Impossible’ Director’s Vietnam War Masterpiece Is a Sudden Streaming Hit

Especially considering his recent disparaging of Paul Dano, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Lillard, director Quentin Tarantino‘s comments are rarely on the fence. Never afraid to give his opinion, for better or worse, Tarantino’s extreme love and hate for the minutiae of film are byproducts of his industry genius. In one of his more surprising takes, yet thankfully one soaked in praise and optimism, Tarantino once declared 1989’s Casualties of War, directed by another industry great in Brian De Palma, to be “the greatest film about the Vietnam War.”

At the time of writing, Casualties of War is one of the 10 most-streamed movies on Tubi in the U.S. Starring One Battle After Another‘s Sean Penn and the legendary Michael J. Fox, the film is based on a 1969 New Yorker article by Daniel Lang, which itselfwas later published as a book. The original article is a retelling of a real incident that took place in 1966 during the war, which involved a terrifying crime committed by a group of American troops. Tarantino even admitted that an early scene from Casualties of War inspired his directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs, saying, “I really used it when I was doing Reservoir Dogs, not copying it frame by frame or anything but just when I was writing the script emotionally.” For those yet to see the movie, a synopsis of Casualties of War reads:

“Pvt. Max Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is stationed in Vietnam under Sgt. Tony Meserve (Sean Penn). Though Meserve saves Eriksson’s life during battle, the two men clash when the callous senior officer orders the abduction of Than Thi Oanh (Thuy Thu Le), a young Vietnamese woman, to be used as a sex slave. When Eriksson refuses to take part in the abuse of Oanh, tensions between him, Meserve and the rest of the unit heat up and finally explode during a firefight with Viet Cong troops.”

‘Casualties of War’ Was a Hit With Critics

Although it only received one major award nomination, earning a nod for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes, Casualties of War was still a hit with critics. Boasting a strong, “certified fresh” 82% from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus on the site reads, “Casualties of War takes a harrowing plunge into the Vietnam War with a well-acted ensemble piece that ranks among director Brian De Palma’s more mature efforts.”

Casualties of War is streaming now on Tubi. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.