Diên Biên Phu (French for
Điện Biên Phủ) is a
1992 film written and directed by French veteran
Pierre Schoendoerffer. With its huge budget, all-star cast, and realistic war scenes produced with the cooperation of the French and Vietnamese armies,
Dîen Bîen Phu is regarded by many as one of the more important
war movies produced in
French filmmaking history. It portrays the 55-day
siege of Dien Bien Phu (1954), the last battle by the French Union's colonial army in the
First Indochina War during the final days of
French Indochina, which was soon after divided into
North and
South Vietnam. This was a prelude to the Second Indochina War, known in the United States as the
Vietnam War.
The film was nominated for "Best Music Written for a Film" (
"Meilleure musique") at the 1993 French
César Awards. The
Điện Biên Phủ original soundtrack was composed and partially performed by pianist
Georges Delerue, featuring Japanese vocalist
Marie Kobayashi. In 1994, at a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the siege at Dien Bien Phu, director Schoendoerffer published a behind-the-scenes book called "
Diên Biên Phu - De la Bataille au Film" (Dien Bien Phu: From the Battle to the Movie). In 2004, during the 50th anniversary commemoration, Schoendoerffer published a
full-length version of his movie in DVD format.
Plot
The movie follows the chronological events of the battle. Some of them are shown
in situ, from the heart of the battle, at
Dien......
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