Vietnam War film

This article lists notable films related to the Vietnam War.

In film, people are able to portray people and events to fit the needs of the audience and the intended purpose of the film. However, it is also noted how certain people/communities may be biased for their perspective of said film. According to a study by Martin Novelli, the depictions of the Vietnamese in American war films is often negatively stereotyped. Vietnamese civilians are usually shown as passive victims, prostitutes, or conniving with the enemy, while North Vietnamese or NLF guerilla fighters are frequently drawn as cruel torturers or effeminate cowards, and the ARVN are described as incompetent. In addition, many relevant facts concerning the conception of the war, or America’s subsequent acknowledgement of how the war was a mistake were not properly addressed. Instead, filmmakers focused more on the themes of war compared with educating the populace with hard facts.

In Walsh and Louvre's opinion, "the ideology of such films speaks of several basic and widespread public attitudes towards the war".

Donna Alvah reported that students writing an introductory essay on the war often reflect the perception shared by most Americans born after the war. According to Alvah, students' conceptions of the Vietnam War are "largely gleaned from movies, documentaries, music, and .. relatives who served in the war, or who in any case hold strong opinions about it."

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, there was an increase in American films that were more "raw", containing actual battle footage. A FilmReference.com article noted that American filmmakers "appeared more confident to put Vietnam combat on screen for the first time" during that era. These American post-war film representations have generally been more realistic and , such as The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

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