Twenty-five years later, 'Good Morning Vietnam' still holds up as one the best films about Vietnam and most certainly one of the top Robin Williams films of all time. I can’t believe it has been twenty-five years. I actually remember seeing this in the theatre with my parents and just loving Robin Williams' performance as Adrian Cronauer, the real radio disc-jockey. Over the next couple of years, I memorized and performed all of Cronauer's radio monologues. I can still recite them to this day. Needless to say, 'Good Morning Vietnam' holds a special place in my heart, and this 25th-anniversary blu-ray is a hit. There are some decent extras and great audio and video presentations on this disc. In my opinion, this is definitely worth picking up.
You’ve most likely seen this movie, and if you haven't, you’re in for a real treat. 'Good Morning Vietnam' follows radio deejay Adrian Cronauer (Williams), who is assigned to do the morning show for the US troops in Vietnam. Cronauer's ultra-unorthodox music choices and comedy bits quickly earn him the love and respect of the troops, but put him on the proverbial "shit list" with the conservative military officers. While in Vietnam, Cronauer becomes also entranced by a local Vietnamese girl and immediately puts the moves on her. He fails on almost every attempt.
He ends up following her to a classroom where a group of natives are learning English. Cronauer takes over as teacher to get closer with the girl, but is stopped short by her brother. Cronauer becomes friends with her brother, but later on realizes there is something more afoot. On top of that, he is hassled at every corner by two military superiors for his non-conformist radio show...
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where an emotionally drained and beaten Cronauer has given up trying to fight the asinine rules of the military officers, and one of his assistants (a young Forest Whitaker) tries to get Cronauer back on the air. While in traffic in Vietnam, they pull up to several military convoys transporting US troops. Cronauer’s assistant yells to the troops that he has Adrian Cronauer in the car.
So Cronauer gives his famous “Gooooooood Morning Vietnam” line and the troops go insane with joy. Cronauer proceeds to do some comedy for the troops and he realizes he really is making their days better in the crude world of war. It's an amazing scene. Maybe in the top scenes in cinema if you ask me.
The soundtrack for the film is out of this world. Featuring rock n roll hits from top artist from the period, the tunes will make you get up out of your seat and groove. Some of the music includes James Brown, The Beach Boys, and Wilson Pickett. 'Good Morning Vietnam' is packed with plenty of laughs and some real drama. This is one of the better Robin William’s films as he was clearly free to let that famous Robin Williams style loose.
The video comes via a glorious 1080p/AC-encoded transfer presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
The movie looks great. It seems that this film was cleaned up quite a bit from its last release. There is a tiny bit of noise reduction, which in some cases crushes some of the better textures.
Also there has been a small bit of some edge enhancement thrown in, which gave way to very minor halos and aliasing. With that said, even though, that is not a good thing, this is still the best Good Morning America has looked. The colors pop and are vibrant throughout. The blacks are deep and inky. The skin tones are natural and well-saturated. The shadow detail looks good on this release. The movie looks polished and clear. The exterior shots of the jungle with the greens and browns just pop. This is a very solid video transfer.
The audio has a DTS-HD 5.1 mix and sounds good. It seemed like the soundtrack was more front heavy for being a 5.1 track, but some of the heavier action sequences and the explosions made all the speakers rumble. And while they rumbled, it was not as full as it could have been. That being said, this is more of a dialogue driven film than anything which mostly comes through the front speakers.
The dialogue was crisp and clear and the ambient sounds of the jungle sounded amazing over all the speakers. The directionality could have been a bit livelier, paying attention to more movement and channel pans. The best part is the score and music in the film. This is a faithful if unimpressive audio presentation.
'Good Morning Vietnam' was an instant hit back in the 80s and remains a classic today. Robin Williams is fantastic in this film. It’s got wit, heart, soul, and enough laughs to go around for everyone. The film's soundtrack is filled with some of the best musicians of all time playing some of the finest rock n roll music from the period. This is the best the film has ever looked, and the extras, while slim, are a lot of fun. I recommend 'Good Morning Vietnam' to everyone. It's currently selling at a great price too!
Portions of this review also appear in our coverage of Dunkirk on Blu-ray. This post features unique Vital Disc Stats, Video, and Final Thoughts sections.
