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Hearts and Minds

Hearts and Minds

Documentary · War · 1974

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

Movie details

Hearts and Minds

“The Forever War. Goes On”

1974 Documentary · War 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

8.2 / 10

6.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

90 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

68 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Hearts and Minds?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Peter Davis

C

Clark Clifford

Self - Aide to President Truman 1946-50

J

John Foster Dulles

Self (archive footage)

G

Georges Bidault

Self - French Foreign Minister in 1954

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Self (archive footage)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Self (archive footage)

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage)

Court is in session

Put Hearts and Minds on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.