American Experience: Return With Honor

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the running time on the box
Review: The box of the dvd (and the video do I guess) says this runs about 113 minutes. But really this runs 103 minutes. And if you are a big Tom Hanks fan, and rexpected to see him a whole lot in this film, you will be disappointed. He only makes one apperance in the movie, and that is in the beginning. On the front you see Thumbs up from Roger Ebert from then Roger Ebert and the Movies (now called Ebert-Roper and the movies). I just check at the website and Eber reviewed this with somebody named Norman Mark, and they both gave this two thumbs up. But I believed that the person who he did it with didn't liked it. Because I only saw Thumbs up from Roger Ebert. Looks like this was aired at one time on PBS and now you can buy it on video or dvd. So do you self some good and watch this film, whether or not you are a vertan of war.

Rating:
Summary: Real Story of the Hanoi Hilton
Review: The definitive documentary about life inside the notoriously brutal POW camps of North Vietnam - told by the American servicemen who lived it. Extraordinary historical footage combined with the reflections of the men some 25 years later makes this a compelling film. You will be inspired by their courage, touched by their humanity and confessions of weakness and fear, and then re-inspired by their enduring loyalty to each other. Kept in solitary, tortured, and forbidden to communicate with each other, it is a wonder they survived. Amazingly you learn how they did develop ways to cope and communicate, such as by using a "tap code" on the walls to communicate with men in adjoining cells. As one ex-prisoner puts it, some nights we had the Hanoi Hilton "sounding like a den of runaway woodpeckers." This remark is typical of the reflections you hear from the ex-prisoners. The men are never bitter, despite the fact they've been through a living hell. They are never pedantic and anxious to tell what great life lessons they've learned from the experience. They simply tell their story. Their wit and humor keeps Return With Honor from ever becoming akin to a depressing war move. Regardless of political opinion about the Vietnam conflict, almost every viewer will come away with an admiration for these Air Force and Navy officers who scarified so much in service to their country.

Rating:
Summary: Light on Past Darkness
Review: The war *I* lived, safe here at home, critical of our involvement, was not the war fought by the men and families in this remarkable video. This is unlike any similar effort I have ever seen, and contains terror, humor, ethical struggle, and bravery; it shines a different light on that time. When it was over, I had to search out my POW/MIA bracelet that I wore for almost three years, and remember the moment "my" pilot came home again. I'll watch this video again, and again. . .when I am able, after some recovery time. Thanks to those with the vision to make it, and those who managed to live it.

Rating:
Summary: Best Documentary Ever!
Review: This Documentary tells an amazing story RIGHT from the POW's point of view. From being the Top Gun Naval Aviators with awesome superiority in the sky to helpless Prisoners... These men survived a great deal of torture, interigation, and much more. This Documentary gives you all the facts, including how they were tortured, how they communicated, and eventually... how they were freed. These men had everything taken from them, except for the only thing that mattered: Dignity. I recommend "Return with Honor" by Tom Hanks to ANYONE. --- Video and Sound are both, in my opinion, 5 star DVD quality!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Piece of Work
Review: This goes beyond just telling about the pilots and sailor who were captured and held as POWs in the Hanoi Hilton, it shows how the North viewed these men. The film footage used in this movie from Viet Nam's own files is incredable as you watch the men being parading in front of crowds with the crowds scaring even the NVA soilders. I really felt like I had a better understanding as the men told their stories as their captor's pictures show it as it happens. No Hanks or Stone here. This is as it happened, with the only lens being the camara, not a writer's or a director's.

Rating:
Summary: Best Documentary Ever!
Review: This is one of the best documentaries ever. I'm not a "war person," but this movie gave me a profound respect for what happened during the Vietnam War, and the power patriotism can inspire--and did inspire on both sides--and the immense strength of human spirits. Not having been yet born during the War, this film contained loads of footage I'd never seen. I felt it gave a compassionate and haunting look into the brutalities that happened. Words can't fully describe what each person is likely to experience watching this film.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best documentaries I've seen
Review: This is one of the best documentaries ever. I'm not a "war person," but this movie gave me a profound respect for what happened during the Vietnam War, and the power patriotism can inspire--and did inspire on both sides--and the immense strength of human spirits. Not having been yet born during the War, this film contained loads of footage I'd never seen. I felt it gave a compassionate and haunting look into the brutalities that happened. Words can't fully describe what each person is likely to experience watching this film.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing film!
Review: This movie does an excellent job at telling the story of the brutality the American prisoners suffered in the hands of the North Vietnamese during their captivity in the Vietnam War. The interviews of many of the more well-known prisoners is a great first hand account of their daily lives, and the actual footage and photos shown of them is very interesting. This is a very very well-made film and I think it's great for anyone interested in the topic, or anyone who has not known much about it. The Americans there made huge sacrifices and faced death. They truly deserve the highest honor for their struggle, and this film is a testament to that.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best television I've ever seen...
Review: This piece is incredible. I caught it on PBS during one Memorial Day weekend a few years ago and was spellbound. I taped it onto VHS and watch it several times a year. It is an incredibly powerful documentary--the best television I've ever seen (thank goodness it's on DVD now as well).

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best television I've ever seen...
Review: This piece is incredible. I caught it on PBS during one Memorial Day weekend a few years ago and was spellbound. I taped it onto VHS and watch it several times a year. It is an incredibly powerful documentary--the best television I've ever seen (thank goodness it's on DVD now as well).