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Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

valis1949 SIR! NO SIR! demonstrates the unbelievable scope and power of the anti- war movement within all branches of the American military during the Vietnam War era. This documentary serves as a reminder for those of us who lived through this turbulent period of American history, and provides a cogent and factual historical record for those who were not yet born. Contemporary American pundits on the Far Right would like to see these truths silenced...permanently. The film shows that anti-war sentiment and anti-war activity permeated all sectors within the American Military establishment, and many brave men sacrificed their careers, and their very lives to stop our country's unnecessary and immoral war in South East Asia. One thing that struck me while watching the film, is that today, huge media conglomerates are being owned and operated by fewer individuals and groups, and how easy it has become to suppress and distort America's long history of dissent. These days, any critical examination of this country's involvement in foreign entanglements is perceived as disloyalty to the troops. Nothing can be farther from the truth, and SIR! NO SIR! shows that the genesis of this particular heresy began in the 1960's as those in power attempted to silence opposition to one of America's most unpopular wars. The film also boasted many Special Features which helped to reaffirm the theme that there was a concerted and intelligent opposition to the war in Vietnam , and this view was shared by a significant portion of this nation's fighting forces. Great film.

nealrob17 I thought that I was aware during the 60's and 70's regarding the War in Vietnam. Clearly I was not. I completely missed this exceedingly important part of the protests of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. I had thought that the student protests were a big part of our finally leaving Vietnam. It appears that is probably highly exaggerated as it was the actual soldiers who rebelled against the war, how it was being waged and the many, many lies we back in the States were told. And, this was at a time that the press was not the lapdog of the government as it is now with the Bush administration.A truly amazing moment, though small (spoiler here), was the myth after the war that returning soldiers were spat upon at the airport. A brief and interesting discussion about this leads me to believe that it was another Hawk-led bit of propaganda to continue trying to embarrass and shame those who opposed the war. Bottom line is that this excellent documentary shows us some incredibly brave heroes who sacrificed a great deal personally to oppose the War in Vietnam. And, that our soldiers are really a wonderfully brave representation of the best in our country. Bravo to these great vets, and of course, to those involved in this present war.

roland-104 By 1968 the civilian anti-Vietnam war movement was beginning to expand, young men were escaping to Canada to avoid the draft, and former combatants were starting to protest the war. Like most Americans, I had no idea that at the same time there was a snowballing anti-war movement taking place right within the ranks of active duty military personnel.Awareness of the disconnect between Pentagon and White House rhetoric, on the one hand, and realities on the ground in Vietnam, on the other, especially our massive extermination of civilian lives, began to seep through every pore within the military, prompting protests that were strikingly varied, creative, and, while often made up of small, localized actions, collectively impressive. To the point that by 1971, as one army colonel put it, the active GI anti-war rebellion had "infested the entire armed services." David Zeiger, writing and directing his first feature for the big screen, does a splendid job of pulling together the stories of participants in this unprecedented, diffuse, largely unorganized, multicentered movement. There are plenty of talking heads, but they aren't experts, they're people reminiscing today about their personal antiwar activities 35 years ago while on active duty. (We also see old shots of these same people when they were young and in uniform.) We hear from participants in actions as diverse as the following examples indicate: Proliferation of forbidden antiwar newspapers on military bases; Passive refusal to participate in antiriot actions at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Party Presidential Convention; Boycott of a chain of jewelry stores located near military bases that pandered to men about to go to Vietnam (Their selling point: the prospect of dying in Vietnam made it urgent to buy a bauble for your wife or mother now, before you go. The ads were juxtaposed with photos of soldiers who had recently died).And more: An Air Force Intelligence group based in Thailand that refused to transmit further intelligence because it was being used as a basis for undisclosed Cambodian bombings; A group of active duty Army personnel that swore not to fight, rioting after their mass arrest and incarceration in an overcrowded Army stockade; A physician - a dermatologist - who refused to continue training Special Forces medics to treat skin infections of Vietnamese children – part of a "win the hearts and minds" campaign – once he learned that we were killing untold thousands of civilians by napalm bombing of villages; Pilots refusing to fly bombing raids; The first major mass public testimony by former combatants about atrocities against civilians, at a 3-day conclave in 1971, in Detroit (memorialized in the film, "Winter Soldier").These stories and many others are told here, involving officers as well as grunts, from every branch of the service. What is so compelling is that the passion of these people has not ebbed despite all the years that have passed, and the many sacrifices and punishments they absorbed consequent to taking a stand. Perhaps there are also people out there who stood up against the war from within the ranks and later regretted doing so. We don't meet any of them.We do meet Jane Fonda, who reminisces with evident conviction today, about her participation, along with Donald Sutherland and other entertainers, in the unauthorized "FTA" variety shows they conducted near military bases during the Vietnam war, antiwar shows that roused huge crowds as they mocked the Bob Hope tours.The men and women – inside the military and among civilians throughout this country – who bravely spoke truth to power during and after the Vietnam war gave the U.S. peace movement its best opportunity since the Civil War to acknowledge the costs of war and seek a better way. Western Europe figured it out. But we didn't. Lessons learned became lessons lost. And, God help us, look where we are today. My grade: 8/10 B+.

Red-125 Sir! No Sir! (2005) written and directed by David Zeiger is the "must-see" documentary of 2005. The film tells the story of the GI resistance movement during the Vietnam war.I'm a Vietnam-era veteran, and I was peripherally involved in the military-based resistance to the war. Although I certainly wasn't an important player, I knew enough about what was happening to attest that the depiction in "Sir! No Sir!" is accurate and balanced. (Most of my own anti-war activity took place when I was off duty and could participate in public peace demonstrations. The GI's who opposed the war when they were on active duty took much greater risks than I did.)Jane Fonda played a pivotal role in the anti-war movement, and she has a pivotal role in this movie. It's interesting that Ms. Fonda has--no doubt under pressure--retracted some of her statements and apologized for some of her anti-war activities. In the film she is not apologetic about her actions, and she clearly believes that what she did was right. I'm not sure which persona represents the real Jane Fonda. I hope it's the unashamed activist who was trying to save lives--both US and Vietnamese.The movie spends quite a bit of time discussing the famous story about returning GI's getting spit at by peace activists. I had always accepted this story as true. All the civilian peace activists I knew were in sympathy with the GI's--we opposed the generals and the Commander- in-Chief, Richard Nixon, as well as his chief adviser, Henry Kissinger. However, I assumed that a small splinter group of peace activists really did harass returning GI's. The film takes the position that the spitting episode never happened--it's an urban legend. I don't know the truth of this matter, but the fact that it may not have happened is certainly something worth thinking about.I was interested that the word "Iraq" never appeared in the film. However, the implications of this movie are obvious. We are again bogged down in an unpopular war that cannot be won. Before the war on Iraq started, many of us in the peace movement said, "It's going to be another Vietnam. U.S. GI's and Iraqis will die, and the country will be divided." The rest is history, as they say.In summary, this is an important documentary, whether or not you agree that the GI resistance movement was the correct and proper response to the war in Vietnam. See it and decide for yourself!