Born On The Fourth Of JulyStarring : Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava and Willem Dafoe Screenwriter : Ron Kovic and Oliver Stone Director : Oliver Stone3 and a half out of 5Born On The Fourth Of July is a character driven feature whose protagonist goes through a challenging emotional phase in his life after encountering some inedible and gut-wrenching truth back at the war. Such war based features often follow a rudimentary process that undermines the creativity or the originality of the material, but in here, it stands along on its format, as each single lose thread of the feature is reconnected or used up again wisely by the makers attaining the perfect balance of the drama of the characters and the brutality of the practicality projected in here. The camera work is plausible even though it could have been shot with more appetizing or at least attention seeking work, and it may be short on background score, sound effects and art design but is perfectly edited.Oliver Stone; the screenwriter-director, keeps the audience engaged through its brilliant execution skill and his manipulative dramatic shots that easily breaks down into tears. Tom Cruise is in his A game (especially break down sequence where he confesses his sins) and doing some of his career's best work despite of not getting the essential support from the cast except for Willem Dafoe who helps him survive a mid-act sequence.Born On The Fourth Of July is resurrected on incarcerating, both the good and bad deeds, whose unexpected influence led humankind to its doom.

this films story is serious its a political drama film directed by Oliver Stone i don't like his films but have to say this one is the best.this film is about adventures of a Vietnam war veteran who looses his legs during a mission in war.i wont go into much detail of the story or other things but as a hardcore tom cruise fan i picked this up without any expectations & i was blown away its got action,drama & comedy all in one the best thing was the dialogues & funny situations like when tom cruise & willem dafoe at one point starts arguing & spitting & each other while sitting on wheelchairs on a deserted road is the most laugh out loud scene ever.tom cruise is the main highlight here he talks about how war affects people both in serious & comedy scenes.Born On The Fourth Of July 1989 is a must watch film for everyone for people who say tom cruise cant act i say just forget his mission impossible action films for once & see him in either cocktail,eyes wide shut & even collateral 2004 where he plays a assassin Or this one he can rally go into the character deep & bring out something amazing.my rating for this film is 10/10 Recommended

Why does Sundance air this film on Independence Day....it is an anti-war movie? I'm a Vietnam veteran and know that Redford is a liberal a-hole. What war do Redford and Oliver Stone think was patriotic and necessary? Probably none; 'ich spreche Deutsch' and would, if we had not entered WWII. There were many 'goofs' in this film.....check them out, including Mickey Mantle hitting HR #491 at the wrong time. Actually, Hank Aaron was a much better player than Mantle, but Milwaukee was 'Bush League' in 1957 when they took the Yankees 4 games to 3.... according to the New York media, which felt that NYC was the only city that counted. The acting was superior, probably the best of Tom Cruise's career, which is why I rate the film as a '7.' Oliver Stone had been wiser if he left the screenplay up to Ron Kovic, instead of meddling and taking credit as a co-screenwriter. Who knew more of Ron's experiences than himself?

Born on the Fourth of July is Oliver Stone's film about a U.S. soldier's journey from war supporter, to Vietnam combat veteran, to anti-war activist. The film is based on the true story of Ron Kovic, who enthusiastically bought into the militaristic propaganda peddled by Army recruiters, and enlisted in the military to serve his country in Vietnam. Once there he kills a fellow soldier in a friendly fire incident following the murder of Vietnamese civilians, and then he himself is almost killed in the firefight. The film takes us through his recovery process, both physically and ideologically, as Kovic suffers through the bureaucratic failings of the VA health care system, and begins to see that he was fooled, starting early in life, into supporting a criminal imperialistic nation. It's a powerful film about discovering the truth hidden behind propaganda and the political awakening that results when you stop living in denial and follow the truth to its logical conclusions. Born on the Fourth of July is Stone at his most effective, balancing his bold artistic sensibilities with a well crafted narrative, and Tom Cruise turns in one of his career's best performances in a role that showed why he is a major acting talent as well as Hollywood's biggest star.