IMDb RATING
6.8/10
15K
YOUR RATING
In August 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan, 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives against 2500 North Vietnamese ... Read allIn August 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan, 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives against 2500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers.In August 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan, 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives against 2500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 6 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe term, "Roger that", is an Americanism, originally from CB radio culture, and often used in military movies. However, it would never be said (or permitted, by any NCO or Officer within earshot) in the Australian Army. "Roger" is the only accepted proword. Similarly, the phrase, "I repeat", when repeating some for clarity over the radio telephone (RATEL), is not permitted. Instead the operator would use, "I say again...". This is because "repeat" is a proword used when directing artillery or naval fire (e.g "request for the same volume of fire to be fired again with or without corrections or changes")
- GoofsThe entire battle took place in a torrential tropical downpour from start to finish. Evidently, this would be hard to film for dramatic purposes. The airstrike never happened not because of a dud smoke grenade, but the cloud was so low and rain so intense the pilots could not identity the target area.
- Quotes
Major Harry Smith: There's a thousand ways to die in a war zone.
- Crazy creditsMany military veterans were involved in the production of this film, both as actors, extras or film crew. They are named and acknowledged in the final credits for their military service in addition to their film roles.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan - Behind the Scenes (2019)
Featured review
The battle of surviving an onslaught...
Australia has its own Steven Soderberg and Michael Winterbottom in Kriv Stenders. A director always on the go, taking on any genre from low to high budget and from art house to commercial hits. In Danger Close, (the battle of Long Tan during the Vietnam War), he creates a war film that plays on many levels, and this is my short twisted take on it, (with possibly some minor spoilers).
I felt like I was one of the soldiers in this battle because from the word go you are thrown into the chaos that is relentless, feeling the intensity that the soldiers had to endure. Yeah, I know I was in the comfort of the cinema, but the movie took over my senses with the haunting battle sounds, confronting images of impeding death and performances that drew you into the characters heart of darkness moment.
There were no laborious introduction scenes to characters outside the battle. The scriptwriters were clever enough to develop the characters during the lead up and the battle itself. Along the way they added small character revelations that made them humane and fragile. The most important factor was TRUST. Without it you would not follow your commander into battle. For Major Harry Smith it was trust that he had to gain from his young troops who at certain times had their doubts. Even trust of the artillery in the backline, firing heavy rounds that sometimes got to "danger close". But what I admired the most was the stance that some of the officers took in defying orders from above. Part of the larrikin Aussie attitude that saved many a life in the battle of Long Tan. (If only today we took that same ballsy attitude against certain politicians and their dumb ideas then this could be a better world.)
Hearing Travis Fimmel with an Aussie accent was a treat. Cast perfectly as Major Harry Smith, the unassuming hero of this brutal battle. And whenever Daniel Webber (Private Paul Large) came up on screen, I couldn't help but think of Sam Bottoms who played Lance in Apocalypse Now. Same demeanour (without being stoned!) and they almost came off as twins.
A top Australian production on all levels that is worth seeing on a decent large screen with big sound.
I felt like I was one of the soldiers in this battle because from the word go you are thrown into the chaos that is relentless, feeling the intensity that the soldiers had to endure. Yeah, I know I was in the comfort of the cinema, but the movie took over my senses with the haunting battle sounds, confronting images of impeding death and performances that drew you into the characters heart of darkness moment.
There were no laborious introduction scenes to characters outside the battle. The scriptwriters were clever enough to develop the characters during the lead up and the battle itself. Along the way they added small character revelations that made them humane and fragile. The most important factor was TRUST. Without it you would not follow your commander into battle. For Major Harry Smith it was trust that he had to gain from his young troops who at certain times had their doubts. Even trust of the artillery in the backline, firing heavy rounds that sometimes got to "danger close". But what I admired the most was the stance that some of the officers took in defying orders from above. Part of the larrikin Aussie attitude that saved many a life in the battle of Long Tan. (If only today we took that same ballsy attitude against certain politicians and their dumb ideas then this could be a better world.)
Hearing Travis Fimmel with an Aussie accent was a treat. Cast perfectly as Major Harry Smith, the unassuming hero of this brutal battle. And whenever Daniel Webber (Private Paul Large) came up on screen, I couldn't help but think of Sam Bottoms who played Lance in Apocalypse Now. Same demeanour (without being stoned!) and they almost came off as twins.
A top Australian production on all levels that is worth seeing on a decent large screen with big sound.
helpful•4734
- DukeEman
- Jun 16, 2019
- How long is Danger Close?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- A$24,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $2,092,198
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content