Bob Hope, Clark Clifford, Daniel Ellsberg

Peter Davis' 30-year-old, landmark documentary unflinchingly confronts the United States' involvement in Vietnam. Using a wealth of sources -- from interviews to newsreels to documentary footage of th...( read more  read more... )e conflict at home and abroad -- Davis constructs a powerfully affecting portrait of the disastrous effects of war. 'Hearts and Minds' is an overwhelming emotional experience and the controversial winner of the 1974 Academy Award for best documentary.

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93% liked it

1,923 ratings

Critics

97% liked it

29 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Peter Davis, Peter Davis (II)

Release Date: September 24, 2004

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DVD Release Date: June 25, 2002

Stats: 151 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (151)


  • August 6, 2007
    It's the sign of a truly great documentary when it can be powerful, moving, startling, and even eye opening almost 40 years after the fact, when all the facts have already been laid to bear. Hearts and Minds is an incredible documentary made in 1974 about the conflicting attitude...( read more)s of the Vietnam war. It pulls no punches whatsoever and provides remarkable, revealing interviews with both Americans and Vietnamese; from soldiers to politicians to civilians on both sides, and extremely disturbing footage showing the aftermath of the rash of American bombings within Vietnam, where innumerable innocent civilians were killed, including many children. Obviously, the film leans in the direction of peace, but it's as subjective as a documentary could possibly be on this subject, and it definitely makes one think of the true consequences of war, the nature of American imperialism, and how it all relates to our current situation in Iraq and the rest of the world. I can only imagine how shocking this must have been when it was released not long after the end of the Vietnam war - no wonder it won a very deserving Oscar. This is a seminal documentary, and should be on everyone's "must-see" list.
  • February 26, 2007
    What more is there to say about a documentary such as this? It is truly required viewing to anyone who wants to comprehend the complexities of war.

    I've heard derision of this film over at IMDB, partly over the minor connection it draws between the sports-culture in America and ...( read more)the connection with wartime machismo. I believe it is an interesting and not entirely false connection to make. There IS a connection between War and Sport, and I believe the film was not saying anything new by briefly liking the two together, and it only does so on two occasions... specifically, right before a particularly graphic montage of the Tet Offensive.

    This movie presents both sides, although not always fairly.. but at the same time, it is hard to present the pro-war side fairly when many of their arguments are obviously absurd, callous or evidence of their desire to mitigate their sense of loss, embarassment, or guilt.

    One of the best, or at least most popular, war documentaries ever made.
  • October 22, 2009
    this film is not very well put together so is a struggle to get through. saying that it's a very must see and very eye opening to the ideas that are created by each side to somehow make right what they are doing. but it clearly shows how sick war is. there is no right in war.
  • October 21, 2009
    Brilliant documentary.
  • December 18, 2008
    I definitely want to watch this!
  • February 16, 2008
    "It's no surprise that in a very poor country you can find people who will wear foreign uniforms. What has always surprised us, what we've never been willing to predict or understand, is that the Vietnamese communist leadership can find enough people to live in the tunnels, fight...( read more) for nothing wearing ragged shorts, year after year under the American bombs. A war in which one side is entirely financed and equipped and supported by foreigners is not a civil war. The only foreigners in that country were the foreigners we financed in the first part of the war and the foreigners we were in the second half of the war. Basically we didn't want to acknowledge the scale of our involvement there. We didn't want to realize that it was our war, because that would have been to say that every casualty on both sides was a casualty caused by our policy. The question used to be "Might it be possible that we were on the wrong side in the Vietnamese war?" We weren't on the wrong side. We are the wrong side."
  • January 4, 2008
    One of the absolute must-see documentaries.
  • September 7, 2007
    Last night I rented this movie and watched it. I realized that I have already seen it a long time ago. This is a very strong documentary about the Vietnam War and you can tell that a lot of the newer documentaries, those about the war in Iraq for example, are probably influence...( read more)d by it. This movie is right up there with Medium Cool in my opinion. A classic documentary that captures its era and everyone should see.
  • August 26, 2007
    Powerful doc on Vietnam War.

Critic Reviews


March 25, 2009
Armond White, The New York Press

Davis' visual argument overwhelms rationality.This was the beginning of Red/Blue antagonism -- turning benighted patriotism against an opponent's humanity. full review

October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

We're bludgeoned by the point of view, we don't like the feeling of manipulation we get. Yet there are scenes here of incredible power, even for a nation which watched this war on television every eve... full review

View more Hearts and Minds reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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