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"This must be hell.!!"

To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.

Good movie

I like this movie! Born on the Fourth of July was written in Santa Monica, California during the fall of 1974 in exactly one month, three weeks and two days. It tells the story of Kovic's life growing up in Massapequa, New York, joining the Marines going to Vietnam, getting shot, finding himself wheelchair bound, and eventually starting a new life as an anti-war activist.

Acting GREAT : Movie NOT SO GREAT

The Acting of Tom Cruise was absolutely wonderful! The facts and Chronilogical order of the Vietnam Conflict should have been researched instead of created. Acting of Cruise was GREAT the movie itself WAS NOT.

The corrosive gaze!

There have been many similar movies around this theme (Coming home still remains by far as the unbeatable film about his delicate issue) but what it confers this gripping and awful story that touch of grandness is the merciless, intense and real approach so typical of Oliver Stone.

There are three remarkable aspects that basically, consolidate and reaffirm this movie as the best artistic achievement of Stone; the crudeness and incisiveness of this bitter script; the best performance given by Tom Cruise in his career and the unforgettable devastating images along the film, as that mesmerizing and metaphorical fight on the desert of Cruise and Dafoe.

To my mind I must insist, this is the majuscule achievement in Oliver Stone's career.

Classic Film by Stone and Cruise

Oliver Stone was at the top of his game when this film was made in 1989 starring Tom Cruise. It follows the true story of Ron Kovic's life from 1950s idyllic childhood to Vietnam Veteran war protestor. Beginning during a fourth of July parade in 1956 we cut to the JFK inaugural address (oops, five years later and young Ron hasn't aged). His mother says she had a dream that Ron was speaking before a large crowd saying important things. This dream turns out to be prophetic and the ending is always moving.
Cruise gives a great portrayal as Ron who's paralyzed by wounds and transforms into a spokesmen for Vietnam Vets.


Vietnam is long over, but the effects go on. Those of veterans and those of lessons learned and not learned. Will our country ever learn that war is wrong?

one of the most compelling period pieces you'll see

Tragic but powerful and moving drama is a real life biography of Ron Kovic, an impressionable young man brought up in a conservative, Catholic home during the late 1960's. Captivated by the aura of the Marine Corps, and the impending threat of communism, he volunteers for service in Vietnam only to be wounded in combat and paralyzed from the waist down. He returns home to a much different America than the one he left, as the country is torn apart by deep resentment and controversial anti-war protests. A gripping, in-depth, and all too believable look at the life of Kovic, as well as the turbulent years of American life during the Vietnam War era. Long but absorbing and provocative, headed by Cruise who's simply riveting in the lead. A great achievement. ***½

Realistic but flawed

I had seen the Deer Hunter a couple of months ago and comparing the two films was almost inevitable. Both films tackle with the same subject: the fate that awaited those who managed to return to their homes from Viet Nam; the attitude towards them by their family, friends and society in general. Although Born on the Fourth of July seems more realistic than the Deer Hunter (and certainly more cruel), at the same time it is irritatingly overemotional at times and contains boring drama cliches. Overall I had the feeling that Stone tried to force viewers to cry, pushing situations too far. Cruise is very good, but he didn't convince me totally. Some scenes though, are definitely worth a look.6

Debunking a lot of dangerous myths

In PLATOON, director Oliver Stone showed us the horrors of the Vietnam war from ground zero. Three years after that, with BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, he takes us to what the war did to America and has us see it through the eyes of another Vietnam vet, Ron Kovic, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stone from his own 1976 memoir. Tom Cruise portrays Kovic, and gives one of the best onscreen performances of modern times.

Kovic was a kid from Massapequa, New York who grew up believing in the post-World War II beliefs of American superiority, anticommunism, and John Wayne, and who wanted to serve his country. But in Vietnam, he had the tragic misfortune of being shot by a VC bullet and paralysed from the waist down. He would now never be able to have children, and he would never walk again. Like a lot of Vietnam vets, he was met either with indifference or hostility to his suffering. He became embittered and hostile in his own way.

But he soon learned that his experience could be used for a greater purpose than war: to educate Americans about the realities behind the myths that helped tear America apart during the 1960s and 1970s.

Although a long film at 140 minutes plus, BORN is a stunning look not only at Kovic's personal experiences, but the experiences of our nation when we moved from braggadocio and John Wayne patriotism to cynicism and political violence. Never in this movie do Stone or Kovic ever say that Vietnam vets didn't serve their country proud. They do, however, indict the culture of paranoia and anticommunism that worshipped a supposed "patriot" like John Wayne, who NEVER saw any combat action in his life. And on that count, they must be commended fully.

It is an honor to serve one's country, but when you don't know the truth about what you're supposedly fighting for, the results can be devastating. That is what Stone and Kovic say was wrong with America's Vietnam experience, and I can't help but believe they were 200% right.

"Fourth" Sparkles and Fizzles

"Born on the Fourth of July" is a metaphor for America's transformation from an idealistic nation to a cynical and fragmented society. And we see this transformation through the eyes of the film's tragic hero, Ron Kovic, who changes from an all-American, gung ho Marine wannabe to a cynical, embittered paralyzed Viet Nam vet.

The primary strength of this film is its ability to draw you into Kovic's world. You feel Kovic's sense of bitterness and betrayal when he comes home to find that America is now a hostile and divided nation and that veterans like him are not welcome. If anything, they're scorned for having fought in Viet Nam.

Another strength of this film is Oliver Stone's use of foreshadowing. The night before Kovic leaves for boot camp, Kovic runs through a rainstorm to be with his girl at the senior prom. As they dance, Henry Mancini's "Moon River" plays in the background and in watching this scene, one gets a sense of foreboding that this will be the last time Kovic and his girl friend will ever share such an intimate moment.

While "Born on the Fourth of July" has its merits, it also has some glaring shortcomings. Namely, it's an uneven film that requires the viewer to "fill in the blanks." Throughout the film, Stone gives the viewer an overview of Ron Kovic's life and how he changed from an idealistic high school student-athlete to a radical anti-war activist. However, the audience is forced to draw their own conclusions as to how, when and why this change occurred.

Stone also plays fast-and-loose with the truth in this film and he seems more intent on making a political statement rather than a biographical docu-drama. As other commentators have pointed out, Kovic never was a demonstrator at the 1972 Republican Convention. While this bit of fiction serves to promote Stone's political views, it's also self-defeating as it undermines the film's credibility.

"Born on the Fourth of July" is something of a revisionist film that also tends to be rather sanctimonious at times. Yet, for all its shortcomings, "Born on the Fourth of July" is a powerful, evocative film that will play with your emotions.

Born on the 11th of December

In it's debut I found this film to be so offensive to me and I'm sure to alot of brave honorable veterans. Regardless of the reasons for war, once we send our boy's off to war they should have gotten 110% of American support and nothing less. The anti-war crowd will NEVER understand freedom or democracy. There is NO HONOR in dishonor. God bless our soldiers and their families and may God save this nation from the scourge of evil where ever it lurks.They should consider renaming this film to "Born on the 11th of December" John Kerry's birthday..

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One of the greatest films around......

From the opening scene of a Fourth of July parade all the way to the end, it really shows what happened before and after the war. One of the rare Vietnam war films that is really worth watching. Although my father was not actually in combat, but in another part of the army, his friends were. From all his stories to this film in particular, I can see how these veterns came back to a country that ultimatly turned against them and their struggles to just keep going.

Ollie does it again!

War is hell, but this movie is torture. Non actor Cruise whines, bellyaches and bitches and moans about Vietnam AFTER he enlists!Sure, he winds up paralyzed, but so did thousands of other vets. Another "agenda driven" piece of leftist, anti American drivel by Oliver Stone. Lets face it, this guy just hates America, period.A major slap in the face to every veteran who served in any war. This is the kind of propaganda that captured GIs were forced to watch while they were "guests" at the "Hanoi Hilton". The only thing missing from this so-called film is Jane Fonda. Maybe someone should make a real movie about paralyzed veterans and how they were proud to serve their country, and show us the REAL way the left wingers treated them when they got home.I also object to the word "liberal" being used to describe Stone.A liberal is traditionally a person who looks t all the issues wit\th an open mind before he {or she} forms a conclusion.Stone is just a far left winger. Did he ever make an objective -or open minded film? it's all just propaganda. PS-Ron kovic was born on the 5th. of July.My rating-zero stars.

Dramatization of Ron Kovic's life struggle. Impassioned and heart felt performance from Tom Cruise

This is a wonderful film. It captures and encapsulates the viewer in it's depiction of one man's life torn apart in turn becoming a metaphor for a broken nation. The crippling of Ron Kovic was a mirror to the crippling of the United States of America because of the Vetinam war. A country divided and a young mind changed forever in it's on going struggle to understand the insanity and horror of war.Tom Cruise gives the performance of his career as Ron kovic going from shy, high school all American kid to wheelchair bound Vietnam veteran. His transformation, downward spiral and consequent salvation are handled with masterful strokes by Oliver Stone. He himself a Vietnam veteran, was able to capture the disbelief and feelings of betrayal from the wounded and crippled soldiers as they returned from a war with no basis or grounds to a country that gave no hero's welcome. The fire of their rage only fueled by the apathetic Nixon administration calling upon it's "silent majority" to endorse his war tactics whilst ignoring the cry of the returning soldiers.As a film it strays somewhat from the book it was based on and there are events depicted that were completely fabricated but overall the feeling of innocence lost come across well. The low and tight camera angles used to heighten the claustrophobia when Ron returns home in his wheelchair is a clever cinematic devise. The performance of the actors in this film are believable and true to the area the story is set in.I urge people to read Ron Kovic's book as well as seeing this film. They are both important topical, period pieces of the late 60's, early 70's Vietnam era in America.

One of Stone's best pictures

Tom Cruise was terrific in this film. Born on the Fourth of July was a pretty good movie, and very moving. Terrific performances by all the cast. Of course, especially by Cruise.This must be one of Oliver Stone's best pictures. I enjoyed watching this film, and I will enjoy it even more the next time I watch it. If you haven't yet to see this film, you should go rent it because it's a very good film with good performances.

"Like it or leave it"

Born On The Fourth of July starts out with a young Ron Kovic being very positive about war, doing the right thing, and believing in his country. Very gradually all of his beliefs fade away once he is shot in Vietnam, and is paralyzed, having to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He realizes all the things he's lost because he tried to be a hero, and all the emotional torment he gained because of innocent people he killed.Born On The Fourth of July can be viewed as an anti-war film, but it's mostly about Ron Kovic's struggles dealing with a country that lied to him, being in a wheelchair, having his voice heard, and being redeemed.This is easily Tom Cruise's best performance yet and one of the best movies dealing with the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Oliver Stone proves how great of a director he still is, even after greats like Platoon, Wall Street and Talk Radio. The musical score by John Williams is also incredible, and fits in well with the movie. It's probably one of the best scores I've ever heard.Not everyone will love this movie as much as I do, but you can like it or leave it.My rating: 10/10

Modern American Film At Its Best

Amazing direction (Oliver Stone), amazing acting (Tom Cruise, et al.), and amazing story (Ron Kovic and the United States military during the Viet Nam war). This alone sums up Born On The Fourth Of July, a modern classic. May it always be remembered as a great film. Its stunning look at the Viet Nam War and social and political aftermath through the life of one person, played by Tom Cruise, must go down in cinematic history. May writers, directors, and actors in this country forever have the courage to make films with such passion and such heart. Watch it. Watch it with your children (older ones). Watch it with your parents. Watch it in your classrooms. It will leave your soul searching searching. America is the greatest country on the face of the Earth, and one of the reasons is because we have the ability to revisit, question, and atone our past like this film does.

What was anyone thinking? Is garbage the new excellence peak?

What is everyone thinking that praises this movie as an outstanding masterpiece? This was not some great movie about the GREAT Americans, weither Stone meant it to be or not I'll tell you what this movie was about. This movie was about some trigger-happy war loving kid who wanted nothing more than to defend his country, without even looking into it he goes to 'see some action' and then, after he gets paralized and realizes that his life doesn't mean anything he starts to get mad. But who does he get mad at? Not himself. He gets mad because people 'lied' to him... the answers were there if he would have looked for them. Instead he's wheeling around for the whole movie feeling sorry for himself and expecting someone to give him a helping hand when it's his own fault. No one MADE him go to war. No one MADE him take that second bullet. And instead of getting on with his life and accepting that HE made a mistake he expects people to feel sorry for himself. His friend offers him a legit job and he pretty much spits it in his face. And where does this climax [that takes WAY too long] end up? With him going out to make a speech that we never hear. This movie is a far cry from being anything close to outstanding, and unless Stone was going for what I've said in this review than he failed miserably much like some of his other pictures.

the first realistic American war movie I've seen in a long time.

Warning: potential spoilers ahead.Finally. Finally. Finally an American war movie that doesn't glorify America trying to rule the earth. Finally.Vietnam was a mistake. This film nails it. (Finally.)Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic, a crippled Vietnam veteran. Yes, the thought is shocking. But I was surprised. He was quite good, though limited by his squeaky, whiny, boyish voice. He by all means deserved the oscar nomination he received, but of course lost the award to Daniel Day-Lewis (as Cristy Brown in My Left Foot; in my opinion, one of the most beautiful performances in cinematic history).Willem Dafoe was brilliant, but unfortunately didn't get enough screen time.It also helps that I agree with Ron Kovic's views. But I also found the direction quite good. All the spinning camera angles...wavering...confused...illustrate the horrors and insanities of war beautifully.I do not find this film insulting to the American men who died in Vietnam, but of course I'm not a war-crazed redneck. Anyway, the men who fought were young, filled with romanticized views and dreams about fame and glory associated with going to war. Young men deceived by the government, told that they were fighting for a good cause, to stop Communism, to fight for their country.Overall, a good film, with a good message, and good out-look on war. Outstanding for an American film.

No Time To Breathe

To me, "Born On The Fourth Of July" is the type of war movie that most people "like." Sadly, it's also the type of war movie that is instantly forgettable... there wasn't a single image, scene, or revelation substantial enough to leave an indelible mark on me. That said, the film is competent in every way, but pales in comparison to Oliver Stone's own Vietnam movie "Platoon." Made back when Tom Cruise was taking roles that seemed to parallel his own struggles in life (masculinity, religion, adulthood), the movie tells the true story of paralyzed Vietnam vet Ron Kovic who makes the journey from gung-ho, flag-waving Marine to embittered, paralyzed anti-war spokesman. It's a metaphor perhaps for America's own transition from self-righteous world guardian to humbled victim, yet the changes in Kovic never seem to go deeper than the surface; the movie's like a slightly darker version of "Forrest Gump." Okay, I'm being too harsh again- nothing's as bad as "Forrest Gump"- but a movie that tackles this subject matter is almost obligated to take you to the darkest extremes of the nightmares of war and it's aftermaths... I never worried about the Ron Kovic character- not as a teen, not in 'nam, and certainly not after his return the States as the poster boy for the folly of combat. I never sensed real danger, possibly because he never got a chance to breathe.Maybe the blame here has to go to script: there are so many plot points to hit along a carefully-crafted storyline that you never get to indulge in a human moment in which the actors transcend the words on paper. Ron can't have a real scene with the great Willem Dafoe because he has to rush to a hooker, and before we can appreciate her night of sexual healing Ron has to be humiliated for wanting to see her again, and then he's off to the desert for a wheelchair battle with his mirror image. It's like a road trip where you drive so fast you never get to SEE anything.If the movie makes even one person question the wisdom of war and the lives it consumes then I'll have to consider it a success, but if you haven't seen "Paths of Glory," "Full Metal Jacket," or "Platoon," you need to go do that.Right now.GRADE: C