40 Documentary films about the Vietnam War

The Anderson Platoon is a documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War, named after the leader of the platoon - Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson - with which Schoendeorffer was embedded. Two decades later, a sequel was released as Reminiscence.

Battlefield is an American documentary series that debuted in 1994 on PBS that explores the most important battles fought primarily during the Second World War and the Vietnam War. The series employs a novel approach in which history is described by detailed accounts of major battles together with background and contextual information. The sixth and final series of the program was broadcast in 2002.

Benefit of the Doubt is a 1967 documentary on Peter Brook's anti-Vietnam protest play, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, known under the title US. It was filmed at London's Aldwych Theatre and features Peter Brook, Michael Kustow, Michael Williams and Glenda Jackson. It was directed by Peter Whitehead.

Between the Lines: The True Story of Surfers and the Vietnam War is a 2008 documentary film that examines the Vietnam War and its effects on the surf culture.

Bomb Harvest is a 2007 documentary film directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski. It explores the consequences of war in Laos as it follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist, training locals in the skill of detonating bombs while trying to stop villagers, particularly children, from finding them and using them for scrap metal.

The Camden 28 is a 2007 documentary film about twenty-eight members of the "Catholic Left" who were arrested in 1971 for attempting to break into and vandalize a draft board in Camden, New Jersey. Because the Camden 28 were not militant and did not plant bombs like the Weathermen, they provided a much greater threat to the U.S. government: the growing religious opposition to the Vietnam war could not be written off as extremist, so they had to be brought down.

Chau, Beyond the Lines is a 2015 American short-documentary film about a 16-year-old disabled by the effects of Agent Orange, who aspires to become an artist and clothing designer. It is directed by Courtney Marsh and produced by Jerry Franck and Marsh.

Daughter from Đà Nẵng is a 2002 documentary film about an Amerasian, Heidi Bub, meeting her biological family in Da Nang, decades after being brought to the United States in 1975 during Operation Babylift at the end of the Vietnam War.

F.T.A. is a 1972 American documentary film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland and directed by Francine Parker, which follows a 1971 anti-Vietnam War road show for GI's, the FTA Show, as it stops in Hawaii, The Philippines, Okinawa, and Japan. It includes highlights from the show, behind the scenes footage, local performers from the countries visited, and interviews and conversations with GIs "as they discuss what they saw in battle, their anger with the military bureaucracy, and their opposition to America's presence in Indochina." Called by Fonda "a spit and a prayer production" it was far from a big budget Hollywood movie, or even a well-funded documentary. While the movie "is raw," it "underscores how infectious the movement of the 60s and 70s was", and chronicles both the Tour itself as well as the soldiers who came to see it and "the local talent of organizers, labor unions and artist/activists" in the countries visited.

A Face of War is a 1968 documentary about the Vietnam War The New York Times called it "one of the great Vietnam documentaries.". The film was produced and directed by Eugene S. Jones a Korean War news photographer who rose to fame alongside his twin brother Charles Jones. The Jones brothers initially worked for the Washington Times-Herald before moving to NBC and traveling to Korea, where they made the first films from jet fighters in combat and the only films of the Inchon landing. Eugene was hired by NBC Special Projects, becoming a Today Show producer in the late 1950s before working on A Face of War.

Far from Vietnam is a 1967 French documentary film directed by Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais.

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara is a 2003 American documentary film about the life and times of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara illustrating his observations of the nature of modern warfare. The film was directed by Errol Morris and features an original score by Philip Glass. The title derives from the military concept of the "fog of war" depicting the difficulty of making decisions in the midst of conflict.

Four Hours in My Lai is a 1989 television documentary made by Yorkshire Television concerning the 1968 My Lai Massacre by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The film includes interviews with soldiers at the massacre, and the later trials of those involved. The programme first broadcast on ITV as part of Yorkshire Television's First Tuesday documentaries. Michael Bilton and Kevin Sim, who created the film, based a book of the same name off the documentary. The book, which is still in print in the United States and the UK, has also been translated and published in Japan. It remains on the reading list around the world of many college and university courses on the Vietnam War.

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a documentary film on U.S. Senator John Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War and his subsequent participation in the peace movement. There is significant emphasis on Kerry's famous speech before a Senate committee, historical footage from the Winter Soldier Investigations, and coverage of the Dewey Canyon III anti-war demonstrations in Washington, D.C. The majority of the film is composed of archival footage, with much of it in the original black-and-white format.

Hearts and Minds is a 1974 American documentary film about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis. The film's title is based on a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson: "the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there". The movie was chosen as the winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 47th Academy Awards presented in 1975.

In the Year of the Pig is an American documentary film directed by Emile de Antonio about American involvement in the Vietnam War. It was released in 1968 while the U.S. was in the middle of its military engagement, and was politically controversial. One year later, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In 1990, Jonathan Rosenbaum characterized the film as "the first and best of the major documentaries about Vietnam".

Into Harm's Way is a 2012 American documentary produced and directed by Jordan Kronick for the Center for Oral History at West Point. The Center's director, noted journalist Todd Brewster, served as the film's Executive Producer. The film features a series of interviews with the members of the West Point Class of 1967 and their experiences during their college career at West Point and later in the Vietnam War.

Introduction to the Enemy is a 1974 American documentary film about Vietnam, filmed and directed by Haskell Wexler. Shot in the spring of 1974 and released before the end of the year, the film examines the human costs of the Vietnam War. The camera follows American actress Jane Fonda and her husband Tom Hayden, already known in their home country for antiwar activism, as they make inquiries regarding the war's effects and legacy among Vietnamese people from all walks of life.

Last Days in Vietnam is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.

Lighter than Orange-The Legacy of Dioxin in Vietnam is a documentary by the Berlin filmmaker Matthias Leupold about the long-term consequences of American warfare in Vietnam. The film was shot in Vietnam in 2012 and has been subtitled in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese and Russian. The film documents stories of Vietnamese veterans and their families who are affected by the gene damage caused by the defoliant Agent Orange. It contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a 1997 German-British-French documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, and premiered on German television. The film was released on DVD in 1998 by Anchor Bay, and on Blu-Ray in 2014 by Shout! Factory as a part of a larger collection of Herzog's films.

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby is a 2011 American documentary film exploring the life and career of former CIA director William Egan Colby.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers is a 2009 documentary film directed by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith. The film follows Daniel Ellsberg and explores the events leading up to the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the top-secret military history of the United States' involvement in Vietnam.

On Two Fronts: Latinos & Vietnam is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary by producer Mylène Moreno of Souvenir Pictures, Inc., which takes a comprehensive look at the Latino experience in both the home-front and the battle grounds during the Vietnam War. The documentary, which aired nationwide on PBS on September 22, 2015, is part of PBS Stories of Service.

The Professional Medical Film (PMF) series was a series of technical motion pictures produced by the U.S. Army from the mid-1940s through the late 1960s. The series covered psychiatric, surgical, and tropical medicine, radiation health effects, and other health topics in an American military medicine context. The intended audience was professional, active duty health care providers.

Regret to Inform is a 1998 American documentary film directed by Barbara Sonneborn. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature,. After airing on PBS' POV, Regret to Inform won a Peabody Award in 2000.

Return with Honor is a 1999 documentary film about U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. Among those profiled is Senator John McCain. It is narrated by Tom Hanks.

Sir! No Sir! is a 2005 documentary by Displaced Films about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. The film was produced, directed, and written by David Zeiger. The film had a theatrical run in 80 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada in 2006, and was broadcast worldwide on: Sundance Channel, Discovery Channel, BBC, ARTE France, ABC Australia, SBC Spain, ZDF Germany, YLE Finland, RT, and several others.

Stolen Honor is a 45-minute anti-John Kerry video documentary that was released during the September 2004 election season. It features interviews with a number of American men who contend they were prisoners of war in North Vietnam and suffered increased maltreatment while prisoners as a direct result of Kerry's Fulbright Hearing testimony in April 1971. The subtitle of the film is Wounds That Never Heal; on the production company's website the complete title is given instead as Stolen Honor: John Kerry's Record of Betrayal. Its name was based on the book Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley.

Street Scenes 1970 is an American documentary directed by Martin Scorsese. It documents two protest rallies against the Vietnam War that took place in May 1970: the Hard Hat Riot on Wall Street in New York City and Kent State/Cambodia Incursion Protest in Washington, D.C. The numerous camera operators do impromptu interviews with the protesters and the spectators. The New York protest turns violent as protesters were attacked by construction workers who supported the war. The Washington protest is peaceful. At the end, Scorsese, Harvey Keitel, Jay Cocks and Verna Bloom discuss the events and the current state of world affairs. Oliver Stone was one of the many camera operators.

Unclaimed is a 2013 Canadian documentary film about a man who claims to be former Special Forces Green Beret Master Sgt. John Hartley Robertson, who was declared dead after being shot down over Laos on a classified mission on 20 May 1968. The documentary is written, directed, and produced by Michael Jorgensen. It follows Tom Faunce, a veteran of the Vietnam War, in tracking down the man who claimed to be Robertson. Faunce was skeptical of Robertson's identity but eventually became convinced. He convinced Jorgensen to make a documentary about Robertson's story as a way to unite the man with his American family.

Vietnam in HD is a 6-part American documentary television miniseries that originally aired from November 8 to November 11, 2011 on the History Channel. From the same producers as WWII in HD, the program focuses on the firsthand experiences of thirteen Americans during the Vietnam War. The thirteen Americans retell their stories in Vietnam paired with found footage from the battlefield.

Vietnam Nurses is a 2005 television documentary directed by Polly Watkins. It tells the story of six Australian Army nurses who served in a field hospital in Vietnam between the years 1962 and 1972.

The Vietnam War is a 10-part American television documentary series about the Vietnam War written by Geoffrey C. Ward and directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. The first episode premiered on PBS on September 17, 2017. The script is by Geoffrey Ward, and the series is narrated by Peter Coyote. This series is one of the few PBS series to carry a TV-MA rating.

Vietnam, Long Time Coming is a 1998 documentary directed by Jerry Blumenthal, Peter Gilbert, and Gordon Quinn and distributed by Kartemquin Films. The film follows a 16-day, 1100 mile bicycle expedition through once war-torn Northern and Southern Vietnam that was organized by World T.E.A.M. Sports. The event drew an array of veterans from the U.S. and Vietnam, as well as celebrity riders like Greg LeMond and Senator John Kerry. Those without use of their legs used special hand-powered bikes, while blind riders pedaled from the back of tandem bikes. Past enemies ride as one team in peace across a landscape they once killed to stay alive on.

Vietnam: The Last Battle is a 1995 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger, and directed by David Munro, which returns to Vietnam nearly twenty years after the Vietnam War had ended to review those two decades.

Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived is a 2008 documentary film by Koji Masutani. It applies what Niall Ferguson of Harvard University has called 'virtual history' to consider what President John F. Kennedy might have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963. The film was unveiled at the 2008 HotDocs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, and its theatrical premiere took place at New York City's Film Forum six weeks before the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

The Wall That Heals is a 1997 documentary film about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial narrated by Louis Gossett, Jr.

The War at Home is a documentary film about the anti-war movement in the Madison, Wisconsin area during the time of the Vietnam War. It combines archival footage and interviews with participants that explore the events of the period on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Winter Soldier is a 1972 documentary film chronicling the Winter Soldier Investigation, which took place in Detroit, Michigan, from January 31 to February 2, 1971. The film documents the accounts of American soldiers who returned from the War in Vietnam, and participated in this war crimes hearing.