Sadly Over-hyped

Charming and brutal

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Notable as one of the first cinematic attempts to explore the subject of the difficulty Vietnam veterans faced with both finding peace with themselves and readjusting to civilian life following their harrowing tour of duty while fighting overseas, "Heroes" boasts a fine and believable performance from Henry Winkler as Jack Dunne, a rootless and disaffected veteran who's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Jack breaks out of a mental hospital and embarks on a cross country journey to reunite himself with his old unit buddies so he can fulfill his dream of starting a worm farm. During his pilgrimage Jack meets and befriends the sweet Carol (winningly played with real charm and warmth by Sally Field), who becomes Jack's sympathetic traveling companion on his odyssey to surmount his demons and reconstruct his life. Director Jeremy Kagan and screenwriter James Carabatsos tackle the subject matter with admirable taste and sensitivity; they thankfully eschew the usual crass stereotype of Vietnam veterans as crazed psychos in order to address them as troubled and pitiable human beings instead. Moreover, Kagan and Carabatsos do a bang-up job of mixing comedy and drama into a solid and satisfying whole. Winkler and Field display a spot-on appealing chemistry in the leads. Harrison Ford contributes a stand-out portrayal as Jack's happy-go-lucky pal Ken Boyd. Moreover, there are nice cameos by Val Avery as an irascible bus driver, Dennis Burkley as antagonistic redneck Gus, Tony Burton as a huffy diner chef, Olivia Cole as the understanding wife of a wayward soldier, and Michael Cavanaugh as the sleazy Peanuts. Further enhanced by Frank Stanley's handsome cinematography and an eclectic melodic score by Jack Nitzsche, this lovely and moving seriocomic picture overall rates as a real sleeper.

I'm glad I read the comments about the the song being different. I raved about the movie, including the wonderful end song, but when I bought the video tape, I was disappointed! I thought maybe I'd gone crazy. Maybe I have a little bit, as I'd thought it was "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. Any idea why the theater played a different song than the VHS tape? Were theater owners given a choice? Because of this movie, Henry Winkler became one of my favorite actors. I'd always liked Sally Field. I was also attracted to Harrison Ford, my first sighting of him in any movie. I didn't realize until I saw Heroes again, 23 years later, that he was Han Solo! I cry every time I watch the ending. It seemed to bring home to me the agony of the Vietnam War. I was sheltered from the war as I was so young. My parents didn't want to talk about it, and it just made me more curious. Years later, I worked with a woman who'd lost "the love of her life" in Vietnam. She couldn't talk without crying, the pain was still so fresh. Such a tragic time.

Henry Winkler is a bit awkward playing a mixed-up Vietnam vet with repressed memories of combat who breaks out of a mental hospital in search of a war-buddy who shares his dream of starting a worm farm (!). After causing a ruckus in a diner--which gets runaway bride Sally Field into big trouble (playing virtually the same character she did in "Smokey And The Bandit")--Winkler becomes involved in rabbit-hutch building (with vacant friend Harrison Ford) and race-car driving before falling in love with Sally, his new traveling companion. She tearfully ends her impending marriage over the phone while he comes to a dramatic resolution of Reality after getting a painful dose of the Truth. "Heroes" isn't much better than the average TV movie of the seventies, one with a built-in campy kick (say, Fonzie meets Gidget--with the addition of Han Solo!). However, despite some ludicrous dialogue, there are several strong scenes. Sally Field is her usual sassy self, and the emotional ending (with the Kansas song) is surprisingly sensitive and well-done. ** from ****

The song that closes "Heroes" (1977) in its various T.V./video versions is not the same song that was used in its theatrical showing. It would be great if someone would put the original closing theme back in this film because the crappy song that was used as the replacement closing theme spoils the mood of the last few moments, which is better served by the original closing theme.