Sir! No Sir! (2005)

Director:

David Zeiger

Writer:

David Zeiger (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Tagline:

If You Ever Wanted To End A War...

Plot:

This feature-length documentary focuses on the efforts by troops in the U.S. military during the Vietnam...

Plot Keywords:

Change | Film Clip | Memories | Stock Footage | Prison

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Michael Alaimo	...	Himself (archive footage)
Edward Asner	...	Colonel Heinl (voice) (as Ed Asner)
Joe Bangert	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Tom Bernard	...	Himself
Dave Blalock	...	Himself
Verna Blossomgame	...	Herself
Richard Boyle	...	Himself
David Cline	...	Himself
Donald Duncan	...	Himself
Ed Eskelson	...	Himself
Jane Fonda	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Louis Font	...	Himself
Troy Garity	...	Narrator (voice)
Steve Goldsmith	...	Himself
Halim Karim Gullahbemi	...	Himself (as Elder Halim Gullahbemi)
Oliver Hirsch	...	Himself
John Huyler	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Terry Iverson	...	Himself
John Lamboke	...	Himself
Jerry Lembcke	...	Himself
Howard Levy	...	Himself (as Dr. Howard Levy)
Essie Love	...	Herself
Rita Martinson	...	Herself (archive footage)
Keith Mather	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Don L. May	...	Himself (as Don May)
Ron McMahan	...	Himself
Louise Monaco	...	Herself
Hal Muskat	...	Himself
Mildred Parker	...	Herself
Greg Payton	...	Himself
Randy Rowland	...	Himself
Susan Schnall	...	Herself
Susan Schnall	...	Herself
Bill Short	...	Himself
Billy Dean Smith	...	Himself
Darnell Stephen Summers	...	Himself (as Darnell Summers)
Joseph Urgo	...	Himself
Terry Whitmore	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Michael Wong	...	Himself
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Kissinger	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sylvester Stallone	...	John J. Rambo (archive footage) (uncredited)
Donald Sutherland	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
David Zeiger

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Zeiger		writer

Produced by
Peter Broderick	....	executive producer
Evangeline Griego	....	producer
Louise Rosen	....	co-producer
Aaron Zarrow	....	producer
David Zeiger	....	producer

Original Music by
Buddy Judge

Cinematography by
May Rigler
David Zeiger

Film Editing by
Lindsay Mofford
May Rigler

Sound Department
Tucker Stilley	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jerry Henry	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Bill Bryn Russell	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Tucker Stilley	....	music editor

Other crew
Phinneas Kiyomura	....	production intern

Production Companies

• Displaced Films
• Pangea Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• Balcony Releasing (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Louise Rosen Ltd. (2005) (non-USA) (TV)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Presidio, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Displaced Films

Movie Connections:

Features Winter Soldier (1972)

Soundtrack:

Turn, Turn, Turning Point

A "must-see" documentary!

Sir! No Sir! (2005) written and directed by David Zeiger is the "must-see" documentary of 2005. The film tells the story of the GI resistance movement during the Vietnam war.

I'm a Vietnam-era veteran, and I was peripherally involved in the military-based resistance to the war. Although I certainly wasn't an important player, I knew enough about what was happening to attest that the depiction in "Sir! No Sir!" is accurate and balanced. (Most of my own anti-war activity took place when I was off duty and could participate in public peace demonstrations. The GI's who opposed the war when they were on active duty took much greater risks than I did.)

Jane Fonda played a pivotal role in the anti-war movement, and she has a pivotal role in this movie. It's interesting that Ms. Fonda has--no doubt under pressure--retracted some of her statements and apologized for some of her anti-war activities. In the film she is not apologetic about her actions, and she clearly believes that what she did was right. I'm not sure which persona represents the real Jane Fonda. I hope it's the unashamed activist who was trying to save lives--both US and Vietnamese.

The movie spends quite a bit of time discussing the famous story about returning GI's getting spit at by peace activists. I had always accepted this story as true. All the civilian peace activists I knew were in sympathy with the GI's--we opposed the generals and the Commander- in-Chief, Richard Nixon, as well as his chief adviser, Henry Kissinger. However, I assumed that a small splinter group of peace activists really did harass returning GI's.

The film takes the position that the spitting episode never happened--it's an urban legend. I don't know the truth of this matter, but the fact that it may not have happened is certainly something worth thinking about.

I was interested that the word "Iraq" never appeared in the film. However, the implications of this movie are obvious. We are again bogged down in an unpopular war that cannot be won. Before the war on Iraq started, many of us in the peace movement said, "It's going to be another Vietnam. U.S. GI's and Iraqis will die, and the country will be divided." The rest is history, as they say.

In summary, this is an important documentary, whether or not you agree that the GI resistance movement was the correct and proper response to the war in Vietnam. See it and decide for yourself!