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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780783226767
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0783226764
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: April 29, 1998
Running Time: 145 minutes
Sales Rank: 99264
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: December 20, 1989
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
The second film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy moves from the brutality of war in Platoon to its equally traumatic aftermath. Based on the memoir of combat veteran Ron Kovic, the film stars Tom Cruise as Kovic, whose gunshot wound in Vietnam left him paralyzed from the chest down. He is deeply embittered by neglect in a veteran's hospital and by the shattering of his patriotic idealism because of the horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. While painfully and awkwardly adjusting to his disability and a changing definition of masculinity, Kovic joins the burgeoning movement of antiwar protest, culminating in a climactic appearance at the 1976 Democratic national convention. A powerfully intimate portrait that unfolds on an epic scale, Born on the Fourth of July is arguably Stone's best film (if you can forgive its often strident tone), and Cruise's Oscar-nominated role is uncompromising in its depiction of one man's personal anguish and political awakening. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com:
The second film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy moves from the brutality of war in Platoon to its equally traumatic aftermath. Based on the memoir of combat veteran Ron Kovic, the film stars Tom Cruise as Kovic, whose gunshot wound in Vietnam left him paralyzed from the chest down. He is deeply embittered by neglect in a veteran's hospital and by the shattering of his patriotic idealism because of the horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. While painfully and awkwardly adjusting to his disability and a changing definition of masculinity, Kovic joins the burgeoning movement of antiwar protest, culminating in a climactic appearance at the 1976 Democratic national convention. A powerfully intimate portrait that unfolds on an epic scale, Born on the Fourth of July is arguably Stone's best film (if you can forgive its often strident tone), and Cruise's Oscar-nominated role is uncompromising in its depiction of one man's personal anguish and political awakening. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - 2.5 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:
Though Born on the Fourth of July has its share of powerful and/or effective moments, nearly all of them occur in the film's first half; overlong, and with a tendency to ramble, this is a flawed film.
Rating:  - "Ronnie, you're doing the right thing. Communism has got to be stopped." ( * * 1/2)
Everybody and their brother thinks this is a war film classic. I don't. I grew up in Massapequa, knew Ron Kovic (slightly), hung out at Arthur's Bar, got my hair cut at Sparky The Barber's, I played in Sally's Woods as a kid, and watched God knows how many holiday parades down Broadway. Growing up, they occurred on every major holiday except The Feast of The Assumption.
Massapequa's the kind of place you love and hate at the same time. It's a fly in the amber. The schools are excellent. ... Read More
Rating:  - Powerful story of the Vietnam era in microcosm
I'm no fan of Oliver Stone (see my 1 star review for Platoon) or his politics, and even though this film's ultimate "message" is overtly political (Vietnam was a worthless cause, based on lies) and somewhat mendacious in pushing that left-wing agenda (it was the Republicans' fault), I still rate it highly based solely on its portrayal of Ron Kovic's personal story. This movie depicts with heartbreaking realism the experience of an All-American boy who comes home from the Vietnam War paralyzed from the ... Read More
Rating:  - Stone's Oscar winner
The controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone copped an Best Director Oscar for his true story about Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic's rebirth as a peace activist. Also Cruise scored an Oscar nod for his fine performance as Kovic and he's ably supported by a fine cast which includes a very young Kyra Sedgwick as his first love, Tom Berenger as a Marine recruiter, and Wilem Dafoe as a fellow parapalegic vet. The story concerns Kovic's change from a patriotic young man to a battle scarred parapalegic, disillusioned ... Read More
Rating: - Good movie
I like this movie! Born on the Fourth of July was written in Santa Monica, California during the fall of 1974 in exactly one month, three weeks and two days. It tells the story of Kovic's life growing up in Massapequa, New York, joining the Marines going to Vietnam, getting shot, finding himself wheelchair bound, and eventually starting a new life as an anti-war activist.
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