1 comments about Fireworks - A Colorful Display of Light and Sound.

1. The video quality is great ... but, the sound will not play on my Region 1 DVD. Goes against Amazon's desire for Region 1 play OR advertised otherwise.

3 comments about Goodbye Miss 4th Of July.

1. This is one of my favorite movies. It is filled with such emotion and it typical of what I like to call "warm-fuzzy" movies. It is clean and a film that would be safe for older children. It is not for little children, because it deals with more adult subjects, but great for probably 8 and above.



2. This shocking but touching Disney film is based on the Christopher G. Janus novel Miss 4th of July,Goodbye is a reminder of other books and films such as"The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Color Purple". Niki(Roxana Zal),a 17 year old girl, has immigrated with her parents from war torn Greece to a small town set in 1917 Montgomery West Virginia near Charleston around WW1.In their new home where the Ku Klux Klan thrives,Niki is apauled by the way the Klan treats certain people because of their ethnic,racial and religious differences.When she tries to befriends some African-Americans,the Klan brutally harasses both she and her family.She refuses to quit with friends at her aid and vows to stop the bigotry,racism and hatred that's representative of the minority of the townspeople.This movie also deals with a severe influenza epidemic that hits town which Niki courageously assists the ill and dying during that crises.Through all this because of her unselfish deeds to the community, she wins the coveted title"Miss 4th of July".This film has an excellent cast,Starring Roxana Zal, Lou Gossett Jr who portrays the character "Big John Creed" and sings superbly in the film "How Great Though Art",Chris Sarandon,Conchata Ferrell,Chynna Phillips and Chantal Contouri.It's a beautiful masterpiece against bigotry and hatred that's very well worth watching!!



3. We just picked this movie up kind of by accident at the movie rental store, but it was excellent. It's a very beautiful story with some significant ideas and a great portrait of the World War I era.

5 comments about Born on the Fourth of July.

1. How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.
   
   Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.
   
   This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.
   
   Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.
   
   It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.
   
   Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.
   
   A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.
   
   This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.



2. Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...
   
   The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...
   
   Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...
   
   Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...
   
   The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...
   
   Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...
   
   Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...
   
   If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...



3. To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
   This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
   If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
   Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.



4. Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.
   
   Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.
   
   This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.



5. Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

5 comments about Born on the Fourth of July.

1. How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.
   
   Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.
   
   This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.
   
   Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.
   
   It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.
   
   Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.
   
   A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.
   
   This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.



2. Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...
   
   The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...
   
   Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...
   
   Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...
   
   The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...
   
   Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...
   
   Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...
   
   If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...



3. To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
   This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
   If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
   Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.



4. Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.
   
   Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.
   
   This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.



5. Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

3 comments about Liberty's Kids - The First Fourth of July (Vol. 3).

1. .....but the DVD collections turned out to be horribly disappointing. My rating is not directed at the show. It is directed at the DVD series itself. Someone really dropped the ball on what could have been a fabulous dvd collection.
   
   So far there are Volumes 1, 2 & 3. Each volume includes five "playing cards" of George Washington, Phyllis Wheatly, Abigail Adams, John Paul Jones & Ben Franklin. This is a fabulous idea..BUT the problem is that the five playing cards are all the same in each volume. So now my daughter has three sets of the same cards. This makes absolutely no sense...
   
   As far as the episodes, each DVD Volume includes three episode but the episodes are not set up the way they are on television. The episodes cut out the "Liberty News", "Now & Then" & "Continental Cartoons". Not having them including in each episode takes away from the show. Instead of having them in the show the way they should be, they are included as bonus features.....And the Continental Cartoons segment where you "Guess This Person". You have to use the DVD remote to access the three clues....But the problem I am having is this "game" doesn't work correctly and out of the three clues, I can only access the first one. Leaving the other two clues inaccessible.....?
   
   VOLUME 1 - The Boston Tea Party (The Movie)
   
   This DVD included episodes The Boston Tea Party, The Intolerable Act & Shot Heard Round the World. There is no "closing credits" to the first episode, no "intro & closing credits" to the second episode and no "intro" to the third episode. All three episodes run together like a "movie". And of course do not include the Continental Cartoons, Liberty News & Now & Then.
   
   VOLUME 2 - Give Me Liberty
   
   This DVD includes episodes Liberty or Death, Common Sense & Not Yet Begun To Fight. These episodes were not set up like a "movie" such as the first volume. And each episode actually has the introduction and closing credits for all three episodes. But or course it lacks the Continental Cartoons, Liberty News & Now & Then.
   
   VOLUME 3 - The First Fourth of July
   
   This dvd includes The First Fourth of July, New York, New York & One Life To Live. All episodes are set up the same way as Volume 2. But the problem with Volume 3 is that somewhere between Volume 2 & Volume 3, other Liberty's Kids episodes are missing. I have no idea how many they skipped going from Volume 2 to Volume 3. That BIG flaw prompted me to write a review of this DVD collection...For Shame DIC. The Liberty's Kids series deserves far better then what you have done with it in the DVD collection...
   
   General Mills cerel came with a free DVD of two Liberty's Kids episodes. The Midnight Ride & The Turtle. BOTH of these episodes were issued on the DVD the way that they were televised on TV. Both episodes had the Continental Cartoons, Liberty's News & Now & Then. Which should have been the case with these volumes but was not. Where is the COMMON SENSE DIC.



2. Liberty's Kids is a good show. It's telling you what it would be like liveing in the 1700's .The first DVD is telling you about 'the shot heard 'round the world' , the Boston Tea Party,and The Intolerable Acts. The second DVD is about 'Common Sense'(by Thomas Paine ), also the battle between The Serapis and John Paul Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard and also his famous saying ''I have not begun to fight'', and Patrick Henry's Speech ''Give me liberty or give me death''.The third DVD is talking about the Declaration of Independence ,also Nathan Hale's speech ''I only regret that I have but one life to loose for my country'',and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.



3. Why is A 60-minute DVD $40 ?? Liberty's Kids are great! Make these available to the masses -same as aired in television saturday mornings- at a reasonable cost- so that our families may enjoy them! Soon!!
   
   Amendment 10/06: These can now be found inexpensively. Highly recommended, excellent and easy way for children to learn History by all-star character voice actors.

3 comments about Liberty's Kids - The First Fourth of July.

1. .....but the DVD collections turned out to be horribly disappointing. My rating is not directed at the show. It is directed at the DVD series itself. Someone really dropped the ball on what could have been a fabulous dvd collection.
   
   So far there are Volumes 1, 2 & 3. Each volume includes five "playing cards" of George Washington, Phyllis Wheatly, Abigail Adams, John Paul Jones & Ben Franklin. This is a fabulous idea..BUT the problem is that the five playing cards are all the same in each volume. So now my daughter has three sets of the same cards. This makes absolutely no sense...
   
   As far as the episodes, each DVD Volume includes three episode but the episodes are not set up the way they are on television. The episodes cut out the "Liberty News", "Now & Then" & "Continental Cartoons". Not having them including in each episode takes away from the show. Instead of having them in the show the way they should be, they are included as bonus features.....And the Continental Cartoons segment where you "Guess This Person". You have to use the DVD remote to access the three clues....But the problem I am having is this "game" doesn't work correctly and out of the three clues, I can only access the first one. Leaving the other two clues inaccessible.....?
   
   VOLUME 1 - The Boston Tea Party (The Movie)
   
   This DVD included episodes The Boston Tea Party, The Intolerable Act & Shot Heard Round the World. There is no "closing credits" to the first episode, no "intro & closing credits" to the second episode and no "intro" to the third episode. All three episodes run together like a "movie". And of course do not include the Continental Cartoons, Liberty News & Now & Then.
   
   VOLUME 2 - Give Me Liberty
   
   This DVD includes episodes Liberty or Death, Common Sense & Not Yet Begun To Fight. These episodes were not set up like a "movie" such as the first volume. And each episode actually has the introduction and closing credits for all three episodes. But or course it lacks the Continental Cartoons, Liberty News & Now & Then.
   
   VOLUME 3 - The First Fourth of July
   
   This dvd includes The First Fourth of July, New York, New York & One Life To Live. All episodes are set up the same way as Volume 2. But the problem with Volume 3 is that somewhere between Volume 2 & Volume 3, other Liberty's Kids episodes are missing. I have no idea how many they skipped going from Volume 2 to Volume 3. That BIG flaw prompted me to write a review of this DVD collection...For Shame DIC. The Liberty's Kids series deserves far better then what you have done with it in the DVD collection...
   
   General Mills cerel came with a free DVD of two Liberty's Kids episodes. The Midnight Ride & The Turtle. BOTH of these episodes were issued on the DVD the way that they were televised on TV. Both episodes had the Continental Cartoons, Liberty's News & Now & Then. Which should have been the case with these volumes but was not. Where is the COMMON SENSE DIC.



2. Liberty's Kids is a good show. It's telling you what it would be like liveing in the 1700's .The first DVD is telling you about 'the shot heard 'round the world' , the Boston Tea Party,and The Intolerable Acts. The second DVD is about 'Common Sense'(by Thomas Paine ), also the battle between The Serapis and John Paul Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard and also his famous saying ''I have not begun to fight'', and Patrick Henry's Speech ''Give me liberty or give me death''.The third DVD is talking about the Declaration of Independence ,also Nathan Hale's speech ''I only regret that I have but one life to loose for my country'',and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.



3. Why is A 60-minute DVD $40 ?? Liberty's Kids are great! Make these available to the masses -same as aired in television saturday mornings- at a reasonable cost- so that our families may enjoy them! Soon!!
   
   Amendment 10/06: These can now be found inexpensively. Highly recommended, excellent and easy way for children to learn History by all-star character voice actors.

5 comments about Statler Brothers - 4th of July Celebration.

1. This is a wonderful performance, as usual, by the Statler Brothers. Got one for myself and one for my son-in-law for his birthday. We all love it.



2. This DVD is compiled of a visit to the countryside of West Virginia followed by an outdoor 4th of July concert. Hosted by The Nashville Network's "Crook and Chase" gives the disk a lively yet monotonous atmosphere. The outdoor concert has terrible video quality...in fact on some shots one can hardly make out the picture. The song selection is an excellent choice of Statler Brothers gold. I seriously doubt that we will ever witness a quartet like the Statlers again. Their vocal range is as pure and impeccable as ever with soul touching lyrics that generates continual applause from the large audience. Although the audio quality is very good, I must admit disappointment in this production. The Statlers had some excellent production in their last TV series. A compilation of these hits under a better production would have been much better value. Maybe next time?



3. I have been to the Happy Birthday celebration and it was held in Staunton, Virginia, not WEST Virginia as the first poster stated.



4. We miss seeing our own Virginians, The Statler Brothers, since they retired from the road. We never attended one of their July 4th events, so finding this DVD was a real treat. It takes you back to a nicer time - 1989 - as thousands of fans from all over the world met in Gypsy Hill Park at Staunton, Virginia for a FREE CONCERT given for charity by these hometown boys. It includes video excerpts of the parade in town, a visit to Harold's homeplace, a tour of their world headquarters, and the wonderful concert in the park. A really nice homey video and always, good music..



5. This is an awesome video. I just love the Statler Brothers! The video was in great condition and I am sure that I will watch it over & over!
   THANKS!

5 comments about The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection (Salvador / Platoon / Wall Street / Talk Radio / Born on the Fourth of July / JFK Director's Cut / The Doors / Heaven and Earth / Natural Born Killers / Nixon / U-Turn / Any Given Sunday Director's Cut).

1. All great movies, but I couldn't help but notice that every time I try to eject the JFK Director's Cut DVD, the disc pops out of the DVD player and then makes an unexpected move back and to the left.



2. This DVD set consists of one outer and two inner Boxes, each has 4 glassy DVD case, 3 double, 1 single. DVDs are not indipendent in this set, so if you want to buy it used, beware of the condition of the box. some movies like "THE DOORS" and "Nixon" are originnaly two discs editions but only first discs are included in this dvd set and worse is, there is a word "disc 1" printed of them which indicates that these are the first DVDs of a 2 disc set and that makes you feel there is something crude about this box set! and there is something really crude!
   the quality of boxes and print is low. outer box could easily be damaged or worn and it's very loose. it's not a good deal, specially at the price of 116 dollars!



3. Are you kidding me ???Where can you get 13 GREAT movies and EXTRAS for this price?? I cant believe people that find fault with a set containing so much for so little!!!!Each of these movies is highly entertaining in its own way. A diversified group of films you'll never find in a single collection!!!!I cant believe this doesnt cost$150 or more!!!



4. This filmmaking collection is almost perfect, but not quite superior to, the previous Oliver Stone collection that was released. All of his directorial efforts starting with Salvador are included, and they are packaged similar to the way television series dvd sets are packaged (like Grey's Anatomy and Lost), with two overlapping discs per side of the package. Platoon is the special edition that was released by MGM/UA many years back, it is not the most recent special edition. Salvador, Wall Street, and Talk Radio are all the single disc special editions that are available separately. Born On The Fourth of July is the remastered version that was released not too long ago (picture is vastly improved with more natural hues and tones). The Doors, JFK, Nixon, and Any Given Sunday are separately available as two-disc editions and only the first discs of each (basically only the movie) are available in this set. Heaven and Earth and U-Turn are the same as what is available separately, and finally Natural Born Killers is the RATED version of the film, not the Unrated released by Trimark. The picture is much better than the Trimark Unrated release of the film but it is missing up to three minutes of footage needed to achieve an R rating. The NBK disc does include deleted scenes, commentary, and a theatrical trailer. I'm not sure why Warner Bros doesn't release the Unrated version since it does with all of its other films (except for Eyes Wide Shut, I suppose) but whatever. The extra disc on this set includes Stone's recent documentaries Persona Non Grata and Looking For Fidel. It does not included Comandante which is still not available in this country (you can get a Region 2 copy on Amazon.co.uk but you'll need a region free player to play it). There is also a little blurb about Alexander included. Oh, and the documentary Oliver Stone's America is also included including the full version of his student film Last Year In Vietnam. So, all in all this is a great buy. If you really end up wanting the two-disc editions of some of the films after you watch them, you can always buy them later. If you buy this, Alexander (either or both versions), and his upcoming World Trade Center, you will own almost all of Oliver Stone's directorial efforts for a pretty cheap price all things considered. Enjoy!



5. I'll keep this short and sweet, as most of you have already touched on this before me. None of the 2 disc sets include their second disc. That means collectors like me basically had to repurchase the DVDs if they wanted any supplemental material included with their fave flicks. I found this to be a bit of a money waster, and basically an expensive way to purchase the Stone documentaries, that as far as I know, can only be found here. I'd have rather just paid 20 bucks for them on a seperate DVD, however.
   
   I do have a question for owners of this set:
   
   Have any of you ever experienced small purple and green bars on both sides of the image during the entire playback of JFK? I'm trying to find out if it's just my disc, or if this is a common issue with the set.

2 comments about Born on the Fourth of July [HD DVD].

1. I like this movie! Born on the Fourth of July was written in Santa Monica, California during the fall of 1974 in exactly one month, three weeks and two days. It tells the story of Kovic's life growing up in Massapequa, New York, joining the Marines going to Vietnam, getting shot, finding himself wheelchair bound, and eventually starting a new life as an anti-war activist.



2. Born on the Fourth of July is based on the life of Ron Kovic. A Veitnam vetran. Starts with his childhood and the mindset of many in that generation. After he nearly looses his life in action, he returns to America after loosing the use of his legs. Showing the terrible conditions of the military health care, and the treatment many soldiers were subjected to on their return home. Showing his transformation into an anti-war leader in the process.
   
   Also shows the resistance that mainstream America had for the "Hippy" generation.
   
   This is a great drama. Not a feel good movie. Good dramas rarely are.
   
   The picture is the best availible. I would say it is best that can be achieved with the source material. This film was made to show the times as if you were watching him through a camera of that decade. So, needless to say, it wont compare to Blade Runner. But it wasn't supposed to. Just as Saving Private Ryan was filmed. Though not that washed out. Colors are very vivid, bright and sharp. Super clean, and free of dirt and scatches on the film itself. Great restoration. Blacks are nice and hold true.
   
   Sound was good, not much more than that. Voices were very clear. As was the music score. There is not that much action in the movie, so don't expect Platoon. Worth buying if you love a good drama. Very depressing, but great movie.

5 comments about Born on the Fourth of July (Special Edition).

1. How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.
   
   Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.
   
   This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.
   
   Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.
   
   It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.
   
   Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.
   
   A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.
   
   This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.



2. Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...
   
   The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...
   
   Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...
   
   Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...
   
   The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...
   
   Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...
   
   Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...
   
   If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...



3. To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
   This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
   If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
   Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.



4. Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.
   
   Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.
   
   This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.



5. Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.