List Rules Documentary films about the Vietnam War
There have been many documentaries about the Vietnam War and the plethora of controversies that surrounded it. What are the best documentaries about the Vietnam War? This list, ranked by the community, has the best films that will educate you about the era and the war.
The films featured on this list cover a variety of topics about the Vietnam War, ranging from the history behind what brought the United States into the war, controversies and conspiracy theories involving the United States government’s role, behind the scenes details about victims who were affected by the devastations of the war, and even the impact that the Vietnam War still has to this day on all countries involved. No matter what aspect of the Vietnam War you're interested in, there is sure to be a documentary on this list for you!
This list features the best Vietnam War documentaries, including: The Anderson Platoon, The Uncounted Enemy, Going Upriver and Far From Vietnam. Vote for your favorite docs today and add any great films about the Vietnam War that aren't included.
list ordered by
1
192 47
Vietnam: the Ten Thousand Day War
2
177 41
The World of Charlie Company The World of Charlie Company is a one-hour documentary produced by CBS News in 1970 that shows what fighting North Vietnamese Army regulars in the jungles of Southeast Asia was like for a ...more
3
167 42
Dear America: Letters Home from VietnamRobert De Niro, Robin Williams, Sean Penn Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam is an American grammy Award–winning 1987 documentary, inspired by the anthology of the same title, directed by Bill Couturié. Using real letters ...more
4
90 15
17th Parallel: Vietnam in War 17th Parallel: Vietnam in War is a 1968 French documentary film directed by Joris Ivens. The film sets out to show the effects of the American bombing campaign on the Vietnamese people, who were ...more
5
114 33
A Touch of Home: the Vietnam War's Red Cross Girls A Touch of Home: The Vietnam War's Red Cross Girls is an American documentary film produced and directed by Patrick and Cheryl Fries. The film tells the story of 627 young American women who ...more
6
103 28
Vietnam: The Last BattleJohn Pilger Vietnam: The Last Battle is a 1995 Carlton Television documentary, written and presented by John Pilger, and directed by David Munro, which returns to Vietnam nearly twenty years after the ...more
7
125 41
Going Upriver Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a documentary film on U.S. Senator John Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War and his subsequent participation in the peace movement. There ...more
8
101 28
The Anderson Platoon The Anderson Platoon is a documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War, named after the leader of the platoon - Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson - with which Schoendeorffer ...more
9
62 14
Regret to InformBarbara Sonneborn On her twenty-fourth birthday, this film's director Barbara Sonneborn received a knock on her door from a United States Army soldier, and heard the words "We regret to inform you...." ...more
10
55 12
The Fog of War
11
54 12
In the Year of the Pig In the Year of the Pig is a 1968 American documentary film about the origins of the Vietnam War, directed by Emile de Antonio. It was nominated for an Academy award for best documentary. The ...more
12
32 5
The Wall That HealsLouis Gossett, Jr. The Wall That Heals is a 1997 documentary film about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial narrated by Louis Gossett, Jr.
13
47 15
Interviews with My Lai Veterans Interviews with My Lai Veterans is a 1970 American short documentary film directed by Joseph Strick featuring first hand accounts of the My Lai Massacre. It won an Academy Award at the 43rd ...more
14
40 10
Vietnam RequiemPeter Thomas Vietnam Requiem was an ABC News Closeup Series television documentary directed by Bill Couturié and Jonas McCord. It was filmed in 1982, and transmitted in 1984 about the post-traumatic ...more
15
44 13
Soldiers in Hiding Soldiers in Hiding is a 1985 documentary film directed by Malcolm Clarke. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
16
41 11
The Uncounted Enemy The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception was a controversial television documentary aired as part of the CBS Reports series on January 23, 1982. The 90-minute program, produced by George Crile ...more
17
35 7
Far from VietnamBernard Fresson Far from Vietnam is a 1967 French documentary film directed by Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais.
18
46 15
Stolen Honor Stolen Honor is a 45-minute video documentary that was released in September 2004. It features interviews with a number of American men who were prisoners of war in North Vietnam, who contend ...more
19
43 13
Vietnam, Long Time Coming In 1998, World T.E.A.M. Sports (The Exceptional Athlete Matters) organized a 16-day, 1,200 mile bicycle ride through once war-torn Vietnam. Able-bodied and disabled veterans, from the U.S. and ...more
20
36 10
Into Harm's Way Into Harm's Way is a 2012 American documentary produced and directed by Jordan Kronick. The film features a series of interviews with the members of the West Point Class of 1967 and their ...more
Sad Song of Yellow Skin Sad Song of Yellow Skin is a 1970 direct cinema-style documentary film on the effects of the Vietnam War on street children in Saigon. The 58-minute documentary was written, directed and ...more
23
32 8
Return With Honor Return with Honor is a 1999 documentary film about American prisoners of war in the Vietnam War. Among those profiled is Senator John McCain. It is narrated by Tom Hanks. Directors Freida Lee ...more
24
40 15
Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia is a 1979 British television documentary written and presented by the Australian journalist John Pilger, which was produced and directed by David Munro. ...more
25
32 9
A Face of War A Face of War is a 1968 documentary about the Vietnam War, by Eugene S. Jones. The New York Times called it "one of the great Vietnam documentaries." Roger Ebert called it a ...more
26
31 9
Gene Boy Came Home Gene Boy Came Home is a 2007 documentary film by First Nations filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The film tells the story of Eugene "Gene Boy" ...more
27
28 9
First Kill First Kill is a 2001 Dutch documentary film that revolves around the psychology of war. Important turning points in the Vietnam War are used to illustrate the effect of war on body and mind. The ...more
28
25 7
Bomb Harvest Bomb Harvest is a 2007 documentary film directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski. It explores the consequences of war in Laos as it follows an Australian ...more
29
22 5
The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan Private McKinley Nolan vanished forty years ago in Vietnam on the Cambodian frontier. Some say he was captured, some say he was a traitor, some even say he was an American operative. The U.S. ...more
30
23 6
Westmoreland V. CBS
31
30 12
Sir! No Sir!Donald Sutherland Sir! No Sir! is a 2005 documentary by Displaced Films about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. The film was produced, directed, and ...more
32
25 8
Little Dieter Needs to Fly Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a 1997 documentary film made for German television, written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion. The film was released to DVD in ...more
33
21 5
Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements is a 1985 American short documentary film produced by David H. Goodman and directed by Deborah Shaffer. It won an Academy Award in 1986 for Documentary Short ...more
34
21 5
Four Hours in My Lai Four Hours in My Lai is a 1989 television documentary made by Yorkshire Television concerning the 1968 My Lai Massacre by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The film includes interviews with ...more
35
21 5
Benefit of the DoubtGlenda Jackson, Michael Williams, Peter Brook Benefit of the Doubt is a 1967 documentary on Peter Brook's anti-Vietnam protest play, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, known under the title US. It was filmed at London's Aldwych Theatre and ...more
36
21 5
This Hour Has Seven Days
37
22 6
Winter SoldierMichael Oliver Winter Soldier é um documentário de 1972.
38
22 6
Oh, Saigon Oh, Saigon is a 2007 autobiographical documentary by Vietnamese American director Doan Hoang about her family's separation during the fall of Saigon and her attempt to reunite them afterwards. ...more
39
18 3
In the Shadow of the Blade In the Shadow of the Blade is a 2004 American documentary film produced and directed by Patrick and Cheryl Fries. It won awards in the film industry and with the Vietnam veteran community, ...more
40
19 4
The Man Nobody Knew The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby is a 2011 American documentary film exploring the life and career of former CIA director William Egan Colby. His son Carl ...more
41
26 10
The Camden 28 How far would you go to stop a war? The Camden 28 recalls a 1971 raid on a Camden, N.J., draft board office by “Catholic Left” activists protesting the Vietnam War and its effects on urban ...more
42
21 6
Unclaimed Unclaimed is a 2013 Canadian documentary film about a man who claims to be former Special Forces Green Beret Master Sgt. John Hartley Robertson, who was declared dead after being shot down over ...more
43
19 5
Enemy Image Enemy Image is a 2005 documentary film by Mark Daniels about the portrayal of warfare in television news. The film focuses initially on the Vietnam War as the first war ever televised ...more
44
16 3
Investigation of a Flame Investigation of a Flame is a 2001 documentary by Lynne Sachs about the Catonsville Nine, nine Catholic activists who became known for their May 17, 1968 nonviolent act of civil disobedience in ...more
45
17 4
Unfinished Symphony: Democracy and Dissent Unfinished Symphony: Democracy and Dissent is a 59-minute documentary film about a protest against the Vietnam War divided into three sections, mirroring the movements of Henryk Górecki's ...more
46
17 5
Daughter from Danang Daughter from Đà Nẵng is a 2002 documentary film about an Amerasian, Heidi Bub, born on December 10, 1968, in Danang in southern Vietnam, one of the children brought to the United States ...more
47
18 6
Street ScenesVerna Bloom Street Scenes, also known as Street Scenes 1970 is a documentary directed by Martin Scorsese. It documents two protest rallies against the Vietnam War that took place in May 1970: the Hard Hat ...more
48
17 6
Virtual JFK Virtual JFK: Vietnam if Kennedy Had Lived is a 2008 film directed by Koji Masutani.
49
16 8
The War at Home The War at Home is a documentary film about the anti-war movement in the Madison, Wisconsin area during the time of the Vietnam War. It combines archival footage and interviews with participants ...more
50
14 11
F.T.A.Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Peter Boyle F.T.A. is a 1972 American documentary film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland and directed by Francine Parker.
