10 Most Intense Scenes In War Films

Casualties of War isn't quite so well-remembered as other Vietnam films of the 1980s, but it leaves a massive impression on those who watch it. Perhaps the most memorable scene is the death of Than, a Vietnamese woman who is raped by a squad of American soldiers.

Michael J. Fox's Eriksson, the only member of this squad who opposes Than’s abuse, sees that his squad members are going to execute her. In a desperate attempt to save her, he fires his gun into the air, alerting the Vietcong to their presence, starting a firefight. Than is stabbed by one member of the squad and then they are all pinned down. But Than isn't dead. As the squad are trading fire with the Vietcong, Than stumbles out of the woods, bloodied, like a revenant of their atrocious deeds, and walks right past them. The power of Thuy Thu Le's performance as Than here needs to be noted - she is haunting in this scene.

Ennio Morricone's beautiful score swells. Their villainous squad commander orders them all to shoot her, but everyone waits a moment, stunned at her, the evidence of their cruelty inscribed on this bleeding traumatized woman. Perhaps she won’t die.

The squad then, collectively guns Than down.

It's a scene in which an attempt to hide the horrors of war is briefly thwarted - where Than gets to rise again, her body confronting these soldiers with what they've done before they kill her, hiding their deeds again. It is bleak, brutal, and, above all, heart-breaking.