Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

wakethenuns3 Heaven and Earth (1993) follows Platoon (1986) and Born of the Fourth of July (1989) to conclude director Oliver Stone's Vietnam War trilogy. Where Stone won Best Director Oscars for both previous films, Heaven and Earth proved a box-office disaster and went unrecognized by the Academy, though Kitaro bagged a Golden Globe for his haunting score. It's hard not to suspect that racism underlay the commercial failure, for where the hit movies addressed the sufferings of white American soldiers played by Hollywood stars, Heaven and Earth focused on the fundamental victims, adapting the true story of a young Vietnamese woman, Le Ly, who goes from village girl to freedom fighter to wife of a US marine struggling to adjust to life in America to reconciliation in Vietnam. Superbly made, with a stunning performance by Hiep Thi Le as Le Ly, and powerful support from Tommy Lee Jones, this is intelligent, harrowing film-making that attempts to understand and bridge the divide between nations traumatized by war.

Joseph P. Ulibas Heaven & Earth (1993) was the final part of Oliver Stone's Viet-Nam Trilogy. The story follows a Vietnamese Peasant girl named Ly Le who's idyllic life in her village is changed forever by a civil war in her country. Both sides deal horrific atrocities against her and the rest of the village. Can Ly Le weather the storm that is the Vietnam War and keep her head up? What will happen to her village as the war gets more violent and brutal on both sides? How far can the human condition be under such extremes and still remain sane? You'll have to find out by watching this harrowing film Heaven & Earth.I really like this movie, Oliver Stone is such a masterful storyteller and the acting, directing and writing kept me on edge throughout the entire film. I have to highly recommend this film. Joan Chen (who still looks hot underneath the make-up), Tommy Lee Jones, Dr. Haing S. Ngor co-star as well.Highly recommended

gcd70 The third, and most likely final , film in Oliver Stone's trilogy about the Vietnam war is here.In "Platoon" we learned of the horrors of war through the eyes of new recruit Chris Taylor, "Born on the Fourth of July" covered the story of Vietnam veteran come anti-war activist Ron Kovic, and "Heaven and Earth" finally completes the picture by giving us the Vietnam perspective.Based on two autobiographical novels by Le Ly Hayslip, this high powered drama concerns her struggle for survival in war torn Vietnam, as both the allied forces and the North Vietnamese Army constantly threaten her village with death and destruction.Once again stone has created a thought provoking and disturbing piece of cinema, as we follow young Le through her tragic life from ravaged Vietnam to the United States. Hiep Thi Li is very impressive as Hayslip in her film debut, while Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor and Joan Chen are strong in support. The cinematography (Robert Richardson) is quite superb as is the sweeping score (Kitaro).Unfortunately "Heaven and Earth" is not as forceful and powerful as the previous films, but this can be attributed to the fact that it is once again not as focused a work as its predecessors, and also because we've seen it before in Stone's earlier war epics, thus it doesn't have the same shocking effect.However, little else can be faulted in yet another eye opening drama from Oliver Stone.Wednesday, January 26, 1994 - Knox District CentreThe final part in Oliver Stone's Vietnam experience is told from the Vietnamese perspective with both compassion and conviction.Based on Le Ly Hayslip's (pronounced Lay Lee) autobiographical books "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" and "Child of War, Woman of Peace", our director's screenplay tells the heartbreaking story of a young woman's devastating journey through life, from an innocent victim of war, to the troubled wife of a U.S. Marine.Following on from his powerful war epics "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July", Stone has crafted a very different and somehow more emotionally involving drama. A magnificent performance from newcomer Hiep Thi Le brings us close to Le Ly's plight as she is first tortured by the Allies and the V.C., then forced to leave her village and try to survive on the streets of Saigon.Strong support comes from Academy Award winner Dr. Haing S. Ngor, Joan Chen and Tommy Lee Jones. Robert Richardson returns to again bring us some startling images of war, as well as some impacting pictures of western society (one particular wide lens shot of a refrigerator alone manages to put our indulgent, wasteful culture to shame). Kitaro provides a sweeping score and the Art Direction and Set Decoration keep things very authentic.As in "J.F.K.", Oliver Stone has crammed so much into "Heaven and Earth" that it's a lot like trying to cope with "Reader's Digest". Yet, though it starts slowly, Stone shows for a third successive time the evil of war and the way in which it destroys lives, families, villages and entire countries. "Heaven and Earth" is also a sobering reminder of our flamboyant and richly blessed lifestyle, and one that's free of the ravages of war.If you don't object to being bludgeoned with a point of view, then all three of Oliver Stone's Vietnam works come highly recommended.Sunday, October 23, 1994 - Video

spirou666 I don't understand why this film has been rated so poorly, it really deserves better. The breath-taking landscapes, subtle imagery, the overall excellent craftsmanship alone make this movie worth seeing.The unique and very personal perspective of this movie makes it hard to keep your distance. Some scenes are rather brutal, but these scenes are necessary for telling a realistic story. Definitely no Disney family movie though.I give it a 9 out of 10, because even with 140 minutes runtime the story feels rushed and crammed. Sometimes less is more, I shall read the books now.