Born On The Fourth Of July DVD Review

"People say that if you don't love America, then get the hell out..."

Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) is the second instalment of Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy that began with Platoon (1986) and concluded with Heaven & Earth (1993). These films continue his obsession with the ideals and politics of the sixties and seventies that has spilled over into many other works of his including JFK (1991) and Nixon (1995).

Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic, a "Yankee Doodle Dandy" all-american marine who becomes a staunch anti-war activist after his experiences in Vietnam and his government's questionable treatment of their returning soldiers. After accidentally killing a fellow marine during combat and is then himself shot and wounded, he returns home not to find the hero's welcome he was expecting. His beliefs in his "honor, duty and sacrifice" to his country are also tested by both his former sweetheart, who is now an activist and one of his war buddies, Timmy, who is also having similar problems.

This was a project that had been long in development - since the late seventies when it had Al Pacino attached to it - and it was not until ten years later that the combined star power of Stone and Cruise made it a reality. Cruise probably gives his finest performance as Kovic. Starting out as a character only one step removed from those of Risky Business or All The Right Moves, Cruise breaks the role down and slowly turns it inside out. The Kovic we see in the veterans hospital is a bitter man, desperate for the help he will never get. When he returns to the family home in Massapequa he tries to fit into his old life, but the visit from Timmy and attending Donna's rally help to turn him into an American ashamed of his own country. Mexico is his lowest point but it is also a turning point. The final scenes are amongst the most powerful as we see an almost different Kovic, one who is empowered by the truth and the strength of his own conviction.


Despite admirable attempts by all involved the film doesn't quite succeed in its intentions. Stone, bouyed by his incredible success with Platoon, provides an impressive entertainment that moves at a clipping pace, but on closer inspection it appears that he has severly castrated Kovic's story into a more digestible running time. There are several jarring cuts in the film that have been designed for effect but merely frustrate the audience with missing backstory. Stone has never been a particularly subtle filmmaker and this film is one of the more obvious examples of that. He even undermines one of the most important lines: "I had a dream Ronnie" but unnecessarily repeating it at the penultimate moment. Stone's biggest flaw is to allow John Williams the opportunity to play his overwrought and manipulative games with the audience. Williams is capable of a strong, appropriate score - but this is not one of them. Every important moment in the film is udermined with the same, brash, emotive score.

The Special Edition DVD has a solid transfer with a nice expansive DTS sound track. The extras are a fine commentary by director Stone and an above average featurette Backstory (21m) with Bryant Gumbel.