Movie · 1974 · Documentary, War · 1h 52m · R · English
Curator score: 8.8/10 (14.1K ratings)
The Forever War. Goes On
Overview
Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.8/10
IMDb: 8.2/10
Letterboxd: 4.18/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: 68
TMDB: 7.7/10
Director
Peter Davis
Production
BBS Productions
Cast
Clark Clifford, John Foster Dulles, Georges Bidault, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, George Coker, Walt Rostow, J. William Fulbright, Randy Floyd, Charles Hoey, Jerry Holter, J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph McCarthy, Stan Holder, Bobby Muller, Daniel Ellsberg, William C. Westmoreland
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A fierce, essential anti-war documentary that turns Vietnam-era rhetoric against itself through devastating juxtapositions of testimony, propaganda, and battlefield aftermath. It is polemical by design, but its editing and moral force make it one of the defining political documentaries of the 1970s.
Best for
viewers interested in Vietnam War history
fans of political documentaries with a strong point of view
people who appreciate archival editing and essay-film structure
audiences looking for uncompromising anti-war cinema
Skip if
you want a neutral or balanced historical overview
you prefer observational documentaries over argumentative ones
you are sensitive to graphic war imagery and brutality
you dislike overtly polemical filmmaking
Overview
Hearts and Minds is not interested in detachment. Peter Davis builds a blistering case against the Vietnam War by colliding official language with the human cost of that language, and the result is as angry as it is precise. The film’s power comes from its structure: polished interviews, patriotic self-justification, and scenes of devastation are arranged to expose the moral collapse underneath the rhetoric.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is not just its politics, but its confidence as cinema. The editing is sharp, often shocking, and Davis trusts contrast more than explanation. The film can feel one-sided, but that is part of its argument: it is a rebuttal to power, not a symposium about it.
Bottom line
For viewers willing to engage with a confrontational anti-war perspective, it remains essential. It is historically specific, yet the larger critique of imperial language, military abstraction, and public denial still lands hard.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Will Steele (4★) · 199 likes
“We weren’t on the wrong side – we were the wrong side.” - Daniel Ellsberg
You don’t find many documentaries more committed to reckoning with the ugly truth like than Hearts and Minds. The release of this film came whilst the war was still so raw, yet Peter Davis unflinchingly presents just how flawed US hegemony is and how ruinous it’s impact was on Vietnam. It still stands as a potent reminder of how misguided the righteous can be.
aidan (5★) · 167 likes
Fuck this goddamn country
Timcop (4.5★) · 144 likes
"Do you think we've learned anything from all this?""I think we're trying not to."
Should probably be shown to all American schoolchildren in a double feature with THE FOG OF WAR, just so that every person learns to grow up with a questioning mind and a healthy distrust of authority figures.
máte vargas (free 🇵🇸) (5★) · 114 likes
The United States is the biggest terrorist organization in the world
James (4★) · 72 likes
"We weren't on the wrong side. We were the wrong side."
An unflinching, infuriating polemic—once you accept the fact that Hearts and Minds is a one-sided affair with manipulative intent it becomes easier to discern Peter Davis' film with a critical eye. It's unquestionably a documentary that appeals to strong emotions rather than to intellect and uses filmmaking techniques to form an argument, but it never conceals its subjectivity and emerges as a truly awe-inspiring piece of cinema where the… more