Coming Home

It's official, Coming Home has the greatest soundtrack of all time. I don't know how much money was spent in securing these songs for use in the film, but I doubt you will ever see such a soundtrack assembled for a film ever again... for example, Beatles song are notoriously expensive to use because Michael Jackson owns the rights, and the executives of Jimmi Hendrix are very particular about what kinds of films they allow his music to be used in. Anyway, check out this great soundtrack...

• "Hey Jude" Performed by The Beatles
• "Strawberry Fields Forever" Performed by The Beatles
• "Call On Me" Performed by Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
• "Once I Was" Performed by Tim Buckley
• "Expecting to Fly" Performed by Buffalo Springfield
• "For What It's Worth" Performed by Buffalo Springfield
• "Time Has Come Today" Performed by Chambers Brothers
• "Just Like A Woman" Written & Performed by Bob Dylan
• "Save Me" Performed by Aretha Franklin
• "Follow" Performed by Richie Havens
• "Manic Depression" Performed by Jimi Hendrix
• "White Rabbit" Performed by Jefferson Airplane
• "Out of Time" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "No Expectations" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "Jumpin' Jack Flash" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "My Girl" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "Ruby Tuesday" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "Sympathy For The Devil" Performed by Rolling Stones
• "Bookends" Performed by Simon and Garfunkel
• "Born To Be Wild" Performed by Steppenwolf

All perfect choices to represent the late 60s/early 70s (in others words, the Vietnam War era). The movie itself isn't bad either, and features some excellent performances from Jon Voight, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern.

Released at the same time as The Deer Hunter, these two very different films about the Vietnam War duked it out at the 1978 Oscars, and almost all the major awards went to one or the other. I think it's fair to say though that The Deer Hunter is probably the better film and has stood the test of time somewhat longer by taking a less reactionary stance against the war. Jane Fonda had the gall to suggest The Deer Hunter was the Washington/pro-war version of events (and she said this in the same breath she used to admit that she hadn't seen it), but I think the main distinction to make between these two films is that The Deer Hunter takes a more complex view of the war and opts not to take the easy route of just saying "War is bad, mmmmkay?" (like, say, Coming Home tends to do). To say that Coming Home take a lazier angle by not actually showing the war in any capacity is probably missing the point though, so as I'm feeling charitable I'll let in slide in favour of looking at this movie as more of a character piece than the anti-war propaganda that Jane Fonda wanted it to be.

With this in mind, there are three main things that I think elevate this film above dreary melodrama, and I'll list them to round this review off...

1. The awesome soundtrack. Also, the decision to run these songs at mid to low-volume almost completely through the film whilst crosscutting between scenes lends the film a terrific sense of continuity and atmosphere that it probably would've otherwise been unable to achieve. The use of the Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil in particular comes to mind, it really helps build the film's momentum.

2. Jon Voight. This guy is one of the unsung screen legends, and he won a Best Actor Oscar for his work here. Whilst his contemporaries (Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, etc) all went from strength to strength and gained cult icon status to varying degrees, Voight eventually faded from the public consciousness and never achieved such success, and slums it now out as the guy people call when Christopher Walken is too busy. The sad thing is, he has a bigger range than either De Niro or Pacino, but audiences never latched onto him in the way they did with those guys, and Voight's films (whilst sometimes acclaimed) aren't the huge classics or blockbusters that, say, The Godfather, Scarface or Tootsie are.

3. Hal Ashby's underplayed direction and slick editing. I wouldn't really say Ashby is a subtle director but he definitely isn't one to overdo it, and his unassuming style goes a long way towards lifting this film out of telemovie territory. It's heavily rumoured that his editing helped reign in Voight's performance (particularly in his speech scene towards the end).

DIRECTOR: Hal Ashby
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Robert C. Jones, Waldo Salt and Rudy Wurlitzer. Based on the novel of the same name by George Davis.
KEY ACTORS: Jon Voight, Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Robert Carradine, Robert Ginty

RELATED TEXTS:
- The novel Coming Home, loosely inspired by George Davis' real life experiences in the Vietnam War.
- Born on the 4th of July owes quite a lot to this film.
- The other big Vietnam War films of the late 70s were The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. Later important (and unimportant) films about the Vietnam War include Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Forrest Gump, The Odd Angry Shot, Jacknife, Casualties of War and We Were Soldiers.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - won Best Actor (Jon Voight), Best Actress (Jane Fonda) and Best Adapted Writing. Also nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern) and Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Milford).
Cannes Film Festival - won Best Actor (Jon Voight). Nominated for Palme d'Or.
Golden Globes - won Best Actor - Drama (Jon Voight) and Best Actress - Drama (Jane Fonda). Also nominated for Best Film (Drama), Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern).