The 1987 film ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’, starring Robin Williams, became a cult classic, earning the actor both an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe. Williams delivered a dazzling performance as charismatic and nonconformist radio DJ Adrian Cronauer, who arrives in Saigon in 1965 to host a morning radio show for American troops. Despite Williams’ comedic brilliance, his character quickly earns the ire of military superiors with his irreverent tone and rock-oriented playlists that clash with the traditional diet of waltzes and polkas.
The movie was shot in Thailand, mostly in Bangkok, though its story is set in Vietnam at the height of the war. Unlike more conventional war dramas, Good Morning, Vietnam offers an original perspective on the conflict, highlighting its brutality through humor and rebellion.
Why didn’t Williams meet the real-life Adrian Cronauer?
Although the film was inspired by the true story of Adrian Cronauer, a former soldier who worked as a military radio host, it took significant creative liberties. Director Barry Levinson specifically forbade Williams from meeting Cronauer before filming. He feared such a meeting might influence the performance, making it too imitative, even unintentionally. Levinson wanted Williams to create his own interpretation, unrestricted by the real person’s mannerisms.
As a result, Williams and Cronauer only met at the film’s premiere. Cronauer later said the film’s accuracy was about 45 percent.
Why did Adrian Cronauer dislike Williams’ performance?
Although Robin Williams gave a highly compelling performance, the movie sometimes misrepresented Cronauer’s actual beliefs. From 1965 to 1966, Cronauer did indeed broadcast from Saigon and opened each show with his iconic “Good morning, Vietnam!” However, he insisted he was “anti-stupidity,” not anti-war, as the movie suggested.
Cronauer, who went on to become a lawyer and passed away in 2018, was an active Republican and even served as vice chairman of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004.
He also remarked that had he done even half of what Williams’ character did in the film, he would have faced a court-martial and likely ended up in the military prison at Fort Leavenworth. Nevertheless, Barry Levinson’s film was a massive commercial success, grossing around $124 million in the U.S., making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 1987. In 2008, Empire magazine included Good Morning, Vietnam in its list of the 500 greatest films of all time.
