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| Born on the Fourth of July | 
| Category: Movie
Buy New: $2.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 10697
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 145 minutes
ASIN: B000ICXQR4
Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 1989
Release Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Flawed September 1, 1999
13 out of 28 found this review helpful
No matter how good a movie may be as a production, it must be evaluated on its historical accuarcy in cases like this. Stone purports to be making a true story. The violent confrontation at the Republican Convention depicted in this flick did NOT occur. It occurred at the Democratic Convention. Oliver Stone is a member of the Hollywood clique that is attempting to rewrite history. All of Stone's propaganda cannnot change the facts that the Democrat Party started the Vietnam War (under Truman) and that the Democrat Party was responsible for the major opposition to Civil Rights legislation in the 60's. Sorry, Stone. You are a Stalinist. This movie is just pure commie-prop. Had Stone promoted this movie as fiction then it would be good entertainment. His attempt to call it 'historical' reduces it to mere propaganda. Stone is the Josef Goebbels of Hollywood.
 THE SECOND BEST FILM OF THE DECADE July 31, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Born on the Fourth of July" is the second installment in director Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, and is by far the most powerful of the three. Tom Cruise gives one of the greatest performances in recent memory as Ron Kovic, a gung-ho Vietnam veteran who returns home after being paralyzed from the chest down. The film is extremely graphic in its depiction of violence, and the language is incessantly rough. Stone's terrific screenplay and brilliant, Oscar-winning direction keep the film moving at a tense pace, and the supporting cast, which includes Frank Whaley, Kyra Sedgwick, and an unforgettable Willem Dafoe, add to the sheer brilliance of this film. Second only to "Raging Bull" in the 1980s, and Cruise's performance is only second to De Niro in "Bull."
This movie has it all. July 12, 1999
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am convinced this is one of the greatest movies of all time. Tom Cruise was robbed of an Oscar after his unforgetable portrayal of Ron Kovic, a disabled Vietnam Vet. We're talking...soundtack, acting, cinematography, writing, the whole anchilada. This is one for the shelf so as to whip out every few months.
it knocks the wind from your sails July 6, 1999
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Haunting, frightening, shameful account not only of a war that never should have been fought, but of the treatment of those who did their duty -- before, during and after the incursion. Parts made me proud to be an American. Most made me sick with regret and shame. What sort of expectations did we set? What sort of recognition did we give those who fought for our freedom?
One of the greatest anti-war epics ever.... July 6, 1999
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is about Ron Kovic (played so beautifully by Tom Cruise - wow! What a performance), a nice Long Island, NY boy who is a dedicated Catholic, High School athlete, and a good patriotic American. Ron joins the Marines in the early 1960's, wanting to join in fear that Vietnam would end before he got there. Well, he catches the "train" to 'Nam....and is a model Marine, making Sergeant quickly. After doing two regretful things in Vietnam, his Catholic-raised conscience eats away at him....but he doesn't have to live for it for too long, because he gets shot in a fierce firefight and paralyzed from the chest down. He comes home expecting to be a hero, just like his WWII Veteran father, and all the vets of previous wars. The hero-worship is short-lived, as he discovers that the America he once knew is gone and dead. No one is patriotic, no one cares about the veterans, and everyone is burning flags. This sends him into a downward spiral of alchoholism....and self-realization. He realizes that the war is really wrong, and joins the anti-war movement.This film is so sad, so great, and just plain amazing. The patriotic music, as well as John Williams' score, is used wonderfully. The all-American parade song in the beginning (in the way that it is used) is really haunting. Again, the acting, especially Cruise's, is just wonderful. While I sensed some anti-American themes in there that Oliver Stone seemed to purposely throw in (maybe displaying his views? Well, it bothered me because I disagree with those views), BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY really changes your life after you see it...you can't stop thinking about it. Some scenes make you cry, some are very nostalgic of that naive childhood attitude we all had at one point. This film will bring a tear to your eye, make you cringe, and make you smile. All in all, it is very powerful. Highly reccomended (as well as the great book).
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