With this adaptation of Daniel Lang's famous
New Yorker article, Brian De Palma joins the ranks of Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola and Oliver Stone, major directors who have brought their personal visions and styles to bear on the Vietnam War. The result is often hypnotic and
perversely gripping, but falls apart during its final reel.
CASUALTIES OF WAR focuses on one patrol, and the inhumane treatment of a young Vietnamese girl at the hands of a calloused, crazed sergeant. Top acting honors go to Penn as the sergeant and Thuy Thu Le as the captive girl. Fox isn't bad at all; one just gets the feeling that the director and
screenwriter got caught up...
Released:
1989
Rated:
R
Length:
120 mins