Having experienced John Irvin's flick again, only now with virgin eyes, I was able to appreciate it a lot more than when I originally saw it.
Hamburger Hill was released among a slew of Vietnam War movies. Platoon had come out a year before, and nabbed a Best Picture award at the Oscars. That meant everyone and their dog was making Vietnam-themed movies. Yup, Hollywood hasn't changed much.
There's been a lot of war movies made since, and a boat load prior. But Hamburger Hill ranks as the best, at least to me. Sure, I dig Platoon. Saving Private Ryan is great. Apocalypse Now is Apocalypse Now. But there's something authentic about Hamburger Hill that elevates it above the others.
Hamburger Hill is essentially a series of vignettes strung together around the bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War. There's no real beginning, the middle is non-existent, and the film just kinda stops. The point, of course, is to show the futility of the war, one few people believe America should have been involved in.
In between are a series of events that show the tedium that comes with war, and the horrors of it. And Irvin shoots it all in a pseudo-documentary style that makes the viewer feel they are there, suffering in the mud and blood alongside the soldiers. He also refrains from getting too gruesome with the combat scenes. Instead of going the full Saving Private Ryan, he holds back a bit, but the violence is still effective.
The film is void of heroes, or even developed characters, but you still get to know and like everyone. The fact they are based on actual people helps. And the cast, including early turns by Steven Weber, Don Cheadle, Courtney B. Vane and Dylan McDermott, is excellent.
Hamburger Hill feels like a slice of combat. There's no rah-rah moment; you don't finish it feeling great. But that's the point, and that's why I consider it the best war movie ever made.
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