BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY

Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Berenger

Universal Pictures; Directed by Oliver Stone

Rated R; 145 minutes; 1989

, VHS

When Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) went to Vietnam, his fellow Americans were waving flags. When he returned, paralyzed from the mid-chest down they were burning them. Though he still loved his country, America no longer loved him. Director Oliver Stone collaborated with the real Ron Kovic on the screenplay to create this stunning vision of war and its aftermath.

 

Reviews

Academy Award® winner For Best Director and Best Film Editing

Golden Globe Winner for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay

-- Named To The Year's Ten Best Lists By --

- Janet Maslin, NEW YORK TIMES - Joel Siegel, GOOD MORNING AMERICA -

- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES - NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW -

- Steve Kmetko, KCBS-TV - Richard Freedman, NEWHOUSE NEWSPAPERS -

- Gary Franklin, KABC-TV - Rex Reed, AT THE MOVIES - Gene Siskel, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

- Mike McGrady, NEWSDAY - David Sheehan, KNBC-TV -

 

"BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is one of those films that steps correctly in the opening moments and then never steps wrongly. Nothing Tom Cruise has done will prepare you for what he has done in BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"Tom Cruise gives an astounding, deeply felt performance. Together Oliver Stone and Tom Cruise do more than show what happened to Ron Kovic. Their fervent, consistently gripping film shows why it still urgently matters."

- Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE

"An epic film. Oliver Stone has made a powerful and heartbreaking piece of work dominated by Tom Cruise's impassioned performance."

- David Denby, NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"One of the most powerful films of the decade. A passionate performance by Tom Cruise that will touch your heart."

- Rex Reed, AT THE MOVIES

"Tom Cruise is the very best thing in a very big picture. He must grow, rage and endure in every scene. He carries the film heroically."

- Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE

"A skyrocket of a movie. Tom Cruise's depiction of Ron Kovic is an astonishing, seamless achievement. Whoever says they don't make movies about heroes anymore hasn't seen BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

- Guy Flatley, COSMOPOLITAN

"An extraordinary moving experience. Tom Cruise's portrayal is a shattering piece of work, one of the strongest performances of the year. No movie this year has shaken me or moved me as much as BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

- Mike McGrady, NEWSWEEK

"One of the most powerful films of the decade."

- Rex Reed, AT THE MOVIES

"Stunning. A film of visceral power with a performance by Tom Cruise that defines everything that is best about the movie. Watching the evolution of his Ron Kovic is both harrowing and inspiring. BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY connects the war of arms abroad with the war of conscience at home."

- Vincent Canby, NEW YORK TIMES

"Two enthusiastic thumbs up. A towering performance by Tom Cruise."

- SISKEL & EBERT

"A 10+! Off The Scale! There's no comparison for this film with any other film current or past. It's an emotional monument that will stand for a long, long time - perhaps seared in your memory forever."

- Gary Franklin, KABC-TV

"Tom Cruise masterfully conveys the complex changes of Ron Kovic. Oliver Stone heightens emotions and creates stirring visceral images."

- Jack Garner, GANNETT NEWSPAPERS

"Tom Cruise turns in the performance of his career. He offers a mesmerizing portrayal of a man who tries to keep his faith in the war and America."

- Clay Warnick, US MAGAZINE

"A riveting film experience. No one will be unaffected by the exuberance of Tom Cruise. This will burnish his reputation as one of the most honored actors of 1989."

- Bruce Williamson, NEW WOMAN MAGAZINE

"An immensely powerful film with a remarkably rich and involving performance by Tom Cruise."

- Richard Freedman, NEWHOUSE NEWSPAPERS

"BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is beautifully and brilliantly made. It is always honest and it moves the audience to tears."

- Jay Scott, TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL

"One of the year's 10 best. It's what great, powerful filmmaking is all about. Tom Cruise gives the most exciting breakthrough performance of the year. The story and its production are intense, heartbreaking and unforgettable."

- Joanna Langfield, LBS RADIO

"It is impossible to be indifferent to BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY and hard to shake its images from your mind."

- David Ansen, NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE

"Powerful, unflinching and compelling."

- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE

"A triumph. BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is Oliver Stone's explosive adaptation of Ron Kovic's autobiography. Tom Cruise gives a dynamic Oscar-calibre performance."

- Kathleen Carroll, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Tom Cruise achieves indisputable greatness in BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

- Mike Clark, USA TODAY

"Aided by Tom Cruise's stunning performance, Oliver Stone's BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY reaches intellectual and emotional depths seldom explored in the American cinema."

- Jorge Camara, TELEMUNDO

"Excellent. BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is one of the 10 greatest movies of the decade."

- Dann Gire, CHICAGO DAILY HERALD

"Absolutely the year's best film. There is not a frame that is not infused with truth. The most moving film of the decade."

- Norman Mark, WMAQ-TV NBC/CHICAGO

"BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is moving and chilling. It carves out for Oliver Stone clear status as the most thoughtful filmmaker of his generation."

- Richard Rotman, METROPOLIS MAGAZINE, TORONTO

"BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY's power comes from Oliver Stone's direction, Ron Kovic's Story and Tom Cruise's mighty performance. It's one of the best movies of the year and one of the must-see movies of the year."

- Steve Kmetko, CBS-TV