Film Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam
Directed by Bill Courturie
Warner Home Video 1988 DVD/VHS Documentary
PG-13

This film offers an emotional rollercoaster ride through the tragedies, camaraderie, homesickness, and devastations of the war as described in the missives of America’s fighting men and women. Using newsreel footage, excerpts from television broadcasts, and super 8 movies taken by soldiers, this 90-minute Emmy Award-winning film directed by Bill Courturie features readings by William Dafoe, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, and others. A major reason for the visceral clout of Dear America is the coordination of rock music by Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and others with the images on the screen. This incredibly moving documentary adds immeasurably to the growing stockpile of testaments about the Vietnam war.

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat