IMDb > Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Born on the Fourth of July
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Born on the Fourth of July (1989) More at IMDbPro »

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Born on the Fourth of July (1989) -- The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) -- The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   29,690 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Oliver Stone
Writers (WGA):
Ron Kovic (book)
Oliver Stone (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Born on the Fourth of July on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 December 1989 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Drama | War more
Tagline:
A story of innocence lost and courage found.
Plot:
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 14 nominations more
User Comments:
'There was another war waiting for the soldiers when they returned home.' more (144 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tom Cruise ... Ron Kovic

Raymond J. Barry ... Mr. Kovic

Caroline Kava ... Mrs. Kovic
Josh Evans ... Tommy Kovic
Jamie Talisman ... Jimmy Kovic
Anne Bobby ... Suzanne Kovic
Samantha Larkin ... Patty Kovic

Tom Berenger ... Recruiting Gunnery Sgt. Hayes
Frank Whaley ... Timmy
Jerry Levine ... Steve Boyer
Richard Panebianco ... Joey Walsh

Rob Camilletti ... Tommy Finnelli

Stephen Baldwin ... Billy Vorsovich
Michael McTighe ... Danny Fantozzi
Richard Haus ... Recruiting Sgt. Bowers
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
145 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Spanish
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Spain:13 | USA:R (certificate #29975) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (cut) | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | New Zealand:R13 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:16 | Iceland:16
Filming Locations:
Creekside Drive, Dallas, Texas, USA more
Company:
Ixtlan more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A copy of "Johnny Got His Gun," a popular anti-war novel about WW1, is visible on Ron's hospital bed when he learns he will never walk again. In the novel, the main character is a soldier who is mutilated beyond recognition in a war; he has lost both of his arms and legs as well as his sight and hearing. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: During a scene identified as July 4, 1969, the Kovic family is watching "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1967). Laugh-In aired on Monday evenings, and July 4, 1969 was a Friday. more
Quotes:
Chaplain: How are you?
Ron Kovic: [weakly] Tell them - they have to operate on me. There's something wrong with me.
Chaplain: The doctors are real busy right now. There's a lot of wounded here today. No time for anything except trying to stay alive, so you got to try and stay alive, okay? You hear me? Try and stay alive.
[pause]
Chaplain: I've come to give you your last rites. Are you ready?
Ron Kovic: (weakly) Yeah.
Chaplain: I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. You brught nothing into this world, and it is certain that you will take nothing out of it. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Movie Connections:
Features D' Fightin' Ones (1961) more
Soundtrack:
A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
67 out of 88 people found the following comment useful.
'There was another war waiting for the soldiers when they returned home.', 24 October 2004
10/10
Author: ilovedolby from New York State

When asked why he wanted to make another film about Vietnam after the success of 'Platoon,' Oliver Stone is quoted as saying, 'There was another war waiting for the soldiers when they returned home.' Indeed, he was right. 'Born On the Fourth Of July,' based on the book by Ron Kovic, follows Kovic's account of his experiences in Vietnam and the indifferent nation that he returned to. Although released in 1989, it holds up to the current situation that exists in Iraq now-many refer to it as the new Vietnam. Regardless of anyone's opinion on the current Iraq war, 'Born On the Fourth of July' is one of the most affecting, and important war related films of all time.

As the film opens, we find a young Kovic pretending to be a soldier with friends-a time when the idea of being a soldier was heroic since their father's had been heroes in WWII. The film then follows Kovic as a popular athlete in high school up to his recruitment as a Marine. Kovic rationalizes his reasons for joining up as Communists have missiles pointed at us now and we have to save our country from its threats.

During his time in Vietnam, Kovic sees the true nature of war. His platoon mistakenly fires upon a town where the enemy is supposedly hiding; however, they end up killing women and children. During the confusion that follows, Kovic accidentally shoots a fellow soldier-his guilt would encompass him for years to come. But when Kovic himself is wounded in a field, he is sent home paralyzed from the waist down. He spends the first few months in a veteran hospital, which in this case, was a slum. The doctors inform him that he will never be able to use his legs again, and that he no longer has the ability to have children.

When he returns to his home, he realizes that the world has changed. People protest the war, sometimes protesting against the soldiers themselves. His own family is indifferent to the war, as are his old friends. In one scene, he is told by an old friend who has become successful as a fast food manager, 'people here-they don't give a s**t about the war! To them it's just a million miles away.'

Eventually becoming disillusioned by everything in his hometown, Kovic spends a great deal of time with other veterans like himself at a resort in Mexico. Later he becomes an activist-his first public activism took place at the 1972 Republican National Convention where he was televised for exposing the reality of what soldiers endured in Vietnam, but also on the reasons why we did not belong there in the first place.

'Born On the Fourth of July' spends a good deal of time focusing on the misplaced patriotism that the politicians spewed at the public to drum up support not only for Vietnam, but the Cold War, in general. The film shows this by Kovic's own mother constantly reminding her son that he was doing the right thing by going over there and fighting and that he was in God's hands. When Kovic returns home and his disillusionment grows, he gets drunk one night and yells at his mother, 'There is no God. There is only me in this chair for the rest of my life!'

The film does stand up today just as strong as ever. With soldiers returning home from Iraq, and the constant media attention of terrorist attacks over there and seeing our own soldiers ambushed all the time, those who fight now must feel the same anger and frustration that Kovic felt year ago. It does make one wonder, when will the politicians ever truly get it! ****

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What's the name of the whistling tune they play in the protest scene? oneforthecash
Music Question (Opening Theme) vlt22
How accurate was this movie? mackbrockton
Severly underrated work by Stone + Cruise prezike
Music KKyriacoscar
I don't think Oliver Stone knows how to make a film. beastofburden14787
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