HEARTS AND MINDS

Year: 1974
USA: Rialto Pictures
UK: Metrodome Distribution
Cast: Georges Bidault, Clark Clifford, George Coker, Kay Dvorshock, Daniel Ellsberg, Randy Floyd, J W Fulbright, Robert Muller, Khanh Nguyen, Walt Rostow, William C Westmoreland
Director: Peter Davis
Country: USA
Language: English / French / Vietnamese (some English subtitles)
USA & UK: 112 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language, violence and a moderate sex scene
USA Release Date: 19 October 2005 (Limited Release - Cleveland, OH)
USA Release Date: 10 September 2005 (Limited Release - Milwaukee, WI)
UK Release Date: 11 November 2005 (Limited Release - London, ICA)
UK DVD Release Date: Monday 21 November 2005
US Distributor

Synopsis

The controversial but undoubtedly deserved winner of the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, acclaimed journalist, filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize nominee Peter Davis's HEARTS AND MINDS is a startling work of cinema hailed by the Washington Post as "one of the best documentaries ever made" and by the Village Voice as "the definitive American documentary about Vietnam."

Produced by Bert Schneider (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, FIVE EASY PIECES, EASY RIDER) and directed by Davis, HEARTS AND MINDS takes its title from a comment made by President Lyndon B Johnson on the possible outcome of the Vietnam War: "The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there."

Utilizing a variety of sources, including archival newsreel clips along with interviews and footage of the conflict shot by Davis's own film crew in Vietnam, America and Paris, the film presents a powerful, thought-provoking and deeply moving examination of the effects of the Vietnam War on the nations engaged in the conflict, and exposes many of the truths behind America's involvement. Together with cinematographer Richard Pearce (cinematographer on WOODSTOCK and RUST NEVER SLEEPS and director of LEAP OF FAITH, NO MERCY and COUNTRY) and Oscar nominated and BAFTA Award winning editor Lynzee Klingman (ALI; MAN ON THE MOON; ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST), Davis has constructed, from over 200 hours of footage, a remarkable documentary that features some of the most recognizable and iconic imagery from the Vietnam War and the era in which it took place, much of which had never been seen by the public prior to the film's release.

An unforgettable and unmissable landmark documentary HEARTS AND MINDS is an enduring work, the power and relevance of which remains undiminished 30 years on.