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Vietnam on Film
and Television:
Documentaries in
the Library of Congress

Compiled by Victoria E. Johnson
July, 1989


This text, made available by the Sixties Project, is copyright (c) 1996 by Viet Nam Generation, Inc., or the author, all rights reserved. This text may be used, printed, and archived in accordance with the Fair Use provisions of U.S. Copyright law. This text may not be archived, printed, or redistributed in any form for a fee, without the consent of the copyright holder. This notice must accompany any redistribution of the text. The Sixties Project, sponsored by Viet Nam Generation Inc. and the Institute of Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, is a collective of humanities scholars working together on the Internet to use electronic resources to provide routes of collaboration and make available primary and secondary sources for researchers, students, teachers, writers and librarians interested in the 1960s.


Contents


Introduction

This is a compilation of film and television documentaries about the Vietnam War and related subjects held in the collections of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress. Although not comprehensive, it includes many, if not most, of the relevant titles held in the Division in July 1989. It is hoped that the list will be expanded periodically as other titles are discovered and new titles acquired. A large percentage of the works were received as copyright deposits. Other sources include purchase, gift, and off-air videotaping. The list includes documentaries only, not dramatic films. The Division's collections are also rich in fiction films about the Vietnam War, but that is the subject for another publication. Also excluded are television news broadcasts.

The entries are arranged alphabetically by the title of the work. Numbers expressed in digits precede letters and therefore 60 Minutes precedes ABC Scope. Television series make up a large portion of the list. Particularly helpful in pulling together series material was Daniel Einstein's book, Special edition: a guide to network television documentary series and special news reports, 1955-1979 (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1987).

Within the series, entries are arranged in one of two ways:

  1. chronologically by date or sequential episode number. see:
    60 Minutes
    Vietnam: A Television History
    Vietnam Weekly Report
  2. alphabetically by episode title or by name of guest. see:
    ABC Scope
    CBS
    Meet the Press.

Cross references are made from episode titles to series titles. An exception is Meet the Press. The name of the guest is not considered an episode title, but each is included in the index. Each entry includes title (in boldface), collection, production company, year of release, minimal production credits, telecast date (if applicable), copyright information (if available), physical description, shelf location number (in boldface), and a brief summary. The copyright statement includes copyright claimant, date of registration, and registration number. In the first element of the line of physical description, "c" signifies videocassette or videoreel, and "r" signifies film reel.

An interesting and unique collection, the Embassy of South Vietnam Collection, is separately described in Appendix 1 (p. 73).

The films and videotapes in the Library's collections are not available for loan but may be viewed at the Library by researchers by advance appointment. For further information, see Appendix 2: Guidelines for Viewing Films and Videotapes (p. 74), or write to: Reference Librarian; Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division; Library of Congress; Washington, DC 20540; Tel: (202) 707-1000.

This filmography of about 400 works was compiled by Victoria Johnson, a cinema studies and political science student from the University of Illinois, during an eight-week internship in June-July 1989. That Ms. Johnson was able to accomplish so much in so brief a time is a tribute to her versatility, intelligence and hard work. Because our internal catalogs generally lack subject access and content descriptions, she had to pull this material together from many disparate sources and actually viewed a number of works to verify data. She did a splendid job and we are grateful. Thanks are also due to our reference librarian, Sam Brylawski, who provided valuable technical assistance throughout the project, which was compiled on a personal computer using WordPerfect 5.0 software.

--Patrick J. Sheehan Head, Documentation and Reference Section Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division

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