Fifty150
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,868
- Location
- The Barbary Coast
The 80's had its own war. That war had its own movie.
I first saw this while Aldershot and a favourite it became. However, DeNiro's character is US Army Special Forces
thru its second half, Vietnam, his rotation back, and while on leave he is uniformed as would be normal while in service transit under kit. He returns to Vietnam in uniform, and only appears mufti at the gambling hall wearing white suit.
The concluding funeral service scene he again is in uniform, still on active service and hasn't been discharged.
So such signifies active service soldier wartime with normal uniform attire worn transit/leave.
Your ''metaphorical rather than literal'' is rather shopworn cliche. Larger Vietnamese culture writ literal cruelty based
on reality. The film was broken down with American officers in attendance whom openly discussed American atrocities and that of the North Vietnamese regulars and irregular Viet Cong in quite even handed frankness.
Surprisingly more favourable than might be supposed but the Americans held their former foes with high regard.
I enjoy the inherent symbolism of Deer Hunter--the bowling alley scene where a uniformed Bobbie D runs downOf course it reflects the normal practice in that regard - but it's still milked heavily for its symbolism in the film nonetheless.
It's certainly (often, if not universally) true in my experience that those who actually were involved in a war, more or less any war/ "police action" / military operation have an awful lot more nuanced a view than many civilians when it comes to this sort of thing.
The first time I saw this...The 80's had its own war. That war had its own movie.
The big thing here in the 80s was drugs.