AllMovie

Courageously taking on one of the most complex and tortuous subjects in late 20th century world history, the documentary program National Geographic: Inside the Vietnam War cuts back-and-forth between two distinct spheres of the infamous titular conflict: the world of U.S. policy administrators and the hellish world of the front lines in southeast Asia. The program details the various military strategies laid out by the Johnson administration that defined the trajectory of the war; it also provides a jarring counterpoint by filtering the harrowing conflict through the perspectives and memories of over four dozen Vietnam vets who recount the emotional strain and horror of combat on the ground and in the sky. The program is supplemented by the inclusion of extensive archival footage and telling file photographs.