R-Rated War Classic Leaving Netflix Will Break Your Heart

Based on Kovic’s 1976 autobiography and co-written by both Stone and Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July is anchored by one of the best performances of Tom Cruise’s career. The film follows Kovic over the course of 20 years, from his childhood, to when he enlisted as a teenager, to when he was paralyzed during his second tour in Vietnam, all the way through his transition to an anti-war activist. The cast is rounded out by Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, and Willem Dafoe.

Oliver Stone, who is also a Vietnam War vet, has always done a great job at pointing his critical lens at the Vietnam War, and Born on the Fourth of July serves as the second of his Vietnam War trilogy that includes Platoon and Heaven & Earth. Born on the Fourth of July could have been the first of his Vietnam films if it didn’t hit snags in development after Al Pacino, who was set to play Kovic, left the project in the 1970s. Stone then had the massive success of Platoon, allowing him to get the project back on track.

It was worth the wait because Born on the Fourth of July was universally praised by critics and was a box office success with $162 million at the box office. It ended up getting a lot of love at the Academy Awards, earning eight nominations and two wins for Best Director and Best Film Editing. Of course, Cruise got his first Oscar nomination for the role, which remains one of his most nuanced and heartbreaking performances to this day.

While Tom Cruise was the right choice for Born on the Fourth of July, he almost didn’t get cast in the role. Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, and Nicolas Cage were initially considered for the role after Pacino dropped out. While it might seem silly now, the studio was actually concerned about casting Cruise in a dramatic lead role.

It’s understandable, as Tom Cruise was best known for Top Gun at the time, and Oliver Stone himself was reluctant as he felt Top Gun was a “fascist movie.” However, Stone was intrigued by Tom Cruise’s “golden boy” image and obviously ended up coming around. Kovic was also reluctant to let Cruise play him in Born on the Fourth of July, but was then on board after Cruise came to visit him in his home.

As Cruise does, he ended up throwing himself into the role and prepped for a year by reading books, visiting veteran hospitals, and spending time in a wheelchair. Stone even suggested Cruise take a drug that would paralyze him for a couple of days (knowing Cruise, he was probably down), but the insurance company said absolutely not. But his prep time was worth it anyway, and Born on the Fourth of July is well worth checking out before it leaves Netflix on July 31.