The Green Berets (1968)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Directors:

Ray Kellogg
John Wayne

Writers:

James Lee Barrett (screenplay)
Robin Moore (novel)

Release Date:

27 July 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

They had to be the toughest fighting force on earth - and the men who led them had to be just a little bit tougher!

Plot:

Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to...

Plot Keywords:

Green Beret | Vietnam | Beret | Vietnam War | Color In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

John Wayne	...	Colonel Mike Kirby
David Janssen	...	George Beckworth
Jim Hutton	...	Sergeant Petersen
Aldo Ray	...	Master Sergeant Muldoon
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Sergeant Doc McGee
Bruce Cabot	...	Colonel Morgan
Jack Soo	...	Colonel Cai
George Takei	...	Captain Nim
Patrick Wayne	...	Lieutenant Jamison
Luke Askew	...	Sergeant Provo
Irene Tsu	...	Lin
Edward Faulkner	...	Captain MacDaniel
Jason Evers	...	Captain Coleman
Mike Henry	...	Sergeant Kowalski
Craig Jue	...	Hamchunk

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (1998) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (1992) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1984) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1968) | West Germany:16 (f) | New Zealand:PG | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Fort Benning, Georgia, USA

Company:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

The colonel who ran the jump school (and who was seen shooting trap with John Wayne) was the real jump school commandant and a legendary commander of U.S. paratroopers.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Col. Kirby uses a "fatal hookup" when rappelling from the mansion's balcony. He is clearly shown wrapping the rope the wrong way through the karabiner. As soon as weight is put on it, the karabiner opens and the rappeller falls free. U.S. Army karabiners in 1968 were non-locking, and were called "snap links" because of it.

Quotes:

Hugh Parkinson: Perhaps you could answer a question all of us here are asking?
Sergeant Muldoon: We'll try.
Hugh Parkinson: Why is the United States waging this ruthless war in Vietnam?
Sergeant Muldoon: Foreign policy decisions are not made by the military. A soldier goes where he is told to go, and fight whom is told to fight.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Robert Duvall" (2006)

A Good War Film

I feel that this film of John Wayne is excellent. I do not get involved with the Politics of the Vietnam War or various discrepancies etc as shown in the film. I enjoy it because a) John Wayne is still one of the greats and b) the film portrays a good storyline and excellent action.