Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second: A Critical and Thematic Analysis of over 400 Films About the Vietnam War - Hardcover

Devine, Jeremy M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0899508480 ISBN 13: 9780899508481

Publisher: McFarland Publishing, 1994

Synopsis

Beginning in 1948 with Paramount's Saigon and Universal's Rogue's Regiment, Hollywood has produced over 400 features and made-for-television films about Vietnam and the ensuing conflict. With the exception of The Green Berets (1968), few were designed to rally Americans to the cause as earlier war movies had done. Many were not even combat films, instead dealing with such domestic issues as protests, veteran reintegration, MIAs and POWs. Arranged chronologically, this is a critical analysis of Vietnam War films from 1948 through 1993. Recurring themes are stressed along with the ways that movie America reflected the national reality, with essays blending plot synopses and critical commentary. The movies run the gamut of genres: dramas, action, adventure, horror, comedies and even one musical.

About this title

From Library Journal:

The significant Vietnam War film genre deserves better treatment than this. Overburdened with excessive plot synopses and undermined by a succession of rather pedestrian critical observations, the narrative dutifully marches through the oeuvre from French Indochina to 1993's Heaven and Earth. The best sections describe events behind the scenes, such as Francis Ford Coppola's struggle to produce Apocalypse Now, and biographical background on the screenwriters-whether they actually served in Vietnam, for instance. Appended are three handy filmographies, one of which arranges the films chronologically. The publisher has made important contributions to Vietnam War scholarship, including the excellent A-to-Z dictionary, Vietnam War Films: Over Six Hundred Feature, Made-for-TV, Pilot & Short Movies 1939-72 (McFarland & Co., 1994). However, the present monograph is not among their best efforts. The definitive study is still From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American film (LJ 2/15/91).
Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review:

"[includes] three handy filmographies" -- Library Journal

"a thorough listing" -- Choice

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0899508480
• ISBN 13: 9780899508481
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 401