Unseen Images: The Vietnam War (1997)

The Vietnam War is the most filmed conflict in history, but also heavily censored. This series features formerly classified films from U.S. Combat cameramen, and offers a raw and shocking battlefront view. The Vietnam war as it really was.

Part 1: The Secret of the War
From the first contact with the jungle to the gigantic deployments of men in 1966. "The Secret of the War" covers the period 1965-1967. Its origins are evoked: Capra's "Why We Fight" becomes "why we fight?" with a question mark and already raises doubts and uncertainties. The shock of the first fights is also at the heart of this episode. For the first three years of the war, the U.S. Infantry had two very different missions to win 'Hearts and Minds' and to 'Search and Destroy'. Join U.S. combat cameramen as they are choppered in alongside the troops to capture the fighting on assault operations including Starlight, Cedar Falls and Masher.

Part 2: The Secret of the Weapons
The year 1968 and the Tet Offensive. "The Secret of the Weapons" addresses, through the year '68, the extraordinary display of power of the Americans in the face of the incredible endurance and ingenuity of the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. From snake-infested jungles to treacherous underground tunnel complexes to city streets, U.S. Infantrymen had to fight in all terrains in Vietnam. Superb combat footage records the war as it raged both in the countryside and in the cities of Saigon and Hue during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

Part 3: The Secret of the Men
From the Dong Ap Bia attack, 'The Battle of Hamburger Hill' to the 1973 ceasefire. "The Secret of the Men" deals with the period 1969-1975 and revolves around the weariness of the fighters which, among other factors, will lead to withdrawal and defeat. As peace negotiations dragged on, U.S. soldiers faced new threats and dangers - and a largely conscript army started to come apart under pressure. Once-censored film footage provides a shocking insight, from the carnage of Hamburger Hill to vicious fighting in the Mekong Delta.

– Original title: Unknown Images: The Vietnam War