84C MoPic is a 1988 American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 independent war film

War film

War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...

 drama by Patrick Sheane Duncan

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Patrick Sheane Duncan is an American writer, film producer and director.A graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Duncan's career has been influenced by his Vietnam War experiences, which inspired the television mini-series Vietnam War Story and its...

.

Story

The film is created as a mock-up documentary of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or LRRPs , were special small four to six-man teams in the Vietnam War on highly dangerous special reconnaissance missions deep into enemy territory....

 (LRRP) mission during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. The point of view is from a camera following an LRRP team on a five-day patrol deep inside the "Indian Country" (territory controlled by the North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

ese). The cameraman is nicknamed "MoPic" by the team, because of his alphanumeric military occupational specialty

Military Occupational Specialty

A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...

, 84C20, Motion Picture Specialist. The supposedly routine mission, however, goes wrong and eventually turns into a struggle for survival.

Production

The movie was filmed on low budget in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

. The film is one of the earlier examples of found footage

Found footage (genre)

Found footage is a genre of filmmaking, especially horror, in which all or a substantial part of a film is presented as discovered film or video recordings, often left behind by missing or dead protagonists. The events onscreen are seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved,...

, a style famously implemented by Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Cast

• Jonathan Emerson as LT
  Lieutenant
  A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
  
  
• Nicholas Cascone as Easy
• Jason Tomlins as Pretty Boy
• Christopher Burgard as Hammer
• Glenn Morshower
  Glenn Morshower
  Glenn Grove Morshower is an American actor best known for playing Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce on the Fox action thriller drama series 24...
  
   as Cracker
  Cracker (pejorative)
  Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a pejorative term for white people. It is an ethnic slur that is especially used for the white inhabitants of the U.S. states of Georgia and Florida , but it is also used throughout the United States.-Etymology:One theory holds that the term comes from the...
  
  
• Richard Brooks
  Richard Brooks (actor)
  Richard L. Brooks is an African-American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette during the first three seasons of the NBC TV drama Law & Order .Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brooks studied acting, dance, and voice work at...
  
   as OD
• Byron Thames
  Byron Thames
  Byron Thames is an American television and film actor and musician.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he relocated shortly after his birth to New Orleans, Louisiana, he moved to Hollywood, California with his mother at age eight to pursue a career as an actor.After meeting actor/director...
  
   as MoPic

Reception

The film received three nominations:

• 1989 - Sundance Film Festival
  Sundance Film Festival
  The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
  
  , Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic (Patrick Sheane Duncan)
• 1990 - Independent Spirit Award, Best First Feature, Patrick Sheane Duncan (Director); Michael Nolin
  Michael Nolin
  Michael Nolin is an American motion picture producer, studio executive, writer/director and educator.-Biography:Nolin went to film school at the University of Southern California and began his career as a clerk typist in the MGM story department...
  
  (Producer)
• 1990 - Independent Spirit Award, Best Screenplay, Patrick Sheane Duncan