Casualties of War (1989)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Lang (book)
David Rabe (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Even in war... murder is murder.

Plot:

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Vietnam War | Rape | Village | 1960s

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	PFC. Eriksson
Sean Penn	...	Sgt. Tony Meserve
Don Harvey	...	Cpl. Thomas E. Clark
John C. Reilly	...	PFC. Herbert Hatcher
John Leguizamo	...	PFC. Antonio Diaz
Thuy Thu Le	...	Tran Thi Oanh / Girl on Train
Erik King	...	Cpl. Brown
Jack Gwaltney	...	PFC. Rowan
Ving Rhames	...	Lt. Reilly
Dan Martin	...	Hawthorne
Dale Dye	...	Capt. Hill
Steve Larson	...	Agent #1
John Linton	...	Agent #2
Vyto Ruginis	...	Prosecutor
Al Shannon	...	Wilkins

Runtime:

113 min | USA:121 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (extended version) | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

John C. Reilly's first movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ericsson goes to the toilet he is followed by Clark who tries to blow him up with a grenade. The guy who plays Clark is white but you can see that the person who lifts the slide to plant the grenade has a black arm.

Quotes:

Eriksson: Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do. Maybe we gotta' be extra careful because maybe it matters more than we even know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Vietnam (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hello, I Love You

De Palma on top of his game.

Casualties Of War is a great Brian De Palma film. Sure it's not his best work but it is intense and suspenseful storytelling. The cast is good. Michael J. Fox was a surprise to say the least in this movie. I didn't think he would hold his own with Sean Penn. Fox more than holds his own, I believe he overshadows Penn. This would not be the case if Sean Penn wasn't overacting so much. He is all over the place with his character. De Palma continues to be one of the great stylist of modern cinema.