Coming Home (1978)

The movie industry in the late ’70s can be defined by acclaimed pics about the fallout from the Vietnam conflict. These releases include Tracks (1976), Heroes (1977), Rolling Thunder (1977), and The Boys in Company C (1978). Michael Cimino’s epic The Deer Hunter (1978) won five Oscars, including Best Picture. The following year, the Academy rewarded Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic classic Apocalypse Now (1979) with eight nominations and two wins. Next came the Golden Globe-nominated musical Hair (1979) directed by Miloš Forman. Of course, we can’t forget Hal Ashby’s romantic drama Coming Home (1978). This anti-war pic picked up Oscars for its screenplay as well as for its leads Jon Voight and Jane Fonda. Set in 1968, the story centers around Sally Hyde (Fonda) who starts working in a California VA Hospital after her husband, Captain Bob (Bruce Dern), goes overseas to fight in Vietnam. While he’s away, she meets and eventually falls in love with a paraplegic vet named Luke (Voight). Although his body has been compromised by the war, his mind is fine. The opposite is true of Bob, who returns home under mysterious circumstances. As you can guess, Bob doesn’t take the news of Sally and Luke very well. In fact, he decides to kill himself by drowning in the ocean. The silver lining is we get to see Bruce’s bare back and behind when he runs into the water. Not to be outdone, Jon displays his naked T&A during a sex scene. No wonder it’s called Coming Home!