Preface xi culture. Based on a novel by Graham Greene, The Quiet American (2002) examined the U.S. role in the first phase of the war when France struggled with communist forces for control over Vietnam. Rescue Dawn (2006) dra- matized the trek of a downed American pilot who escaped from a prisoner of war camp. Time is the ultimate judge of the value of art and entertainment. Many movies that achieved popularity in their day have faded with the passing of years. Film historians deem at least three of the films examined in The Vietnam War on Film—The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket—as masterpieces. At least one selection, The Green Berets, is almost universally reviled by critics and historians. All, however, retain the ability to tell us something about how the war was received and interpreted at the time and in its aftermath. In many cases, they continue to inform a conversa- tion that refuses to cease about America’s most controversial war. FURTHER READING Berger, John. “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” Sight and Sound, June 1991. Jeansonne, Glen, and David Luhrssen. 2014. War on the Silver Screen: Shaping America’s Perception of History. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books. O’Brien, Geoffrey. 1995. The Phantom Empire: Movies in Mind of the Twentieth Century. New York: W. W. Norton. Radway, Janice A., Kevin K. Gaines, Barry Shank, and Penny Von Eschen, editors. 2009. American Studies: An Anthology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
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