Rob Edelman

The war in Vietnam was America's longest, most controversial war and only military defeat. As such, Americans have held a variety of opinions toward the war which have shifted over the years. Films about Vietnam have often been controversial but can provide valuable insight into Americans' changing views of the conflict.

The first movies set in Vietnam, most of which were filmed in the 1950s, are similar to World War II films in their portrayal of the U.S. military, albeit with the addition of anticommunist overtones. A few years after the war's end, however, most Americans viewed the war as a mistake, and this was reflected in the popular entertainment of the late 1970s. In films of the era, such as The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, the war is...