Heart and Wisdom

This film is a documentary filmed by TV documentary director Peter Davis commissioned by Columbia Pictures to explore why the United States launched the Vietnam War from 1959 to 1975, the tragic suffering of the Vietnamese people, and the changing attitude of the American people towards the Vietnam War. This is the first time a film has been shown in the United States that directly interviews and depicts the plight of Vietnamese civilians. The film has repeatedly shown the racism of U.S. military generals and the shameless deception of the domestic people by the U.S. government. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 1974, but was shelved by Columbia Pictures due to its controversial content. Producers Bert Schneider and Henry Lange bought the rights back from Columbia, and it was finally released in the United States through Warner Bros. in 1975. The film won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Documentary and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary in the same year.