Hearts and Minds ( Hearts & Minds )

Hearts and Minds (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Hearts & Minds
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Golden Globes
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital Stereo )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
112 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Commentary
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1974 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Peter Davis

Written By:
Peter Davis

Actors:
Georges Bidault ..... Himself
Clark Clifford ..... Himself
George Coker ..... Himself
Kay Dvorshock ..... Herself (also archive footage)
Dwight D. Eisenhower ..... Himself (archive footage)
Daniel Ellsberg ..... Himself
Randy Floyd ..... Himself
J. William Fulbright ..... Himself
Brian Holden ..... Himself
William Marshall ..... Himself
Robert Muller ..... Himself
Khanh Nguyen ..... Himself
Walt Rostow ..... Himself
William C. Westmoreland

Synopsis:

The title of this documentary was inspired by the mantra recited by those in charge of the Vietnam War: "In order to win the war, we must win the hearts and minds of the people." The failure to achieve this, coupled with the disastrous no-win policies of the higher-ups, is the nucleus of this film, put together by director Peter Davis in the same manner as Marcel Ophuls' The Sorrow and the Pity. Like the Ophuls film, Davis juxtaposes news footage of the Vietnam war with interviews conducted with its observers and participants, interspersing vignettes of the fatuous comments made by the generals and politicians. The film was briefly withdrawn from distribution when Walter Rostow, one-time advisor to President Johnson, insisted that his reputation had been damaged and demanded that the two minutes featuring Rostow on-camera be deleted. More controversy arose when Hearts and Minds won the Best Documentary Oscar, whereupon the Academy issued a statement--read during the awards ceremony by Frank Sinatra--that it did not condone or advocate the volatile statements made by the producers during their acceptance speech.

This documentary presents both sides of the argument on America's involvement in Vietnam. Included are interviews with several well-known personalities including Gen. William Westmorland, Clark Clifford (who was President Johnson's Secretary of Defense at the end of his Presidency), Daniel Ellsberg, and Walt Rostow among others on their views of the war. The documentary came out in 1974 before the fall of Saigon and the North's victory over the South a year later. For some, the US 'victory' is all that matters while for those who were opposed to the war, there is no justification. A third group provide an equally important view: the Vietnamese themselves, who have a less than sympathetic view of America's role in the conflict.

This is a documentary about the conflicting attitudes of the opponents of the Vietnam war using archival footage as well as their own film and interviews. A key theme is how the attitudes of American racism and self-righteous militarism helped to create and prolong this bloody conflict. The film also endeavours to give voice to the Vietnamese people themselves as to how the war has affected them and their reasons why they fight the United States and other Western powers while showing the basic humanity of the people that US propaganda tried to dismiss. Winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 1974 Academy Awards.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 19 May, 2011.