Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Ixtlan Productions
Universal Pictures
Not part of a collection.
A true story of innocence lost and courage found.
Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
CinemaSerf
Jul 27, 2025 · via TMDB
I think this might be the only film in which I’ve seen Tom Cruise actually act! It’s an inspired piece of casting from Oliver Stone that puts this pretty boy Ron Kovic front and centre as the Vietnam War rages half way around the world from his American home. This lad’s family have history fighting for their country, and despite some reservations from his father (Raymond J. Barry) but with the active support of his mother (Caroline Kava), he enlists. His time in Asia is fraught with danger; their enemy ruthless and tenacious and their command structure isn’t the most cohesive, but he does form a solid bond with his colleagues as they face their daily perils. Those perils impact increasingly more directly on Ron until he is transported back without the use of his legs, or anything much else below his waistline. The doctors are brutally frank with him. No walking and no children. He’s determined, however, not to lose these limbs and it’s that fortitude that sees him returned home to a family ill-equipped to deal with his or their own demons. One of his friends suggests he gets a job, but with a decent government cheque coming in each month he shuns that idea and is soon an unfulfilled drunken drug addict with nobody around him having any idea how to help. Perhaps salvation for this man might come from an unlikely quarter as he begins to fight against the indifference shown by Uncle Sam to it’s veterans once their usefulness has expired. He turns out to be quite an orator and is swiftly galvanising not just the victims but the entire anti-war effort across his country - much to the chagrin of the powers that be. The effort from Cruise here is transformative. He morphs convincingly from the handsome idealistic boy-next-door to the foul-mouthed, scruffy looking, protester with what I think is his most natural of performances. He positively oozes an embittered toxicity against the authorities who now consider him, and many thousands like him, little more than an inconvenience. He is a bit of a pig to be around, is Ron, and that puts enormous pressure on his friends and family - well extolled by Kava, Josh Evans as his younger brother Tommy and by Barry as a father dealing with his own feelings of helplessness and guilt. Away from the personalities, this film effectively illustrates just how abandoned many of the injured were. With insufficient medical care, facilities and staff often meaning their recovery processes were delayed and the psychological effects of that on both the injured and those charged with their care is writ large, too. Stone understands how to convey the horrors of war and the scarring it causes and the originally adapted screenplay by Kovic himself is gritty and realistic on both a military and personal level. The man has flaws and he knows it, but once he has a conduit for his considerable energy he can become formidable. This isn’t an easy watch, but as an antidote to so much glamorised wartime fiction, it works well.
CinemaSerf
Jul 27, 2025 · via TMDB
I think this might be the only film in which I’ve seen Tom Cruise actually act! It’s an inspired piece of casting from Oliver Stone that puts this pretty boy Ron Kovic front and centre as the Vietnam War rages half way around the world from his American home. This lad’s family have history fighting for their country, and despite some reservations from his father (Raymond J. Barry) but with the active support of his mother (Caroline Kava), he enlists. His time in Asia is fraught with danger; their enemy ruthless and tenacious - but he does form a solid bond with his colleagues as they face their daily perils. Those perils impact increasingly more directly on Ron until he is transported back without the use of his legs, or anything much else below his waistline. The doctors are brutally frank with him. No walking and no children. He’s determined, however, not to lose these limbs and it’s that fortitude that sees him returned home to a family ill-equipped to deal with his or their own demons. One of his friends suggests he gets a job, but with a decent government cheque coming in each month he shuns that idea and is soon an unfulfilled drunken drug addict with nobody around him having any idea how to help. Perhaps salvation for this man might come from an unlikely quarter as he begins to fight against the indifference shown by Uncle Sam to it’s veterans once their usefulness has expired. He turns out to be quite an orator and is swiftly galvanising not just the victims but the entire anti-war effort across his country - much to the chagrin of the powers that be. The effort from Cruise here is transformative. He morphs convincingly from the handsome idealistic boy-next-door to the foul-mouthed, scruffy looking, protester with what I think is his most natural of performances. He positively oozes an embittered toxicity against the authorities who now consider him, and many thousands like him, little more than an inconvenience. He is a bit of a pig to be around, is Ron, and that puts enormous pressure on his friends and family - well extolled by Kava, Josh Evans as his younger brother Tommy and by Barry as a father dealing with his own feelings of guilt. Away from the personalities, this film effectively illustrates just how abandoned many injured were. With insufficient medical care, facilities and staff often meaning their recovery process was delayed and the psychological effects of that on both the injured and those charged with their care is writ large, too. Stone understands how to convey the horrors of war and the scarring it causes and the originally adapted screenplay by Kovic himself is gritty and realistic on both a military and personal level. The man has flaws and he knows it, but once he has a conduit for his considerable energy he can become formidable. This isn’t an easy watch, but as an antidote to so much glamorised wartime fiction, it works well.
kevin2019
Feb 28, 2025 · via TMDB
"Born on the Fourth of July" is a powerful, worthwhile, and highly recommended film which shows the real social and familial challenges Ron Kovic faced when struggling to come to terms with the devastating after effects of war and the reality of how the contentious conflict changed him as a person and redefined how he perceived the world. He became dependant on alcohol for a time, but during a sojourn in Mexico while the continuing conflict in Vietnam was becoming more protracted by the day - it eventually becomes overrun by serious lapses in judgement which results in the ongoing deaths of many more innocent people - he has an epiphany of sorts and upon his return home he joins the anti-war movement and this fact - how this initially staunch supporter of the war embarked upon an extremely personal journey and became active in attempting to bring the war to an end by becoming an incredibly vocal anti-Vietnam demonstrator - is the most startling aspect of his often deeply emotional story which is yet another in the growing collection of insightful and invaluable first hand accounts detailing the damaging long term horrors wrought by the Vietnam war.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Netflix
Peacock Premium
Netflix Standard with Ads
Peacock Premium Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
FlixFling
Tom Cruise
Ron Kovic
Raymond J. Barry
Mr. Kovic
Caroline Kava
Mrs. Kovic
Kyra Sedgwick
Donna
Willem Dafoe
Charlie
Jerry Levine
Steve Boyer
Stephen Baldwin
Billy Vorsovich
Josh Evans
Tommy Kovic
Rob Camilletti
Tommy Finnelli
Vivica A. Fox
Hooker
Lili Taylor
Jamie Wilson
Tony Frank
Mr. Wilson
Holly Marie Combs
Jenny
Tom Berenger
Sergeant Hayes
Frank Whaley
Timmy
Mark Moses
Optimistic Doctor
Bob Gunton
Doctor #1
Cordelia González
Maria Elena
Anne Bobby
Suzanne Kovic
Richard Panebianco
Joey Walsh
Tom Sizemore
Vet - Villa Dulce
Michael Wincott
Vet - Villa Dulce
Mike Starr
Man #1 - Arthur's Bar
Ed Lauter
Legion Commander
Daniel Baldwin
Vet #1 - Democratic Convention
Brian Tarantina
Vet #2 - Miami Convention
Dale Dye
Infantry Colonel
Norma Moore
Massapequa Mom
Stacey Moseley
Young Donna's Friend
Oliver Stone
News Reporter
Sean Stone
Young Jimmy Kovic
Jenna Von Oÿ
Young Suzanne Kovic
John Getz
Marine Major - Vietnam
David Warshofsky
Lieutenant - Vietnam
Jason Gedrick
Martinez - Vietnam
Bill Allen
Platoon - Vietnam
William Baldwin
Platoon - Vietnam
James Le Gros
Platoon - Vietnam
William Mapother
Platoon - Vietnam
Byron Minns
Platoon - Vietnam
Markus Flanagan
Doctor - Vietnam
R. D. Call
Chaplain - Vietnam
Corkey Ford
Marvin - VA Hospital
Rocky Carroll
Willie - VA Hospital
Chris Pedersen
Aide #3 - VA Hospital
David Herman
Patient - VA Hospital
Bruce MacVittie
Patient - VA Hospital
Damien Leake
Patient - VA Hospital
David Neidorf
Patient - VA Hospital
Paul Sanchez
Patient - VA Hospital
Richard Poe
Frankie - VA Hospital
Jake Weber
Donna's Boyfriend - Syracuse, NY
Reg E. Cathey
Speaker - Syracuse, NY
Edie Brickell
Folk Singer - Syracuse, NY
Joseph P. Reidy
Student Organizer - Syracuse, NY
Beau Starr
Man #2 - Arthur's Bar
Rick Masters
Man #3 - Arthur's Bar
Melinda Renna
Barmaid - Arthur's Bar
Andrew Lauer
Vet - Villa Dulce
Ivan Kane
Vet - Villa Dulce
J.R. Nutt
Young Tommy
Begonya Plaza
Charlie's Hooker - Villa Dulce
Edith Diaz
Madame - Villa Dulce
Anthony Pena
Bartender - Villa Dulce
Peter Crombie
Undercover Vet - Miami Convention
Alan Toy
Paraplegic #3 - Miami Convention
Chuck Pfeiffer
Secret Service Agent - Miami Convention
Eagle-Eye Cherry
Vet #1 - Miami Convention
Frank Cavestani
Vet #3 - Miami Convention
John William Galt
Fat Republican - Miami Convention
Jack McGee
Democratic Delegate - Democratic Convention
Jodi Long
Reporter #1 - Democratic Conventon
Michelle Hurst
Reporter #2 - Democratic Conventon
John C. McGinley
Official #1 - Democratic Convention, Pushing Wheelchair
Wayne Knight
Official #2 - Democratic Convention
Elizabeth Hoffman
Passerby #1 - Democratic Convention
Lucinda Jenney
Passerby #2 - Democratic Convention
Annie McEnroe
Passerby #4 - Democratic Convention
Réal Andrews
Vet #2 - Democratic Convention
Theresa Bell
Democratic Conventioner (uncredited)
Dean Denton
Marine Recruiter (uncredited)
Ron Kovic
Parade Veteran (uncredited)
Delia Sheppard
Protesting War Widow (uncredited)
Henry Strzalkowski
(uncredited)
Frank Girardeau
Agent #1 - Miami Convention
Craig T. Nelson
Marine Officer
Robert Richardson
Director of Photography
Anastas N. Michos
Steadicam Operator
Oliver Stone
Director
Joseph P. Reidy
First Assistant Director
David Brenner
Editor
Risa Bramon Garcia
Casting
A. Kitman Ho
Producer
Clayton Townsend
Producer
Joseph P. Reidy
Producer
Oliver Stone
Producer
Clayton Townsend
Production Manager
Jimmy Webb
Additional Soundtrack
John Williams
Original Music Composer
Scott Martin Gershin
Sound Effects Editor
Ron Kovic
Book
Oliver Stone
Screenplay
Ron Kovic
Screenplay
Her Children
The Aeronauts
Islandia
First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story
BAUS: The Ship's Voyage Continues
Fear on Trial
Bizarre Friends of Ricardinho
A Night without Light
Portrait of the Poet with His Double
Ayaz
My Friendship
Avicenna
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Schindler's List
Henry IV
Forrest Gump
Life Is Beautiful
Dead Poets Society
Apocalypse Now
Paths of Glory
Saving Private Ryan
John Cranko
Taxi Driver
Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Paris, Texas
The Elephant Man
Amadeus
Casino
Lawrence of Arabia
Legend in Granite
Green Days by the River
Posel úsvitu
炉火正红
Rat in the Kitchen
Andrei Rublev
12 Years a Slave
The Great Escape
I'm Still Here
Mirror
The Postman
All Your Faces
Downfall
A Beautiful Mind
Brokeback Mountain
All Quiet on the Western Front
Awakenings
Solaris
Rain Man
The Color Purple
Manhattan
The Best Years of Our Lives
Inherit the Wind
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Boxed
The Hustler
All the President's Men
A Million Miles Away
The Longest Day
The Sea Inside
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
American Gangster
Boogie Nights
A Night to Remember
Breakthrough
The Last Emperor
Cinderella Man
Until Forever
I Still Believe
Gandhi
Malcolm X
Walk the Line
Breaking the Waves
Ed Wood
Birdman of Alcatraz
Au Revoir les Enfants
Serpico
Running on Empty
Friendly Fire
Arthur the King
Glory
Ray
Miller's Crossing
Y Tu Mamá También
Enemy at the Gates
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
H-8...
Live and Become
Cold War
The Right Stuff
Boys Don't Cry
The Godfather Part III
Black Hawk Down
The Remains of the Day
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Samurai Assassin
DIVE
Lord of War
In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness
To My Unborn Son
25th Hour
Sissi
Good Morning, Vietnam
North Country
Birds of Passage
Kneecap
Once Upon a Time in High School
Pleasantville
And the Woman Shall Fear Her Husband
Adam
Amerikatsi
Driving Miss Daisy
Man on the Moon
300
Synoikia to Oneiro
Monster
Dangerous Liaisons
The Dreamers
Breakfast on Pluto
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Fortune Cookie
Masculin Féminin
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Vera Drake
Antarctica
The Young Victoria
Monsieur Aznavour
Seven Years in Tibet
Out of Africa
The Upside
Bed and Board
Desert Hearts
The English Patient
Sissi: The Young Empress
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
The Virgin Suicides
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Across the Universe
Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg
Witness
Margarete Steiff
The Accused
Drugstore Cowboy
Salvador
Cool Runnings
West Beirut
A Killer Among Friends
Monsieur Ibrahim
The Post
Love on the Run
Chocolat
The Men
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Rabbit-Proof Fence
The Glenn Miller Story
Big Night
Chihwaseon
My Brother
Lupe
The Spacewalker
Santander, la ciudad en llamas
The Lake in the Sky
Capote
Heavenly Creatures
Children of a Lesser God
Coffee and Cigarettes
The Wanderers
Michael Collins
Breakdown
Now and Then
Reds
Colette
Indivisible
Soldier Boy
Barfly
Coco Before Chanel
Viva Zapata!
Moonstruck
Fatal Attraction
Two Sons of Francisco
Nixon
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
James Dean
The Bounty
Dunkirk
Leave No Trace
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
Chariots of Fire
Exodus
Van Gogh
The Other Side of the Wind
I Used to Be Funny
Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger
Jarhead
Requiem
The Sugarland Express
Moulin Rouge
My Boy Jack
Radioactive
Farinelli
Private Parts
Flyboys
Home at Seven
Amour Fou
Sobibor
32 Malasana Street
Authentik
Infamous
Your Cheatin' Heart
Next Goal Wins
China Cry
Sommersby
White Boy Rick
Husband Father Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story
The Theory of Flight
Spoiled Children
Theophilos
The Eternal Feminine
Silent Night
Beate Uhse - das Recht auf Liebe
World Trade Center
De Dominee
In the Name of the Law
Bang Bang Baby
Wonderland
Spanglish
Mulholland Falls
In Her Skin
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Florence Nightingale
The Jayne Mansfield Story
The Perfect Gentleman
Further Prophecies of Nostradamus
Tribute to the Teachers
A Mother's Touch
羌笛颂
The Little Sheriff
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards
Life
Roe vs. Wade
Age of Consent
The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis
Barbara
Glue
Tattoo
And Then There Were None
Gun Hill Road
RENT-A-MAN
The Naked Cell
Dreamcatcher
Gerry
Shooting Clerks
Most Beautiful Island
Sisi/Last Minute
The Disco Years
The Walk
Karla
No Good Deed
His Mother's Eyes
Wartorn: 1861-2010
The Assassination of Trotsky
Champagne Charlie
Paranoia
Stoned
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers!
The Guardian Angel
The Passion of Ayn Rand
La Baraja de la Muerte
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
November
Mother Earth
Old Hickory
Emergency
Om Namo Venkatesaya
My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn
A Bullet for Pretty Boy
Living at 100 Miles an Hour
Desert Son
Bell Witch Haunting
Enough
La luz con el tiempo dentro
Between Two-Spirit: Becoming a Woman at Sixty
The Guerilla is a Poet
Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking
Alfredo S. Lim: The Untold Story
The Greatest
Koreatown
A Letter from Rose Kennedy
The Curtain Closes
Mille scudi
En el camino
Kamerad
Karola
Medic
Gino: A Child of War
The Butterflies Still Fly
Another in the Fire
London Recruits
Wonderful Youth
Heaven and Nature
Bugatti: The Final Race
Dumas: Black Devil
V láske je naša pravda
Red Beast
Less is More
Bailey's Blues
21 Down
The Desert Beyond
Penny
Fight Club
Once Upon a Time in America
Apocalypse Now
Taxi Driver
Requiem for a Dream
The Deer Hunter
Mysterious Skin
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Express
Cherry
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Escape from Sobibor
Casualties of War
Sometimes in April
Dead Man's Shoes
The Doors
Salvador
Bronson
A Prayer Before Dawn
Pork Chop Hill
Dead Presidents
The Devil's Double
Men in War
Hamburger Hill
The Grey Zone
Blind Fury
Ike: Countdown to D-Day
Triumph of the Spirit
Auto Focus
Hell Hath No Fury
Above the Law
Stop-Loss
Redacted
Foxfire
Missing in Action
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
Dec 20, 1989
Jan 5, 1990
Jul 1, 2025
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
The Stranglers - Live '78, SF
1978
Saddle Leather Law
1944
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.