Fantastic!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The Hanoi Hilton (1987) was an film that took a rare look at the brutal treatment many of the P.O.W. pilots went through whilst they were held captive in North Viet-Nam. What could have been a good movie is ruined by the right-wing rhetoric, soap boxing and grand standing that is so blatant that even a child could easily read through the lines. Maybe someday a film-maker will take this story and make a more balanced and straight forward view on the subject instead of swinging either to the left or the right. I like my movies to keep politics on the side (unless they can do it without hitting the viewer over the head like Brunuel or Watkins). A rare film on such an interesting subject.Worth a view but not a keeper.Fair.C

The Hanoi Hilton is a must-see film. Many leftists denounce its historical accuracy and positive portrayal of the men who fought and died to prevent the disaster that befell Vietnam. If you want to know what the men were really like, by all means see this film. Don't waste your time on Communist propaganda crap like the monstrosity Platoon. NOTE TO ALL LEFTISTS: As this movie shows, most of the soldiers who fought were courageous and honorable men, not mindless killers like the idiots in the media want you to believe.

Very compelling and realistic portrayal of life as a N.Vietnam POW and how opinion at home affected their situation. You can read Jane Fonda's own broadcasts to verify that the "portrayal" of her and Tom Hayden was not a caricature. Few Americans understood the impact their views and actions had on American soldiers and POWs. There are several standout performances, especially by Moriarity, Pressman, Jones and "Starsky and Hutch" star,David Soul. Although intentionally episodic and semi-documentary in style-the period covered was after all, 9 years -the film is nonetheless compelling. However it's main goal seems to tell the story and not make great "film".This is not Mallick's " The Thin Red Line"(a superb, introspective film). H. Hilton's view that the strength of US military training and code of honor, the value and support of religion in tough times and it's admiration of the "average guy" is more in line with Scott's "Blackhawk Down" and Stephen Ambrose's influenced Speilberg film, "Saving Private Ryan" Neither of these films are as artistic as Mallicks-but all are true to the reality of the specific event.An interesting film to view in conjunction with the H.Hilton is the fictional and quite propagandist " Coming Home" starring Jane Fonda.In that film only Vets who denounced the war(nothing wrong with that)are given credibility. Fonda's husband in the film, Bruce Dern, is not only a joke as a soldier (his metal is for being shot in the rear end)but as a man-he has never given his wife an orgasm-that's left to hero Jon Voight, a paraplegic who renounces the war. Dern ultimately drowns himself. Talk about a loaded deck. No recognition in that film that an American GI who supports his country might have the character of any of the POWs in the Hanoi Hilton. These men were the "forgotten men" of the 60's/early 70's- The Hanoi Hilton was not at all popular at the box office and vilified by many in the Hollywood community when it was made-but it was ahead of it's time content-wise and quite brave for it.

This movie was a excellent way of showing how American POWs survived in Vietnam during the war. Michael Moriarty gives a riveting performance as Williamson and Scotty Sachs gives a memorable perfomance as Soles. This movie is a must see a war buff and it will eat away at a person's heart.