Winter Soldier
Long Unavailable but Essential Testimony by Vietnam Veterans
This little-seen 1972 film takes us to The Winter Soldier Investigation, an event that attempted to expose atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam.
The testimony came from the more than 100 vets who traveled to Detroit in 1971 to testify in the wake of the My Lai Massacre. Many spoke of crimes that they had committed or witnessed: Their stories seemed a painful venting of guilt and horror, and watching the movie is nothing short of chilling.
By the time they reached Detroit, most of the veterans had undergone conversion experiences. They began as committed soldiers and became anti-war protesters. Many said they believed they had been trained to dehumanize the Vietnamese people.
According to testimony, soldiers made little distinction been Viet Cong soldiers and civilians. Any Vietnamese who was shot automatically became a VC enemy as a way of boosting body counts.
I can't think of a recent film that's been more difficult to watch. The accounts of atrocities committed by U.S. troops (if this film is to be believed) went beyond horrific - from disemboweling to contests in which prisoners were thrown out of helicopters to see who could toss the bodies farthest. Women and children were not immune, and the sense one gets from listening to these soldiers and Marines is that Vietnam was a kind of violent free-for-all in which the only governing forces were fear, hatred and fury over dead comrades. (R. Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News)
Winter Soldier
Sun January 29, 2006, 7:00 & 9:00, Muenzinger Auditorium
USA, 1972, in English, Color & B&W, 96 min, Digital projection
Tickets
10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission.
$7 w/UCB student ID,
$7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.
Parking
Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the
Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters
along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.
RTD Bus
Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus
International Film Series
(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.
First Person Cinema
(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.
C.U. Film Program
(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil
Grillo.
Celebrating Stan
Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.
C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts
Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.