The Odd Angry Shot is a small Australian film that highlights the lives of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. To a large segment of America, it is surprising to discover that we weren't the only ones in the war. Australian soldiers were also there (as were soldiers from the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Taiwan). The film looks at a group of friends from the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. Like the UK, the Australian SAS are the Australian Army's top special forces unit, and they were a tough, professional group.The film showcases the camaraderie of the men, as they swap jokes, while killing time in camp. That is, until a mortar attack hammers home that they are in a war. Things start to get more serious as they move out into the jungle for patrols, which seem to accomplish little, except increase casualties.The film makes a strong anti-war statement by showcasing how soldiers get through things, by fighting for each other, since the geopolitics don't make sense. Lead actor Graham Kennedy gets to express a lot of soldier's sentiments about how politicians dump them into the mess, while they just try to stay alive and get back home. Many veterans throughout the world can sympathize with those words.The film was rather low budget and looks sparse, compared to bigger American productions, like Apocalypse Now and Platoon. However, they got big bang for their buck, thanks to cooperation from the Australian army and by picking strong moments. The battles are small, but the focus is on the tight group within the troop. We see them laugh, fight, party, and cry together, as real soldiers do.This is definitely one to seek out, rather than some of the more propaganda oriented films of recent years, or some of the bigger budget American films. It's more intimate and less clichéd, with a fine cast of both actors and characters.

When I first saw this movie I was convinced that the actors were in fact real SAS troopers who had been seconded to do a bit of acting. So realistic were their actions, behaviour and kit. Later of course I discovered they were all well-known Australian actors. If anyone wants to know what fighting in Vietnam was like, watch this film. It shows you how it should be done. One foot out of camp and all communication is by hand signals and whispers. Comparing this to some American units in Vietnam who actually went on patrol with transistor radios on their shoulders and you will quickly understand why the Australians did so well and overall the Americans did so badly.I vote this the best war movie ever made.

This film is rarely shown, but is available on video if you hunt around. It is a minor classic and stars a young Bryan Brown and a Graham Kennedy before his crow imitating newsreader days.Whether it portrays the SAS realistically is a moot point, but this was the Australian SAS in the late sixties/early seventies and reference to Australian Books such as the "Phantoms of the Jungle", suggest that the Swanbourne troops went through Vietnam in the way portrayed.The film is worth watching not for the overdone anti-war message but the black humour and jokes. The presentation of the shoebox contraption to the pardre is worth watching in itself.

A few Australians have already written on this site praising the film for its portrayal of the Australian SAS in Vietnam and commented at length about the scope of the film. I would like to comment about the accurate way the military operations are portrayed. I served in the US Army in the 101st Airborne Division's elite LRSD (Long Range Surveillance Detatchment)where this film was one of our favorites. It was, and still is, the only film we had ever seen that realisticly showed what long range recon patrols are like; slow, concealed, quiet, and sometimes fruitless small team patrols made up of professional soldiers. We were also impressed that the film showed the part of all patrols that movies never show, the planning phase where the operation order is given and reviewed, mission essential equipment is meted out, maps are studied, radio frequencies and callsigns are memorized, and all questions are asked. The film shows the unglamorous and sometimes dull side of special warfare, but is still a must for anyone interested in special operations units that wants to see what it's all about.