Today, we look at five 1980s movies about soldiers going back to rescue prisoners of war from the Vietnam War.
In Drawing Crazy Patterns, I spotlight at least five things from pop culture that fit under a specific theme (basically, stuff that happens frequently enough to be worth pointing it out). Note that these lists are inherently not exhaustive. They are a list of five examples (occasionally I’ll be nice and toss in a sixth). So no instance is “missing” if it is not listed. It’s just not one of the five examples that I chose. You can always feel free to suggest ANOTHER example that fits the theme, if you’d like, but nothing is “missing” from this list.
Hollywood is always willing to copy a hit, but it’s always interesting when a rather specific plotline gets copied, as certain topics don’t seem as “stretchable” to fit multiple films as some other topics, but for whatever reason, during the 1980s, there was a belief that everyone was going to be super into films about guys going back to rescue Vietnam War prisoners of war.
UNCOMMON VALOR
Interestingly, while people will typically credit the SECOND film on this list for really kickstarting this trend, the first film in the 1980s released with this theme (and yes, obviously, The Deer Hunter also sort of involves this theme, but it’s a MUCH different approach than these films, which are all similar in approach) was 1983’s Uncommon Valor, which was based on an idea by actor Wings Hauser, who was talking to a friend who had fought in Vietnam, and Hauser noted that it was like his friend had “left something behind” in Vietnam, and so Hauser came up with the idea of a man who puts together a unit to go back to find the man’s son, who is one of a number of “missing in action” soldiers who are likely still prisoners of war. Gene Hackman played the main guy. The film was a decent-sized hit, making over $30 million on an $11 million budget.
MISSING IN ACTION
This film was a lot closer to the zeitgeist, released in 1984, and an example of the classic The Cannon Group setup of the early 1980s where they would release a bunch of films done cheaply, and if even one of them hit, like this one, they would pay for ALL of the films and THEN some. But after Chuck Norris suddenly broke out as a star, Orion suddenly started spending MORE money on its films, and it all came tumbling down. Missing in Action took in over $20 million on a $1.5 million budget, and it starred Norris as an officer who had been in a P.O.W. camp himself until he escaped. Ten years later, he’s back to rescue his comrades. They rushed out a sequel to this one so that it could beat the NEXT film to the market!
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II
First Blood was a tense and enthralling story about a Vietnam vet, John Rambo, who was tormented by a small town sheriff, leading the Vet to basically wreak vengeance on the small town. It was a nice, thoughtful conceit, although with plenty of action, and some of Sylvester Stallone’s best work. The sequel, though, Rambo: First Blood Part II (which makes no sense as a title, as the first film wasn’t even CALLED Rambo: First Blood), just said, “Screw it, let’s go re-win the Vietnam War!” Rambo and Captain Trautman (the National Guard commander who convinced Rambo to surrender in the first film) team up to go rescue some P.O.W.s in an absurdly over-the-top blood bath than took in over $300 million on a $25 million budget.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES/POW: THE RESCUE
Now we’re just into outright “Cash in on Missing in Action and Rambo II” territory, as Cannon rushed out a David Carradine-led film about a soldier rescuing Vietnam War POWs that received a few different titles over the years. This came out in early 1986.
COBRA MISSION/OPERATION: NAM
Even Europe got into the action, as this Italian/West German release was rushed out in May 1986 to cash in on the whole “rescuing Vietnam War POWs” plot point. Oliver Tobias leads the film, about three soldiers who vowed to return to Vietnam to rescue their lost comrades, and do so a decade after the war ended.
Okay, folks, if you have suggestions for a future Drawing Crazy Patterns, drop me a line at brian@poprefs.com!
