Hearts and Minds

The video has been given a 1080p/AVC-MPEG-4 encoded transfer displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The liner notes reveal, "this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit DataCine from the Academy Film Archive's restored 35mm interpositive, which was produced under the supervision of director Peter Davis and cinematographer Richard Pearce. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, and splices were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's DVNR was used for small dirt, grain, and noise management."

'Hearts and Minds' makes use of a variety of sources alongside the material shot specifically for the film. The historical significance outweighs the appearance of the video so I am more lenient with what I find acceptable in documentaries, as just obtaining the information is the priority. The archive material ranges from newsreels to footage recorded in U.S. bombers and of North Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns. The film grain and damage to the material fluctuates but never becomes too much of a distraction. The quality of the blacks and grays in the black and white footage varies as well.

In the modern-day footage, many colors are seen in strong hues, such as the red, white, and blues that welcome Lt. Coker, whose uniform is a bright white, home to Linden, NJ. A more vibrant red can be seen in the NBC News footage that captures General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing Viet Cong Prisoner in Saigon during the Tet Offensive as the blood squirts out the bullet hole. The jungle greens look accurate. Details and depth are adequate. Any issues with them, or soft focus, in the archive material is a source issue and not a result of the encode.

The audio is available in English LPCM 1.0 and "was remastered at 24-bit from the restored magnetic DME tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using iZotope RX 3."

The dialogue in the modern interviews sounds clean and is free of damage or wear. The explosions had more bass than I anticipated and for a few moments reveal the dynamic range is wider than just the talking heads, which predominantly fills the soundtrack, make clear.

• Commentary - Peter Davis sat down in 2001 to record this for the previous Criterion DVD release. He states he wanted to address, but not necessarily answer, the following questions: Why did we go? What did we do there? What did the doing, in turn, do to us? He kept me interested as he talked about the participants and putting the film together.
  
• Outtakes (HD) - In the Introduction text graphic, it is revealed that Davis recorded about 200 hours of material. Although he had a variety of opinions, he decided the film would only present those who either actively supported or participated in the war to see if their opinions had changed, like General William Westmoreland (26 min) and presidential adviser to both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Walt Rostow (audio only, 24 min). Some who didn't fit that bill are French journalist Philippe Devillers (11 min), Indochina correspondent for 'Le monde' during the First Indochina War; George Ball (19 min), Undersecretary of State for John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, was against America's military involvement in Vietnam and eventually resigned in '66; Tony Russo (35 min), worked at RAND Corporation and with Daniel Ellsberg was involved with leaking the Pentagon Papers; and NBC News anchor David Brinkley (24 min), co-host from 1956 to 1970 of The Huntley-Brinkley Report who discusses the role of media bringing the war to the home front. There are also two scenes of South Vietnam war causalities that most affected the crew: Quang Nam Funeral (5 min), which wasn't used because another funeral was, and Cong Hoa Hospital (3 min), which features a badly burned soldier.
  

There are no HD exclusives.

With the current turmoil in the Middle East making some question the costs and the rationale for the last Iraq War, this high-definition upgrade by The Criterion Collection is timely and may serve as an inspiration to create an unoffical sequel. The video and audio are presented as well as they can be considering the source, so 'Hearts and Minds' may be better suited for history buffs rather than HD aficionados.