Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 18, 2015

It was, and remains, the most controversial war in United States history. A war that would come to define, and cost, one presidency; largely define another (overshadowed only by scandal); and cross paths with several others while support dwindled at home as casualties increased on the battlefield; Vietnam has become synonymous with a number of negative connotations, everything from nation building, meddling in foreign affairs, disillusionment at home, draft dodging, the counterculture revolution, and perhaps most recently apropos, the measuring stick by which all other modern conflicts are compared, be that by raw casualty counts, the politics of the war, the broader aims of the confrontation, political meddling in the military decision making, the public response at home, sentiments of the soldiers on the battlefield, the aftermath of the war, and so many other details that shape both the battlefield and the worldwide landscape surrounding it. The war was a constant through the most tumultuous time in United States history since the Civil War, running parallel with political triumphs, tragedies, and pitfalls; the civil rights movement; and the aforementioned counterculture revolution. Often misunderstood, widely controversial even decades afterwards, and filled with a rich, fascinating history, Vietnam remains arguably the single most rawly fascinating war in American history, one that is explored in some detail in Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered, a seven-part Documentary that chronicles the war from pre-American involvement to its legacy years removed from the fall of South Vietnam to the Communist North.

"I will not send American boys halfway around the world to do a job that Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves."

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered moves quickly and jumps from topic to topic, sometimes to a related subject, sometimes one tangentially similar, sometimes one that feels randomly inserted for a lack of a better place to share the information. Despite a mildly scattered feel, at times, the program does follow a largely linear and very fast pace. It has no shortage of information crammed into seven ~50 minute episodes, particularly in the first, Indochina to U.S. Involvement, that covers complex political and military history prior to the broad U.S. involvement that, even for armchair historians, may be new information or, at least, unfamiliar ground. Still, the program is a wealth of knowledge, sharing not only broad stroke details but exploring some nitty-gritty facts and figures about individual battles and individual people both over there and back home in the United States. It follows the parallel homeland upheaval with some attention to detail as well, offering a wider context to the war in Vietnam. The documentary plays smartly thanks to Coby Batty's terrific narration but also through some honest and interesting retrospective interviews with veterans. The program does tend to recycle footage and photographs throughout, but the story, and the pleasure of hearing Batty tell it, makes this an excellent Documentary that should serve armchair historians and educators equally well.

The following segments are included as part of Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered:

Indochina to U.S. Involvement (51:46):

The frenetic, detailed first segment sets the stage for the greater U.S intervention in Vietnam. It offers a quick overview of the region's recent history, including French colonization, the rise of the Communist leader Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, and the First Indochina War, culminating in the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The origins of the Cold War; the split of Vietnam along the 17th parallel, forcing communists north to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (capital Hanoi) and those in opposition to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (capital Saigon) in the south; and the rise of the brutal and corrupt Catholic South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem are also examined. The piece looks at the rise of the insurgent Viet Cong army in the south, the first American casualties in Vietnam, the story of Roger Donlon and the Outpost of Freedom, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, and the beginning of steady military operations with Operation Pierce Arrow, a series of strategic bombing runs. Interwoven throughout is the role of the U.S. Presidency, from Truman to Johnson, and foreign policy in the burgeoning conflict.

Boots on the Ground (54:11):

The year is 1965. The conflict is on the verge of becoming a full-scale war. Additional forces and materiel enter the theater against the North Vietnamese army and the Viet Cong. The piece examines the growth of guerrilla warfare -- "hit and run" tactics that frequently make use of underground facilities -- rather than direct clashes against better equipped and trained American forces. Opposite is the massive air power featured by American forces in the theater. Of note is the segment's look at NSAM 328, President Johnson's expansion of the war, and the reaction at home. The piece also looks at the politics of the ground and air campaigns, such as those adversely affecting the viability of Operation Rolling Thunder and stifling troops on the ground with limited supplies of ammunition made available to them in combat roles. This segment also focuses on individual battles, including Camp Holloway, Operation Starlight, and the Battle of Ia Drang (We Were Soldiers). Finally, this segment examines the weapons of the war, including the AK-47, the M-14, the M-16 and its improved successor M-16 A1, the M-60 machine gun, the M-79 grenade launcher, and the M-203 grenade launcher.

War Is Hell (47:56):

This piece begins with a look at the draft with its origins in World War II and the growing unpopularity of the draft during the Vietnam era. The high number of poorly trained draftees serving in frontline combat is examined, as are the racial politics of the war and the integration of units. This segment also looks more closely at the growing protest movement back home and the growth of the Hippie generation. The use of drugs and alcohol and the solicitation of prostitution all run rampant among U.S. servicemen, as does venereal disease, reaching a peak of one in four men infected. Several combat operations are a focus, including Operation Masher/White Wing, Operation Cedar Falls in the Iron Triangle region, and the Battle of Dak To. Also: Agent Orange, medivacs, the story of Lance Sijan, and friendly fire casualties.

The Tet Offensive (51:10):

1968 would be the bloodiest year of the war. This segment examines both the siege of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive, the former a 77-day battle and the latter a surprise Communist attack throughout South Vietnam on the day of the Tet holiday, the largest and most important on the Vietnamese calendar and a day that was to see a temporary truce in the fighting instead turned into the largest Communist push of the war. It was General Frederick C. Weyand's insight and understanding of the enemy that convinced General Westmoreland to redeploy troops and turn the tide of Tet before the battle even began. The piece focuses on the battle at the ancient city of Hue, which would be one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war and also the first opportunity that Americans at home would have to grasp the full extent of the war. The segment also examines Walter Cronkite's public proclamation that the war could not be won on the battlefield. It also looks at President Johnson's decision to neither seek nor accept his party's nomination for President and the ascendency of Richard Nixon and his promise of a "secret plan" for Vietnam into the White House. Also: The My Lai Massacre, the role of women in the war, medical units, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., Creighton Abrams' replacement of General Westmoreland at the top, Operation Sealords, and the end of Operation Rolling Thunder.

Prisoners of War (50:34):

Although this segment does focus a good deal of its runtime on American POWs -- including interviewee Paul Galanti -- and looks at the harsh conditions in which they were forced to live outside of the protections of the Geneva Convention, it also examines other details of the war. It focuses on the fighting around the A Shau Valley and the infamous battle of Hamburger Hill. It also spends a good deal of time focused on the role of the U.S. Navy in combat operations and, for the first time since the American Civil War, patrolling rivers and other tributaries rather than only the open sea. Also included is President Nixon's expansion of the war into neighboring Cambodia. Also: Carlos Hathcock, then the most prolific sniper in American history (supplanted in total number of confirmed kills by Chris Kyle), the yearlong "tour of duty" in Vietnam, race relations in Vietnam amongst U.S. service personnel, the Kent State shootings, and the death of Ho Chi Minh.

Vietnamization (52:52):

With a push to ease America's role in the war and move towards peace, President Nixon initiated a plan for "Vietnamization" of the war, which would transfer more responsibility to the South Vietnamese military. This segment examines several key battles and moments of the period, including Operation Lam Son 719, the Battle of Kontum, and the Paris peace talks. When the talks appeared to fall apart in December 1972, President Nixon ordered a massive bombing campaign, known as "Operation Linebacker II." It succeeded in bringing the North back to the table and, soon thereafter, a signatory to the Paris Peace Accords. Back home, the piece looks at Nixon's re-election, the burgeoning Watergate scandal, the release of the "Pentagon Papers," and former President Johnson's death. Also: heroin addiction amongst U.S. servicemen and the failed POW rescue mission at Son Tay and the positive results it nevertheless had on the treatment of American POWs.

The War Remembered (51:22):

The final segment begins with the end of the war for the United States. All but a relative handful of soldiers have left, leaving behind only support staff and armed protection for key installations around the South. With Watergate and a new reduction in Presidential powers to wage war restricting the White House, the North takes advantage of the opening and invades the South, securing it with relative ease. Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City. The last remnants of American personnel evacuate. The piece also examines life for veterans after the war, dealing with PTSD or "shell shock," the construction of the Vietnam Memorial, the war depicted in film, a ticker-tape parade ten years after war's end, and President Clinton's controversial visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered features an uneven, but generally poor, 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. There's a variety of sources in play here: old photographs, wobbly film and video footage, and new HD interview clips. The still photos look the best, some showing some natural wear and tear but generally revealing very good, constant detail and, where applicable, color. Old clips, mostly of Presidents discussing the war or other era-specific events, waver greatly in quality in line with the source but are also frequently soured by severe macroblocking, flickering, jagged edges, combing artifacts, vertical lines, and random bits of wear and debris. The new HD interviews don't fare very well either. Flesh tones push deeply red. Details are pasty and light aliasing is frequently accompanied by, again, excess macroblocking. Fortunately, still photos make up the bulk of the presentation, but videophiles will cringe most everywhere else. Still, this is certainly good enough for classroom duty and casual viewing where the information conveyed is more important than the manner in which it is visually presented.

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered features a flat Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that only reproduces the basics without anything in the way of added dynamics or realism. Narration is the most dominant piece and, fortunately, the best from a technical perspective. It's clear and imaged to the center, with the nuances behind Batty's voice coming through as well as can be expected. Old news clips and footage of Presidential addresses and other era-specific moments are expectedly cruddy and absent definition. Most disappointing are the new retrospective interviews. Here, dialogue plays with a muddy, harsh, often fully undefined edge. Light music plays in support underneath narration and offers adequate clarity for a secondary background element.

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered contains no supplements. Menus offer only the ability to skip to the beginning of each segment and a subtitles on/off switch.

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered is an intoxicating journey through history that strikes a good balance between speed and detail, slowing down to explore important pieces with the care they deserve while making sure to keep the overall pace high and the information flowing. The only downsides are a first episode that's a little too crammed, some repetitious photographs, and a reliance on recreated footage rather than raw video from Vietnam (though the program does make rather extensive use of real political speeches at home). Still, it's an excellent set, featuring strong narration and enough programming to keep amateur historians entertained and students informed. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Vietnam: 50 Years Remembered features uneven video, flat audio, and no extras. Recommended solely on the content and the bargain price.