In the Year of the Pig (1969)

In the Year of the Pig is a 1968 American documentary film about the origins of the Vietnam War, directed by Emile de Antonio. It was nominated for an Academy award for best documentary.

The film, which is in black and white, contains much historical footage and many interviews. Those interviewed include Harry Ashmore, Daniel Berrigan, Philippe Devillers, David Halberstam, Roger Hilsman, Jean Lacouture, Kenneth P. Landon, Thruston B. Morton, Paul Mus, Charlton Osburn, Harrison Salisbury, Ilya Todd, John Toller, David K. Tuck, David Werfel and John White.

Produced during the Vietnam War, the film was greeted with hostility by many audiences, with bomb threats and vandalism directed at theaters that showed it.

De Antonio cites the film as his personal favorite. It features the ironic use of patriotic music, portrays Ho Chi Minh as a patriot to the Vietnamese people, and asserts that Vietnam was always a single country rather than two.

The poster, displaying Marine Corporal Michael Wynn, was famously used as an album cover for The Smiths' second album, Meat Is Murder. The insignia on Wynn's helmet was changed to "meat is murder".

Synopsis

De nombreux films ont pris cette guerre pour sujet. Moins connus, il existe d'admirables documentaires qui, mieux que les longs-métrages de fiction, témoignent de l'exceptionnelle cruauté d'un affrontement qui causa la mort de 58 000 Américains, de plus de 3 millions de Vietnamiens. Emile de Antonio a réalisé au début de la guerre du Vietnam, le réalisateur s'est infiltré méthodiquement dans le tumulte des événements. Il a été le premier à tenter d'expliquer les raisons profondes de la guerre. Avec des méthodes d'archéologue.