Casualties of War poster

1989·113 min·Released

Casualties of War

“Even in war… murder is murder.”

Drama
History
War

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

7.2(1,019 votes)

Popularity3

Videos

Casualties of War (1989) Original Trailer [FHD]

Cast & Crew

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox

Private Eriksson

Sean Penn

Sean Penn

Sgt. Tony Meserve

Don Harvey

Don Harvey

Cpl. Thomas E. Clark

John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly

Private Herbert Hatcher

John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo

Private Antonio Diaz

Thuy Thu Le

Thuy Thu Le

Oanh

Erik King

Erik King

Brown

Jack Gwaltney

Jack Gwaltney

Rowan

Ving Rhames

Ving Rhames

Lt. Reilly

Wendell Pierce

Wendell Pierce

MacIntire

Sam Robards

Sam Robards

Chaplain Kirk

Dan Martin

Dan Martin

Sgt. Hawthorne

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Wuchak

Written on 9/18/2020

_**Beautiful and brutal, artistic and ugly**_ Based on a true story, the arrogant sergeant (Sean Penn) of a 5-man squad on a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam in November, 1966, decides to kidnap a Vietnamese farm girl for some “portable R&R” because it would be "good for the morale of the squad." But PFC Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) refuses to participate and fears being “killed In Action” for dissenting. “Casualties of War” (1989) separates itself from other Vietnam War movies by focusing on the incident at hand, including the build-up and aftermath. Its uniqueness is augmented by Brian De Palma’s slightly off-kilter style. The picture balances the beauty of the location and the artistry of Brian De Palma's filmmaking with the horror and ugliness of war & rape. It's also realistic and compelling while simultaneously being mundane, which is why some viewers might find it boring. In other words, this is more of a gut-wrenching war drama with some action than a typical war flick with explosions and action thrills galore. It fairly closely follows the real story; Google Incident on Hill 192 for details. The movie runs 1 hour, 59 minutes, with the original Theatrical Cut being 6 minutes shorter. It was shot in Phang Nga, Kanchanaburi & Phuket, Thailand, and Dolores Park, San Francisco, California. GRADE: A-/B+

kevin2019

Written on 1/17/2025

"Casualties of War" is a deeply disturbing and emotionally overpowering film which remains strictly impartial throughout and it just recounts the acutely distressing and repugnant details in a dramatically harrowing yet still compelling way. The rape itself is dealt with in an incredibly matter-of-fact fashion as indeed is the victim's very life when she is indiscriminately murdered after she becomes an inconvenience. It is also shocking but to be expected that when Private Eriksson brings squad leader Sergeant Meserve's criminal act to the attention of his superiors he is met with a lack of concern and even a measure of anger. The real area of upset for them lies not with a lack of justice for the victim, but with the lives of the young men in the platoon Eriksson is about to destroy.

Media

Casualties of War (1989) Original Trailer [FHD]

Casualties of War (1989) Original Trailer [FHD]