This film came out the year before 'Apocalypse Now', and possibly that's one reason why it's not so well known today, having been pushed out of the limelight by Coppola's monstrosity which set a disappointing trend for later Vietnam films. They became immersed in 'pop culture' (as another reviewer here notes) rather than having any historical or dramatic interest; 'Apocalypse Now', 'Platoon', 'Full Metal Jacket', etc., despite their respective claims to be hard-hitting, uncompromising, gritty dramas, etc. etc., are just glamour-fests that tend at times to degenerate into little more than music videos. This film doesn't have their glitz, and it certainly has its own faults, but on the whole it's more thought-provoking and interesting. The early-war (indeed, technically, 'pre-war') setting allows for reflection on just what a mess the Americans were gradually getting themselves sucked into, and its effects on the officers and soldiers who were sent out into the jungle without being told quite what they were actually supposed to be doing there.