Tom Cruise was riding high in the ’80s as he went from smaller parts in Endless Love, Taps and The Outsiders to the lead actor in Risky Business and Cocktail. He even matched up well with Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man and Paul Newman in The Color of Money. He was box office gold. But was this movie star really an actor? He got his chance in near Christmas time in 1989 when he starred in Born On The Fourth of July. This was the autobiographical film about Ron Kovic who came back from Vietnam a changed man in many ways. Now this blockbuster tale about an injured veteran is coming out on 4K UHD so you can see his struggles with a higher resolution.
Ron Kovic grows up on Long Island, New York playing soldier in the woods and waving the flag during the 4th of July parade. He even salutes the vets who come home in wheelchairs (spot the cameo of the real Ron Kovic). While he’s a good athlete in high school, he’s moved by a speech by a Marine recruiter (played by Platoon‘s Tom Berenger) that he signs up to see if he’s got what it takes to the corp. He does gets in. We don’t see his time at bootcamp. We join him on what turns out to be his worst day in Vietnam. First he’s part of a botched operation near a small village. Things get worse when his recon patrol get attacked and he contributes to a friendly fire fatality. This gets compounded when he takes bullets during the attack. He’s helicoptered to safety. But he’s now a paraplegic. He quickly discovers that the U.S. Government might spend a fortune on weapons, but VA facilities are starved of funds. He has to keep fighting for his life. He also sees that even though hippies spit on him, the war hawks don’t care for the wounded warriors. Ron Kovic ends up in a Mexican brothel with his new pal (Platoon’s Willem Dafoe) trying to make sense of it all.
Born on the Fourth of July is still a potent film. Ron Kovic’s story of how he ended up protesting the Vietnam War after swearing he needed to be part of effort to stop commies from taking over the world is moving. Tom Cruise took a major risk since he is not the shining star on the screen. He allows himself to transform into Kovic including scruffy haircuts and beards. He has to admit on screen that he can’t get hard which really cuts back on the sex appeal of the character. Although he learns how to overcome this issue with a Mexican hooker. Cruise probably could have won the Oscar for Best Actor if the film hadn’t come out against My Left Foot where Daniel Day-Lewis played a guy with cerebral palsy who could only control his left foot. Oliver Stone proved he could go back to Vietnam and give us a different perspective compared to his autobiographical Platoon. Born on the Fourth of July reminds us of the cost of war.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer is a 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Oliver Stone supervised and approved of it so this is his vision. The Audio features Dolby Atmos 7.1, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Dolby Surround and DTS-HD MA 2.0 mixes. Pick the ultimate mix for your entertainment system. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Oliver Stone has him going deep into the first attempt to make it with Al Pacino in the lead. He brings up how the studio wasn’t eager to make it since Tom Cruise will play a guy stuck in a wheelchair who can’t be a sex symbol to the ladies. He shares a bit of his military experiences. He gets into making his first Cinemascope film.
Audio Commentary by Matt Zoller Seitz has him declare it Oliver Stone’s most perfect film. He gives a sense of context for the film with the times it depicts. He gets into cast and crew.
The Battlefield at Home (13:15) is an interview with Oliver Stone. He was offered the project and Tom Cruise as the lead while working on Platoon. Tom Cruise had just come off Top Gun so he had the clout. The studio was hesitant about putting a hunky lead in a wheelchair. He did Talk Radio while waiting for Tom. Cruise hung out with Ron to learn not only how to portray the man, but operate the wheelchair.
The Ghost Generation (12:00) meets up with Special Make Up Effects Artist Gordon J. Smith. He had worked on Platoon so he was continuing his work from that film and going home. He enjoyed working with Oliver Stone because the films felt important.
The War Continues (11:32) brings back Associate Producer Clayton Townsend. Oliver Stone had actually adapted the book back in the ’70s, but the studio didn’t want to compete with Hal Ashby’s Coming Home. He talks about the boot camp for the military actors at a paintball facility in Houston, Texas.
TV Spots (2:04) has 4 ads that promote a different kind of Tom Cruise.
Theatrical Trailers (9:44) sets this up as Tom Cruise going deep into America history that isn’t the military fun of Top Gun. There’s 4 trailers here.
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (3:57) is the music video that played on MTV. It’s an OK cover of a Bob Dylan song. She’s now married to Paul Simon.
Shout! Studios present Born On The Fourth of July: Collector’s Edition. Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic. Starring Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Frank Whaley, Caroline Kava and Willem Dafoe. Boxset Contents: 1 4K UHD disc and 1 Blu-ray disc. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: November 12, 2024.
