Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War

For a lot of American’s the Vietnam war was something we’d seen in films, some documentaries, and felt the effects of knowing or being related to a veteran of that particular war. Most of my generation has no clue as to the repercussions of Vietnam and, sadly, a lot of my generation know only as much as we’ve learned from Stanley Kubrick, Henry Strzalkowski, Francis Ford Coppola, John Irvin, or any of the other directors who covered the war in film. It wasn’t a very popular war, and nine times out of ten, it was filmed in a negative chaotic light, taking random heroes and distorting them into monsters, or simply using it as a backdrop for purely entertainment purposes (Above The Law, Missing In Action, Rambo, The Park Is Mine).

Vietnam: The 10,000 Day War is pure documentary, providing facts which are backed by archive footage taken from the American as well as the Vietnamese side of the conflict. You’re given spots of history throughout the documentary that guide you through the early days of the war to the bitter end. Each piece narrated by Peter Arnett in an unbiased fashion as to let you decide what’s what with the information given.

It truly is remarkable documentary that goes deeper then most of us will have ever been when it comes to the Vietnam War. From the early beginnings when it was simply about the politics, to the first shot fired, to the bitter resolution, and beyond, where we find the treatment and re-assimilation of veterans back into society and their struggles as they find themselves shunned and broken.

I’ve seen a lot of war documentaries, but this one really takes the cake. It’s informative in a way that guides and lets you decide where you stand, its got so much coverage from every angle of the war, and it’s coherent in a way that could only have been managed by someone who put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. Absolutely fantastic stuff. I highly suggest.