1. Return with Honor
The story of U.S. fighter pilots shot down over North Vietnam who became POWs for up to 8 and a half years.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
2. The Martha Mitchell Effect
She was once as famous as Jackie O—and then she tried to take down a President. Martha Mitchell was the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: a Republican wife who was discredited by Nixon to keep her quiet. Until now.
It has an average vote of 6.238 on TMDB.
3. Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini
Tom Savini is one of the greatest special effects legends in the history of cinema, but little is known about his personal life until now. For the first time ever a feature length film has covered not only Tom's amazing career spanning over four decades, but his personal life as well.
It has an average vote of 6.667 on TMDB.
4. There is a Way
A US Air Force produced film that follows a group of F-105 pilots as they pass their hundredth mission during the Vietnam War.
5. Vietnam Jungle Warfare
A Captivating collection of documentaries examining how this unique jungle war differed from others. Follow our troops as they face a determined enemy in the jungles and rice patties of Vietnam. Experience the American military's troubles and victories as they tried to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people.
6. In the Year of the Pig
Both sober and sobering, producer-director Emile de Antonio’s In the Year of the Pig is a powerful and, no doubt for many, controversial documentary about the Vietnam War.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
7. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home. Archive footage of the war and news coverage thereof augment the first-person "narrative" by men and women who were in the war, some of whom did not survive it.
It has an average vote of 7.1 on TMDB.
8. Blood Road
Blood Road follows the journey of ultra-endurance mountain bike athlete Rebecca Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner, Huyen Nguyen, as they pedal 1,200 miles along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through the dense jungles of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Their goal: to reach the site where Rebecca’s father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, was shot down in Laos more than 40 years earlier.
It has an average vote of 5.7 on TMDB.
9. USS Midway
A visit to the famed aircraft carrier USS Midway and interviews with men who served aboard it bring the exciting story of the vessel to life in this dramatic documentary. In service for 47 years, the Midway saw heavy action during the Vietnam War, and its hair-raising missions to rescue downed pilots were legendary. After Vietnam, the Midway, now berthed in San Diego, participated in numerous operations, including the Gulf War.
10. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
11. The Liberal War
The Vietnam War during the JFK years and beyond. Made in 1972 in the filmmaker's apartment, without documentary footage of the war, metaphors are created through the animation of images and objects, and through guerrilla skits. By rejecting the authority of traditional documentary footage, the anarchist spirit of individual responsibility is established. This is history from one person's point of view, rather than a definitive proclamation.
12. 8 Flags for 99¢
A short documentary that explores a blue-collar community’s growing unease with the Vietnam War. It was produced in response to President Nixon’s famous November, 1969 speech when he contrasted the unlawful and vocal anti-war protesters to the respectful “silent majority” who were in favor of remaining in Vietnam to fight communism. This film explores the thoughts and opinions of the “silent majority” represented by the folks living in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago.
It has an average vote of 5.1 on TMDB.
13. The Anderson Platoon (La section Anderson)
A documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
14. 1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond
The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the Prague Spring, the Chicago riots, the Mexico Summer Olympics, the presidential election of Richard Nixon, the Apollo 8 space mission, the hippies and the Yippies, Bullitt and the living dead. Once upon a time the year 1968.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
15. Black Power Salute
A film about one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, the moment when the radical spirit of the 1960s upstaged the greatest sporting event in the world. Two men made a courageous gesture that reverberated around the world, and changed their lives forever. This film is about Tommie Smith and John Carlos' protest at the 1968 Olympics.
16. Remembering Vietnam: The Wall at 25
Looking back on the creation of the Vietnam Memorial, this Emmy-nominated documentary chronicles the controversy surrounding the monument's construction and touches on the history of the polarizing war that inspired it. Fueled by the vision of Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs and brought to life by then-fledgling designer Maya Lin, the memorial would eventually become the nation's most visited monument. But its success was a hard-fought victory.
17. The General And Me
Over the period of 25 years the director met General Võ Nguyên Giáp, a legendary hero of Vietnam’s independence wars, a number of times. She was the first American who entered the home of the “Red Napoleon”. The fruit of this friendship is a film, personal and politically involved at the same time. Travelling across the country and talking to important figures as well as ordinary people, the director finds out more about her roots and offers the audience a unique perspective on Vietnam’s present and past.
18. Changing the Needle
A quarter of a million drug addicts —one of the most serious consequences of the Vietnam War. These addicts were the citizens of the South, and of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. Shot in 1981 by three Australian women, Changing the Needle was the first in-depth film to be made about Vietnam’s unique approach to drug rehabilitation at a time when few foreign film crews had access to Vietnam at all.
19. Heroes
1981. The shabby treatment of returning combat soldiers from Vietnam is investigated.
20. Tim Kochis: Purple Heart
The story of Vietnam War veteran Tim Kochis, who earned a Purple Heart after being wounded in action. Kochis is a world-renowned wealth manager living in San Francisco, California. He provides some key lessons which led to his success and expresses his appreciation for the Veteran's Administration and their support.
