Jessica's Thoughts - Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Tagline: A story of innocence lost and courage found.
If you think watching TV Land is taking a trip back to the perfect world of 1950s America, try watching the opening credits of Born on the Fourth of July starring Tom Cruise.
Meet Ron Kovic: a young boy living in Massapequa, Long Island, New York. He plays war in the woods behind his house with his childhood friends and his birthday is July 4th. Ron’s family is patriotic and Catholic. While in high school, he’s on the wrestling team. With the threat of communism closing in on the United States, Ron decides to enlist as a Marine in order to fight in the Vietnam War.
The story takes off, leaving small-town Massapequa and traveling abruptly to Ron’s second Vietnam tour in 1968. After massacring a small village of Vietnamese civilians and accidentally killing a fellow marine, Ron gets shot in the foot and twice in the chest while on patrol. His wounds are critical, and he’s left paralyzed from the chest down. He recovers in the Bronx Veterans Administration hospital, where the atrociously unhygienic living conditions, apathetic nurses, and absent doctors force Ron to fight for his right to be treated as a human being. In a moment of desperation, he screams "It's my leg! I want my leg, you understand? Can't you understand that? All's I'm sayin' is that I want to be treated like a human being! I fought for my country! I am a Vietnam veteran! I fought for my country! And I think that I deserve to be treated... decent!" The rest of the film chronicles Ron’s return to Massapequa and his disillusionment from his family and country.
I thought the film was highly emotional and extremely tense so many parts. For example, when Ron returns home in a drunken frenzy, he confronts his mother on her religious zeal and embarrassment over his disability. I noticed these extreme close up facial shots that just heightened power of the scenes as well as the drastic transformation Ron Kovic’s look undergoes. All in all, I thought this movie was excellent in showing the 1960s and '70s America torn apart by war and those Vietnam veterans fighting for a place in society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBADjCeFnuU
Thou shalt not kill, Mom. Thou shalt not kill women and children! Thou shalt not kill! Remember? Isn't that what you taught us? Isn't that what they taught us?
If you like war dramas, this is a great one to add to your repertoire. If not, watch it anyways, you might learn something.
Directed by Oliver Stone, who also directed Platoon, JFK, and Wall Street, Stone won an Academy Award for Directing Born on the Fourth of July, while Tom Cruise was nominated Best Actor and the film itself for Best Picture. Interestingly enough, Tom Cruise was born on the 3rd of July.
Fun Facts:
The real Ron Kovic gave Tom Cruise his Bronze Star for his performance in this movie.
The entire film was shot in shades of red, white, or blue, depending on the emotional level (battle scenes are all in reddish hues, dream sequences in white, sadness in blue, etc).
For the duration of filming the scenes after Ron is paralyzed, Tom Cruise stayed in and used a wheelchair off the set as much as possible.
The studio was initially very dubious about the casting of Tom Cruise in the lead, as he hadn't really tackled such a heavily dramatic role before.
This film is the second part of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy. The other two are Platoon (1986) and Heaven & Earth (1993).
Oliver Stone had real animal feces brought on set for the enema scenes in the VA hospital.
Three Baldwin brothers are in the film: William Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, and Stephen Baldwin. They do not share any screentime.
*Originally written and posted Thursday, May 19, 2011 as part of a Films of the 80s college course.