This is one of the distinctive titles I remember seeing in every edition of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I couldn't find any proper film critic reviews, but I was definitely going to watch it. Basically, this film chronicles the background to, and history of, the Vietnam War. Specifically, it focuses on the American involvement during the war. It is all in black-and-white, and is made up of a series of interviews from politicians and military staff, with archive footage (with and without sound) of political gatherings, military activity and warfare, news broadcasts, protests (most famously Quang Duc during his self-immolation, the Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection, an image made famous as the cover for the Rage Against the Machine album) and much more. Those interviewed and in archive footage include Harry S. Ashmore, Daniel Berrigan, Joseph Buttinger, William R. Corson, Philippe Devillers, Anthony Eden, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, David Halberstam, Roger Hilsman, John F. Kennedy, Jean Lacouture, Kenneth P. Landon, Thruston B. Morton, Paul Mus, Richard Nixon, Charlton Osburn, George S. Patton IV (son of the World War II General), Harrison Salisbury, Ilya Todd, John Toller, David K. Tuck, David Wurfel and John White. It was released in 1968 while the U.S. was in the middle of its military engagement, and at the time was considered politically controversial. This film is unafraid to show violence and death, the pace is a bit uneven going between interviews and the war material, but this a major exploration of the Vietnam War, an interesting war documentary. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Good!
Review of In the Year of the Pig
