cinemajesty Movie Review: "Hamburger Hill" (1987)Alongside with "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "Platoon" (1986), "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) comes this underrated Vietnam-War-Movie directed by John Irvin, who gives some diverse never-seen beats of stripping-human-spirits in well-placed one shot character monologues with his newly-acquired bunch of U.S. army 187th infantry of the 3rd Battalion, including mesmerizing portrayals by actors Dylan McDermott and into warzone-backgrounds diving Don Cheadle as Private Johnny Washburn with non-stop conflicted action scenes in fire, smoke and burning earth in ultra-violent scenarios of war shaping into a recommendable motion picture war experience distributed by Paramount Pictures presenting "Hamburger Hill" in Summer 1987 to tell the story of the title-given forest clearing somewhere in the South-East Asian jungles of no means, when for ten straight days this legendary platoon, written and produced by hands-on-experience Vietnam War veteran James Carabatsos, who had moves into film-making endeavors as screenwriter for Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986), getting his war memories / feelings visually-restored in full- frontal cinematography by Peter MacDonald, known for directing massive-bodies-counting "Rambo III" in season 1987/1988, when "Hamburger Hill" is able to reach the Top 5 of the best Vietnam-War-Movies ever made.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

BA_Harrison In the mid-to-late '80s, America finally came to terms with the Vietnam War, exorcising their demons via popular culture. On TV, we had Vietnam veterans The A-Team coming to the rescue of the needy. On the radio, Paul Hardcastle told us that the average age was 'n-n-n-n-nineteen', while Stan Ridgeway recounted the story of an awfully big marine. In the cinemas, Chuck Norris was Missing In Action, Rambo asked 'Do we get to win this time?', Tom Cruise was Born on the Fourth of July, Robin Williams was screeching 'Good Morning', Michael J. Fox suffered the Casualties of War, and Kubrick's jacket was of the full metal variety. Oliver Stone's Vietnam film Platoon even cleaned up at the Oscars, winning four awards, including Best Picture.It's understandable that Hamburger Hill, with its cast of relative unknowns and second-tier director, didn't receive quite as much attention as the aforementioned heavy-hitters, but if you're serious about war movies, don't let the lack of any big names put you off: the film is just as worthy of praise as Platoon, if not more-so, the green cast only adding to the film's already palpable authenticity. Shot in the thick jungles and even thicker mud of the Phillipines, the film tells of one of the most costly battles of the Vietnam War, the fight for Hill 937 in the Ashau Valley, known to grunts as Hamburger Hill. Director John Irvin's aim is to capture the horrors of war in all their bloody detail, and the sense of realism he achieves is remarkable: when his characters die, they don't throw their arms up in slow motion to the strains of Adagio for Strings… they do so in a sudden welter of gore, hammering home the notion that war is hell.By the end of Hamburger Hill, the viewer is left as emotionally drained as its surviving characters are physically exhausted.

dworldeater I would regard Hamburger Hill as the most realistic and least appreciated of the big three Vietnam War films that came out the same time. The other two films in question are Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Full Metal Jacket is my favorite and Platoon is a classic as well. Hamburger Hill in my opinion is as good as Platoon, but has different themes and a lower budget. Hamburger Hill is the story of a platoon of soldiers and the battle of Hamburger Hill. There really is'nt a focus on any one character as lead actor, but the platoon as a whole and what they go through on the battle to take the hill. I think the ensemble cast did a hell of a job and were very believable as combat soldiers. For me the standout performances were from Dylan Mc Dermott (Frantz) and Courtney B Vance(Doc). Hamburger Hill really does an excellent job at showing the horrors of war, keeping it real and gritty as possible. The film comments on racism and the anti war movement at home. The main focus is on the unit doing the best they can to stay alive and take the hill. The battle scenes are brutal and very realistic. Hamburger Hill was written and produced by Vietnam War vet Jim Carabotos. The film is very non glamorized and comes across as a honest depiction of events. I've always enjoyed the film and Hamburger Hill still holds up. I have a lot of respect for this movie and regard this highly.

Frank Lampard This movie has some nice images and shots, but overall, it looks like a really slick and bad Hollywood version of war. None of the characters are believable and the acting is sometimes so over the top it almost makes you cringe. Little stuff, like grunts that look like GQ models, officers that are supposed to be smokers, but you can tell they have never smoked before in their life, dialog that sounds like something penned by Max Fischer in Rushmore. An overall absence of any depth. It just looks like a movie based on other movies. I am a big fan of the Vietnam genre and read all I can on it, but this film seems quite distant from the gritty reality of the Vietnam War. This resembled more the Vietnam War being mocked by Tropic Thunder.