Gardens of Stone (1987)

43% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
57% of users liked it
(2,280 ratings)

Set in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War era, Gardens of Stone concentrates on the trials and tribulations of the Arlington National Cemetery home guard. James Caan plays career soldier Sgt. Clell Hazard, who has come to the sad conclusion that Vietnam is unwinnable and that America should… More Set in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War era, Gardens of Stone concentrates on the trials and tribulations of the Arlington National Cemetery home guard. James Caan plays career soldier Sgt. Clell Hazard, who has come to the sad conclusion that Vietnam is unwinnable and that America should withdraw as soon as possible. His attitude is contrasted to that held by Private Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney), who wants nothing more in life than to go into battle for his country. Though Hazard cannot officially dissuade Willow from this yearning, he pulls a few surreptitious strings to change the lad's mind, including encouraging a renewed romance between Jackie and his former girlfriend Rachel (Mary Stuart Masterton). After so many big-budgeters, Coppola determined that Gardens would be a deliberately "small" picture, concentrating on personalities rather than opulence; the director's father, Carmine Coppola, supplied the music, while Peter Masterton and Carlyn Glynn, the real-life parents of Mary Stuart Masterton, play Mary's on-screen dad and mom. Gardens of Stone was adapted by Ronald Bass from the novel by Nicholas Proffitt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
Written By: Ron Bass
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: May 8, 1987 Wide
On DVD: Jun 25, 2002
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Seems to take its name not so much from the Arlington Memorial Cemetery, where much of the action takes place, but from the stiffness of the characters it portrays.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
The most important missing ingredient is Mr. Coppola.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
A handsome but fragmentary film that can't decide which story to tell.
Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
Francis Coppola's 1987 Vietnam meditation was his best film in a while, though it's still something less than satisfying.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
There's a curious ambiguity in Coppola's feelings about the soldiers and their life.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Every moment is right, and yet the film as a whole is incomplete.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Subdued war drama on life on the home front during the Vietnam war.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Unjustly underrated upon its release, Gardens of Stone is a quiet, respectful film filled with emotional power, exceptional acting (especially by Caan), and technical virtuosity.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Subtle and elegiac, Coppola's anti-Vietnam War meditation is one of the director's most misunderstood films.
, Time Out
There's a pervasive and worrying sense of the central issues being gently but undeniably fudged.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
"sheer dreariness directed with fists of ham"

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Randy T

It's taken 20 (plus) years but Coppola's much maligned take on the effects of an unpopular war seems to have found it's relevance.

Cast

            James Caan as Sgt. Clell Hazard

            Anjelica Huston as Samantha Davis

            James Earl Jones as Sgt. Maj. "Goody" Nelson

            D.B. Sweeney as Pvt. Jackie Willow

            Dean Stockwell as Capt. Homer Thomas

            Mary Stuart Masterson as Rachel Feld

            Dick Anthony Williams as First Sgt. Slasher Williams

            Lonette McKee as Betty Rae

            Samuel Bottoms as Lt. Webber

            Elias Koteas as Pete Deveber Company Clerk

            Laurence Fishburne as Cpl. Flanagan

            Casey Siemaszko as Pvt. Albert Wildman

            Peter Masterson as Col. Feld

            Carlin Glynn as Mrs. Feld

            Erik Holland as Col. Godwin

            Bill Graham as Don Brubaker

            Terrence Currier as Editor

            Hajna O. Moss as Wedding Friend

            Rick Washburne
            
            Steve Barcanic as Soldier

            Grant Lee Douglass as Blue Lieutenant

            Lisa-Marie Felter as Daughter

            Terry Foster as Soldier

            Mark Frazer as Soldier

            Robert Frerichs as Private

            Arthur V. Gorman Jr. as Chaplain

            Terry Hinz as Navy Captain

            Matthew Litchfield as Lt. Atkins

            Nick Mathwick as Lt. Horton

            Louis Rangel as ANC Driver

            Joseph A. Ross Jr. as General

            Marshall Sizemore as Soldier

            William Williamson as Lt. Colonel
See full cast