The Vietnam War had an unprecedented impact on the development of modern filmmaking. The war itself occurred during a downward spiral for major studios, as the luster of the "Golden Age of ...

Military history professor Bill Allison rates more Vietnam War movies, such as "Forrest Gump ... and the nighttime attacks of the Tet Offensive in "Full Metal Jacket" (1987).

With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem's untested regime in the south.