Gauracandra 1 Report post Posted March 2, 2002 I saw this movie today and must say it was very good. I would definitely recommend it. The few reviews I've seen that were negative seemed to indicate that this was a "pro-war" movie. In all honesty I think this is the exact opposite. This was probably the only Vietnam movie that did not have a political view for or against the war. Its not about the politics, or the machinations. Its about the soldiers who died. It doesn't glorify war, it glorifies the soldiers that have to fight the war - on both sides. This point is made in the very opening when it is stated that this is a story of those who died both on the American and Vietnamese sides. This was a refreshing angle. It is also a very religious movie. Mel Gibson is a very conservative Catholic and he lets this side of himself come through in the film. There are a number of scenes of prayer and such. I don't think the movie ever becomes jingoistic. There are a few shots of the American flag. But the movie tries to show both sides. All and all, I think it was certainly a different and refreshing angle on the overworn Vietnam war genre. I'd give it a thumbs up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gauracandra 1 Report post Posted March 3, 2002 Have you guys seen the quotes from Nixon about using the Atomic Bomb in Vietnam? They came out a few days ago. I'll look for the exact quote, but basically he told Henry Kissinger to "think big". It was kind of scary to read and think that this guy was in charge at one point. The quote was so cavalier it was surreal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gHari 0 Report post Posted March 4, 2002 Ebert and Roeper gave two very raving thumbs WAY up for Monsoon Wedding which is like an Indian movie. It could be interesting for devotees - a hindu from Houston has an arranged wedding with a girl from Delhi. They say it is one of the best movies they've seen in several years. Krsna has me doing one of my heavy forced renunciation periods. So movies, and anything beyond bargain food is just not in the budget. Funny; life is more fun without money. Just me and Krsna. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pratyatosa Dasa 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2002 Originally posted by Gauracandra: Have you guys seen the quotes from Nixon about using the Atomic Bomb in Vietnam? I couldn't find it in the Vedabase, but I heard that Srila Prabhupada said, in reference to the Vietnam War, "If a country engages in war, they should fight to win. They should not hold anything back." IMHO, this means that, according to Srila Prabhupada, the U.S. should have nuked China, who was assisting North Vietnam, back to the stone age, if they refused, after repeated warnings, to give up their involvement. After years of wishy-washy wartime leadership from Kennedy and Johnson, Nixon obviously said, "Let's hit them with everything we've got, or let's forget the whole thing!". Since the powers that be wouldn't allow him to do the former, he did the latter. Therefore, Nixon ended up unknowingly following Srila Prabhupada's advice. [This message has been edited by Pratyatosa Dasa (edited 03-31-2002).] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abhi_the_great 0 Report post Posted April 1, 2002 Stalin was the first person to give the basic doses and aid of nuclear technology to China. Krushchev also followed in his footsteps, till he discovered that Mao was a real fanatic. Ones Mao told him during a relaxed swimming pool conversation that Kruschev shd start a war against the Capitalist America and they shd both get together and blast all the other capitalist countries. This was after WW2. Mao's idea was to spread Communism thru out the world - by force(like Islam). Krushchev immediately concluded that transferring high end atomic & nuclear technology to this loafer wd be harmful for mankind. So he immediately pulled back all his trainers and instructors from China and there was a "no communication" period between the two countries. Mao went wild with Tashkent's decision and he befriended the then US President(Roosevelt??) to fight against Russia. This is the point when relationships warmed between these two hostile countries(US & China). Somewhat funny to think that all these people were contemporaries of Srila Prabhupad. Everyone was interested to spread their own philosophies. But, Srila Prabhupad wanted to spread a divine philosophy. Abhi [This message has been edited by abhi_the_great (edited 04-01-2002).] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
