Rent Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
3.6 of 5 from 153 ratings
2h 18min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Academy Award winning masterpiece. Based on a true story, the acclaimed film follows the young Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War, to an embittered veteran paralysed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country, Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left, and struggled before emerging as a brave new voice for the disenchanted.
- Actors:
- Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Josh Evans, Seth Allen, Jamie Talisman, Sean Stone, Anne Bobby, Jenna von Oÿ, Samantha Larkin, Erika Geminder, Amanda Davis, Kevin Harvey Morse, John Getz, David Warshofsky, Jason Gedrick, Michael Compotaro, Paul Abbott, Bill Allen
- Directors:
- Oliver Stone
- Producers:
- A. Kitman Ho, Lope V. Juban Jr., Oliver Stone
- Voiced By:
- Mel Allen
- Writers:
- Ron Kovic, Oliver Stone
- Others:
- David Brenner, Joe Hutshing, Michael Minkler, Wylie Stateman, Tod A Maitland, Gregory H. Watkins, Robert Richardson, John Williams
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Award Winners, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Al Pacino, Oscar Nominations Competition 2025, Oscar's Two-Time Club, Oscars: Winners & Losers, Top 10 Best Picture Follow-Ups, Top 10 Golden Bear Winners, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 04/07/2011
- Run Time:
- 144 minutes
- Languages:
- Brazilian Portuguese DTS 5.1, Czech DTS 5.1, English DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Latin American Spanish DTS 5.1, Polish Voice Over DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- Brazilian, Cantonese, Castillian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- From the NBC News Archive, Backstory: Born On The Fourth of July
- Feature Commentary
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Reviews (2) of Born on the Fourth of July
Fireworks and the Hangover - Born on the Fourth of July review by griggs
Imagine peak small-town Americana – flags, parades, brass bands, baseball and a kid dreaming of dying for his country. Now smash-cut to Vietnam, a grim VA hospital, and a sleazy bar in Mexico full of broken vets. That’s Born on the Fourth of July in a nutshell: the patriotic high followed by the hangover.
Oliver Stone sticks close to Ron Kovic’s real story, and you feel it. The early stretch plays like a recruiting advert – wrestling, Marine posters, John Wayne on telly, mum beaming at the nice man in uniform – before Vietnam turns into chaos, friendly fire and all. One bad decision, one bullet, and the “hero” comes home in a wheelchair with his body, faith, and libido in tatters.
Tom Cruise really goes for it: drunk, ashamed, furious, often hard to like, which is the point. It’s not subtle, but it’s bruising, and it leaves you thinking about the cost long after the fireworks fade.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Born on Fourth of July - Born on the Fourth of July review by JR
Disappointing. Nice period details (flower-power era) and depiction of children but rest of it shouty, sweary and confusing. Interesting study of patriotism and political ideology gradually being challenged but felt that there was a much better film in there somewhere.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.