Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I'm not going to go over the movie. Others have. I lived the time. The movie was believable. It drew me in and held me. It made me weep. I remember my friends. This film may not resonate for some. If you lived and experienced the time, watch this emotional, but not overwrought movie. It won't be shown often. It has the ring of authenticity, and you will feel what you felt then. You will be there.

Not anywhere near Coppola's best, but not bad. Mostly a movie on how war affects those at home, especially during times of tragedy, and the relationships involved. Quite moving, especially towards the end.However, not flawless, not by any measure. Francis Ford Coppola, who gave us three of the greatest movies in history - Apocalypse Now, The Godfather and The Godfather II - plus the excellent The Conversation, is not in his best form here. (In fact, the only time he was in form was in the 70s...). The plot drifts, whole scenes are there for no reason other than padding, there are continuity issues, and the point seems a bit murky at times. Also, the first scene spoils the movie, to an extent, in that it gives away the ending. Remove the first scene and the movie would have been more impactful.Mixed performances. DB Sweeney is a bit weak and unconvincing in the lead role. Best performances come from the old hands - James Caan and James Earl Jones - who give the movie gravitas and feeling.Anjelica Huston is unconvincing and touch irritating in her role.Interesting to see that real-life father and daughter Peter Masterson and Mary Stuart Masterson play father and daughter in the movie.Worth watching for Francis Ford Coppola fans but not a must-see otherwise.

In the late 60s, during the Vietnam War, the idealistic soldier Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney) arrives at Fort Meyer expecting to go to the Academy and then to the Vietnam War. Jackie is the son of a veteran sergeant and soon he becomes the protégé of the former friends of his father, Sergeant Clell Hazard (James Caan) and Sergeant Major 'Goody' Nelson (James Earl Jones).Jackie is promoted and gets married with his childhood friend Rachel Feld (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Hazard and Goody convince their superior, Captain Homer Thomas (Dean Stockwell), to recommend Jackie to the Academy. He is promoted to lieutenant and asks to go to the Vietnam, returning to the Arlington National Cemetery."Gardens of Stone" is another movie by Francis Coppola (without Ford) about the military life and the prize of the Vietnam War, after one of his masterpieces, "Apocalypse Now". The cinematography is magnificent and the cast is top-notch, and it is so good to see the actors, like James Caan, James Earl Jones and Dean Stockwell still young and actresses, like Anjelica Huston and Mary Stuart Masterson, charming and beautiful. The dramatic story has a theme certainly important for Americans and for fans of movies about military life. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Jardins de Pedra" ("Gardens of Stone")

I saw this movie on video, soon after its original release, while attending college on a NROTC scholarship. It is a fine work, with a unique perspective on the Vietnam War. It was especially poignant, as I was preparing for military service during the Reagan/Bush years. This was not a film about the soldiers in the rice paddies; or protesters in Washington. This is the story of the men who had to bury the dead and honor their memories. These were soldiers who might be going to Vietnam, and those who had come back from there. It's about the senseless loss of life that war brings and the hubris of youth.Spoilers-James Caan gives an outstanding performance. He has seen Vietnam and would rather be over there or in a training position, where he feels he could help bring some of these boys back alive, rather than burying them. He is torn up by the knowledge that he can't help. He meets and falls in love with Anjelica Huston, a reporter who opposes the war, but is attracted to Caan. Caan tries to make her see his point, that he doesn't love the war, but has the knowledge hat could save some of the men who have to fight it.DB Sweeny has some fine moments as the young soldier who is itching to be in the middle of the war. He is the face of so many who did their duty and paid a horrible price.There are many fine performances in this film, but it doesn't always come together. Still, it is greater than its faults.I didn't notice this in the goofs; but, in the original video release, you could clearly see the boom mic in frame during the restaurant conversation between Sweeny and his girl. My friends and I used to laugh hysterically during this scene, as the mic would swivel between actors as they said their lines. When I later bought a copy, the mic was missing. I assume it was erased when it was remastered for laser and dvd.