Lists
- ranked 4 in Roger Ebert's Best Films of 1989
- ranked 19 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest War Films
- ranked 91 in Chicago Tribune 100 Best Films of the Century
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominees
- one of Best Director Academy Award Winners
- one of Rosenbaum's Alternate 100
- one of The New York Times Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
Oliver Stone biopic about Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a decorated Vietnam veteran turned strident anti-war protester. Stone doesn't do subtlety, so the film can probably be summed up by reference to one shot: Kovic, wounded in the line of duty and paraplegic, protests the Vietnam War at the Republican National Convention, where a bloated, shiny-faced redneck (no veteran, this) calls him "unamerican".
It isn't fair to call Born on the Fourth of July "just" an anti-war film; Kovic's story is compelling, particularly the portrayal of his coming to terms with his paralysis and growing disillusionment with the cult of war.
Solid performances. Worth a look.