I first saw Born On The Fourth Of July when it arrived in UK video stores back in mid to late 1990 (at a guess) I hadn’t yet started work in a video store, or took ownership of the video store I would later that decade but I was fully onboard with the film of Oliver Stone and had been since the mid 80s. Knowing that Oliver Stone had another film coming out got me very excited (it still does) and it had been a couple of years since Talk Radio and so as soon as Born On The Fourth Of July arrived in my local video store, I headed there, paid the rental money, and was introduced to a film that would enter my favourite films list. Over the years I have owned Born On The Fourth Of July on various formats, VHS, and of course DVD and whilst I haven’t yet upgraded to many of Oliver’s films from the DVDs I have to bluray (or 4K bluray), it is on my list of things to do especially when it comes to some of the features that are on the discs (check out the JFK and also Natural Born Killers editions if you want some great examples) 

Well Shout Factory have later in the year Born On The Fourth Of July headed to 4K bluray and if you haven’t seen the film, I do urge you to check it out. Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic and delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran and activist. Based on a true story, the movie follows Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteered for the Vietnam War, to an embittered veteran paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country, Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he left and struggled greatly before emerging as a brave new voice for his fellow soldiers and countrymen.

Oliver once again assembles a brilliant who’s who of screen talent, including William Baldwin, Kyra Sedgwick, Frank Whalley, Tom Berenger, Ed Lauter, Dale Dye, Bob Gunton, Willem Dafoe, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, and Wayne Knight. Just to name a few!

Whilst the special features list hasn’t been released by Shout as yet, it is very likely that the great commentary track from Oliver Stone will be on there somewhere (either on the 4K, or bluray, or both) and fingers crossed there will be some documentaries on there too.  You can pre-order the disc HERE (and theres a exclusive poster with it too, whilst stocks last) 

Born On The Fourth Of July is released November 12th 2024