Casualties of War

"Even in war… murder is murder."

1989 1h 53m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 1,053

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

“Even in war… murder is murder.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael J. Fox
Private Eriksson
Sean Penn
Sgt. Tony Meserve
Don Harvey
Cpl. Thomas E. Clark
John C. Reilly
Private Herbert Hatcher
John Leguizamo
Private Antonio Diaz
Thuy Thu Le
Oanh
Erik King
Brown
Jack Gwaltney
Rowan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: David Rabe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 83% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bill Pankow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn and Don Harvey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Even in war… murder is murder.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097027 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian De Palma directs. Stephen H. Burum behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Bill Pankow cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 83% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Bill Pankow shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn and Don Harvey carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Even in war… murder is murder.".
8IMDB entry: tt0097027 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "vietnam war", "vietcong", "rape", "court".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen H. Burum
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Bill Pankow
Production design: Wolf Kroeger
Costume design: Richard Bruno
Makeup / hair: Paul Engelen
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $22,500,000
Box office: $18,671,317
Return: 83% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Casualties of War (1989)

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Brian De Palma

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-09-18
★ 8/10
Beautiful and brutal, artistic and ugly Based on a true story, the arrogant sergeant (Sean Penn) of a 5-man squad on a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam in November, 1966, decides to kidnap a Vietnamese farm girl for some “portable R&R” because it would be "good for the morale of the squad." But PFC Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) refuses to participate and fears being “killed In Action” for dissenting. “Casualties of War” (1989) separates itself from other Vietnam War movies by focusing on the incident at hand, including the build-up and aftermath. Its uniqueness is augmented by Brian De Palma’s slightly off-kilter style. The picture balances the beauty of the location and the artistry of Brian De Palma's filmmaking with the horror and ugliness of war & rape. It's also realistic and compelling while simultaneously being mundane, which is why some viewers might find it boring. In other words, this is more of a gut-wrenching war drama with some action than a typical war flick with explosions and action thrills galore. It fairly closely follows the real story; Google Incident on Hill 192 for details. The movie runs 1 hour, 59 minutes, with the original Theatrical Cut being 6 minutes shorter. It was shot in Phang Nga, Kanchanaburi & Phuket, Thailand, and Dolores Park, San Francisco, California. GRADE: A-/B+
kevin20192025-01-17
★ 10/10
"Casualties of War" is a deeply disturbing and emotionally overpowering film which remains strictly impartial throughout and it just recounts the acutely distressing and repugnant details in a dramatically harrowing yet still compelling way. The rape itself is dealt with in an incredibly matter-of-fact fashion as indeed is the victim's very life when she is indiscriminately murdered after she becomes an inconvenience. It is also shocking but to be expected that when Private Eriksson brings squad leader Sergeant Meserve's criminal act to the attention of his superiors he is met with a lack of concern and even a measure of anger. The real area of upset for them lies not with a lack of justice for the victim, but with the lives of the young men in the platoon Eriksson is about to destroy.