Original subtitles

Hal is crying

Martha! Martha, what time is it?

Nine-thirty

Why didn't you wake me?

Because it's Saturday

Harry? Want some breakfast?

What is it?

Pancakes

Later. I'm working

Aw, Hal!

That little bastard been bugging you again?

Don't call him bastard

Pardon me, Hal. I'll get the paper

Why don't you go after breakfast?

Well, I want to look at the ads

I don't want to spend another day looking at places we can't afford

I can go by myself

It'd be silly to leave here

Do you think the roads are clear?

They'll be all right

Sorry I got mad at you

Hi

Watch it, honey. What's this? That smells good. Haven't had...

...anything to eat all night. Don't throw anything. Put them there

Harry, you look terrible Your eyes are all red

You take good care of your Daddy, don't you baby?

You just remember to eat those

Come on, Mac, it isn't that cold!

Why you're hungry, huh?

Look what I got her, boy

There you go, huh? There you go, Mac

Is this where Bill Schmidt lives?

Yes

We're friends of his from the army

Is he around... Bill? We'd like to say hello to him

He went to get the newspaper Why don't you come in?

Thanks. Hey, Sarg!

I'm Tony Rodr�guez and that's Mike Nickerson. Sergeant Nickerson

Maybe you've heard Bill talk about us

He never talks to me about the army

You're his wife, huh? Sarg, I'll introduce you...

I'm sorry, Martha

Hello

Won't you come in and sit down?

Sit down

Bill won't be long

That's a boy. Have got friends visiting you...

Hello, Bill

Hello, Sergeant. Hi, Tony

Hi

Looks like you struck it rich

How many acres you got?

A hundred and seventy

Wow, that's a lot, huh?

Well, it's Martha's father. We're just care-takers. Free rent

Her old man pretty well off?

He's a writer, Harry Wayne He writes mostly westerns

Oh yeah, I've read a dozen of his books. Josephson had a whole stack

He works at night most of the time Sleeps all day

Thanks

We couldn't afford this place on what I'm making

Harry Wayne, huh? I thought he lived out west

No

What kind of job you got?

Oh, it's in a plant near here, that makes helicopters

Yeah, I know that's funny

They're the same choppers we used in Vietnam. I swore I'd never go...

...near the army again. But the work was there and I'm doing it

Can't stop

What's his name?

Hal

Hal!

Real cute little baby

Tired?

We've been driving all night

You want a bed?

No

If I'd just lay down on that sofa over there for a while

I'll get you a blanket

Can I look around a little? I didn't know anybody had so much space

Sure

I'll go with you

It's cold!

Is that your place, too?

Yeah. It's her old man's

Is that a lake out there?

It's a pond

Who's dog is that?

That's the neighbours

You got chickens, huh?

My uncle used to keep fighting roosters in Puerto Rico. Bantams

This one's too heavy to be a fighter

But he's a lover

Shut up, Mac! Shut up!

Does he bites?

Harry wouldn't have a dog that didn't bite, but he won't bother us

Who the hell's that with him?

Just a friend from the army There's another one up here

Come on! You can walk on it This ice is a foot thick

I thought you drained the water and put a cover in the winter

No. In the spring is drained, painted and filled up again

Sounds like a lot of work

There's a company... does it all

Everything's taking care of, huh?

Yeah

We couldn't visit you last summer We'd have been sunbathing

But we were busy, you know

They threw the confessions out. Like you read in the papers, "Failed...

...to inform the defendant of his rights

What about Reilly?

He's still in He didn't confess, see?

Boy, he is pissed off!

I mean, I'm glad to see you but I want... What?

I don't think you're glad to see us

What did you come here for?

I don't even know whose idea it was We were both at Leavenworth

They gave us all our back pay, for the whole years. We decided...

...why wait for transportation, so we got the car

Jesus, what a bum! We broke down outside Philadelphia last night

We had to wait all night in a garage while a guy put a new head gasket

And we... started drinking and talking about you

How did you know where I lived?

Sarge's lawyer had your address, in case you had to testify

I told it all the first time

Yeah, I know

Anyway, here we are

But why?

I just wanted to tell you...

What?

That I forgive you Anyway, no hard feelings

No

We figured you must be worried, thinking about what we might do

Yeah

So I wanted you to know that as far as I'm concerned...

...bygoes are bygoes

As far as you're concerned?

Yeah

Ssssss... Be quiet

He gets a little fussy sometimes

It's all right I can't sleep anyway

Well, well. How is my baby?

Never mind, I'll fold that

What?

Nothing

Do you want a paper to read?

No

Hey, you got a coke?

Sure

Where are the guys?

I think they're still walking around

Thank you

Do you think I could...

...use your...

Yeah, sure. It's upstairs, turn to your left. You'll see it

Okay

Yes. Come on

There you go

Oh, you scared me!

You were in Vietnam with Bill?

Yes, madam

What's it like?

Do you ever watch television?

Sometimes

It's just like it's on television

Did you like it?

Like it? Nobody likes it

I meant the coutryside Is it really so green?

I guess it's. After a while you don't notice. Didn't Bill tell you?

Never talks to me about Vietnam He was involved with some trial

...there, courtmartial

Yeah

You want stay for dinner? This is too big. I'll put in more potatoes

Maybe we can

They're there now, with my father Want to meet him? He'll like you

He was a sergeant, too, in the Second World War

We never took any prisoners in Guadalcanal. There wasn't time

We were outnumbered for months. You don't know about that

You didn't even dare to leak into the bushes. One'd wait for you

And we didn't have the weapons you guys got. Hands,...

...rifles, bayonets... any way you got one of them was all right

How is your beer, Bill?

Fine

Maybe we need a little more wood

Even later, when we had ice cream and movies, they used to come...

...and sit and watch. Bastards! I admired them though. I don't...

...think these North Vietnamese have the guts the Japs did

But they keep on fighting

There, you don't know who's your friend. No sides but your own

So it's easier to shoot everybody

Bill doesn't believe in fighting You'd got a job in a hospital,...

...patching a brave guys

I got shot at. By an old man... civilian. He was scared to death

Did you shoot back?

Sure... over his head

You might have hurt him

What's that?

God damn it, look at him!

Jesus Christ

Damn, look at that poor...

Spread some newspapers by the fire

Get some alcohol and some cotton

There he is

I told that son of a bitch to keep his dog off my property

He can't keep him tied up all the time! I couldn't find alcohol

Use whisky, for Christ's sake

It's chewed almost all the way through!

A three-legged dog. What the hell I'm going to do with him?

I told him next time the dog came on my place I'd kill him

Kill his dog, he means

You can't hit him with a pistol

I can damn well... try

You need a rifle

I've got a shotgun, but at this range it'd just tickle him

We got a rifle in the car

Six point five millimeter

Yeah, it's Swedish

The Great Dane again?

What are they gonna do?

Is your father

Harry, you can't just shoot the man's dog

Mac's the one who picks the fights

Yeah, he's tough

Let's go

You need something to rest it on

Not at this range I don't even really need the scope

Can't you stop them?

Legally he's within his rights. That dog attacked you once, remember?

Why the hell didn't you shoot it then?

Perfect

Tony don't miss!

Nice looking dog

Do you want to bury him?

Bury him! I'm gonna dump right at that son of a bitch's door...

...and let him do something about it

Those are the men, aren't they?

What men?

You've to tell me about it now

We were just supposed to look for supplies

By the third day we hadn't found anything and Nickerson began

to get edgy. We get to this village It was marked friendly on the map

But Nickerson got everybody out and search the huts for arms

We lined them while he and Tony looked the place over

They thought we gonna shoot them I think Nickerson almost did

He was so angry about not finding anything

Well, in the last hut a girl was hiding

Nickerson pretended she was a Viet Cong. Then he told...

...one of the old men in the village that we took her as a hostage

What did she look like?

She was young, 15 or 16. Pretty I guess that's why she was hiding

That's what her mother said at the courtmartial

A couple of miles up the road...

Nickerson took her into the tall grass

The sound she made was...

...well, after a while it was like...

...like Mac down there It was just... whining

And then Reilly went next Josephson... Tony

And then they were waiting for me to do it. I couldn't move

It didn't take any thought of bravery I just couldn't walk

Nickerson looked at me

For a long time, you know the way he does... looks at you

He had a rifle in his hand

He handed it to Josephson, jerk his thumb toward the grass and...

And you turned them in

When we got back to camp

It was the bravest thing you'd do

I should have stopped them. What's the point of punish them afterward?

Criminals have to be punished

The Viet Cong do the same thing Everybody does, every day...

Why blame these guys? They were my friends, my buddies!

Let's go home, boys

Sound off! One, two, sound off!

...three, four...

Take it on down! One, two, three...!

What did they come here for? It wasn't because of the scenery

Tony said thet he wanted to tell me that...

What?

That there were no hard feelings on his side

Shit!

I knew the Jerries were in there. I take a granade...

...I pull the pin. Got up, open the door...

...Oh, Officer

Come on in

Call the police

What would I say, I'm afraid of these guys? Yes! You know, I am

I thought about it every day since it happened

But I can't do it to them again They don't even know why they came

All right! Don't call the police

Here we go! Come on! Pass it to me!

If they bust up your meeting, it's pigs. If you need them, it's police

Yes, that's funny, Bill

Yes. Wait a minute The football game is on

Harry wants to watch it on your set

Oh, Christ! I don't give a...

Sure, Harry. That's fine

Hey, kid, you got the set warmed up yet?

I didn't know it was on yet

Hell yes! Come on We're gonna miss the kick-off

Hey, Bill... ayyyy!

See you in a little while

Bill, how do you adjust this thing?

Later

It's crowed. The Tigers and the Blue Panthers are...

...in the playground. The match will be interesting...

...cose both teams are equaled at general classification

No player in the entitle alignment is been missed

There will be tension during the match

Thanks, kid. Want a drink now?

Yeah

Here it comes. Just in time

He dropped it. Atta boy! Come on, baby!

Don't let him... for pete sakes!

Come on. Get him!

Hey kid, why don't you bring us some ice and glasses in here...

...so we don't keep running back and forth?

Look out! Look out!

Go, go, go!

Twenty-five yards!

Now let's go!

There you go, kid

They're gonna beat them, right?

Come on now. Let's not have another funeral like last week,...

...huh, Mike?

The Blue Panthers try to brake Robins's stroke

Football is a great game. Elemental

Because it's a conflict That's what life is about

Isn't it?

If you make it

Always. Life against death Like in Vietnam

We just see one corner of it... ... above the surface

You're mixing your metaphors Harry

Look at the football field Each team's got one color jersey

That's easy to see. But the world is set up the same way

The communists on one side, and us on the other

If you'd face that, look at Vietnam in the context...

...and you'd understand it

Right now Europe is stabilized

Power is shifting in Asia Vietnam is the fulcrum

That's what they tell us

You'd better believed it, soldier

Looks like a duel between the two players who...

...we are talking about Tiger's new man's caught...

...the ball. A good opportunity to show his game

How's your beer holding out there... Hal?

You never did like it very much, did you?

Did you?

What the hell am I gonna do with a three-legged kid, huh?

Come on!

Why he was out of bounds! Let's see the play-back!

Pardon. You know... I watch football, I notice one thing

What's that?

There aren't any Puerto Rican guys playing. Did you notice that?

Yeah, why is that?

I don't know. They've got plenty of Puerto Rican baseball players

Yeah, stars. But not football

They're too small to play football

They don't eat the right foods They eat too many chili peppers

It's a racial difference

The first part is ended

He got back in, finds a lot of daylight

Racial difference. Isn't that illegal?

They can't play cose they're too small, not cose they're Puerto Ricans

Some people are naturally smaller than others. Like Orientals

I'm not goddam slopehead!

Just an example, Christ sake!

When I was in college, that's what it was all about. Football

Everybody wanted to play football

Even the guys that spend most of their time in the library,...

...secretly wanted to play football. You know why?

Why?

Football players got more pussy

Not that anyone got a lot but the football players got more

A guy your size could play college football if he was strong

The pressure the Blue Panthers did during the second...

...time has decided the final result of the game

Now the kids give it away to each other. They don't ask for it...

nicely. There's no challenge to it So, who the hell wants...

...to play football? I asked once some of Martha's friends...

...if they wanted to watch a game, they looked at me as if I'm a freak

Where the hell is Bill?

He went upstairs

I don't know

Why shouldn't they act the way they do if they get away with it

Nobody cares anymore

She's a cute looking girl

Martha?

They aren't married, huh?

No

Get him, you stupid son of a bitch!

The baby's nice He smiles all the time

Broke his arm

No, he's all right

Look at it. It's hanging there

Yeah, the baby is all right I always wanted a grandson

I don't even know what this kid is

Is he my grandson? Is that what I should say to people?

I don't know

Ya hemos visto todo lo que hab�a que ver

You know... he looks a lot older. Bill

His hair is getting a little gray Do you remember how he...

...looked when he first got over? Like a little kid

Goddamn!

I hope dinner's ready soon because I got to get to the city

What's your hurry, Tony?

I got to see about getting a job

Tomorrow is Sunday

There's a guy I can talk to

Yeah, he'll really give a job to an old war hero like you

I wish you guys would stick around a couple of days. It's great...

...to have someone to talk to I bet you'd like to use that...

...rifle again. There's a moon tonight and there's a cop I know

He's gonna be coon hunting back in my woods. We could...

...all go there Hell, they've got two bedrooms...

...upstairs they don't use! Right, Bill?

Yeah, they're empty

Christ, what a weirdo! See that

I shot that bear and now look at it

Martha! What time is dinner?

As soon as we get the table set

What's the matter?

Nothing

Nothing's ever the matter

Harry wants them to stay a couple of days. I don't think they'll stay

Bill, this is our house and...

The hell it is. It's Harry's!

It's as mine as Harry's. Because it's mine, it's yours. If you don't

...want them to stay, tell them to get out now!

He was in some trouble in Vietnam. Do you know about this?

We were it

Yeah? What happened?

I was leading a patrol We found a woman, a Viet Cong

Had to shoot her, couldn't take her with us and Bill turned us in

He turned you in for that?

Well, we had a little fun with her first. That's what made him mad

He didn't even touch her

I always thought he was half queer

There's salad in the ice-box

I'm surprised you didn't slit his throat

I thought about it a lot when I was in the stockade

But then, what's it gonna get me?

Dinner is on the table!

Oh

Do you want to carve, Harry?

Sure

Mike

How do you like it, Mike?

Rare. Still moving, if you got it

Tony, how about you?

A little rare

He likes it burnt

We forgot the water

Oh! Son of a bitch!

Will you let me look at it?

I hardly felt it

Come on, let me wash it

Hold still! You need some stitches

No... it's nothing...

Harry, please don't drink anymore I think you've had enough

Harry...

That Mike's quite a guy, isn't he?

Did he tell you what Bill did to them?

What Bill did to them?

You all right, Harry?

It's just a scratch

I remember one time...

...a Filipino captain was trying to make one of them talk

He took him out in a boat and...

...he cut off his hands. One by one

And he dropped them into the water

Harry, be quiet

And then... his arms

And he watched...

...the sarks eat them

Harry...

Martha...

I asked these boys to stay a couple of days

Thanks, Mr. Wayne but I really got ot get back

I think... there might be a book in them. Yeah

Harry, they don't want to stay

Well...

We'll talk more about it tomorrow afternoon

I have a work to do in the morning

Well... where's my cap?

Thanks

I think...

Thank you very much

Harry... have you got your glasses?

Do you think he'll make it? He might bleed to death

I'll check on him later

He's a very interesting guy

Do you think so?

Yeah. He's been through it

My mother couldn't stand him Neither his other two wives

Well hell, I wouldn't want to be married to him either

I've had to get Hal's dinner

We better be going

Let me make you some coffe before you go, if you're going to drive

It'll just take a few minutes Please, sit down

Bet it's nice around here in the summer

Yeah

Great chow

Martha is a great cook

Dammit, Hal, you know you liked creamed corn!

Come on, Hal!

Miss, you're a pretty woman to get angry. Wait till he's hungry

A lot you know about it, don't you? He has to eat his vegetables

Yeah. So he can grow up big to be a football player

Bed for you. Hal has decided he wants to go to bed

Say goodnight to everybody

Goodnight, Hal

Goodnight, bambino

Want to say goodnight to Hal?

Goodnight, Hal

What kind of job are you looking for?

Who the hell knows!

You used to be interested in cars

Yeah. I think I'll get myself a job in a garage

To get the experience

The most important tool in any garage is the stem cleaner. I know

...this guy named Feldman He has a garage near the river

A guy comes in with his car He doesn't know a thing about cars

But comes over and starts saying, "that transmission is...

...about to fall out". He says, Bill, "and it's a good thing...

...you brought it now". Everybody knows about the transmission

You know what I mean? You tell a guy his valve lifters are...

...shot, he gets worried But the transmission, you've that

The guy comes back the next day and Feldman shows him a...

...shiny clean transmission. It's the same! He used the steam cleaner

You know what I mean? Gracias. Now...

Rebuilt transmission, right? A 180 dollars, maybe even more

Hal, I simply can't stand another night of this! What's the matter?

Come on

Goodnight

With all that back pay, maybe Feldman'd let me buy...

...a piece of his place, huh?

Hell, I don't even know if his garage is still there

Tony does all the driving. Will your father mind if I've a little?

He'll think he drank the whole thing himself when he wakes up

He's really a famous writer?

He writes a lot of books and a lot of people buy them. It's...

...like a compulsion. When he gets going, he stays all night writing

They're good books?

A long time ago, they used to be

The first two he wrote were really good serious books

But now he's full of anger and self-disgust. The books are empty

They're good stories, full of dramatic events and...

...flashy characters. Easy to read. I enjoy reading them, but...

...they are meaningless

I liked what he said about being a book in Tony and me

Bill told me what you did

Is it true?

Sure, whatever he said

What made you do it?

Everybody was doing it Why pick on me?

Why pick on that girl?

She was a Viet Cong She was hiding from us

You proved she had a damn good reason to hide

What do you think a Viet Cong looks like... wear a uniform?

They don't look different than anybody else over there

Listen, your husband cost me two damn good years over there

He didn't cost you a thing and you know it!

I forgot he's not your husband What kind of arrangement is that?

My living with Bill has nothing to do with morality! You're sick!

I see, you can judge me, but I can't judge you

What hurts someone else is immoral That's the only standard you can have

And your father? It tears his guts out the way you're living

That's his problem. It's different from stick someone with a bayonet

Is that what Bill told you?

Sorry, all you did was shoot her!

We couldn't take any prisoners on patrol. That was orders

The solution to the problem Nothing can justify what you did!

I don't have to justify it The Army already has

Why do you think I'm here? We were heroes to our boys

And Bill?

He got shipped out of combat area It was good cose you can get shot

Because he reported a crime

You got to do things in war that you get locked up for in peacetime

Do you think I'm some hoodlum? I was an honor student in...

...high school. And I was a good soldier, more than he was

I'm glad

Oh, you got it safe here

You don't know until you have been there, been shot at

What would you do, lie back and take it?

Until you've gone through a village...

...handing out candy bars to the kids

And then you see your best buddie's legs blowed off by a mine

...because the people you gave the candy bars to,...

...forgot to tell you Charlie was in town

That happened?

It happened!

You're right. I haven't been there and I can't imagine it

Man... I couldn't wait to get back to the folks

The first thing you notice in the city is people. The way they walk,

especially if they're important

The whole city is in a state of warfare. Just like over there

Did you ever march in one of these peace parades? Carry a sign?

Why?

I don't know. You liked somebody who'd march in a peace parade

I used to wonder over there what kind of people went to those things

I thought they were long-haired freaks with clothes like Indians

Bill asked me to marry him once. Before the baby was born

He was gonna do me a big favor

You're a real old nut-cutter, aren't you?

Dance?

My uncle's got a restaurant

Leave it in the sink

I could work there for a while It's a big responsability,...

...having money to invest What's that?

Coon hunter

Coon hunters, huh?

Yeah, give it time, Tony

Hey, Sarge! Let's get the hell out here!

What's going on?

That's enough. I said that's enough!

You better go now

Come on!

You really want to go?

Go away! Stop it!

Come on

What's the matter with you?

Stop it!

Look out, Billy!

Shoot him! You've got a gun, haven't you? Shoot him!

Go on!

You'll be okay, Bill

Lady, you're nuts You think you can change...

...the rules in the middle?

Well?

Are you all right?