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Dead presidents tells the story of Anthony, a black man from New York who struggles to adapt to life after being a marine in the Vietnam war. The film is structured into three distinct parts; his early years deciding to not go to college, the experience of the Vietnam war, and life after the war in which he decides to commit a crime to help pay the bills.
It's a bit of a patchwork film in that respect, as the segments don't flow easily. The first segment is well put together with some excellent family drama. The Vietnam segment is quite graphic and has some rather ludicrous make up / blood spurting effects, and the last segment is altogether a bit of a mess. The acting is satisfactory in parts but stunted in others. There’s no real resolution at the end, with the directors choosing to just hammer home the theme of how difficult life was after military service. It’s not a bad film, just rather dated and no real spark there to enhance any emotion.
'Dead Presidents' (1995)


Dead presidents tells the story of Anthony, a black man from New York who struggles to adapt to life after being a marine in the Vietnam war. The film is structured into three distinct parts; his early years deciding to not go to college, the experience of the Vietnam war, and life after the war in which he decides to commit a crime to help pay the bills.
It's a bit of a patchwork film in that respect, as the segments don't flow easily. The first segment is well put together with some excellent family drama. The Vietnam segment is quite graphic and has some rather ludicrous make up / blood spurting effects, and the last segment is altogether a bit of a mess. The acting is satisfactory in parts but stunted in others. There’s no real resolution at the end, with the directors choosing to just hammer home the theme of how difficult life was after military service. It’s not a bad film, just rather dated and no real spark there to enhance any emotion.