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The Green Berets

Play trailer Poster for The Green Berets G 1968 2h 21m War Play Trailer Watchlist
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23% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A cynical reporter (David Janssen) who is opposed to the Vietnam War is sent to cover the conflict and assigned to tag along with a group of Green Berets. Led by the tough-as-nails Col. Mike Kirby (John Wayne), the team is given a top-secret mission to sneak behind enemy lines and kidnap an important Viet Cong commander. Along the way, the reporter learns to respect why America is involved in the war and helps to save the life of a war orphan whose life has been destroyed by the conflict.
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The Green Berets

Critics Reviews

View All (13) Critics Reviews
Penelope Gilliatt The New Yorker The film’s serious moments are tough to bear, but its sense of humor is worse. Jan 23, 2024 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The Green Berets simply will not do as a film about the war in Vietnam. It is offensive not only to those who oppose American policy but even to those who support it. Rated: 0/4 Nov 17, 2014 Full Review Renata Adler New York Times Simplicities of the right, simplicities of the left, but this one is beyond the possible. It is vile and insane. On top of that, it is dull. May 9, 2005 Full Review Stephen Farber Los Angeles Free Press No movie so archaic can have a dangerous effect on an audience. Jan 30, 2020 Full Review Kevin Carr 7M Pictures John Wayne fans - particularly the fans of his war films - will like this movie for the chance to see him mix it up with heavy artillery. Rated: 3/5 Jul 21, 2012 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com One of the first movies about Vietnam is also one of the weakest and most preposterous right-wing agit-prop Rated: C Mar 4, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (364) audience reviews
Rami A Man, I've never seen a movie that's told so many lies. How offensive. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/18/24 Full Review cantankerousdude Classic Wayne movie. One my favorites. Fellow cast of many of Duke's usual cohorts. Tells it like it is. "Provo's Privy" Spoiler alert. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/07/23 Full Review Red T A Bloated Mess. The acting is just ok. No one really has any character to them and everyone except the kid blends in. Wayne doesn't really have much character here either and this is him at his worst in terms of "Being John Wayne" and nothing else. No one is really bad but its all just passable. The music despite a catchy title song is barely used and the rest of the soundtrack is also boring, generic, and forgettable. the cinematography isn't bad is probably the best part of this. The camerawork is decent, the location is memorable, and the sets are well designed. The action has its moments but most of it feels very empty is just ok and nothing really special. The real problem is the terrible editing and the subpar pacing. This really doesn't have much of a story to it beyond Wayne goes to Vietnam and stuff just happens while Charlie plans an attack on the outpost. There is tons of pointless subplots in the middle that give this an extremely bloated feel. It feels like this should've ended after the main fight at the outpost wrapped up and my jaw dropped when I seen there was 40 more minutes to go still. It does get more focused the last hour or so as we get more focused on Wayne but for most of the runtime it barely feels like he's the main character and because no one stands out, the pointless subplots like the enemy spy, the kid and Peterson, and others that I can't really care to remember you forget about Wayne half the time and don't really know what's going on until the attack happens which doesn't really have any buildup either. It's very mindless action and nothing about this is really broken but man its nothing special. This kind of has a patriotic undertone as well but its kind of lowkey. Unless your a super die hard Wayne fan skip this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/12/23 Full Review Dawn W One of the best war movies of all time!!! It is wonderful to watch and it makes me very proud of the men who bled and died and served so I can remain free! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/14/23 Full Review Audience Member This classic war movie was really good. John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, Aldo Ray, and the rest of the cast did a fantastic job in this movie. The plot of the movie was action-packed, dramatic, and entertaining. It's about fighting against the VC during the Vietnam War and protecting the people that are suffering. If you haven't seen this classic movie yet, check it out sometime. It's a must see. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Heavy handed pro-war film made with full cooperation with the Pentagon. Laden with the less subtle opening scenes in which they berate anti-war troupes and silence any dissent towards the Vietnam War. At times the symbolism, war film cliches and ham dialogue is too much. Overall too long and could have shaved an hour off the runtime. You also leave the film questioning, what was the movies message? Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Green Berets

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A cynical reporter (David Janssen) who is opposed to the Vietnam War is sent to cover the conflict and assigned to tag along with a group of Green Berets. Led by the tough-as-nails Col. Mike Kirby (John Wayne), the team is given a top-secret mission to sneak behind enemy lines and kidnap an important Viet Cong commander. Along the way, the reporter learns to respect why America is involved in the war and helps to save the life of a war orphan whose life has been destroyed by the conflict.
Director
John Wayne, Ray Kellogg
Producer
Michael Wayne
Screenwriter
James Lee Barrett
Production Co
Batjac Productions
Rating
G
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
2h 21m
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