The Dogs of War (1980) or, Mercenaries in Africa!

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The tag-line that runs into the title for John Irvin's The Dogs of War here is actually a Shakespearean quote from Julius Caesar (1599)

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A group of mercenaries carry out a coup d'état in a brutally led, African dictatorship for economical gain ... or ?

Dogs of War is an uneven war drama with a young Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter (1978)) in a fairly uninteresting part as one of the mercenaries. I rarely think about it in his later work, but as a young man, (although he is actually 36 here, so not, in fact, so very young), Walken had a stunning, off-center beauty.
Most of the film concerns an international errand, where one dull weapons deal after the other is introduced and quickly forgotten again. Dogs of War's facets never quite make up for the fact that the film never seems to really deliver what its posters, blurbs and first, exciting scene promises: Action.
It is written by Gary DeVore (Raw Deal (1986)) and George Malko (Indian Killer (1974)), based on the 1974 novel of the same title by Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal (1971)), and directed by English director John Irvin (Hamburger Hill (1987)). Irvin is making a film entitled Mandela's Gun in South Africa right now for release later this year.

Watch a hokey TV spot for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 5.4 mil. $ (presumably US only)
= Uncertainty
[Dogs of War is an English production, shot in Miami, Florida, and in Belize, standing in for the fictitious African country Zangaro. The film was photographed by the great Jack Cardiff (The Red Shoes (1948)). Information about the film's budget and box office performance are not to be found online.]

What do you think of The Dogs of War?

Born on the Fourth of July (1989) or, Beautiful Struggle

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Tom Cruise in one of his career's best parts, as Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July

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Ron Kovic's story about blind faith in his Marine Corps, through murder and massacre and paralysis in the Vietnam war, - to a new identity as anti-war protest-leader, - hits its audience right in the pelvis.
The storytelling and visual style is highly American, as writer-director Oliver Stone, - who won his third Oscar for his direction, - leads us with the lead character from home to overseas, to home again, - with a new recognition. The historical account is magnificent, and Stone mixes grand emotions and music (by John Williams (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982))) with great talent.

Tom Cruise and Willem Dafoe as two opposing, handicapped war-veterans in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July

Tom Cruise (Top Gun (1986)) is simply phenomenal, - and was Oscar-nominated for his work, - as Ron Kovic, on whose autobiography the film is based. - Kovic even co-scripted the film with Stone.
Born on the Fourth of July is a triumph for everyone involved, a great American movie and a real classic. It is an exceptional movie of the American experience of Vietnam.

So starts an American classic; Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July

Watch the film's trailer here

Budget: 14 mil. $
Box office: 161 mil. $
= Huge hit

What do you think of Born on the Fourth of July?
Do you agree that it is a true, American classic?
Is it Oliver Stone and/or Tom Cruise's best film, or if not, which are?