The Draft

The Draft

The Draft

Share

The Draft

"Race, class, culture — the draft in the 1960s and 1970s was a lightning rod that lit up every schism in American society."

2015

0h 53m

8.0(1 votes)

Documentary

War

Overview

Historians, veterans, politicians, and anti-war leaders discuss the history of the military draft in the United States through the Vietnam War, and examine the consequences of its replacement with an all-volunteer professional force currently comprising less than one-half of one percent of the population.

Links & Resources

Website IMDbView

Social & External

Production Companies

Partisan Pictures

The people behind it

Cast & crew

4 featured cast members

Starring

Campbell Scott

Campbell Scott

Self - Narrator (voice)

Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Rumsfeld

Self

Dan Rather

Dan Rather

Self

Tom Hayden

Tom Hayden

Self

Creative team

Directed by: Aaron Matthews
Written by: Don Campbell
Aaron Matthews
Produced by: Aaron Matthews

Similar Movies

Born on the Fourth of July

Born on the Fourth of July

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

Friendly Fire

Friendly Fire

In March 1970, a U.S. Army officer arrived at the Iowa farm of Peg and Gene Mullen and informed them that their son Michael had been killed in Vietnam by "friendly fire." Their determined attempts to learn more about the circumstances of their son's death are the subject of this true account film.

G.I. Jane

G.I. Jane

In response to political pressure from Senator Lillian DeHaven, the U.S. Navy begins a program that would allow for the eventual integration of women into its combat services. The program begins with a single trial candidate, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, who is chosen specifically for her femininity. O'Neil enters the grueling Navy SEAL training program under the command of Master Chief John James Urgayle, who unfairly pushes O'Neil until her determination wins his respect.

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Platoon

Platoon

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

Rambo: First Blood Part II

Rambo: First Blood Part II

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.

Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

Miss Nhung

Miss Nhung

The film is anchored by a wartime re-encounter between a servant child and a tutor, transformed in the crucible of the spring 1968 Saigon offensive.

The Ghosts of Jeju

The Ghosts of Jeju

Documentary about the struggle of the people of Jeju Island, South Korea. Set in the context of the U.S. presence in Korea after World War II, the film reveals horrible atrocities at the hands of the U.S. Military Government of Korea.

The Harvest of My Lai

The Harvest of My Lai

Filmmaker Marcel Ophuls investigates the massacre of My Lai by U.S. soldiers.

Firefight

Firefight

A squad of Marines on a hilltop in Vietnam calls for a Medevac after a sniper wounds one of them. Before the Medevac helicopter can come down for a landing, the Marines are attacked by a large force of Vietcong. After a brutal battle, resulting in more wounded Marines, they're able to repel the attack, but then the helicopter is hesitant to land.

There Is No 13

A Vietnam veteran and aspiring filmmaker spirals through a world of fragments and interludes that offer as much surreal comedy as existential dread.

Skip Liberty: Shooting in Vietnam

Skip Liberty: Shooting in Vietnam

Skip Liberty enlisted in the Army in 1968. During his tour in Vietnam he shot 3,100 feet of Super 8 film, over 3 hours worth. Upon returning to the states the film was placed in storage, Skip had never seen the footage he shot. Until now.

Das Dorf der Freundschaft

A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.

Cobra Mission 2

Cobra Mission 2

A Vietnam vet who specializes in freeing POWs goes behind enemy lines on a rescue mission with a group of mercenaries.

Lenin kam nur bis Lüdenscheid - Meine kleine deutsche Revolution

Lenin kam nur bis Lüdenscheid - Meine kleine deutsche Revolution

The free, almost naive view from the perspective of a child puts the "68ers" in a new, illuminating light in the anniversary year 2008. The film is a provocative reckoning with the ideological upbringing that seemed so progressive and yet was suffocated by the children's desire to finally grow up. With an ironic eye and a feuilletonistic style, author Richard David Precht and Cologne documentary film director André Schäfer trace a childhood in the West German provinces - and place the major events of those years in completely different, smaller and very private contexts.

The Quiet American

The Quiet American

Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.

Brothers in Blood

Brothers in Blood

War is Hell... especially NAM. A group of battle weary soldiers in Vietnam are trapped behind enemy lines. There is no way back. No help on the way. It's only a matter of time and these guys intend to "Die Fighting". Bo Svenson and Peter Hooten together again (Inglorious Bastards) join the Late, great Werner Porchat (as a part-time drag queen commando) in this explosive Italian commando film.

National Geographic: Samurai Sword

National Geographic: Samurai Sword

A weapon so technologically perfect in structure, so formidable in strength and so beautiful in creation. This high definition one hour special is the inside track on the World's most influential weapon. For over a thousand years this weapon dominated the battlefields of Japan, instilled fear and terror into every enemy it faced, and created a new spiritual way of life that lasts through to the present day. The Samurai sword – a weapon so technologically perfect in structure, so formidable in strength and so beautiful in creation. For the first time unique access has been granted and we travel into the core of the ancient foundries, sword-smiths and fighting schools to reveal what makes the so-called perfect sword. This is a no holds barred look at one of the most iconic man-made objects ever forged. Join us as we take the inside track on the making of the legend that is the Samurai Sword.

Recommended Movies

The Soviet Story

The Soviet Story

“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its crimes were made taboo, and the complete story of Europe’s most murderous regime has never been told. Until now...

Korengal

Korengal

Korengal picks up where Restrepo left off; the same men, the same valley, the same commanders, but a very different look at the experience of war.

They Shall Not Grow Old

They Shall Not Grow Old

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

The Bloody Hundredth

The Bloody Hundredth

Meet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.

Directed by John Ford

Directed by John Ford

A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.

2000 Meters to Andriivka

2000 Meters to Andriivka

Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.

Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light

The final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S. government by John Huston. Some returning combat veterans suffer scars that are more psychological than physical. This film follows patients and staff during their treatment. It deals with what would now be called PTSD, but at the time was categorised as psychoneurosis or shell-shock. Government officials deemed this 1946 film counterproductive to postwar efforts; it was not shown publicly until 1981.

A Decade Under the Influence

A Decade Under the Influence

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

John Candy: I Like Me

John Candy: I Like Me

Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

Last Days in Vietnam

Last Days in Vietnam

During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.

180° South

180° South

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Harmontown

Harmontown

A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

The Unknown Known

The Unknown Known

Former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

My Mom Jayne

My Mom Jayne

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

The Fog of War

The Fog of War

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

Restrepo

Restrepo

Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.

Hearts and Minds

Hearts and Minds

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

The Age of Stupid

The Age of Stupid

Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

Looking for Richard

Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."