Vietnam Yesterday & Today: Film & Photography

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Vietnam War Film & Photography
A Selected Bibliography

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Looking for pictures from the war? See Vietnam War Stock Photos and Images

Books

Adair, Gilbert. Vietnam on Film: From The Green Berets to Apocalypse Now. New York: Proteus, 1981.

Anderegg, Michael, ed. Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.

Burrows, Larry. Vietnam. London: Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Cook, David A. Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Age of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979. New York: Scribner, 2000.

Daugherty, Leo J. and Gregory Louis Mattson. Nam: A Photographic History. New York: Metro Books, 2001.

Devine, Jeremy M. Vietnam at 24 Frames a Second: A Critical and Thematic Analysis of Over 400 Films About the Vietnam War. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1995.

Dittmar, Linda and Gene Michaud. From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990.

Emering, Edward J. Viet Cong: A Photographic Portrait. Atglen, Penn.: Schiffer Pub., 1999.

Horst, Fass, Tim Page, & Peter Arnett. Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina. New York: Random House, 1997.

Gilman, Owen W., Jr. and Lorrie Smith. America Rediscovered: Critical Essays on Literature and Film of the Vietnam War. New York: Garland, 1990.

Johnson, Victoria E., comp. Vietnam on Film and Television: Documentaries in the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, 1989.

Karlin, Wayne. War Movies: Journeys to Vietnam: Scenes and Out-takes. Willimantic, Conn: Curbstone Press, 2005.

Malo, Jean-Jacques and Tony Williams, eds. Vietnam War Films: Over 600 Feature, Made-for-TV, Pilot, and Short Movies, 1939-1992, from the United States, Vietnam, France, Belgium, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Great Britain, and other Countries. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1994.

Muse, Eben J. The Land of Nam: The Vietnam War in American Film. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1995.

Page, Tim, Douglas Niven, and Christopher Riley. Another Vietnam: Pictures of the War From the Other Side. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2002.

_____. The Mindful Moment. New York, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2001.

Russell, Jaime. The Pocket Essential Guide to Vietnam War Films. Harpenden, England: Pocket Essentials, 2002.

Searle, William J. Search and Clear: Critical Responses to Selected Literature and Films of the Vietnam War. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988.

Shapiro, Chuck and DeAvian Shipes. The Vietnam War on Film. Los Angeles: American Film Institute, 1988.

Smith, Myron J. Air War, Southeast Asia, 1961-1973: An Annotated Bibliography and 16mm Film Guide. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1979.

Wilson, James. Vietnam in Prose and Film. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1982.

For additional information, see Wittman, Sandra. Writing About Vietnam: A Bibliography of the Literature of the Vietnam Conflict. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1989.

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Websites

Another Vietnam: Pictures of the War From the Other Side
The first exhibition of Vietnam War photographs by North Vietnamese photographers premiered at the International Center of Photography in New York in 2002. The exhibition was co-organized by the International Center of Photography and National Geographic contains over 120 black-and-white photographs by Vietnamese soldier-photographers. Most of these images are as little known in Vietnam as they are in the United States. This website displays a collection of the photographs with information about the photogrpaher and about the scene being depicted.

The Children of Agent Orange
The Children of Agent Orange is a powerful and affecting Web photography exhibit of the work of Jan Banning. Select this exhibit after entering the site from themain screen. Be sure to view the other interesting photographic exhibits available at this site.

Children of the Vietnam War
Air Force Sergeant Gregory Fearon's collection of powerful photographs of children in Vietnam during the war are featured on this website which explains how Fearon used the photos to good effect during the war. the collection has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and public galleries and are currently on display at the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. In addition, an oral history project is being organized to encourage those Vietnamese of the age photographed during 1969-70 to contribute their own words to a film of the photographs.

Entertaining Vietnam
although many of the performers who toured during the Vietnam War were well known, many were not. documentary filmmaker Mara Wallis toured Vietnam for three years in the late 1960s as an entertainer. Her award-winning film tells the story of these entertainers, using rare archival footage and interviews with with veteran performers from Australia and the U.S.

The Fog of War
This site, an vehicle for the documentary The Fog of War, provides and interesting flash movie presentation of the life and times of Robert McNamara. Related text links below each year for an in-depth look at the life of a controversial man who was "witness to and participant in many of the crucial events of the 20th century. An impressive array of links is available. Additional information is provided about filmmaker Errol Morris and his Interrotron and reviews and video clips from the film are also available.

Good-to-Go Video
Good-to-Go Video, founded in 1994 by retired Marine Corps Captain Ron Tucker and veteran television producer Steve Cooney, provides videos that focus exclusively on the United States Marine Corps. The programs are intended to bring recognition to the men and women who have served or are presently serving in the Corps. A new production available in the summer of 2001 is No Less the Heroes: Marines at Hue, Tet 1968. Product information, Marine website links and a newsletter are also available.

Green Mountain Post Films
Green Mountain Post Films, an independent film and production company, has produced three films on Vietnam: the prize-winning The Secret Agent: The Story of Dioxin, Agent Orange, and the Vietnam Veterans, The Vietnam Experience, and Ecocide: A Strategy of War (The War on the Environment in Vietnam).

Khe Sanh: A Walk in the Clouds
Film producer David C. Kniess, Jr., Zoiie Bean Pictures, was inspired by a high school teacher who served in Vietnam. In the website which describes his docmentary film, Kniess says, "In 1987 I asked my high school English teacher a question... "Given the opportunity, would you travel back to Vietnam?" His response, "Only if I could stand on Hill 861 again at Khe Sanh." Thirteen-years later, the answer to that question became reality when I traveled halfway around the world to stand on that hill with him. Khe Sanh: A Walk in the Clouds is the story of that return." The website for the film provides information on the filmmaker, the cast of the film, photographs, reviews, a QuickTime video, purchase information, and a synopsis of the film. The film would be a useful addition to educations teaching about the war in Vietnam.

The Long Way Home Project
The Long Way Home Project is a fully interactive, four-part documentary film series for television. The documentary was the winner of the Gold Special Jury Award, the top award for a documentary/television series, at the 2002 Houston International Film Festival. The series website includes information on the creation of the documentary, series episode information, veterans' stories, statistics and references. The series is introduced by General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. The Long Way Home Project is distributed to high schools in 31 states by Our American Heritage Education Foundation.

Portraits of Vietnam - 1968
Paul Emma, a graduate of Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), with a BFA in Photography served in Vietnam in 1968 as a Psychological Operations (PSY-OPS) photographer. As noted on this beautiful website, "Stationed in Bien Hoa, he grew to know and care for the Vietnamese people and in his time off-duty, he photographed the men, women and children whom he met, often times only with a Poloroid camera, or using film processed under inadequate conditions." The photographs are very powerful and give a wonderful view of Vietnam and its people. This is a must visit website.

Television Coverage Of The Vietnam War And Its Implications For Future Conflicts
The Vietnam War has often been called "the Television War" because it was the first war that was completely covered on the television news each night. No war before or since has received such close photographic attention and wide distribution of film and photographs. In this article, Major Cass D. Howell of the U. S. Marine Corps argues that television coverage of the Vietnam War had a detrimental impact on the conduct of the war and that policies on television coverage of future conflicts should be revised so as not to repeat past mistakes. See also:

TV War
Vietnam: A Television History
War on Television

Under Fire: Images of the Vietnam War
Piece Unique Gallery is a Web photo gallery offering high quality prints of Vietnam War images by professional photographers, audio interviews, sounds of war, Vietnam visit, journalists and veterans memorials for sale. A portion of the proceeds are donated to the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund. the site is dedicated to the 135 photographers from 10 countries who died or disappeared in Indochina between the 1950s and 1975.

Vietnam: A Time of Change
This 80-minute, 003 film travels from the hill tribes to Hanoi, from street poverty to the traffic of Ho Chi Minh City and also examines the Vietnam War through an extensive look at Vietnam's military cemeteries.

Vietnam: The Hollywood Pariah
Stuart J. Kobak's essay for Films on Disc discusses the movie industry's treatment of Vietnam.

Vietnam Interactive Portfolio
E. Kenneth Hoffman, a military photographer stationed in Long Binh during the war, provides a photo gallery of the people of Vietnam, including children and Montagnard tribesmen in addition to shrines and military scenes in an attempt to show the impact of the war on the lives of the people of Vietnam.

Vietnam Journey
Doug Huffman's well-designed and useful website provides a wonderfull collection of nearly 100 photographs of his tour of duty in Vietnam from August, 1969 to August, 1970 with the 25th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion (Mechanized)/ 5th Infantry in the areas around Cu Chi, Tay Ninh, Cambodia, and Xuan Loc. Also included with the photographs are area maps. This site can be especially useful to students who are studying the war for the first time in that the photographs give a real sense of the experience. The website also provides links to other websites, a booklist, and information on how to obtain military records.

Vietnam War Stock Photos and Images
Fotosearch is an online stock photography company that offers over 140 Vietnam War photos, as well as thousands of other wartime images. Even for those not interested in purchasing stock photographs, this site is an useful educational resource for teachers and students that adds additional impact to the study of the war as a supplement to written text. The search engine allows users to search by Vietnam War-related descriptive terms to obtain other images from and related to the war.

A Visual Journey: Photography by Lisa Law, 1965-1971
Photographer Lisa Law's images examines themes from the 1960s counterculture and provide visual background information for the events in the United States during the Vietnam War.

War Photography Since 1946: Vietnam
Part 3 of About.com's article on war photography provides excellent background information on the photojournalists working during the Vietnam War.

What Tomorrow Brings: Memoirs of a Photo Officer in Vietnam
Roger Hawkins, member of the 221st Signal Company, has created a beautiful website of slides taken during the war, each accompanied by explanatory material. These images are available from the website author. In addition, scenes shot by Hawkins with the Pleiku Mike Force in April 1979 near Ban Me Thout are incorporated in a video available from The History Channel website.