Frankie's House [VHS] [1992]

Tim Page was a typical young Englishman in the 1960's who made his way to Vietnam at a time when that country was about to errupt in civil war. Almost by accident he found work - and a genuine gift - as a war photographer and was soon swept up into the sex, drugs and rock and roll world of "Frankie's House" - a bar/hotel/brothel where the western journalists lived and worked. Page developed a strong friendship with fellow photographer Sean Flynn - son of Errol - who cast off his film actor and playboy image to find real life action and bravery with the frontline troops. Armed only with their Nikon's - and with the young man's fearless belief that they are invincible - Page and Flynn took many iconic images of the Vietnam war which are as shocking and moving now as they day they were shot. They eventually saw the truth of the desperate situation in Vietnam being reported in the USA and World Wide.

This 4 part series has been a long time coming to dvd. Made in 1992 by a joint Australian/British company if stars Ian Glen as Page and Kevin Dillon as Flynn. The real Page was not happy with the casting of Dillon as Flynn who, in real life, had been a strapping 6ft 3" with his fathers sandy/red hair and the stunning good looks of both his film star parents. In some ways Ian Glen is more physically suited to the role and if this series was being made today I expect Matthew McConaughey (Sahara) would be first choice for the part. Nonetheless, Dillon brings a wit and warmth to the hedonistic, tortured son of the famous film star who finaly stepped clear of his fathers shadow to gain respect in his own right, before going missing in 1971 having been captured by the Viet Cong. It is now widely believed that Flynn died in a North Korean army hospital following a severe case of malaria whilst still being held hostage, but that he had been alive up to year after he went missing. The fate of fellow photographer Dana Stone is unknown.

The war scenes are unrelenting and heartbreaking, the complexitity of the situation in Vietnam from the heady days when the war was happening far away "up country" to the final battles for Saigon that rage on the doorstep of Frankie's this is a drama which will grip the viewer and which is as powerful as the many films made about the conflict in recent years.

This is the mini-series about war photographers Tim Page and Sean Flynn{(Errol's son) so don't worry there's plenty of action in it},in Vietnam.The slightly strange title for a 'Nam series refers to the brothel in which they lived.This is one of those mini-series that everyone thought was great,but nobody could remember what it was called.There are some events in this that you just don't see in other 'Nam flicks.The cast is great and the special effects were very good for the time.This is considerably better than quite a few 'nam films i could mention and is right up there with the best of them.A final word on the exemplary dvd restoration,the picture and sound are as good as new.

I bought this about a year ago and had not even taken it out of the wrapper. I assumed that a 10 year old made for TV series would be something to only watch on a rainy day. That day came and I pretty much watched it straight through. It is not a classic high budget war film but I found it interesting and well acted, knowing that is based on the photographer Tim Page made it more enjoyable. It is by no means an in depth view of the Vietnam war but does show the problem of a photographers personal view impacting on objectivity. I have since bought a couple of Tim Page books so it must have made some sort of positive impression on me. I enjoy books and films/documentaries about combat phtojournalism so my view may be coloured by that, but I will watch it again and would recommend it.