Hearts and Minds

Overview

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

Directed by Peter Davis

Top cast

C

Clark Clifford

Self - Aide to President Truman 1946-50

J

John Foster Dulles

Self (archive footage)

G

Georges Bidault

Self - French Foreign Minister in 1954

Harry S. Truman

Self (archive footage)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Self (archive footage)

John F. Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage)

Lyndon B. Johnson

Self (archive footage)

G

George Coker

Self - Prisoner of War 1966-73

W

Walt Rostow

Self - Aide to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson

J

J. William Fulbright

Self - Senator

R

Randy Floyd

Self - Former Navy Captain

C

Charles Hoey

Self - U.S. Air Force, Saigon

J

Jerry Holter

Self - U.S. Air Force, Saigon

J. Edgar Hoover

Self (archive footage)

Joseph McCarthy

Self (archive footage)

S

Stan Holder

Self - Former Corporal

B

Bobby Muller

Self - Former 1st Lieutenant

Daniel Ellsberg

Self - Former Aide, Defense Dept., Rand Corp.

W

William C. Westmoreland

Self - Commanding General, Vietnam 1964-68

Details