• In contemporary cinema especially- decades removed from the studio era- it is worth noting and admiring that this is now Spike’s 11th archiveable film and counting
  • Opens on documentary footage, first of Muhammad Ali in an interview, then a montage of powerful 1960’s and 1970’s imagery from the Vietnam era to the angelic voice of Marvin Gaye. Blending doc footage into his features has been a trait of Spike’s going back to the Rodney King footage to open Malcolm X in 1991 and of course the Charlottesville footage to end BlackKklansman in 2018
  • References to Apocalypse Now – both overt with the bar themed after the acclaimed 1979 film set in Vietnam—but also on the Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner—not 100% sure on the usage of this though and its meaning
  • It’s a nit-pick but early the film there’s a firecracker that goes off that triggers a PTSD reaction and it is simply edited too quickly- a mistake
  • So the 16mm grainy box frame is used to show the flashbacks of the war, and the expanded screen and clearer image is contemporary
  • In a few spots Spike sloppily uses the grainy 16mm box frame look for a current day home video (Lind’s son in the film shows up in one and he wouldn’t have been born in the Vietnam flashbacks). It’s poor form.
  • Great use of stream of consciousness editorial cutaways by Spike- like throwing in the picture of the medal of honor winner, Aretha Franklin, Edwin Moses (this is a great scene) when it’s a part of the discussion among the characters
  • Certainly owes a great deal to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre from John Huston in 1948 and outwardly acknowledges it in the text with the “stinking badges” exchange. Delroy Lindo gives the best performance of the film in the Bogart role (he starts talking to himself like Bogey does in the film- Spike works in one of his trademark talking directly to the camera sequences he uses in Do the Right Thing and 25th Hour). Lindo is a great actor and this is his best work since Get Shorty in 1995. His character is haunted by his past
  • It seems strange that they didn’t have the older cast (all 50/60+ years old) at least shave their grey beards for the flashbacks where they are supposed to be teenagers or in their 20’s
  • At 57 minutes Spike blacks out the screen and then expands it vertically for a day break—I’ll have to watch again for why or see if it happens again
  • The Marvin Gaye music is certainly a character in the film- prevalent- Spike’s frequent collaborator
  • Terence Blanchard is here as well with an operatic score
  • It gets messy with the sprawling ensemble—the narrative would have been better served without so many tangential elements
  • At the 145 minute mark we get the trademark Spike double-dolly shot for a quick second
  • Recommend but not a top 10 of the year quality film