Word: nam
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...description of how the U.S. got into war in Viet Nam in 1965? Or how it might become embroiled in the Persian Gulf conflict the day after tomorrow? Not quite: this war began in 1846, when President James K. Polk sent troops to occupy a disputed border area between Mexico and the new state of Texas, touching off fighting that Congress reluctantly formalized with a declaration of war. Otherwise, though, Polk's action might have been a dress rehearsal for the bloody undeclared wars the U.S. has fought in the past four decades. It illustrates a conflict between congressional...
...when he got in the White House. "I'm not going to leave this job weaker than when I came in," he told his counsel, Harry McPherson. But for all his muscle flexing, Johnson chose to retire rather than run for re-election in the teeth of the Viet Nam protests. Six years later, Nixon would resign, swept from power by public disapproval and Congress's instigation of impeachment proceedings. The Executive arrogance and excess in Viet Nam and Watergate spawned legitimate concerns throughout Washington, producing a city that remains inordinately devoted to scrutinizing and humbling strong leaders...
...country crooner sings "Goodbye, sweetheart, hello, Viet Nam," 17 Marine recruits get their heads shaved. The long, defiant hair of the late 1960s falls to the floor; the young men look sullen or stern. Do they know that this is a pre-op for a lobotomy? Double time, in their eight weeks at Parris Island, S.C., they will be stripped of their freedom, their pride, their names. The recruit who dares to hang some John Wayne sarcasm on the drill instructor will be called Joker (Matthew Modine). The guy from Texas will be dubbed Cowboy (Arliss Howard). Gomer Pyle...
...Viet Nam, just before the 1968 Tet offensive. Local hookers peddle their pleasures while Joker and a soft, eager photographer called Rafterman (Kevyn Major Howard) dodge thieves and boredom. Their job is to rouge up the war for the Stars and Stripes, to turn the horror into cheering press releases. No soldier believes a bit of it. Everyone has reached a state of exalted cynicism. "Welcome to Viet Nam, the Movie," Joker sneers to an American camera crew. "You think we waste gooks for freedom?" says the Marine called Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin). Crazy Earl (Kieron Jecchins), who poses next...
Maybe because it was shot in England instead of the Philippines, Full Metal Jacket is clothed not in the lush tropical colors of other Viet Nam films but in the desaturated green-gray of a war zone as it would appear on the 6 o'clock news. Hue might be Pittsburgh. Here, only death looks luscious: gunfire makes a gutted warehouse flare into brilliant orange, and the blood of strafed civilians waters the countryside, turning it into poppy fields. The drama is desaturated too. The soldiers have no ideals to defend, just their asses; the accompanying music is not Samuel...