(CHATTERING)
Attention.
At ease, gentlemen. Be seated, please.
As you've all probably noticed, we're currently headed north.
Tomorrow morning at 0500 hours, we will be taking a position at Yankee Station.
That means we're back in business.
We'll be flying sorties over North Vietnam to take out enemy supply lines,
which means we have to cross over into Laos.
This mission is classified.
No cards and letters to sweethearts. No phone calls to family back home.
- Is that understood? - TROOPS: Yes, sir.
No one can know.
No one except Charlie when we kick his ass.
NARRATOR: For survival in the jungle environment,
the smart soldier must understand that nature is not a force against him.
He has to make nature work for him
by utilizing the ample natural provisions at his disposal.
SPOOK: Is this a double feature?
(LAUGHING)
For God's sake, just lean your head back and open your mouth.
What is this?
Hell, the boys back home don't know anything about the jungle.
NARRATOR: In the jungle, your best friend is your knife.
SPOOK: Oh, look at... Now he's getting serious.
Cut the leaf, man. Here it goes. Come on, baby, cut. Cut.
(SPOOK EXCLAIMS)
(TROOPS LAUGHING)
Where is the salt and pepper shaker for that leaf?
Chew it, boy! Chew it!
Leaf good. Me like leaf.
NARRATOR: Maintain a constant state of readiness...
What did he do, sit in an anthill? Look at him.
NARRATOR: And then, when the rescue helicopter appears, make sure...
SPOOK: Honestly, it's right above your head!
Jeez. Shake it, Pops.
He's got a nice ass for a sailor, I'll tell you that.
I don't mean that in a weird way.
God bless America.
NARRATOR: Are you a smart soldier?
I mean, I just thought we'd be assisting some South Vietnamese generals
against a few infiltrators. Whole thing would be done in three, four weeks.
You picked the wrong time
- to enlist, Dengler. - I know.
No, but I just wanted to fly so badly,
and everybody, they were telling me all about the fantastic massage parlors
and the go-go girls, everything, and...
And what did I get? Goddamn one night?
- One night in Saigon. That's me. - Yeah, and that didn't go so well.
Gentlemen, next please.
Okay.
Hey, are there any mosquito nets?
What you see is what you get.
- Okay. Okay. I see plastic. - Yes, sir.
I see plastic there and how about...
Are you able to give me two slices of that plastic, please?
- Sir? - And maybe six foot by three foot,
you put a zipper in the middle,
- and I crawl inside... - What you're describing
is a sauna, not a mosquito net.
Not a mosquito net, but it holds off the bugs.
And you put some netting on it so I can breathe through at night time.
- You got it, sir. - Yes?
- Absolutely, sir. - Okay.
Now, look here. Look at this. I have my boot on your table.
- Why do I have my boot on your table? - I don't know, sir.
Okay, this is why. Look at this.
Can you create a flap for me in the tongue here
so I could hide my American passport inside of here should I need it?
You know what, sir? Since you're my only customer today, it would be my pleasure.
Thank you.
So, Charlie got his shit together.
Now we have heavy antiaircraft fire around Mugia Pass.
Change direction and altitude every seven seconds
so the radar of the enemy gun cannot lock onto you.
Your secondary target will be the intersection of 121 and 90.
That's the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
That's right, Spook, inside Laos.
Now, one more thing.
They've been using your radios to lure our rescue teams into ambush.
Now, don't get me wrong. You go down, you use that radio.
But if they're hot on your trail, you scrap it.
You scrap anything that they can use against you.
Now, this is Flight Lieutenant Dengler's first mission.
Yes, sir.
(CHEERING)
ADMIRAL: You're gonna be Spook's wingman. You think you can handle that?
I could not ask for a better man, sir. But, please,
- could I ask you a question, sir? - ADMIRAL: Go ahead.
You know, Spook is such a goddamn daredevil,
could you please order him not to try too hard to die for his country,
but rather to let the son-of-a-bitch on the other side die for his instead?
Okay. All right, boys.
- You all set? - TROOPS: Yes, sir.
Anything else?
- TROOPS: No, sir. - Okay. Let's go, go, go!
PILOT: Radar Kilo, 6195, position four.
PILOT 2: Radar Yankee, 67279, position two.
- Heads against the wall. Come on. - Come on, Diet.
Come here. This is what we would do as kids
when we were out for mischief. It would keep us out of trouble.
But we would usually pee right now.
- Can we pee? - I don't really have to.
I'm not gonna.
But this will keep us safe. Okay, fellas?
Stay out of trouble. Come back in one piece. Good luck.
- Come back, boys. - You, too.
(WHOOPING)
SPOOK: Boys, get set to change the altitude again. On my mark.
- Now. - Roger.
SPOOK: Gentlemen, do you notice the coastline down there?
Welcome to North Vietnam.
It's pretty boring.
SPOOK: Boys, we got too much cloud cover.
Climbing again 280 west. We're heading into Laos.
Target in sight.
Lessard, roll in.
LESSARD: Rolling.
SPOOK: Farkas, roll in.
FARKAS: Rolling.
SPOOK: Dengler, roll in.
Rolling in.
I'm hit. I'm hit!
SPOOK: Dieter, you're losing altitude! Pull it up!
Dieter, pull up!
Dengler, get out of there!
Dieter, bail out!
I'm not gonna bail out!
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(GUN SHOTS FIRlNG)
(MUTTERING)
DIETER: Oh, come on.
Come on.
Come on, search planes.
Where are you? Where have you gone?
Come on.
God, how can it get this hot?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(SOFTLY) Hey. Hey. I need to go to the bathroom.
I need...
I need to go to the bathroom.
Yeah. I need to take a shit.
Hey. Hey.
I need to take a shit.
Oh, shit.
Hey. Hey.
Does nobody listen to me?
Why doesn't anybody listen around here?
Why don't you listen to me?
I said I needed the bathroom and now I've shit myself.
Why doesn't anybody listen around here?
I've shit my pants.
(HELICOPTER CHUGGING)
(MUTTERING)
They can't hear us. They can't see us through the treetops.
It's not my fault. I didn't signal them.
(SHOUTING) Don't ever, ever do that again!
You better just shoot me right away! Don't you ever do that again!
(INAUDIBLE)
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(EXPLOSION)
This is unusual.
You American pilots normally attack us earlier in the day. Sit.
(SPEAKS GERMAN)
No English.
German.
Why don't you admit that you are an American?
Yes.
I am an American citizen,
and I love my country.
But why are you in this war against us?
I never wanted to go to war. I never wanted to go to...
I saw enough as a child. I only wanted to fly.
Then you should sign this.
"Condemning the imperialistic aggression
"of the corrupt and debased political establishment of the United States... "
What else would you call it?
"... against innocent children and the peace loving working classes. "
No, I cannot sign this. I cannot sign it.
If you sign this, we would be your friends.
- You could be released in two weeks if... - I cannot sign this.
- It's against my... - Your what?
I mean, what is in here?
What isn't here?
I love America. America gave me wings. I will not sign it, absolutely not.
No way.
Your choice.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(PANTING)
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(MUMBLING)
The quick have their sleepwalkers,
and so do the dead.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Hey.
- Hey. Hey. - GENE: Hey, there. Who's that? Hello.
GENE: Hey, you American?
- What? - GENE: He's American.
(LAUGHING)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, I'm American.
My name is Dieter. I'm a U.S. Navy pilot. And originally I was born in Germany...
- DUANE: Be quiet. - ... but I am a U.S. citizen now.
- DUANE: Quiet. - What?
- Who's that? - DUANE: Quiet.
Why? I'm whispering.
- Little Hitler's coming. - Who?
- Little Hitler. - Who's that?
Who's Little Hitler?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Okay.
Now, what the hell is this? The Middle Ages?
DUANE: Hey, listen. Don't mess with these guys. You'll regret it.
- Hi. Dieter Dengler. - All right, let's go. Give it over.
Who won the World Series?
- The World Series? - Yeah.
- I don't know... - Hey, man, the guy don't like baseball?
You don't like baseball?
- No, I don't know. I don't follow baseball. - I'm Yik Chiu Tuo.
- Yik Chiu Tuo? - They call me Y.C.
- Okay, Y.C. - Y.C.
Hi, I'm Dieter Dengler.
- Dieter Dengler. - Yeah.
We all flew together for Air America.
Yeah, I'm world champion of bad luck. But I tell you something, I'm undefeatable.
Hi. Phisit.
- Phisit. - My name is Phisit.
- Dieter. Dieter. - Yeah.
Procet Kam Phong Kit.
- What? - Procet.
- Okay. - Procet.
What was that?
- Procet. - It's okay.
Okay.
- That was actually Procet... Got that? - Right.
- But you need to call him Procet. - Okay, Procet.
That's what we call him.
He's also Air America.
- Also got shot down flying supplies... - Okay, okay.
...to royalist villages,
- just like the rest of us. - And when was that?
Two... No, two and a half year ago now.
- Two and a half years ago? - Oh, yeah.
I had no idea that we were here for that long.
Yeah, been here a lot longer than people know.
- Duane Martin. - Duane Martin. I'm Dieter Dengler.
United States Air Force. I was shot down about a year and a half ago.
- Okay. - And when this war starts,
we'll be here a lot longer than we already have.
Well, you see...
How many more times you think I'm gonna have to say,
like I been saying and saying and saying and saying again,
that we will never go to war in Vietnam, man?
- DIETER: No, they just... - They, no...
Because any day now... Listen. They will what?
- Yeah, Christmas come every day. - They...
They will release us, man.
(LAUGHING)
They will let us go any day now.
- No, you see... - Gene, by the way.
- Gene. - But listen.
It's... The trick to it is it's actually Eugene.
- Okay, Eugene. - Eugene DeBruin from
- Eugene, Oregon. - Okay.
- How do you like that? - Yeah.
See how that works out? Name, name...
Jesus Christ, not this Oregon shit, again.
I've heard this over 2,000 goddamn times.
- Eugene from Eugene. - Oh, yeah, right. Eugene from Eugene.
- You know what? You know what? Listen. - Yeah.
What you really need to know is you see this man here?
Take a good look at him. He, he...
Listen now, he shits in his pants every night without fail, man.
Trust me.
And you know the only thing that he thinks is worth complaining about?
You know what that is?
- This man right here. - Right.
- Eugene from Eugene. - From Eugene.
Okay.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GENE: Dieter.
Take a careful look to your right. You see that guy there?
We call him Little Hitler for a very good reason.
He is the worst.
This one we call Jumbo.
DIETER: Oh, wow.
That's the first smile I've seen since I was shot down.
Yeah. He's, in fact, one of the only truly nice guys here.
This is Nook the Rook right here. He's also very much not a nice guy.
- What is his problem? - It's all right. Just keep going.
His problem is he's Crazy Horse. That's what we call him.
And he is a bastard. Keep going. And I just cannot stand him.
- That's Walkie Talkie. - Walkie Talkie?
We call him that 'cause he does not speak. Never, never.
Hey, do yourself a favor, Kraut.
Keep your head down and your mouth shut.
That's your best chance of surviving.
So there is a war.
There is a war.
All right. So tell me about the peace talks, man. Geneva?
There's got to be peace talks, man.
Shut up, Gene. There is no goddamn conference.
When are you gonna get that through your skull?
Secret talks, man. I'm just talking about secret talks.
Forget it.
We're not getting out.
No, no, no, there was a honcho on the outside,
he said I would not be here too long.
They tell that to everyone to get them to sign.
No, I did not sign. No.
Anyway, nice having met you.
What do you mean, met?
Well, my friends, you can rot in here if you like,
but I'm gonna scram this very night.
This hut, it ain't no prison.
Scram. I like that. I like that.
Listen, listen, my friend, you cannot escape.
If you try to escape, you'll screw up our release.
Look, I don't give a shit about our release or whatever you think is gonna happen.
But without water, you won't survive more than two days out there.
And without water, your tracks will be visible for even more.
The jungle is the prison. Don't you get it?
Hey, when does the rainy season start?
Five months, maybe six.
I can't wait that long.
Hey, listen, let's say you do survive the jungle and lack of water,
whatever you find, snakes and animals and shit are out there,
you won't make it out of camp.
There's six guards posted during the day.
Yeah.
That is during the day.
I'm going at night.
Why, what happens at night?
No.
I'm shitting my intestines out.
Again.
I'm sorry, I can't help it.
You just shit right on my hand again, man.
- Sorry. - That makes it 2,207 times and counting.
Leave the guy alone, okay?
There ain't no alone, brother.
Does anybody have a nail?
What are you gonna do with a nail?
You're gonna stab all the lousy guards to death with a nail?
What kind of plane you fly off of?
- Procet has got a shard of glass, man. - No, that's no good.
I have porcupine needle.
No.
I've got a hammer and a socket wrench stuffed up my ass.
There's no nails.
This whole prison's made of bamboo and rattan.
Damn it.
I know where there's a nail.
Okay.
I'm gonna make my move.
So all of you scatter in all directions, okay? Go.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
What makes you think you're not crazy for thinking that'll work, man?
Eugene's right. It'll attract too much attention.
Oh, for God's sake, that's what I want.
Please.
You trust me? Please.
Duane, head to the outhouse.
Y.C., go to the top right. Okay?
Gene, please come on. No, no, no.
Gene, Phisit, Procet, head towards the gate.
Move as fast as you can.
Get their attention, that's what I need. Go, go, go, go. Go, go.
Hey, Jumbo, Jumbo. Hey, no, no, no.
Can I borrow some of the toothpaste? Let me get some of that. That's good.
I felt so like having a good smile, you know?
Like you have. You got a good smile, too.
Okay.
Y.C., when I hit it, you make a noise.
Cough or something.
(COUGHING)
(EXCLAIMlNG)
I love it.
I love it. I love it.
(WHISPERING) Give me some slack.
Let's see.
Oh, God. Oh, God, that was an easy one.
You see, I apprenticed as a tool and die maker in Germany.
There was no aviation at the time and I wanted to learn something useful
that would help me repair planes.
And, boy, are those years coming in handy in unexpected ways now.
There's only one brand that I cannot handle,
that is Smith and Wesson.
(EXCLAIMS)
I think with practice, I can open these up in maybe two, three seconds flat.
But listen, everybody keep one cuff on a wrist at all times,
so that if the guards come checking, we can put them on again quickly.
No, they don't check us at night. They think we can't get out of these.
They think it's impossible.
Show me how you did that.
It's so simple. Okay.
All you do, insert the nail.
There's a cuff and a spring. They both have teeth.
You push down on the spring, disengage the teeth like that.
You see? This is what happens inside.
- And the cuffs release. - GENE: Wow.
Hands free.
DIETER: Get away.
Get away.
No, no, no, no, no. Let him. He's our friend, Malay.
Let him do it. It's the best way to heal sores around here.
Okay.
Hey,
that cuff thing, that's good, real good.
Yeah. Thanks.
Hey, Duane,
do you know where we are? I mean, you have any idea?
No. But my guess is that this here's still Laos.
And the guards, they're...
- Laotian. - ... Laotian?
- Yeah. - Yeah, but the camp is Vietcong,
there's no question.
Look, I know what you're thinking,
but jungles on these mountains is a nightmare.
Besides, you'd end up in Vietnam.
- No, but if we can get to Thailand... - Yeah.
If we can make it to the Mekong River...
Yeah, the Big Muddy. If you could, you would, right?
Yeah. We can.
- Hey, why not? We can. - Yeah.
Just stop talking about it. Okay?
Just quiet. Excuse me.
- Hey, Gene. - Yeah.
Which of you guys knows most about the country?
Oh, that would be Phisit, but he doesn't talk to us.
What do you mean?
You see, Phisit is pissed about...
About...
(CHUCKLES)
He's pissed about something.
We don't even remember what he's pissed about.
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(GROANS)
Hey!
Hey, come back!
Hey!
I can't believe that bastard shot you.
I know. I didn't even pull down my flight suit.
Hey, look, when I was standing it looked like...
We're gonna get even one day.
(LOADS GUN)
Howdy.
(GUN CLICKS)
Americali.
- Americali. - Americali. Americali. Americali.
(LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY)
Two years ago a parcel came through.
DUANE: Yeah.
He puts it on display on really bad days.
The bacon label still looks greasy.
Does it still have a scent on it?
Oh, you bet.
Can I get a sniff?
Oh, no, you may not.
You may not. That is my sniff.
Man, that is my sniff.
Hey.
How'd you ever end up a pilot?
I always... I always wanted to be one.
I was
five years old, or something, in a little town, Wildberg, in the Black Forest,
and it was just bombed to ashes, you know?
No clear reason, just these senseless attacks.
But I remember I was in the attic with my brother.
We were looking out,
and we see this fighter plane,
beautiful, coming right at us.
And it's firing from its wings,
and I see the machine gun, it's flashing and it
(IMITATES WHOOSHING)
goes flying past the house.
It's so close. I mean, it's feet away from the house.
And the canopy was open.
And this pilot, he had his goggles up on his helmet.
And I could see his eyes.
And he was looking at me.
Right at me.
He's looking right at me.
And as he turns to go, he's starting back, he's looking right at me still.
And the thing is,
from that moment on, little Dieter,
he needed to fly.
You're a strange bird, Dieter.
Guy tries to kill you and you want his job.
Yeah.
God, we need the rain.
We need the rain to come quicker.
See, here's what I can see, you still need to understand.
- No, I understand. - You wanna talk about the rain again, we...
Listen, now. Listen.
We will be released by the time the rain comes
like I have told you before...
- Stop telling me. - I don't wanna have to keep telling you.
- Then stop telling me. - They will release us.
You understand?
And here's what I'm starting to think,
that maybe you're trying not to understand.
If you try and escape, we,
we will be killed, we who you leave behind.
- It's not just me, we all try to escape. - Taking off. We who have been here
for two years.
Two years before you showed up.
I don't want to escape alone. We escape together.
Wait, wait. Why would the guards spend all this time
cutting bamboo and wood to build a watchtower
if we weren't meant to be here for a while?
- Exactly. - Two years.
- Exactly. Why would they do that if they... - Listen. Listen to me.
- ... didn't plan to hold us a long time? - Listen. Here's what it all comes down to.
I am not, I'm not gonna let you do that.
No, no, no.
You know what I am gonna do?
I am gonna scream.
That's right. I think I'm gonna scream my head off.
(MOCKS SCREAMING)
'Cause see, I would much rather they shoot you,
than me, or any of us. You understand?
DIETER: Yeah.
You understand?
Yeah.
You've been warned.
Haven't you?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(YELLING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
This is for shaving.
Howdy.
- Man, I can't get over it. - What, this?
No, that girl, you know?
She smiled at me.
And when she smiled,
man, did I wish there was no war.
Really.
- I thought you were engaged. - Oh, yeah, I am.
We got engaged the day before I left.
Marina, she is a wonderful girl. So smart, you know?
She studies marine biology.
But I hope that she's waiting for me.
- I'm sure she is. - Yeah, well, she said she would,
but, you know, women can be funny and go looking for another man...
(GUN FIRlNG)
Duane, you okay?
- Yeah. - Y.C.?
Yik Chiu Tuo, okay.
Okay. Gene?
Phisit? Procet?
Yeah.
ALL WHISPERING: Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Dieter.
Happy birthday to you.
It is May the 22nd?
Happy birthday.
- Thank you. - Happy birthday, Dieter.
What kind of champagne is this?
You just got to keep thinking protein, lots of protein.
It's not bad.
Squished insect larva.
(LAUGHING)
Protein.
Mmm.
Oh, this is a good year, this one.
(WHISPERING) Yeah, my favorite.
So, listen, guys.
Thank you so much.
And it is my birthday, yes,
but I would like to give you some presents.
Okay. Now, look.
I have taken these cartridge shells and I have made a knife of each one.
Okay.
Now, I'm sorry, but I have to keep one for myself. Okay?
Duane, you're first.
Right.
Phisit.
Left or right?
Y.C.
Easy money, pal.
Gene.
- Procet, it is yours. Okay. - I don't care about the knife.
This is for Crazy Horse.
No, no, no. Crazy Horse is mine.
My Crazy Horse. Mine.
Now listen, we must collect the rice and hide it.
But we must dry it because it rots too quickly if we don't dry it, okay?
What? Hide it? You wanna hide it?
- Yeah, yeah. - We can eat it now.
- No, no. - We eat it now.
Look, look, look, I've created a secret compartment here for the rice.
It is at the bottom of my crap container.
So I don't think the guards
- are gonna want to check that. - Crazy. This is...
Why are you hiding it now?
For our escape.
You have a plan.
DIETER: Yes.
Now, have you noticed
that the guards when they are called to the kitchen hut for chow time,
they always leave their rifles behind, always?
So we have a few minutes before they return for their rifles.
We go out through the hut, we grab their guns,
- we surprise them. - No.
- And we surprise... We surprise them... - Crazy.
...and we surround them, okay?
Then we take the guards as prisoners.
We take over the camp. Think about it, okay?
We hold it down for a few days until we can signal our aircraft
to pick us up.
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
- Dieter, quick. - Okay.
They'll call mess any second.
Quick, quick.
- Who's in the kitchen? - I see four.
The cook, Little Hitler and Nook the Rook and somebody I've never seen before.
He looks like a villager.
- DUANE: What about the rifles? - Okay, rifles.
Little Hitler's rifle and Nook's rifle in Hut A.
And, okay, Crazy Horse going towards Hut B
with his submachine gun. Okay.
There's somebody else coming up over the hillside.
- DUANE: Who? - I can't make him out,
but he has a machete. Okay.
Oh, shit.
Nook the Rook is coming back with his food.
Quick. Quick.
Hooks in now. Hide the nail. Hide the nail.
- Got it? - Yeah.
Okay. Okay.
Close it.
GENE: Nice, because we all happen to be...
(ALL SINGING) Hungry
Hungry
- DIETER: Hey, Duane. - What?
Okay. Your turn.
- What, my turn? - DIETER: Yeah.
- Stack it up. - Oh, all right. You ready?
- Bottom shelf, raspberry pie. - Okay.
The way my mom makes it with the crust as thick as a steak.
- Yeah. - And on top shelf is a turkey.
I'm not talking Thanksgiving big.
I'm talking, you know, an obscene, enormous, like, 35-pound turkey
with breasts the size of Jayne Mansfield's. You know what I mean?
You've got gravy, stuffing, six-pack of Budweiser...
No, no, no, no.
No, I prefer the Bavarian stein. You know?
With a quarter of a gallon and it's dark and it's cool
and you get the foam lapping up
- and coming over the side. - Yeah. Okay.
- It's so cool you get the mist on the side... - All right, that's in your fridge.
- This is my fridge. Right? - Okay.
- I'm sorry. Go ahead. - Six-pack stays where it is.
Yeah. It's okay.
- Muffins. - Okay.
- Yeah. - Okay, oranges, couple of dozen eggs.
- All right. - And, oh, a pile... A huge pile of pancakes
- with tons of syrup, I mean, just soaked. - Why always the sweet stuff?
- Okay. Go ahead. - Why always the sweet stuff?
- You stack the fridge. Go ahead. - DIETER: Okay.
- It's my turn. - DIETER: Noodles and Spam, okay.
No, okay. Sorry. Go ahead. Go ahead.
- It's your turn. You go. - Right.
- Some cake. - Yeah.
See, you ruined it.
Why you always got to interrupt me?
(CHUCKLING)
God.
DIETER: Okay, rifle one and rifle two in Hut A.
Submachine gun in Hut B and another rifle in Hut C.
- DUANE: That's new. Are you sure? - DIETER: Affirmative.
And in the kitchen we have Nook the Rook,
Crazy Horse and Jumbo arriving.
Jumbo's gun?
- DUANE: Jumbo's gun? - DIETER: Duane.
(COCKING GUN)
- DUANE: What? - DIETER: Duane.
DUANE: It's just a game.
It's just a game.
I won.
Phisit.
Hold this side up.
Come on.
Do you see it?
DUANE: No.
- I see it. - Yeah, that's because you dug it.
You did a good job, trust me.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DIETER: (WHISPERING) I've seen clouds, okay?
When does the monsoon start?
I don't know.
Could be another two weeks.
- No, no, no, no. - Or a month.
No, no, no, no, no.
- Maybe five days. - Okay. No.
We need to set a start date
because the guards, you know, they are starving as well.
And they are getting meaner and meaner, so...
I don't care about anything else. Your plan, I don't care.
- You can stay behind... - Listen to me.
- ... if you want. - Listen to me now.
- How about that? - Listen...
Dieter, I'm on board.
I'd rather be dead out there than rotting away in here.
Okay, buddy. Okay.
Y.C., are you on board?
I guess so.
- Okay. Procet? - I am out.
- You are out of the plan? - I am. No, no, I want to get out.
You're coming with us out. Great. Okay, Phisit?
(CHUCKLES)
That's a yes. So...
So,
it is settled then.
Okay.
July the 4th.
No matter what.
Okay.
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
We had this two years ago when it was really bad.
- DIETER: How can it get any worse? - Really bad.
You don't ask, you just eat.
You just smile, smile and eat. Duane, Duane, Duane.
- Come on. - No.
You got to try. It's protein.
Protein's not gonna kill you.
Just try.
Hey.
I am going to eat my rice.
- I'm gonna eat my rice. - DIETER: No, you are not.
GENE: I'm gonna eat that rice.
I'm gonna eat that rice because it is my rice.
- You are not. - GENE: I will eat my rice.
We're not gonna eat that rice.
GENE: My rice.
That is not your rice. That is our rice.
- Okay. - GENE: Oh, I see.
And I tell you what.
I'm not gonna let you out of your handcuffs tonight, okay?
Because I still have the key.
Oh, I see. I see.
Let me see if I have this right.
You're the warden himself now.
Is that right? Is that right? Do I have that right?
Okay?
- DUANE: Dieter. - No.
- Dieter. - No.
(PASSES WIND)
Oh, God.
Come on, Dieter, open the cuffs.
No.
You, you are on my list right after Crazy Horse.
Cut that crap, you know?
Because I will do you in two seconds flat.
- Okay. - Hey, hey, hey. You are on my list.
On my list.
That's right.
(PASSING WIND)
No food.
Go away, there's no food today.
No food.
Dieter.
- You should apologize. - Okay.
I was just making a point.
DUANE: You should apologize to Gene.
You are not gonna keep me prisoner. I said you are not gonna keep me prisoner.
Oh, and you are not the one that I'm afraid of, okay,
because the man who will frighten me has to be born yet.
- Come on, apologize. - Okay?
(SIGHS)
Okay.
Gene, I apologize.
Gene.
Hey, I'm really sorry.
Okay?
I'm sorry.
Okay.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(HELICOPTER APPROACHING)
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Motherfucker!
(COUGHING)
I think they believe we call in aircraft.
- DUANE: (CRYING) I can't take this. - Duane. Duane.
- You hang in. - I can't take it anymore.
You hang in.
I'm your true friend.
I'm your true friend. I would not lie to you.
I will never let you down, okay?
- Okay. - Never.
Okay.
(WHISPERING) Hey.
So, listen.
Once we have got the guards,
we are gonna set up a perimeter.
If reinforcements come along this jungle path...
(SHUSHING)
They're having some kind of discussion in the kitchen.
I understand what they are saying. I just need to hear.
(MUTTERING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Hey, what's going on?
Silence.
So what are they saying?
What they're discussing is this.
They sent some villagers out to forage for some rice.
- Yeah? - They came back with nothing.
Ever since the bombings, the entire province cannot grow rice.
I didn't think it could get any worse.
No, it's much worse than that.
They plan to march us out in the jungle and kill us,
and make it look as if we were trying to escape.
They wanna all go back to their villages and somehow try to get some food.
The ringleaders are Little Hitler and Crazy Horse.
- I knew it. - Okay, so
it has to be tomorrow.
Come here.
Procet.
We are still a day short of Independence Day, but so what.
Hey, there's no rain.
Tomorrow,
chow time.
DIETER: So then, Duane and I
will go this way outside of the fence.
The four of you will go this way outside of the fence.
And we must all arrive at the kitchen
at the same moment to encircle them.
This is the most important thing, okay?
And then you two, you will interrogate the guards.
Okay. Where the hell is the tower?
Where's the tower?
Okay. Yes. Those three are in the kitchen. I think that is it.
I think they're all in the kitchen, I think.
This is it. I'm going.
Dieter, good luck.
Quiet, quiet.
Quickly. Kitchen. Kitchen. Meet us at the kitchen. Yes? Okay.
Duane, come on. Come on. Oh, God.
Oh, God, there are six or seven or something.
(SHOUTS)
Gene! Procet! Come on!
DIETER: Procet! Gene! Where the hell are you?
Gene! Damn you, where are... Duane, come on!
Duane, where the hell are you!
Jumbo, don't try anything.
Go on! Go on, run!
Run!
God damn you!
Where are the shoes?
The shoes are always hanging here. Look for them! Go on, look for them.
This is terrible. This is terrible.
Come on. Get something. Get this bag.
- There's no shoes. - Get this bag.
Get as much as you can.
God damn you, Gene!
God damn you!
We have to leave. We have to leave. The guards will be coming back.
Come on.
Duane. Duane. Not in the open. Not in the open. Come on. Come on.
Dieter.
Y. C., what the hell happened? Why didn't you show up at the kitchen?
Gene? Gene, where the hell were you?
Gene, where the hell have you been?
Did you hear the shooting? Did you?
I couldn't get a shot.
Oh, you couldn't get a shot at them. You weren't there to get a shot at them.
Look at these. What nice shoes you have.
Where are our shoes? Where are our shoes?
Phisit.
You're telling me that he took three pairs of shoes?
He took his, he took Duane's and he took mine?
- That's right. - DIETER: Yeah.
- Yeah. - DIETER: That's right.
So, you were busy getting your machetes
and your nice shoes while we were being shot at.
Okay. Where was this rifle? Where did you find this rifle?
Where'd you get that?
Where am I gonna go?
I don't know where you're gonna go. Where'd you get the rifle?
Or did you just find that? You just found it lying around?
We found it.
Okay, listen, that's it.
Listen, I have an ammo clip for you.
My ammo clip for your machete.
Oh, yeah.
DIETER: Oh, that's funny?
- Why is that funny? - 'Cause I was just thinking,
maybe you'll go back and get one yourself.
Maybe I'll go back and get one myself? Okay.
GENE: Happy now you got to do your big plan?
Yes.
Yeah, I bet you're happy.
You hand me that machete.
You tell me where to go.
I don't know where you can go.
I didn't think so.
Didn't think so.
Gene. Gene.
What's that? What's that?
Yeah, Dieter.
Is that where you're going?
See you, Duane. Duane, love you, brother. You go that way, I'll go this way.
But where am I gonna go?
I'm gonna go over there.
Where am I gonna go?
Dieter.
It's gonna rain.
I know it.
This is how it always starts.
(SCREAMING)
DIETER: Duane.
Look at this.
You see over there?
See?
Down there must be a river.
It must lead to the Big Muddy.
And then we'll be out of here.
DIETER: We'll build a raft, and we can float all the way down to it.
No one will see us.
Then we can cross over into Thailand.
(CUTTING)
Listen.
Do you hear that?
Is that a waterfall?
Waterfall! Waterfall, bail out!
Dieter!
(SHOUTING)
Dieter!
- Careful! - The shore!
Grab the shore!
Hey, pick a hand.
No.
Which one of your feet is worse off?
That's a trick question, right?
We can trade off with this thing.
DIETER: There's no way that we shoot it out with the Vietcong
if we run into them, so...
And we can't use these for hunting because of the noise.
You wanna ditch them?
Yeah.
I'm sick of carrying these, anyway.
(GROANING)
Oh, God.
Duane.
We got to move.
I'm too tired.
- Keep moving. - No, I'm too tired.
Come on, buddy.
I can't go on any longer.
Duane.
These are huts.
This is an abandoned village.
This is a hut.
No.
- Yeah. - It's all jungle.
Be careful.
- I'm done. - No.
DIETER: Travel by night.
No, I'm telling you, I can't go any further.
You just leave me here.
We'll travel by night.
I help you along.
When we reach the Big Muddy, we'll make it across,
and I'm sure we're gonna run right into an American officers' club.
And we're gonna go straight into the kitchen,
and we're gonna order a burger and French fries
and milkshake and ice cream sundaes.
All that sweet stuff that you like.
(HELICOPTERS APPROACHING)
Duane! Duane! There's choppers!
Duane! Duane, look!
There's... Oh, here we are!
Here we are!
Oh, please! Please, be real!
Here we are! It's your buddies! It's your buddies!
Oh, yes!
Thank you! Thank you!
We're here! We're here!
No!
We're here!
Where are you going?
We are here!
Stop!
You idiots, where are you going?
Please.
Please come back.
- Keep your voice down. - Duane.
- Dieter. - Duane.
- The guards are coming. - Duane,
I'm not speaking.
God, why don't you help us when we need you most?
Keep your voice down. They're coming.
(SHIVERING)
Come here.
Lie down.
Lie down there.
Lie down.
Okay.
Listen, I'm gonna build a fire tonight, a big one.
And those helicopters, they will see it.
And they will come for us.
Okay, they will come for us.
Come on, come on.
Yes.
DIETER: (SHOUTING) Here we are!
Here we are! Oh, yes!
Oh, thank God! Oh, yes!
Yeah!
Yes!
(MACHINE GUN FIRlNG)
You idiots!
You almost killed me!
(SOBBING)
I dreamed there was a fire.
Why did they think a whole damn village would be burning?
How could we be Vietcong?
Now they must've heard us.
They must've seen this.
The Vietcong will be on their way. They could be here any moment.
Let's leave here.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(MAN SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(DIETER SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(SHOUTING)
(YELLING)
(SHOUTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DUANE: Dieter.
Dieter.
My feet are cold.
(MAN SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
I'm cold.
My feet are cold.
You can have the sole.
Duane?
(DIETER SHOUTING)
Hey, you!
I'm here!
Please turn around.
Hey!
Don't leave. Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Don't go away.
Hey!
Oh, come on!
Oh, please!
Come on!
Okay. Hey!
Over here! Over here!
Help me! Come on, come on, come on.
Come on down. Yeah, come on.
They're coming.
Yes! Yes, please!
See me!
Yes!
(DIETER LAUGHING)
MAN: Who are you, buddy?
Name?
Flight Lieutenant Dieter Dengler, U.S.S. Ranger.
Authenticator?
- What's your authenticator? - Rescue Dawn.
- Louder!
Rescue Dawn!
- Favorite sport? - Hunting.
Favorite fish?
Trout.
Confirmed. Confirmed. It's him!
I can't believe it.
Jesus, buddy, you made it out of the bush.
Bring him home!
He's coming home with us.
- Oh, shit! - Going home.
All right.
Way to go, buddy.
MAN: Easy, easy, easy.
Hold up here, hold up here. Hey, everyone listen to me.
- We're in charge here. - Back up. Back up.
This man has been on a highly classified operation. Hold.
No one is to see him. No one is to touch him. No one is to talk to him.
AGENT 2: Get him inside. AGENT 1: You'll forget what you've seen.
AGENT 1: In fact, from now on, it's a black operation. Is that clear?
You got me on that?
AGENT 2: Back up. Back up. AGENT 1: Stand back.
All right. Let's go.
NURSE: You're doing great, Dieter.
You don't need this anymore.
(WHISPERING) Hey, when can I go back to my ship?
I don't know.
Okay, go, go, go, go, go.
You guys are a lot of fun.
You know, how many times I have to tell you? I don't know the coordinates.
Let's go back to the guards. Tell me about their uniforms.
There were some with red stars, maybe they're Vietcong.
The others were Laotians...
Oh, no.
Dieter!
There's my buddies.
- Happy birthday. - That's my buddies.
You made it.
It's good to see you, Spook.
Dieter.
Norman. Oh, my God.
Gentlemen, can you give us a couple of minutes alone, please?
It should be all right.
I got a little letter from his fiancée.
It's kind of personal. You know what I mean?
Keep it personal, Lieutenant.
We're in the middle of a highly classified debriefing.
Will do. It's from his old lady.
- Ten minutes. - Okay.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Hey, Spook, what's with the birthday... It's not my birthday.
Dieter, those two CIA dudes wanna take you back to Guam for debriefing.
You don't wanna do that, do you?
I didn't think so.
Hey, hold on, guys.
Hey, guys, he's a bit choked up in there.
You mind giving him just a couple of minutes to sort of pull himself together?
Yeah, it should be fine. We'll give it a few minutes.
- He's a good kid, huh? - Yeah.
- Thanks, guys. - Yup.
MAN:... Right, left. Left, left, left, right, left.
Come on, now.
Hurry up. Come on, get him in.
Get him in now, fast!
Get inside.
(WHOOPING) It's my day!
What are we doing?
DIETER: Hey. SPOOK: What?
DIETER: Where is everybody?
- Where? - Right here.
Why the decks... They're empty. Have they gone home?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
They're on vacation.
Is the war over?
No.
DIETER: You know I'm in a lot of trouble.
Boys, here he is.
They kidnapped him, they brought him here to us.
The CIA held him for four days but they can't hang onto him forever!
Dieter Dengler!
All right, all right. Hold on. Hold on a second.
Boys, listen up for a second.
Admiral Willoughby's got something to say.
Lieutenant Dengler.
Good to have you back.
- Thank you. - All right. That's not all.
There's more! Hold on, fellows. Hold on, hold on!
So, let's start with the man himself.
Dieter, it is just incredible you made it home.
Now, tell us, was it your faith in God and country?
Come on, Dieter, you got to believe in something.
I believe I need a steak.
A steak! This guy needs a steak!
We're grilling up a big old cow for you.
All right. Hey, listen up. Hang on.
Can you pass something on to the boys?
You know, something you learned during your ordeal,
something to keep them going no matter how bad it gets?
Sure I can.
Empty what is full.
Fill what is empty.
Scratch where it itches. That's it.
Now look at these boys ' faces.
Do they love you, man!
Do they love you!