The Green Berets [Blu-ray]

Being in my mid-twenties, the John Wayne generation ended before I ever entered this world. When the opportunity to review one of “The Duke’s” films on Blu-ray arose I jumped at it not know exactly I was getting in to. The Green Berets not only stars the legendary actor, but it is one of only two films he gets credit for co-directing. Released in 1968 in the midst of the Vietnam conflict, it was one of the first films to tackle the war as its popularity waned.

The story starts in Fort Brag, NC as Col. Mike Kirby (Wayne) picks the final members of his team before they set out for South East Asia. After what seems like ages of pointless back and forth fighting, the team goes on a suicide mission to capture a well guarded Vietcong leader.

This film is plagued with an enormous amount of problems. First, for an action/war movie there just isn’t enough action in it. Outside of a couple battle scenes and some explosions there isn’t much in the way of fighting. Even in the battle scenes there is more dialog than actual fighting. Although you do hear the gun shots being fired in the background, nothing happens on screen. Second, the scenery does not pass for the jungles of Vietnam as it looks if they are fighting a bunch of Asians in Deep South. The swamp lands of Georgia and Florida cannot pass for Vietnam. Finally, The Duke himself seems to be out of place. No man that age would be out in the field of battle; he is just too old. Not only that, but his performance seems weak as there are scenes where he stumbles though his lines and seems to mail it in.

That being said, the supporting cast is remarkable. David Janssen plays George Beckworth, the newspaper writer who is opposed to the war in Vietnam. Beckworth tags along with Col. Kirby’s gang to see if the war is as bad as he thinks. Aldo Ray also stands out, which isn’t that tough a task. Ray plays Master Sergeant Muldoon and fits his role about as well as Wayne doesn’t fit his. George Takei also co-stars as Captain Nim, the man in charge of the outpost that Kirby’s platoon visits. Jim Hutton rounds out the cast as Sergeant Peterson, the comic relief and heart of the movie. Peterson befriends a young local named Hamchunk and their scenes together are cheesy but touching none the less.

The overall message of the film is that if we do not douse the fire of communism then China and the U.S.S.R will take over the planet, which, if I paid attention in history class, was the propaganda that filled the air in the late 50’s and most of the 60’s. This movie plays much like a recruitment film for the military and does little to show the actual war in Vietnam by playing on stereotypes instead of facts. It looks more like one of Wayne’s World War II films than any of the great Nam movies I have seen like Apocalypse Now and the Deer Hunter. Even the uniforms look more WWII than what I have seen in other Vietnam films, although the beach shirt looking camouflage is a treat to laugh at.

On the Disc:

The saving grace for me is the fact this movie is on Blu-ray. The picture quality is by far the best part of the movie. Outside of some graininess in a few of the scenes, the picture is flawless for a movie of its age. There are some scenes that the picture is so sharp that I would have sworn it was in 3-D.

Included on the disk are two extras. First, there is a “Making of the Green Berets” which is a seven minute promo for the film. Lastly, there is the original theatrical trailer for the film. Outside of that there are no other special features, disappointing me greatly.

This movie is just simply too long, slow, and at times bland, which, is the kiss of death for most movies. Some of the scenes where the “good guys” triumph are just too unbelievable. John Wayne is an American icon, but this may have been the wrong film to pick out of his storied catalog of flicks to start with, as it left a bad taste in my mouth. Or maybe I’m just too young to get it.

-Jeff Clark