean Penn turn in fantastic performances also, but Gary Oldman steals the show. I couldn't believe it when I found out shortly after watching the movie that Oldman is infact English. His portrayal of what is generally accepted to be Mickey Featherstone, is awsome! Those of you used to your typical Italian gangster movie be prepared for a crash landing into the world of psycotic, alcoholic, drug addicted killers! No dyed hair and flashy suits here! Just cold blooded, knee jerk reaction murder! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Because it was released less than a year after Oliver Stone's Platoon and within months of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, this exceptionally well-made film about one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War was largely overshadowed and overlooked. It's a pity, because in some respects this is the best of the Vietnam films of the late 1980s, at least in terms of the everyday authenticity it depicts. Stripped clean of dramatically extraneous narrative, the movie opts instead for a straightforward approach to its day-by-day account of one of the war's costliest victories--a deadly siege on Hill 937 in the Ashau Valley, where soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division engaged the enemy over the course of eleven brutal assaults between May 10th and 20th, 1969. The film specifically follows the 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, a mixture of "new guys" and battle-weary "short-timers" who fought against terrifying odds and suffered a 70% casualty rate. From first scene to last, Hamburger Hill traces the rise and fall of their battle experience, from the horror of firefights to the camaraderie of men who've faced death and survived. Racial tensions flare and subside, trusts are established, and courage emerges from unexpected places. Through it all, writer Jim Carabatsos and director John Irvin maintain a purity of focus that pays tribute to the soldier's life without promoting false patriotism or gung-ho theatrics. In addition, the film features a cast full of talented and well-known actors in the early stages of their careers, including Dylan McDermott (from the TV series "The Practice") and Don Cheadle, before gaining fame in Devil in a Blue Dress and Boogie Nights. Color accuracy, image clarity, and the explosive soundtrack have been remarkably preserved in a flawless DVD transfer, lending even greater immediacy to this underrated film. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (78)

Realism - but not truth
This is a very realistic movie about the combat experience at Hamburger Hill. It will probably become to Vietnam what "Battleground" has become to the Battle of the Bulge -- a classic, a very realistic portrayal of the experience, conveyed via fictitious characters.

But the biggest difference in the selling of "Hamburger Hill" from "Battleground" is that the promotional text for "Hamburger Hill" tells us "The most realistic portrayal of the Vietnam War ever filmed. Because it is the only one that's true." And yet when the small print rolls at the end of the movie, we see that these characters in the squad are entirely fictitious and not to be confused with anyone who actually ever lived -- and died.

This is not a minor point. We need to know what is fact and what is fiction. If we allow Hollywood "truth" to inform our decisions at the expense of real truth, then real truth is going to grab us by our tender parts someday, and we are going to be shocked to realize that we were off in some in-our-head fantasy that kept us from knowing the truth.

There were real men, with real names and probably not so Hollywood-viable lives in that squad. Perhaps someone someday will tell us their real story.

So, I do recommend this movie -- highly so. What is told here needs telling -- and thinking about. But please do not tell us it is the truth: keep the line between fact and fiction clear, or we will all suffer for it eventually.

The toughest movie about the Vietnam War
"Full Metal Jacket" and "Platoon" are probably better movies ABOUT the war in Viet Nam - this is one of the only movies IN the War. Other reviewers have referred to a lack of plot; they're right. This is not a tale, it's a chronicle, a portrait of a series of events and of the men who lived them. Every soldier who went to war and survived two or more battles will see Truth in this movie - especially the truth that brotherhood is the only explanation for surviving combat. Those who do not assume responsibility, who do not recognize the job to be done and do it do not survive, let alone prevail. Hill 937 was one of those places where the 101st made their names to shine, and the sergeant's warning to the reporter could be the division's watchword: get out of here - you haven't earned the right to be here. "Hamburger Hill" shows soldiers earning their right, and that's enough.

"The battle of every war cliche in existence"
This is a sucker's movie. We're supposed to retire our minds and emotionally offer our feelings and hearts on a platter to whatever happens on the screen.

Goodness! Combat is SO dirty and muddy. Isn't that just so squalid. Nice that no one gets sick and the guns work, isn't it?

My, my! They are having such fun with the always so cute, hot and cold running Vietnamese whores. And unlimited beer available with the brothel, out there in the 'boonies.

Oh, dear! Racial tensions, fights (that the Blacks always pick and always win)... but really-we-hang-together-and-value-one-another-when-it-counts. Because after all we're all really victims of the System and the Man.

Right, sure! The attack makes no sense and we know it doesn't and they are cutting us to pieces and killing us all, but somehow we are going to keep attacking and we care and we are going to win and get that hill, not for the officers or the Army but for ourselves and as a point of pride to honor our dead....yet remember brothers to chant "it don't mean a thang."

No worries. We take no special precautions or security out of the line, have no problems with mines and booby traps, and none of the local Vietnamese seem actually to be VC. Kind of like we're doing grown-ups camping. And we're to believe this works for them?.

Yeah, right! Officers, command structure, regs, training, supply, rotations, Army, etc. are all invisible. It's just us EMs messin' around and having a set of peer group interactions.

"Realistic." Sure! No interfaces with the ARVNs, civil authorities, US civilian and paramilitry programs. It's us and a shadowly enemy that we sporadically fight.

Makes sense? Our medic is a fruitcake, an ideologue, and a whiner; but we all forgive him and actually love him because he's there when it counts. And despite being a self-pitying, racist, Section 8 case does a wonderful, competent, courageous job for us in combat.

And somehow we're fighting in the rainy season, to take a hill, trying to climb almost straight up, and without artillery or aircraft fire support being any use (except for the predictible cliche - it kills some of US from time to time). This is not how any infantry works -- and for sure not the casualty-shy, lazy, and keep-the-fight-at-a-distance U. S. Army.

I FEEL a lot. But I try to anchor it in realities, not the shoddy schlock that this movie represents. It's trying to emotionally goose the audience. Characters, plot, and anything else that might have made it more than a few good special effects shots were clearly beyound the capacities of the people responsible for this mess.

Good
Not as flashy or over-the-top as some other war films, 'Hamburger Hill' is still a solid and worth the watch. What keeps the movie together is the character study and racial tension between the American soldiers. The plot is very thin, but the movie is done well.

Best of a short list
As a Marine combat veteran with almost three years in Viet Nam, I know this was the best movie made about the war of the top three movies made in the 80s about Viet Nam (four if you count Apocalypse Now Redux - more of a psychedelic view of the war rather than reality). Hamburger Hill shows Grunts at the various stages of their tour in country, the individuals and their wants and desires, and how they died.

By comparison, Platoon was good, but with a typical Stone political bent and philosoiphical ending. Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket was just plain poor, with a typical left-wing view about something Kubrick obviously knew very little. The best part of that movie was the boot camp section and only then because the DI, Lee Ermey, had been a real Marine DI.

Hamburger Hill was factual and the various actors played their parts with the guts and truism that many in Hollywood fail to produce (ala Sheen in Platoon).

Hamburger Hill is a solid war movie in general, a solid Viet Nam movie in particular and one that deserved much more credit than it received. Two thumbs up... ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hamburger Hill
Because it was released less than a year after Oliver Stone's Platoon and within months of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, this exceptionally well-made film about one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War was largely overshadowed and overlooked. It's a pity, because in some respects this is the best of the Vietnam films of the late 1980s, at least in terms of the everyday authenticity it depicts. Stripped clean of dramatically extraneous narrative, the movie opts instead for a straightforward approach to its day-by-day account of one of the war's costliest victories--a deadly siege on Hill 937 in the Ashau Valley, where soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division engaged the enemy over the course of eleven brutal assaults between May 10th and 20th, 1969. The film specifically follows the 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, a mixture of "new guys" and battle-weary "short-timers" who fought against terrifying odds and suffered a 70% casualty rate. From first scene to last, Hamburger Hill traces the rise and fall of their battle experience, from the horror of firefights to the camaraderie of men who've faced death and survived. Racial tensions flare and subside, trusts are established, and courage emerges from unexpected places. Through it all, writer Jim Carabatsos and director John Irvin maintain a purity of focus that pays tribute to the soldier's life without promoting false patriotism or gung-ho theatrics. In addition, the film features a cast full of talented and well-known actors in the early stages of their careers, including Dylan McDermott (from the TV series The Practice) and Don Cheadle, before gaining fame in Devil in a Blue Dress and Boogie Nights. --Jeff Shannon

The Eagle Has Landed
This 1976 adventure story set in World War II concerns a Nazi plot to kidnap Churchill from his retreat--or murder him if need be. The large, great cast and a director, John Sturges, who's been down this road of ensemble action before (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape) make this project exciting if not as memorable as Sturges's more famous works. The weak ending doesn't help. --Tom Keogh ... Read more