excellent service
Added 8/16/2009
this was a very good experience. the DVD arrived very quickly and was definitely new
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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one who was there
Added 5/31/2009
As one who was there, I could so relate to the shift from the Betty Crocker generation to an active resister to the Viet Nam war. The situations and emotions portrayed in this movie paralleled my own in so many ways and the performance of both actors was first rate. One of the best zeitgeist movies.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Real Deal
Added 4/7/2009
This Film is a classic. I watched it last night after not seeing it since 1978 at my local Drive in.
It has not lost one ounce of its Punch. Most of the Guys in the wheelchairs were not actors, but returned Vets.
Bruce Dern is also quite superb. The Extra Doco & Commentary are just Brilliant.
With the Iraq & Afghanistan war continuing i am sure these same type of hospitals are filling up again. Boys cut down in there prime, hidden away.
Watch this film again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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HORSE MANURE
Added 2/7/2009
As if to counter-balance "The Deer Hunter", good old Jane Fonda starred in "Coming Home" (1978) with Jon Voight. Saved by the pure benevolence of American goodwill from a treason trial, she was allowed to pursue her craft (she is excellent at it). "Coming Home" seemed to be the realization of the self-fulfilling prophecy she created in 1972. It was that year that she traveled to Hanoi, the heart of America's enemy, and allowed herself to be posed on Communist tanks, wearing an army helmet. It was blatant "aid and comfort" provided to an enemy during a time of war. Jane did not stop there. Like a modern day Tokyo Rose, she got on the radio and told the troops their wives and girlfriends were having sex with hippies and protestors back home. To this day, the G.I.s have never forgiven "Hanoi Jane". She tried to apologize and say she was wrong, but her heart was never in it.
Eventually she married CNN founder Ted Turner, a man who may not be the anti-Christ (but may be), and may not have achieved his success by invoking Satan (but may have). When Turner saw CNN employees adorned in "ashes" to worship Ash Wednesday, he went ballistic about "Jesus freaks" in his employ. Such a crime! Jane, in the first move she ever did that I liked (other than wearing skintight sex clothes in her hot-selling workout vids), declared she was a "born again Christian." That was the last straw for Turner, who divorced her. There is no word on whether Christianity took in Jane's life, but I wish her well.
In "Coming Home", she portrays the very cheating wife she described to the boys in her "Hanoi Jane" days. She tries to pepper the performance with an apology to her officer husband, Bruce Dern, but it ends up being more of an explanation, which in light of what we know about Vietnam does not wash. Two thumbs down.
3 out of 14 people found this helpful.
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a solid effort--but it just misses its mark...
Added 6/10/2008
Coming Home is a sensitive portrayal of three people and how their lives were changed by the war in Vietnam. Look for wonderful acting by Jane Fonda who had to contend with a script that was not exactly the best I've ever seen; and Jon Voight does an excellent job playing the role of Luke Martin, a Vietnam vet who was badly wounded in combat. Bruce Dern plays Capt. Bob Hyde with a lot of style; all the actors do their best in this film. The script fails to flesh out the depth of the characters and the movie held my attention although there were some slow moments along the way.
When the action begins, we meet Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) and her soon to go to war Marine husband Bob Hyde (Bruce Dern). We also soon meet Sally's friend Vi Munson who is ably portrayed by Penelope Milford. Bob is eager to go to war and fight (and kill) for his country but Sally's much more realistically concerned about her husband being in combat. After Bob does go off to war, Sally and Vi form a friendship bond that is sweet and touching. Vi's brother Bill Munson (Robert Carradine) is psychiatrically disabled in a veteran hospital; so when Vi goes to volunteer there Sally decides to volunteer as well. Sally wants to deal with true issues about the war but the other women volunteers won't have any of it; and slowly but surely Sally begins to doubt that the war is absolutely necessary and good.
At the same time, Sally meets an old school pal named Luke Martin (Jon Voight). Luke himself is very injured following his being wounded in combat during the war and Luke is certainly cynical and haunted by guilt to say the least. Luke and Sally also form a friendship and this eventually leads to a love affair that is rather poignant and well done in the movie.
Of course, the plot could go anywhere from here. Will Sally want to leave her husband Bob when he returns from war and live with Luke instead? How will Vi handle life after her brother Bill kills himself in the hospital? What about Bob's injury--just how did he REALLY get wounded? In addition, when Bob is away Sally works (which Bob doesn't like) and she becomes more anti-war than ever before. How will Bob handle this change in his wife? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out!
There are a few DVD extras; the optional running commentary was very good.
Overall, Coming Home is a very good but not truly great story of how lives were drastically changed because of the war in Vietnam. I recommend this for people who like this type of theme and people studying the Vietnam War would do well to get this movie. However, the script falls short of my expectations and the actors are indeed left to make the best of a lukewarm situation. The acting is truly better than the script!
13 out of 15 people found this helpful.
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excellent service
Added 8/16/2009
this was a very good experience. the DVD arrived very quickly and was definitely new
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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one who was there
Added 5/31/2009
As one who was there, I could so relate to the shift from the Betty Crocker generation to an active resister to the Viet Nam war. The situations and emotions portrayed in this movie paralleled my own in so many ways and the performance of both actors was first rate. One of the best zeitgeist movies.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Real Deal
Added 4/7/2009
This Film is a classic. I watched it last night after not seeing it since 1978 at my local Drive in.
It has not lost one ounce of its Punch. Most of the Guys in the wheelchairs were not actors, but returned Vets.
Bruce Dern is also quite superb. The Extra Doco & Commentary are just Brilliant.
With the Iraq & Afghanistan war continuing i am sure these same type of hospitals are filling up again. Boys cut down in there prime, hidden away.
Watch this film again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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