Winter Soldier

Winter Soldier is a documentary about veterans testifying about their experiences in the Vietnam War. It was made by Veterans for Peace as an attempt to reveal the devastating consequences of the war on the psyches of a generation of... Full review

This is virtually ninety-plus minutes of testimonials of 'war crimes' by Vietnam vets at a conference in 1971, and while all of the atrocities - there's no other word for them - were the kinds of things I'd seen before,... Full review

I thought I knew about Vietnam. I hadn't really studied it as such and, in England, it isn't taught very in depth, if at all in the state schools so I only thought I knew about it from various sources... Full review

Powerful thought-provoking and sometimes almost unwatchable documentary about the men who were sent to South-East Asia to fight what has became the worst diplomatic and military disaster in America's 230 year history the Vietnam War. Filmed in late January and... Full review

This film consisted almost entirely of talking heads, but held the attention of the audience from start to end at a screening organised by the Socialist Workers Party. It was introduced by a Vietnam veteran slating the UK Labour party... Full review

This film is a documentary shot at a Howard Johnson motel in Detroit over 3 days, in February, 1971, when 125 Vietnam military veterans gathered to offer personal testimony about atrocities and gratuitous violence they had witnessed or participated in... Full review

The Nixon administration attempted to defuse the negative political fallout of the My Lai massacre by claiming that it was a unique event and the work of a rogue outfit. Veterans who knew differently assembled in a Detroit hotel conference... Full review

This film appears to have been all but lost to the ages, which is a shame since its a very moving record of what a group of soldiers experienced during their time in Viet Nam.The film consists of panel testimony... Full review

Probably the most self-critical Vietnam-related film to have been made in the U.S. (which might explain its scarcity), WINTER SOLDIER is a frequently moving and disturbing documentary about the inculcation of eager, pliable young American men, of a conscienceless barbarism.... Full review

Today, "Winter Soldier" is both resonant and relevant, for obvious reasons. Winter Soldier" defies the maxim that it is better to show than to tell. ... Full Review

Besides, the heavy film grain and harsh contrast (which in a few shots douses the soldiers in a sea of white) only goes to enhance the film's effectiveness.....Winter Soldier" is daring, upsetting, and one of the most important films ever created.....And yes, it's all too tempting to watch this film with the somber knowledge that history is doomed to repeat itself just....It perfectly captures a key moment in our nation's history, a first-person account of what has since become emotionless words in a textbo ... Full Review

This extraordinary documentary, made in 1972 and having its first theatrical release, not only revisits events during the Vietnam War that have uncanny resonance today....The result is a spellbinding film that achieves impressive power through little more than the spoken word.....But at its best, it is the eloquent, unforgettable tale of profound moral reckoning.....Winter Soldier" is an important historical document, an eerily prescient antiwar plea and a dazzling example of filmmaking at its most iconogra ... Full Review

Extras This DVD is packed with informative extras, suggesting that the DVD, like the original film, is intended for educational/propaganda (as Ive argued before, this is not a negative term) purposes. There are also two short films which were edited by the Winterfilm collective before the feature-length film was released. ... Full Review

In an amazing DVD extra, filmmakers participate in modern-day roundtable (18 minutes) discussing their experiences in making Winter Soldier . Take the most shocking scenes from Full Metal Jacket , Casualties of War or any other Hollywood Vietnam movie, and they become so much powdered sugar compared to what really happened. ... Full Review

Savant read and heard enough about the Anti-War movement to form his own opinion on the subject right about the time of Kent State in 1970, but although I heard about Winter Soldier I don't remember it being shown, not ... Full Article

April 3, 2006 -- One of the most powerful documentaries ever made about war, "Winter Soldier" was released 34 years ago, but it has rarely been seen in this country. ... Full Article

Peter Davis's Hearts and Minds and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 , Winter Soldier is less documentary than in-the-heat-of-conflict document, too close to the bone for "distance." ... Full Article

Vietnam-era Kerry In perhaps the ultimate instance of the pot calling the kettle black, the Sinclair Broadcasting Company posted a press release on its Web site stating that they will not air the controversial anti-Kerry film, Stolen Honor . ... Full Article

On January 31, 1971, more than 125 Vietnam veterans gathered in a conference room at a Howard Johnson's in Detroit for a reckoning. Over three days of voluntary testimony, they rattled off a litany of crimes against humanity so brutal... ... Full Article

By Jonathan Rosenbaum I first saw Winter Soldier , a 1972 documentary about the Winter Soldier investigation held by Vietnam Veterans Against the War in Detroit in 1971, shortly after it was made. ... Full Article