Original subtitles

The Paris peace talks go on.

The north vietnamese continue to refuse to agree

to the release of our pows,

even if we set a date for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

President Nixon stated today that this is, of course,

very cruel on their part to reject out of hand

even the possibility of that kind of discussion.

The pow issue is considered to be a main stumbling block

to a nego...

You got a problem, Cooper?

We had a perfect mission planned.

Now it's all fucked up.

Who the hell changed the orders?

The Pentagon.

This is no ordinary prisoner recovery, Jim.

Washington wants to make an example of this camp.

It's one of the places the communists won't admit

they're still holding American prisoners.

The president wants the message to be clear.

We want all of our men back.

Instead of sneaking in the back with a company of rangers,

we go blasting our way through the front

with a bunch of gunships.

The louder the better.

The brass wants them to hear it in Hanoi and Paris.

Happen to the prisoners in this cage

when we come blasting through the front

like goddamn cavalry?

The cease-fire goes into effect in five days.

Any pows that aren't accounted for by then

will be reclassified as missing in action.

They'll disappear forever.

They change the backup plan too?

No, that's still as it was before.

There will be choppers waiting four days from now

on the coast of Ben thuy

for one hour, from 1500 hours on.

How about it, Jim?

You still going to go?

You know damn well I am.

Thanks, Jim.

Who is this Cooper guy, anyway?

You're lucky he's here, kid.

Why did they send him all the way from Washington?

He volunteered for this one,

which means you might get out alive.

I got my own insurance right here.

I just can't figure out why they picked him.

It's simple.

Aside from being the best,

he's got one rule that's never been broken.

What's that?

Everybody goes home.

How old are you, teague?

19, sir.

Put in a good word for me, will you?

Yes, sir.

We're going down now.

Knock out those towers.

Watch out for the cage in the center.

We're going around one more time.

Come on!

Come on!

Come on, move it!

Move, move, move!

Hustle, hustle, hustle!

Hey, sarge!

Let's go!

Let's go.

Head around back.

Move, move, move, move, move!

What do you got?

What's going on here?

Fuck!

Cease fire!

Cease fire!

Cease fire.

Get the fuck out of here!

Come on!

Move it, move it!

Come on, move out!

Move it!

Move out!

To the chopper!

Move!

Gunfire!

Gol

gol

Where's teague?

I don't know!

I'm going back for him!

Get out of here!

Teague!

Teague!

Teague!

Teague!

Cooper.

Cooper.

Hang on, soldier.

Come on, let's get out of here.

Come on, come on!

Come on.

We're not gonna make it.

Hang on, soldier.

Just hang on.

We're not gonna make it.

Gotta trust me, son.

Leave me.

Shut up.

Teague?

Hey, that's Cooper.

We need your attention, Mr. sparks.

Colonel Cooper.

You Americans are a big country,

but also make big mistakes.

Not too many colonels stupid enough to make combat,

colonel Cooper.

Colonel?

What's your name, son?

Scott, sir.

You heard anything about the Paris peace talks?

They're working on it.

You think they'll come back for us, sir?

Looks like we're going to have to go to them.

You are a popular man, Cooper,

the highest ranking American in captivity.

Hanoi wants you very badly.

They're sending two intelligence officers

in two days to pick you up.

You will be tried for crimes against the vietnamese people,

then you will be executed.

But what if there was a way for you to leave here,

not to go to Hanoi, a way that would only require

a little mutual trust and cooperation?

Such a thing would interest you, Cooper,

does it not?

Cooper, James t., colonel.

Ra51466592.

Yes, of course.

You have a choice

and two days to make a decision.

Do you know Cooper?

Enough to know I don't like him.

I'm getting out of here tonight.

Me, too.

Scotty!

Don't you worry, man.

I'm going to get you out.

Colonel Cooper,

I'm jonston, special forces sergeant.

Sergeant.

Welcome to our humble abode, sir.

How many men we got here, sergeant?

Five of ours.

The rest are regular grunts.

Not exactly a strike force.

Who's heading up the escape committee?

There is no escape committee.

Well, there is now.

Well,

why leave now?

You just got here, colonel.

Don't mind him, colonel.

He's gung-ho 'cause he's going out tonight.

Nobody goes out till we all go.

You had your chance, Cooper.

Your hero bullshit doesn't work here.

That's an order, soldier.

I don't take orders from anybody anymore.

Easy, easy, easy, easy.

Let it happen.

I'm getting too old for this shit.

I'm getting tired of this.

Come on.

You're dead.

Oh, great.

Drop it!

Drop it!

I need your help here, okay?

Let him go.

We need soldiers, not rebels.

McCoy.

You still coming?

I'll take my chances.

I've been here too long.

McCoy, you watch your back.

This asshole won't.

You hear what I'm saying?

Sparks, if you make it, head for Ben thuy.

There will be choppers there in four days.

Something's wrong.

Let's get the fuck out of here.

Not without Scott.

You're fucking crazy.

No shit.

Hey, Scott.

Scott.

Don't move, man.

We're going home.

Let go, Eddie.

You're going to get us killed.

Come on, Scotty, we're going home.

Get out here, man.

I can't run.

Who's running?

We're taking vinh's raft.

Down, sparks.

They're coming.

You're a stupid bastard.

I'll send you a postcard.

You like music, Cooper?

The French like music.

For 20 years we see war.

First French,

then American.

Who knows?

Maybe Chinese next time,

but I do not like Chinese music.

Soon our governments will sign peace treaty.

War ends, then, poof,

the pows disappear.

Get to the point.

I've had kind of a rough day.

Hanoi wants you, Cooper.

Now, if you go to Hanoi, you, too, disappear.

You know, Cooper,

I have relatives in Miami beach.

Is that not interesting?

We could be neighbors.

I think you're talking about a different part of town.

Maybe I go there too.

Maybe you help me.

Maybe you not disappear.

We could both be free, both go to America.

You are my prisoner

until we cross the American lines.

Not without the other prisoners.

They are not your problem.

Your problem is to save your own life.

That doesn't work.

Everybody goes home.

They stay here.

Oh, yeah?

Well, then, you better just kill me right now

or be goddamn sure I'm going to kill you later.

You are in no position to bargain.

You think it over, eh?

I already have.

No deal.

Sparks.

Sparks.

Did you hear that?

Yeah.

Something's wrong.

The supply truck's not supposed to get here until tonight.

Oh, Jesus.

It is really very simple, Cooper.

You can see now that you have no choice.

You will be my prisoner until we reach American lines,

then I will be your prisoner and you will take me to Saigon,

then both of us are free.

Maybe I see you in America.

Only with the rest of the prisoners.

Have you learned nothing here, Cooper?

I could kill them all right now, and you too.

How bad do you want to get to America?

It's 50 miles to the border,

and then who knows how far to American lines.

Together you and I might make it.

To take anyone else is suicide.

Consider the alternative.

I have, and so must you.

When we find sparks, I'll kill him too.

You don't have much time to decide, captain vinh.

The officers from Hanoi will be here tomorrow

to pick me up.

That's right.

Here comes one dumb motherfucker.

Deal?

All or none.

Don't bargain for me!

Goddamn you, Cooper!

You hear me?

Aah!

Motherfucker.

Okay, Cooper, you win.

We all leave now.

Where do you think we are now?

Hey, Scotty, ask radar.

He should know.

I don't know exactly where we are.

I know we've come 32 clicks since we left the camp.

I can tell you that much.

327

that's my opinion, Edward.

Yes.

Adams, what's cooking?

I don't know.

Why don't you ask the hero out front?

He's the one playing vinh's game.

The border is very close, Cooper.

But do not forget if you do not cooperate,

then, poof, your men will disappear.

You see, Cooper, you have many men on the truck.

I have many explosives

under the tanker.

Listen, Cooper's bringing us home,

and that's all that matters.

Yeah, Cooper's bringing us home, all right,

to the Hanoi Hilton.

He's saving your ass, sparks,

which is more than you deserve.

So you're part of this team, whether you want to be or not.

Yeah, right.

Yeah, right.

What the hell is going down?

Somebody's trying to kill us, asshole.

Whaddya think!

All right.

Stay low.

Stay low.

Hey!

All right, look alive!

Get ready.

Stand up straight!

Get out.

Come on.

Watch it!

Take cover under the bridge.

Get me out!

Get across!

Get across!

We're not going to make it.

Sparks, go get that Jeep!

Fuck you, vinh!

Get it now or I'll kill you.

Come on.

Take cover.

Get under the bridge quick.

Come on.

Get under the bridge!

Get down, get down!

Come on.

Move it!

Sergeant.

Hey, help him.

Help him.

Hey, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.

Don't worry.

Don't worry.

Hold on to me, man.

Hold on.

Move, you bitch!

Move!

Okay, gun it.

Come on, gun the damn thing!

Come on.

Come on.

Yeah.

Sparks!

Cooper?

Cooper!

Come back, Cooper!

Don't shoot!

Cooper!

Cooper!

Get out.

We're all in this together, sparks.

Go on back to the bridge.

Fuck you, Cooper.

Cooper!

Cooper!

Remember our deal?

In one minute, your men will die!

Oh, you're playing by his rules now, huh?

Don't worry about it, sparks.

If you're gonna shoot, do it now.

30 seconds!

You're really a pathetic son of a bitch, sparks.

You'd screw anybody to save your own worthless hide.

15 seconds!

Save it.

He's not dead yet.

We don't shoot wounded men, sparks.

You got a better plan, colonel?

We go back as if nothing had happened.

You don't do anything until I tell you.

All right.

Oh!

Ah!

All right, all right.

Taking a nap.

Jonston.

Come on! - Let's go!

Come on.

Go on, get all 'em.

Let's go!

I know, I know.

Let's go, men.

Come on, let's go, let's go!

Jonston, I'm going to check the rear.

There's a whole nva army right behind us.

Adams, I want you to rig this for me.

What, with a fucking grenade?

Cover him, sergeant.

This is what I'm talking about, Adams.

Hurry up.

I'm going to blow her up from the other side.

Hey, where's Scotty?

I don't know.

What?

I don't know.

Fuck!

The bridge.

Now, Adams, you know what you're doing, right?

Come on.

Lee?

Yeah.

Let's get out of here.

Come on.

Get the fuck outta my way.

Where the fuck are you going?

Back, damn it.

Get your ass in gear.

The truck is going to blow!

Come on!

Come on!

Come on!

When did you start getting religious, sparks?

I'm getting whatever I can.

What are we going to do?

The road to Saigon's bound to be crawling with refugees.

We head for the coast.

There's going to be choppers at Ben thuy

at 1500 hours tomorrow to lift us off.

Look, it's a river, right?

We should be able

to find a couple of boats around here somewhere.

I can jump it with the Jeep, and you and jonston,

you guys can swim across.

Cooper, why don't you walk across the water?

I don't feel like getting my feet wet.

Let's look for the boat.

I'll go with you, colonel.

Shit.

Come on, get out of the Jeep.

Jonston, stay with me.

Keep an eye on them, jonston.

It's cool.

They didn't spot us.

Colonel, is that a private stash

or community property?

Our captain vinh stole it from the prisoners.

He must have taken the gold bars

from one of our secret agents.

We're taking it home.

Maybe the army can figure out who it belongs to.

Why the rucksack?

Because sparks knows about it too.

I'm surprised he already hasn't tried to rip it off.

Yeah, well, it'll be safe here

until we come back with the boats.

They went off around that bend, colonel.

Here's your gun back.

Here.

Adams, watch sparks for me while I'm gone, okay?

Lee?

Great.

I'd like to find everybody here and in one piece

when I get back.

Well, there's the boats.

What do you think?

Piece of cake.

Go on.

Get under the catwalk, sergeant.

Hey, Adams, I ain't gonna hurt you.

Oh, Eddie, that's such a load off my mind.

You know, all day I've been wracked with fear.

Check out the moon, man.

I can't see the moon without my glasses.

You know, that relaxes my mind so much

that I think one of us

should maybe get some sleep.

Take it easy, Adams.

I'm not leaving till the morning.

Drop your weapon!

I said, drop it!

Bring me the gold.

What gold?

Sparks!

Don't move!

Yeah!

James?

Charlie?

Hold on.

It's the old man.

I thought you'd never get here.

Where'd you guys go last night?

What happened here?

Vinh was here.

Vinh.

Yeah, and sparks got away.

Fuck.

Get out of my way!

Goddamn gooks, move!

That fucker's right behind me.

I can smell him.

Man, this is more like it.

Now this is what I joined the army for.

It's paradise here.

Heh-heh-heh.

Man, I tell you.

These coconuts are delicious.

Oh, Lee j., you don't know the half of it.

It's like the perfect food.

So nutritious, it's amazing.

Oddly enough, it lacks vitamin c, though.

Right, Adams.

You're bananas, man.

Bananas, on the other hand, are chock-full of vitamin c,

potassium, all kinds of good stuff for ya.

Yeah.

Adams, is there anything that you don't know?

Yes, uh, how to find a date with a girl

with mammary glands the size of buicks.

Well, look here, man, you hang with me

when we go back to the states, and I'll show you how.

I'll hold you to that.

You got it.

Get out of my way!

Goddamn gooks, move!

Get out of my way.

Get out of my way.

Move!

White water ahead!

Get ready to jump!

Chris!

Chris!

Damn it!

I lost my fucking glasses.

I can't see.

I lost my fucking glasses.

All right.

Where's Chris?

We lost Chris.

Can you make it over to the bank?

Yeah.

You guys okay?

Jonston!

Let's go!

Fuck.

Cooper, you son of a bitch.

Shit.

Get down!

Eat shit, you motherfuckers!

What do you think?

I don't know.

Ask them something.

Who is the 11th president of the United States?

What the hell is that?

It's a question.

It's a valid question.

You got an easier one?

Okay.

Come on out.

Hey!

Who's the greatest guitar player in the world?

Jimi Hendrix.

What was his division?

What?

101st airborne.

Hendrix?

Yeah.

Screamin' eagle all the way.

Shit, man.

Hey, hey!

Hey, "purple haze."

"Are you experienced?"

Man, Hendrix was the answer.

God, Americans, incredible.

Where the hell did you come from?

It's a long story.

It's unbelievable.

Man, we just escaped from a fuckin' pow camp.

Now we're trying to get to Ben thuy by tomrrow

to catch choppers out of here.

Where are you guys from?

Radar hill, about five clicks east of here.

Where's the rest of your unit?

If any of them are still alive,

Charlie's got them trapped down on that goddamn hill.

So, what are you doing here?

Trying to find our lines, get some help.

Radio got shot to shit.

The division thinks we've been wiped out.

Move!

Give me a shot of Tequila.

Ooh.

Let me have the bottle.

Buy me a drink?

Wait just a minute.

Just a minute, okay?

Mmm, strong, I like.

Come on.

Hey, what's wrong with you?

Come on.

Get off me, you fucking whore.

What's your name?

Hey, what's your name?

Just leave me alone, okay?

Fuck youl!

Leave me alone.

Shut up!

Go ahead and shoot me.

You'll be doing me a favor.

Where's my gold?

I don't have it.

Give it to me, sparks!

You want it?

Cooper's got it.

You're lying.

He'll be the only colonel with a sack of gold

in Ben thuy.

Ben thuy.

Then those fucking gooks pinned us down on the hill,

so we dug in deep.

Tell me, how many men were there on that hill?

I told you, sir, 10 or so, I guess,

not counting communications.

How do you know they were all dead?

They gotta be, sir.

There's no way that anybody can withstand that battle.

Sergeant, get ready to move us out.

Where to, colonel?

We got to get those men off that hill.

We will never make it to Ben thuy on time.

That's suicide, sir.

There's nothing we can do.

Colonel, what is the matter with you?

We got to get those guys out of there,

and you know it.

With what?

Cooper, everybody goes home is a slogan,

it's not a religion.

Speak for yourself.

Cooper, we're not coming with you.

Cooper!

Cooper, you can't do it on your own.

Cooper.

24 hours after the signing of the agreement,

the cease-fire will take effect throughout south Vietnam.

The U.S. will stop all its military activities

and end the bombing and mining in north Vietnam.

Within 60 days, there will be a total withdrawal

from south Vietnam of U.S. and allied troops

and military personnel.

No troops, military personnel,

armaments, munitions, or war material

for the provisional revolutionary government

or the Saigon government

will be reintroduced into south Vietnam

except for replacement of war material worn out

or damaged after the cease-fire,

and then only on a piece-by-piece basis.

The U.S. will not continue its military...

Hey, Murphy, some guy's stealing your bike.

Motherfucker.

Cavalcades will be returned

simultaneously with the U.S. troop withdrawal.

We only have three hours to get to Ben thuy.

If we miss those choppers...

Look, there's the road down there.

There's going to be trucks, right?

I don't think we can walk to Ben thuy in three hours.

Neither can Cooper.

Shit, Lee.

Not you too, goddamn it!

We're going to miss the choppers.

Radar hill's kind of on the way.

I hope this heroics shit's not contagious.

Let's do it.

Hey, he's American, man.

So what?

Hey, it's his funeral.

Here she comes.

Look alive.

Let's go.

317, 317, this is Dover.

Over.

We need some help.

We're being run on.

317, this is Dover.

Over!

Fuck.

Hold your fire!

Who the hell are you?

Colonel Jim Cooper, 101st airborne.

Did you bring any help?

Just this.

Well, that's wonderful.

Get your men together.

I'm taking you off of this hill.

I got my orders.

We lost the cannons.

You got new orders, corporal.

We're getting out of here right now.

Okay, Tony, round up the guys,

and we'll slip out the back, Jack.

Which way is your escape route?

Up the hill past the fuel tank.

Right.

We're getting off the hill.

Come on, move it!

Come on!

Come on, soldier, move it!

Come on, come on, let's go!

Take cover.

They're coming up on the escape route!

What's happening?

Coming from the back!

Get down!

Shit!

What's going on?

What's happening?

We're surrounded!

Fuck!

We're out of ammo!

Throw me another clip!

It's a party, baby!

Come on!

Get your men into that truck!

Move it, soldier.

Move out!

Go!

What kept you, you ugly dog, you?

It takes time organizing these things.

I knew you'd make it back.

Hey, come on, man, you're going to wrinkle my uniform.

Come on.

You look like you could use some help, colonel.

I can use all the help I can get.

Hey, colonel,

I think you left something behind, huh?

We all left something behind.

J I left a good job in the city j

j working for the man every night and day j

j but I never lost a minute of sleeping j

j worrying about the way things might have been j

j big wheel keep on turnin' &

j proud Mary keep on burnin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' on the river j

j rollin' on the river j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' j

j rollin' on the river &

Yeah!

Go, go, go!

Take cover and head for the pier!

Sergeant, are you with me?

Hal

Drop your gun, Cooper!

I said, drop it!

Where is the gold, Cooper?

No!

No, drop it!

Go back.

Give me the hand grenades.

Stay where you are!

Don't!

The gold, or you all stay here.

Just hand me the grenades

and I'll give you the gold.

I told you, Cooper,

you are in no position to bargain!

I'll be damned.

Sparks, you dumb bastard.

Everybody goes home, right, colonel?

Yeah.

Everybody goes home, son.

Jonston.

Right.

Adams.

Let's go.

Okay, come on, you guys, get going!

Come on, come on, come on!

I didn't think we'd make it.

You weren't the only one.