Many movies are prisoners of the time in which they are made, and this can be beyond their control. Whether it be the clothes or the style of filmmaking, certain movies are tied to a place in history and these movies can easily look and feel dated, sometimes just years after they were made. Conversely, period pieces are meant to be linked to a certain time -- that's their job. So, here's a question: Can a period piece feel dated? I would normally say that this wasn't possible, but Good Morning, Vietnam proved me wrong.

Set in 1965, Good Morning, Vietnam opens with Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) arrives in Saigon from the island of Crete. He works for Armed Forces Radio and he's been assigned to two shifts a day in Vietnam. Meeting his superiors, Lieutenant Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sergeant Major Dickerson (J.T. Walsh), Adrian realizes that the station is a very stuffy place. This doesn't deter him from immediately bringing irreverent comedy and rock music to his show. This enrages the commanders and he becomes an immediate hit with the soldiers in the field. An energetic person, Adrian fills his time by teaching English to the locals -- although he's also doing this in pursuit of a woman, Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana). It doesn't take Adrian long to realize that the Vietnam conflict is growing out of control and that the Army doesn't want the truth being told on the radio. He also has his eyes opened to how the Vietnamese are treated. Adrian's drive to entertain and tell the truth could be his undoing.

Good Morning, Vietnam came along during a period when Hollywood was in love with making movies about Vietnam. Most of these, like Platoon, were very serious and deep, showing the chaos and wounds created by the war. Good Morning, Vietnam was the first to infuse humor into the story. This was seen as brave by some and offensive by others. Either way, there was no denying that the movie was very funny and that Robin Williams was in his element as a wild DJ.

Twenty-five years later, the movie feels incredibly dated. What we essentially have here is two different movies rolled into one. On the one hand, we have the scenes where Adrian is on the radio doing his thing (and one scene in the street). These scenes are simply Robin Williams going nuts. This is Robin Williams being Robin Williams and nothing else. No one else riffs like him and it's evident that he was given some vague topics and then set free. Is it funny? Undeniably -- much of it is laugh out loud funny. But, much of it is no different from Williams' stand up. In these scenes, he stops being a character and he's simply himself.

Then we have the other part of the movie. This is a serious drama focusing on life in Saigon and the truly odd position the soldier's were in. The soldiers were there to fight a war, but some, like Adrian, were put in a position where they became friends with the locals. While other films in this area focused more on the battles and the casualties, this puts more of a human face on the people of Vietnam. Adrian's involvement is selfish at first, but he then sees that the locals are simply human beings. These scenes offer some true drama and some suspense as well.

Seen today, the movie simply doesn't gel. It's clear that Director Barry Levinson let the tone of the film get away from him and he should have chosen a side and stuck to it. Actually, he should have reconsidered casting Robin Williams. Is Williams hilarious here? Of course he is, but his wild antics throw the movie out of whack. The movie needs to either be a wild comedy or a sober drama, as it doesn't work as both. It feels like someone has grabbed the remote control and is flipping back and forth between Robin Williams: Live at the Met and some tragedy in Saigon movie.

If you had asked me last week what I though of Good Morning, Vietnam, I would have told you that I liked it. That's because I hadn't seen it in about 20 years. I now kind of regret having watched it again, as it sullied my memory. I still laughed at Williams' craziness, but the dramatic parts come of as treacly and the whole thing fits together like a dollar store jigsaw puzzle.

Good Morning, Vietnam offers the best musical number ever by dead shrimp on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 27 Mbps. The image varies in quality throughout the film. Some scenes are very sharp and clear, while others show a noticeable amount of grain. On the positive side, there are no notable defects from the source material. The colors remain good throughout, and the image is never overly dark or bright. So, some scenes look great, and while others are barely better than VHS. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The main thing here is that the music, especially the rock music, doesn't overpower the dialogue. The action scenes provide some momentary surround and subwoofer effects, but the bulk of the front speaker action comes from the music, which sounds fine.

The Good Morning, Vietnam Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. "Production Diary" (34 minutes) is a six-part featurette which explores several facets of the making of the film. Featuring interviews with the cast and filmmakers -- which fall somewhere between modern and archival -- the speakers talk about their involvement in the movie and what the production was like. There are a few comments from the real Cronauer and much talk about Williams' improvisation and acting style. There is also a discussion of how Armed Forces Radio worked during the war, and the importance of music to the film. There is a discussion of the location shooting and the challenge of making Thailand look like Vietnam. Finally, we hear comments from the speakers who reflect on the film. "Raw Monologues" (13 minutes) contains a reel of Williams riffing non-stop, complete with pauses and re-tries. The extras are rounded out by the THEATRICAL TEASER and the THEATRICAL TRAILER.