Born on the Fourth of July

• Cat.no: PLFEC 36451
• Cert: 18
• Running time: 139 minutes
• Sides: 3 (2 CLV/1 CAV)
• Year: 1988
• Pressing: UK, 1997
• Chapters : 32 (13/13/6)
• Sound: Dolby Surround
• Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
• Price: £29.99
• Extras : None
  

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  Director:

  Oliver Stone

  (JFK, Natural Born Killers)

Cast:

Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire, Far and Away, Days of Thunder, Mission: Impossible)
Kyra Sedgwick (Something To Talk About, Singles, Heart And Souls)
Raymond J. Barry (Sudden Death, Dead Man Walking)
Willem Dafoe (Platoon, Wild At Heart, The Last Temptation Of Christ, Speed 2, Clear and Present Danger)
Jerry Levine
Frank Whaley (Broken Arrow, The Doors, Platoon)
Caroline Kava
Lili Taylor (The Addiction, Ransom, I Shot Andy Warhol)

Oliver Stone‘ssecond Vietnam movie is based on Ron Kovic‘s eponymousand autobiographical book about both Kovic’s experiences in that war andhis subsequent shift in political viewpoint following his return. Koviccame back from Vietnam paralysed from the waist down – and effectivelycastrated. Stone’s casting of that symbol of American machismo TomCruise is therefore a masterstroke, with the actor giving as good as hegets in one of his all-too-rare, superlative performances.

Kovic belongs to a “good” family, where Catholicism is used to justifysocial mores. His mother on the one hand vilifies him for readingPlayboy and on the other explains that it’s God’s will for teenage Ronto join the Marines. Yet the War not only ruins the rest of his ownlife, but ultimately turns him against the State – and indeed the familyunit that endorsed it – that sent him off to fight. Worthy themes, nodoubt, but BO4J is an incredibly manipulative piece of film making,piling the emotion (and John Williams’ haunting if overly repetitive musicalmotif) on thick as and when required, quite possibly in a bidfor whatever Oscars were going begging. (Sure enough, Cruise won one forBest Actor.)

Somehow, it never quite gets to grips with the real injustices at hand.Kovic’s final triumph as a successful anti-Vietnam War speaker gives theuneasy feeling that the film is taking the easy way out by endorsing theAmerican Dream that if you try hard enough, you will eventually succeed,no matter what the obstacles. Perhaps a more downbeat ending would havebeen more effective (but won less Oscars).

Nor is Pioneer’s PAL disc without its problems. Central to the film isthe sequence under fire in Vietnam where Kovic is convinced he’s justshot one of his own men. (Later, in coming to terms with inner demons,he visits the dead man’s family in one of the finest scenes in the film,here presented on side three’s CAV.) This incident takes place in a sortof orange haze which (whether for reasons of poor source print or sloppytransfer is unclear) just doesn’t look that good here – and that tendsto mar the remainder of the proceedings. A pity, because two side breaksand chaptering (thirty two over three sides) are both well chosen, whileside three’s CAV features night riot scenes and Kovic’s closing rallyspeech.

If almost a decade later, BO4J remains a fascinating (if heavily flawed)film, anyone considering buying this disc should be warned it doesn’treally do the film justice. A great shame.

Film: 4/5
Picture: 3/5
Sound: 5/5