Veterans React to Vietnam War Movies, ft. Mat Best

Ready to get your FORTUNATE SON on??
Richard Ryan is back hosting Veterans React, and today we’ve got former army vets Mat Best and Eli Cuevas. We hit some of the great Vietnam War films here, including Forrest Gump, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and an equally serious film by the name of Tropic Thunder.
We reacted to some more Vietnam War movies in this Vets React, check it: • Veterans React to Boot...
01:19 "Forrest Gump" 1994, Paramount
09:05 "Apocalypse Now" 1979, United Artists
15:15 "Platoon" 1986, MGM
17:14 "Tropic Thunder" 2008, Paramount
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Eli: / eli_doubletap
Richard: / richardryan
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[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

Did we miss any quintessential Vietnam War movies?

[@deadlight2002]

There was a TV show called tour of duty. I know not a movie but there was an episode where someone insulted a tunnel rat squad. Great TV show for its age and I remember the tunnel rat scene was funny.

[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

@Morgan Oates We Were Soldiers was covered in EP16: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWaQf6GkadppfJI

[@colincampbell817]

2 Aussie films - The Odd Angry Shot and Danger Close. Both well worth a look at.

[@bitkarek]

there was alot of Vietnam movies with Chuck Norris :) (MIA)

[@GaryRobert17]

Hamburger Hill. Under rated movie. Another great episode of veterans react.

[@Stormfire1777]

My grandfather was a marine in Vietnam. He said that fastest he ever saw anyone run wasn’t from gunfire or explosions. It was from the hornets that were there

[@herrdoctor2895]

Hornets will do that

[@GhostDrummer]

My dad was in Nam; enlisted at 17, and his dad was happy to sign the paperwork. He was 101st Airborne Ranger, tunnel rat, and led a small group through the jungles terrorizing anything and everything they came across. He was shot up, spent 18 months in Japan, and another 6 months at The Presidio. When he had flashbacks, it was some of the absolute scariest times. There wasn’t a pattern to what would trigger one. The worst one he had next to me was when two Chinooks and five Huey’s flew over us when we were working outside. He had a 24oz framing hammer in his hand and stopped mid swing. He grabbed me and threw me to the ground before covering me until the helicopters were gone. Once he realized what he was doing, he got up, puked, and went back to work. He never said anything about it, and I never brought it up.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

His first instinct was to protect you. You had a good dad.

[@BulletSpectre]

damn, cant imagine

[@dmac2899]

He protected you. He may have been out of it but he was a hero even in the flashback.

[@neilreynolds3858]

What's to say? This shit happens. Move on.

[@Wowzersdude-k5c]

My dad was also a Vet (1st Cav airmobile) and I experienced some of the same stuff. I never brought it up to him and he never addressed it either.

[@coreyh3170]

I was assigned to work with a Vietnam tunnel rat at my first duty station. I've never been so afraid of such a small man in my life. Nicest guy to everyone, but everyone knew to try and stay on his good side.

[@tonymars1093]

lol, Yep, you gotta be a little crazy to do certain things. Just like some of the Seals I treated as a corpsman. 99 % of them were very cool dudes but you have to be a little different to do what they do. I met many guys who tried to become special forces. They were physical beasts but what caused them to drop out was the toll mentally that it took on them during the school’s training. Be it SEAL, Rangers, Delta Force or Force Recon. You had to be so mentally tough.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

I remember my high school brought 3 Vietnam vets to talk about the war. All of them had drastically different opinions on everything, except they all agreed Forest Gump was the most accurate portrayal of the war.

[@lioncelica5170]

lol wut

[@tylerdakid8394]

You know what's crazy, this isn't the first time I've heard that either LOL. About Vietnam veterans saying that this depiction was extremely realistic. I think it's because during the ambush scene they're taking fire from all directions and the chaos was very realistic to how it was in real life. I'm pretty sure that's what I remember them saying was realistic about it

[@PedroDeAlvarado81]

We Were Soldiers, is the most historically accurate and portrayal.

[@jamesseebacher9294]

That ambush scene is regarded as very historically accurate, the suddenness, the fact you never actually see the enemy, the chaos of it, even down to the soldiers reactions, laying down fields of fire and the officers calling in close air support.

[@brianhays1797]

One of my patients was a marine tunnel rat and he told me the movies have it all wrong. He always went down with his knife drawn. He was like you never shoot first because you let everyone in the tinsel know where you were. Then he said “everyone I killed was with my knife.” Total bad ass!

[@K37-h1z]

I'd have to imagine yr ears are fukt if u fired in a tunnel. I always figured a knife would be more effective at that range. Either way a job I couldn't do. Hats off to yr patient.

[@TDrewBR]

he be colecting dog tags o battlefield games

[@actionjackson1stIDF]

TR"s I knew went in without a pistol or flashlight as both might give away their position.

[@janbadinski7126]

He's right. If you want real then watch "We Were Soldiers". An excellent movie.

[@gbonkers666]

Also, you're in an enclosed space, and that shooting would burst your eardrums...

[@jordanwrose]

Fun fact: If you listen to the commentary track for tropic thunder Robert Downey stays in charecter as Osiris until the credits roll just like he said in the film, and THEN drops it to Kirk Lazarus and only for the last tiny bit speaks out of charecter as R.D.J.. That level of dedication to a bit is the greatest damn thing evar...

[@Bryan_Koala]

I don’t drop character until I done the DVD commentary

[@coleyjohnson6325]

@Miles Doyle maybe you should try a lighter roast

[@mjpraetorian4386]

@Miles Doyle da fuq

[@kgeneralissimo1213]

I remember meeting a tunnel rat years ago, back when I was a kid still thinking war was GI:Joe and just glory. The stories he told me really made a 10 year old kid rethink everything he knew about war. I won’t say I grew up hearing stories about how there war was to be won and war was a man’s ultimate proving ground like generations before, but I grew up thinking that combat was this thing that you did in the military and once you were done it was all stories and glory after. Hearing him talk about how at 18 years old he had his life flash before his eyes and basically reconciled with god as he fought for his life against a VC in a tunnel, desperately trying to grab a rock to bash the guys head in with. Looking back, he didn’t tell me those stories because he wanted to scare me, but because he wanted to give me the wake up call that he wished he got from someone before he went to war.

[@kgeneralissimo1213]

@@MFKR696 most of the guys my grandfather knew were all volunteers.

[@scepticalbeliever]

@@MFKR696 two thirds were volunteers

[@gregorystell6858]

Gary Sinise is hands down one of my favorite actors for what he really has done for military veterans

[@bumbler5823]

My dad was a tunnel rat with the Marines. He is one bad brother, I hope to one day be the man he is. It's a lofty goal.

[@timmcwade7420]

My uncle fought in Vietnam. All he ever says was her wore the ranger patch. He said he had to walk out of apocalypse now. It brought back to much.

[@austinowens1548]

Hacksaw ridge

[@carbonking53]

As a Vietnam vet father had had a tough time with Apocalypse Now and Platoon. On base in Vietnam they had an FNG that apparently had a disagreement with a guy on his second tour. The guy on his second tour out of nowhere shot the new guy right outside my father's hut. The kid was 18 and took his last breath in my father's arms. Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan are all shitholes we wasted too much blood and money on.

[@marvinhunt9467]

Tears of the sun for my grandfather

[@davidoftheforest]

@Miles Doyle fuck that

[@FXDLS-ot1wq]

My dad, who served in Vietnam with the 173rd airborne, has always maintained that Forrest Gump is the most accurate depiction of the war he’s seen.

[@zacharyjohnson6453]

The reason why the battle scenes in the Vietnam Sequence looks so well done in Forest Gump is because not only Captain Dale Dye was the Military Advisor, but because Tom Hanks and the director did not want to do some cheesy World War II stlye film on the back lot of an MGM Studio as well as something like the movie The Green Berets . They wanted to do something that would be more true to life and more respectful to the experience and the men that went through in Vietnam.

[@dubugga]

The scene in Apocalypse Now where we are introduced to roach really stuck with me. Especially when captain Willard asks him, "do you know whos in charge here?" And Roach just goes, "...yeah."

[@muted5294]

I’m a teenager and you guys are some of my heroes thanks you guys for your service

[@kevingnomen6092]

Tropic Thunder is still one of the best comedies ever haha 😂

[@StalowyZolw]

Best part about "Roach" scene in Apocalypse Now is that its atcually real stuff. Michael Herr in his "Dispatches" brings up a story that his colleague witnessed in Khe Sanh, and its basically it.

[@iamthewalrus2211]

I was looking for a reason to take a break from work. Can't think of anything better! Keep up the great work, guys!!

[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

Is there any better way to spend that break?

[@pkt1213]

We were out doing squad movement about 17-18 years ago, knee deep grass, and apparently the guard still had hueys. It was pretty surreal with them flying overhead.

[@carbonking53]

That Huey rotor thump is unmistakable.

[@Trav_Can]

Probably the worst part of Vietnam was has having to listen to "Fortunate Son" every time you rode in a Huey. I don't know how those helicopter guys did it. I still can't get that song out of my head.

[@jamesseebacher9294]

Ironically Forrest Gump is the only Vietnam War movie with Fortunate Son in it.

[@Trav_Can]

@@jamesseebacher9294 That's funny. I was making a Family Guy reference. I think most of those "Vietnam songs" came from that movie.

[@PJDelsandro]

The use of lighting in apocalypse now during the Brando rants is spectacular you could teach a whole class on it in film technique and philosophy

[@full_metal_troy8394]

Those were t38 trainer aircraft, developed from the F5 tiger from Northrop corporation. Fun fact, the United States never used t38 or F5 in a combat role, it was developed as a cheap option for more impoverished allies such as south Vietnam.

[@tekvax01]

Thanks for making me feel really old... I was in my early 30s when all these movies came out... Working in the TV and film industry...

[@lawrenceallen8096]

The gelling of liquid fuels in both flamethrowers and napalm bombs is not for the "sticking" factor, although that is a benefit, it is to keep the mixture from aerosol-ing too quickly. It works to extend the effective range of the weapon.

[@JohnDoe-wt9ek]

Apparently the part with Martin Sheen in the opening act of Apocalypse Now is him having a mental breakdown. The production and shooting of Apocalypse Now was a fucking nightmare... Like, people almost died, several became drug addicts for a period of time, others lost unhealthy amounts of weight, money was STOLEN for further production, they were filming during the Filipino Civil War in the late 70's, because the US Army wouldn't help due to the nature of the film. Martin Sheen had multiple heat strokes and even a heart attack. Marlon Brando gained an excessive amount of weight and could no longer play the part he needed to play save in limited amounts with immense camera angle play. Apocalypse Now does amazingly well, but only at the cost of serious issues that, by all rights, should've killed significant portions of the cast and filming crew.

[@K37-h1z]

Sheen didn't even know the camera was rolling.

[@Fergus_0703]

The film took place in one of the chaotic times of Philippine history (although it was not classified as a civil war). Filipino communists are wrecking havoc in the jungles on the north and center of the country. While Muslim insurgents are fighting the military and even other Muslim insurgents in the south.

[@alanmacpherson3225]

I heard or read somewhere that the Huey choppers were on loan from the Philippino military and occasionally during filming they would disappear to be used to fight insurgents.

[@Fergus_0703]

@@alanmacpherson3225 indeed, the choppers would be repainted from Philippine Air Force (PAF) paint scheme to U.S. Army ones for filming. They were recalled I think more than ones because there was heavy combat from rebel armies on the south of the country.

[@actionjackson1stIDF]

Apocalypse Now was a lot like the Vietnam War. Overly long, over budget and left a lot of people messed up.

[@ScottWaa]

Forest Gump put films on a whole different level. You guys are checking off the boxes with Saving private Ryan, Jurassic Park, etc... There is something very special about practical effects. (How about doing OG Ghostbusters and the new one Afterlife?)

[@inr9751]

Saving Private Ryan is much better film than Forrest Gump, wtf.

[@bettinamcdonald5394]

I used to run Theatres in the 90’s and I won a promotion for the Forrest Gump movie and I have a signed poster with the poster being signed by Robert Zimeckus and Gary Sinise. I have still this day on my wall!

[@saltuponwound4369]

It wasnt that Martin Sheen got drunk for that scene but that he was already hammered and going through a drunk fit, and they decided to roll film anyway. The punching of the mirror and the blood from his cut open hand was all real along with his drunken craze.

[@kohbu]

I can't agree more with Mat about the tunnel rats... There's a movie called Tunnel Rats, and I'm not claustrophobic either but damn that movie... So much respect for those men.

[@tone210texas]

The movie Dead Presidents has a pretty awesome Vietnam war scene in it! Its awesome how it fades from him running away from getting caught hooking up with his girl, to him running in the jungle in Vietnam with the war radios fading in from the background as it transitions! Its flippin awesome! Do it I dares ya! Lol ;)

[@johnard611]

I remember that scene! The 1980 movie "Coach of the Year" has Robert Conrad returning a kick off in a football game and then cuts to him running to avoid bullets and explosions during a firefight in Vietnam.

[@williamhudson8755]

the Lt. Dan band is awesome! saw them while I was a Cadet at The Citadel.

[@andyaitken4243]

I could literally watch Mat and Eli react to anything, they’re hilarious.

[@jessewildoner20]

16:34 Vince Vargas did that exact scene in our barracks during basic training. Oscar worthy

[@sandy9064]

Eerie. I work at a library and had a conversation with a patron this past week who is one of our regulars, a retired teacher and a Vietnam vet. He donated a book about helicopter rescues in Vietnam. The author, Phil Marshall, writes a series of these, and this fellow has been in several...due to the fact that he got shot down 3 times while he was over there. I can't even imagine what he went through.

[@MegadethTillDeth]

Take more time to talk to him. A little extra compassion goes a long way for guys that were spit on coming back.

[@Vincent13997]

Had a sergeant in the 2/23 inf who got out and came back in. He was a small guy and a tunnel rat in Vietnam. He was a good NCO and had some awesome stories.

[@kennethhummel4409]

Those fighters that dropped the napalm were F5-As or Es. You can still find them in service with some air forces. The soviets got one for evaluation, their pilots loved it. On mock dog fights it would beat Mig 21s and 23s no matter how hey stacked the deck against it. The pilots that flew it called her the foreigner. Like militaries every where the Soviet promptly forgot every lesson they learned from the evaluation.

[@920utdoor]

Those look very much like F4 phantoms

[@kennethhummel4409]

@@920utdoor the plane at 8:23 is an F4 phantom. The 3 aircraft at 12:02 are F 5s, phantoms don’t have wingtip fuel tanks as an option.

[@mikeperry6519]

I flew Scouts in an OH6-A door gunner/ crew chief. Btrp 1/9 1st Cav. 70-71. I don't care for any of the Vietnam movies except "We were Soldiers" and the Cav scene from a couple of lips now. Being a Army Scout I do love your twisted humor and feel right at home watching these little vignettes.😁🙃😉

[@Wowzersdude-k5c]

My dad was a 1st Cav (airmobile) soldier in 66-67 and rode on Hueys all the time. I wish he was alive so I could pick his brain. I know he despised the Vietnam movies because he saw them as pro-commie and anti-American propaganda. He died before "We Were Soldiers" came out and I bet he would have liked it (because it was about the 1st Cav).

[@traveltrailerlife]

I'm a Veteran of Vietnam (70-71) and Iraq ( 04-05) Wars . I was a door gunner UH-1 helicopter in Nam with the 118th AHC .... And in Iraq worked on AH-64A Apache attack helicopter for the 1/151Aviation Regiment ....A lot of these movies are crap....Only one that was good would be ... We Were Soldiers Once and Young: Ia Drang - the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam.

[@Jenufir]

I went to see WWS when it came out. When it ended and the lights came on, an older man behind me turned to his wife and said "that's exactly what it was like". He was sobbing uncontrollably. Though in fairness, most of us were.

[@traveltrailerlife]

@@Jenufir me too....they got it right

[@ls7196]

Did the 118th AHC make the trip into Laos, February-March 1971?

[@parkertang2134]

@@traveltrailerlife can I ask why most of the Vietnam War movies are crap except WWS? Is is because the other movies are hollywood fiction such as they portrayed American and South Vietnamese soldiers as incompetent soldiers and as baby killers or is the action garbage?

[@randybobandy9828]

I heard one of the best representation of ww2 was "band of brothers" for how accurate the combat sounds and fighting where.

[@darrengreen804]

You have to do Full Metal Jacket when there flying in and the door gunner is opening up on the vc "if they run there VC if they stand still there well disaplined VC" 🤣

[@northernsoutherngirl]

Some of my favorite war movies were listed. And I ❤Tropic Thunder, especially Robert Downy Jr's part. "Don't go full re*trd!!"

[@joshuaburkhart4711]

Thank for what you guys do to keep us motivated

[@REAPERSPAPASANSUPPLY]

"I wonder how they did those lighting effects on Apocalypse now-Do Lung Bridge scene" Well. i have an answer for you! other than the obvious pyro and fireworks being used in the background. the Flare effect, which has been used in many other vietnam films, Platoon being one of which if im not mistaken? is, they used bamboo poles/sticks. and equipped flares to the end of them, while various individuals waved them back and forth in a slow/ down drifting effect of vietnam era pop parachute flares, and m79 /40mm flares. which is something that was used in many films throughout the years to create that effect.

[@Frisco_Schills]

Winning hearts and minds all over the place.

[@Willysmb44]

FYI, they filmed the Gump 'Nam scenes in Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina. One of my biggest regrets was turning down an invite to be one of the platoon for that part of the film. I heard Tom Hanks so I thought, "Vietnam, the comedy" as he was known for screwball comedies and I didn't wanna part of anything like that. Then I saw the movie and realized how awesome it'd been for me to have been there. It still bugs me to this day. I was also later asked to be a Marine Platoon leader for "Windtalkers" but I'm glad I turned THAT down because I was an active duty Army LT at the time and couldn't get leave to take part...

[@johnard611]

I used to go camping on Hunting Island in the early 90s. They also filmed the scenes at Forrest Gump's Alabama home on the other side of dirt road from where they filmed the Vietnam scenes. Some episodes of HBO 1987 "Vietnam War Stories" were also filmed in the same area. And parts of "The Big Chill" and "The Great Santini" were filmed in nearby Beaufort.

[@Quakerman14]

I've met Gary Sinise. He was really nice. Band was actually really good too

[@dierkrieger]

I was born in 1971 and grew up in a small town in Kansas so almost every man in the community had been in Vietnam. I had multiple sets of Tiger Stripes and ODs. There were a few former Special Forces guys and one guy who was a tunnel rat. What great generation of brave men.

[@baysooner5745]

Hamburger Hill, Full metal jacket...the jolly green giant scene is epic.

[@lakotafire2804]

My favorite cousin died from MS which is prevalent from the napalm used in Vietnam. Cpl. Don Newland, 🇺🇸 USMC, 🇺🇸 R.I.P.

[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

We are sorry for your loss and raise our mugs to Corporal Newland's memory ☕

[@lakotafire2804]

@@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany thank you so much. More so, thank you all for your service, dedication and bravery. It's because of you and our precious Veterans before you that we're free.

[@filipohman7277]

Awesome Work Guys 👍👍👍 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸

[@SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

Martin Sheen actually did cut his hand in that scene where he punched the mirror, but just kept on going. I think the scene was pretty much completely improvised. Later on he had a heart attack on set (due to the intensity of his acting) and the film was delayed while he recovered.

[@gbonkers666]

His brother Joe was used for long scenes where no close-ups were not required.

[@Joe.G]

Thank you for another badass video. Much respect ✌🏻

[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

You're welcome. That's what we do.

[@knightly6013]

My grandfather in the 173rd airborne during Vietnam was a tunnel rat like what mattbest was saying

[@michaelray5595]

Love and respect to your grandfather, the tunnel rats were a completely different breed. My dad was a combat Medic in a Mechanized infantry unit. He met some Tunnel Rats. He said three people you don't F with - Doc, Sea Bees and Tunnel Rats!

[@WizzRacing]

Herd Herd was the only Airborne unit to jump in Vietnam..near the Cambodian border in 1967...I meet a guy that was there. They had to send him home. As he already served 3 tours. They said he like it too much...

[@Wowzersdude-k5c]

@@WizzRacing Yeah, Vietnam wasn't conducive to airborne troops. Where are you going to jump into? It was a fucking jungle. You also didn't see tank divisions there very much (there were a few in the highlands, but it was rare). Vietnam was a helicopter war. That's how EVERYONE traveled around (whether Airborne, Infantry, Cavalry or Marines). The infantry walked a little more than the Cav, but both used choppers for transport. I don't know much about Airborne troops in 'Nam, because all the guys I know were infantry or 1st Cav. But, according to the Internet, the Airborne units almost never used parachutes (they did a couple of times only). The Airborne , once in Vietnam, basically threw out their parachute training and just basically did what the 1st Cav (airmobile) was doing.

[@claykennedy6790]

4:32 - The words in question are "Tunnel Rat" and those guys had the biggest nuts anyone ever had on this Earth.

[@aaronaven6927]

Oliver Stone, the director of Platoon, actually requested combat duty in Vietnam. He was awarded a Bronze Star with V device and a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.

[@anthonyjohnson100]

Ended on a beautiful note there brother. Love it!

[@cameronmccorkle6078]

Spoilers this is the most I've ever seen of forest Gump also matt fighting a snapping turtle will buy 200 in coffee to see that

[@920utdoor]

How have you never seen Forest Gump....

[@jacksoncronin9540]

Your missing out, great movie.

[@tinkopopov8451]

I’ve seen it about 500 times

[@tinkopopov8451]

@@920utdoor best movie ever

[@rickking8668]

@Miles Doyle why are you copying and pasting this on everyone’s comments?

[@limeon8426]

Full metal jacket one of the best vietnam movies ever It was halfway through the movie were we got our first taste of action and the action ended as fast as it started

[@Man-In-The-Shadow]

You guys should get Recon Marines or Marines in general to react to Generation kill. Guys like Rudy Reyes and Jason Lilley

[@EdgeMaster9000]

Fun fact when the velociraptor walked in the kitchen the sound it made was turtles doing the DEVILS TANGO

[@jamesbednar8625]

"Apocalypse Now" was filmed in the Philippines. ALL the helicopters were on loan from the Philippine military. Once filming for the day had ended using helicopters for whatever scene, they then would be loaded up with live ammo and then flown against whatever insurgents that the Philippine government were fighting at the time, probably better explained by other persons in the comments. Then, next day, the helicopters would return to the movie set for the next day's scenes. In todays "movie world" everything would be CGI with maybe a few actual helicopters sprinkled in for good measure.

[@MrViking69]

You might've seen tunnel rats with guns that were equipped with what looks like a suppressor. But that is actually a flash hider. When they went into the tunnels they didn't want to get blinded by the muzzle flash.

[@duaneborgaes7449]

5:27 I love how Matt was pointing out, the nasty sh!tty war was in a nasty sh!tty place, when Eli brings up the draft like, "...So, you were with some real shit bags too."😂😂😂 Like for every foot we took, morale was straight up struggling😁

[@davidfrederick1971]

My late father a Vietnam Veteran. He sad the most accurate scene he'd ever seen in V films is from Full Metal Jacket "this is my rifle this is my gun". But from hearing 20 non stop years of his stories from that time. Three films best represented that: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now. He'd often talk about the "POW" mission. What he always started his stories with, "covert special forces in Vietnam". The team mission was into Laos and Cambodia. Besides himself, and 1 or 2 others they were "intentionally captured". So the team would covertly track where POW camps were.

[@SenorGato237]

Apocalypse Now was a fuck of an accomplishment. FFC had a bunch of ex-pat "MIA" Vietnam vets just walking onto the production and telling how to make the movie more accurate. Sheen had a heart attack during filming. There's a lot of reasons that went into it being such a masterpiece.

[@OneBadSSG]

Check out the documentary "Hearts of Darkness" is you haven't already.

[@hunteruhlendorff680]

Hamburger hill is by far the best Nam Era war film ever made. Change my mind

[@somthingbrutal]

not only did he get drunk that was a real mirror he broke, the making of documentary Hearts of darkness is just as good as the movie

[@garner2267]

Yea. That blood on the bed is his. Practical effects are the best.

[@chrisholland7367]

The film was based on the book 'Heart of Darkness ' by Joseph Connrad about the Belgium Congo .

[@johnard611]

"Hot Shots: Part Deux" had a making of documentary called "Hearts of Hotshots Pat Deux: A Filmmaker's Apology."

[@jonny9884]

I had to watch this because of Apocalypse Now. Thanks for the upload !

[@JRBurlingame]

please do one on movies based on real stories and how accurately Hollywood can portray them (12 strong, american sniper, Blackhawk Down, 13 hours, zero dark thirty, etc.)

[@brian96597]

Anyone heard of Little Dieter Needs to Fly? About a German who fled Germany during WWII, migrated to the US, became a pilot and fought in Vietnam. Excellent documentary. Would be worth a reaction from these guys.

[@johnard611]

Was the basis for the excellent "Rescue Dawn" movie.

[@parkercarpy810]

The only thing that bothered me with the apocalypse now was the zero recoil when he fired the 40mm out of the m79😂

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

I don't remember it having much of a recoil ... but we only fired a few rounds for familiarization and that was in 1970 so ... .

[@patdalager2598]

I went through tunnel rat school when went through RECONDO school. Absolutely suxed. Thank the lord I didn't go to Vietnam. BUT 2 long tours on the DMZ guaranteed frost bite.

[@jakecleveland1051]

You guys need to react to the shootout scenes in Wind River and I'd suggest Hot Shot part Deux for fun

[@josephmyers7344]

Martin Sheen was tripping on Acid during this scene. He talked about it in an interview when Apocalypse Now Redux was released.

[@jordanevans3735]

Only 25% of the forces in country during Vietnam were draftees. For reference, 66% were draftees during WWII.

[@carbonking53]

Many went ahead and signed up before they got drafted. Three of my uncles and my father did. If you signed up you had a much better chance of getting a better MOS or an MOS of your choosing.

[@jordanevans3735]

That’s a really interesting point. I just find it really interesting that we always think of WWII being fought by volunteers and Vietnam being fought by draftees when in fact Vietnam was 3/4 volunteer and WWII was 2/3 draftees

[@johnard611]

​@@jordanevans3735 Many US soldiers were drafted before the US entered World War II (like my grandfather who was drafted in 1940 and sent to the Panama Canal Zone). After Pearl Harbor the percentage of volunteers increased. 134k volunteered in the 30 days after the attack.

[@johnard611]

About 940k Americans were drafted between 1940 and 1941.

[@DonPatrono]

fun point about Mat bemoaning the swamps and his comment "living with bacteria everywhere" at 5:37...he speaks from first-hand experience, he got a bad skin infection during Ranger School's "Florida Phase", almost having to be medically discharged and having to redo the phase because of it, so, yeah, his pain is real

[@Houd_Vast]

My uncle was a “spook” for the military during the Vietnam war, and wore mostly civilian cloths while on duty. He said the scariest thing was not carrying anything around to defend himself, except his wits. He was the smartest, most charismatic guy I’ve ever met-a regular James Bond. He had night terrors later on in his life. The movie Hamburger Hill he said was too realistic. I remember him burning the VHS in the front lawn, back in the mid 90’s, from the first 10 minutes of the movie. Only much later did I find out it was the orphan kids crying on the side of the road, left to die because their parents were either dead themselves or fighting in the war, that affected him so. He was tough as nails, but he was still haunted his past. I wish I had more time with him.

[@phantomreptiles1237]

I fucking love you guys! I was in tears for tropic thunder and wish you had covered more on it

[@bigkilla2608]

You should do Veterans react to the High gas prices & out of control inflation.

[@BlackRifleCoffeeCompany]

You want 30 minutes of all of us crying?… what a sick joke

[@Fierymedic2015]

Eli just subtly drops the therapy in. 💯 💯

[@danielshannon961]

damn so cool Eli was able to watch movies of a war he was in

[@untrainedboogboi4084]

Gotta do we were soldiers. My personal all time favorite Vietnam movie.

[@TianDiener]

The road they patrol in the Vietnam scene was directly across from Forrest’s childhood home.

[@dhannaecg]

Commonality among Veteran’s. No matter how much sh!t they’ve been through, the first thing they’ll mention is how f@cked up the weather was. Dad what was Korea like? Cold. Dad what was Vietnam like? Hot……& wet.

[@oif3vetk9]

you know, never really thought about it but you're right. Doesn't matter where etc the first thing is weather. Any time I've been asked about iraq the answer is hot, dusty, shitty. lol

[@dhannaecg]

@@oif3vetk9 Generally Combat Vets don’t like talking about war itself, so I guess they go to something everyone can relate to…..weather. I myself never served, but know a lot of Vets for someone who didn’t.

[@randybobandy9828]

I'm pretty sure weather was a reason most draftees wanted the European front over the Pacific front in ww2. Must have been miserable.

[@actionjackson1stIDF]

Agreed. My father was a career Marine who fought in WW2, Korea and was in Lebanon in 57. He hated cold and wet. He also could not stand diesel fumes. The smell of diesel reminded him of the Higgins Landing craft which brought back memories of his assaults on Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima with the 4th Marine Division during WW2.

[@icecoldrugby]

The first time I saw Thunder I came in late and didn't see the setup with RDJ playing black face. So for the next hour I didn't get the jokes about that. With the reveal at the end, that was the best way to watch the movie.

[@oneonlyxram]

Movies with flight deck activities, reacted to by veterans that were part of the airwing and worked up there everyday... I'll volunteer 😉

[@seamusoreilly804]

I’m in my 70’s. I like your coffee. I was in that hellhole when I was 19. I feed cats now, am a retired cop, and I don’t like talking or thinking about that shit. But I do like your videos. I’ll probably have a cup of your coffee in my hands when I crap out.

[@SheepdogSmokey]

7:24 - Knowing my Great Uncle was at Dog One, I didn't make it through the opening sequence the first 3 times I tried. The first time, a worker found me sitting in the hall and thought I'd had a panic attack, when I told him, he said he'd give me a raincheck until I could do it. That movie was extremely accurate to what my Great Uncle told me.

[@daijudo]

These are too short, they need to be like an hour long minimum! I love these!

[@longrack]

For anyone who is a fan of apocalypse now I highly recommend the redux version. It gets more in depth with the story and character development.

[@OracularThunder]

I was stationed at MCAS Beaufort, you best believe I went to every place involved with Forrest Gump during the 3 years I was there, the bench in Savannah was my favorite.

[@adamberndt4190]

And thats why Tom Hanks is and will always be America's Dad! Being born in 1984 I grew up with Tom Hanks films. I remember when Apollo 13 came out and that was not just a big deal for that week it was a big deal the whole summer! Hardee's had kids meals where they would give you a portion of the Apollo 13 rocket so after 4:00 or 5:00 kids meals you could put together this 3 ft tall Apollo 13 model!

[@just.marysew]

I friggin love you guys, when the tropic thunder scenes started I was already cracking up man. Tbh I loved RDJ in that one, he gave no fucks.

[@williampalenzuela6885]

Love y’all!!!!

[@westonfilippin7894]

Fury and 1917 are one of my fav intense war movies Fury for being up close and personal 1917 for being psychological

[@jennfurman1974]

Suggestion... You're Next and The Hunt

[@pcnorton]

Army vets? More like filmmakers that happen to be vets. Love it. Can see your shift of focus.

[@earlwyss520]

Vietnam films & TV shows have been filmed in Hawaii, Thailand, & Philippines, although some have been filmed in California. Also, I'm too young to have served in Vietnam (my father did serve in Thailand 66-67), but I did get the opportunity to serve with the 3rd SPS at Clark AB Phillipines, and while the monsoons are bad, the typhoons are worse. Also, in Vietnam they weren't "Little Birds" they were "LOACHs". The fighters in "Apocalypse Now" were F-5s.

[@ScrtyGrd]

Yeah, I saw Saving Private Ryan during labor day weekend at Ft. Benning.

[@jesperwall839]

This was really good! 👊😂

[@gbonkers666]

Also R Lee Emery's first appearance in a vietnam war movie....he did 4!

[@mrobermind]

He was also in The Boys In Company C which is a nam movie in the late 70s.

[@Droneslaught]

I was thinking to myself that this is one of the best reactions I have seen. 15:04