In the Year of the Pig is an American documentary film directed by Emile de Antonio about American involvement in the Vietnam War.[3][a] It was released in 1968 while the U.S. was in the middle of its military engagement, and was politically controversial.[4] One year later, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[5][6][7] In 1990, Jonathan Rosenbaum characterized the film as "the first and best of the major documentaries about Vietnam".[8]
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.[12][13] When confronted with the charge that In the Year of the Pig had a leftist perspective, de Antonio conceded the point, replying: “Only God is objective, and he doesn’t make films.”[14]
Home media
In the Year of the Pig was released as a region 1 DVD in 2005. In addition to the film, the DVD has audio commentary with director Emile de Antonio composed from archival sources, an interview with de Antonio, and liner notes by de Antonio scholar Douglas Kellner.[15]
Influences
A still photograph used in the film that displayed Marine Corporal Michael Wynn later was incorporated into the album cover for The Smiths' second album Meat Is Murder (1985). The insignia on Wynn's helmet was changed to "meat is murder".[16][17]
^Helen Slote Levitt has been mistakenly credited as an editor of this film; Helen Levitt, who is well known as a photographer but who also had a long career in film editing and cinematography, was the editor. See Barsam, Richard Meran (1992). Nonfiction Film: A Critical History. Indiana University Press. p. 418. ISBN978-0-253-20706-7.
Schwartzman, Theresa. 2004. In the Year of the Pig, 1968. UCLA Film and Television Archive: 12th Festival of Preservation, July 22-August 21, 2004. Festival guest publication.
External links
In the Year of the Pig, full documentary (time length 1:44:36) on Youtube since 2021 Aug 14.
