About the film

Disobeying Orders highlights the antiwar movement within the armed forces during the Vietnam War. Made in 1990 and remastered to 4K in 2026, the film interweaves interviews with Vietnam veterans, archival photos, film footage, and popular music of the 1960's. One Navy nurse coordinated an airdrop of antiwar leaflets over her the San Francisco Bay, for which she was court-martialed. A Black soldier spent time in the stockade for his protest of the military's racial discrimination. One powerful scene shows a group of high school students thoughtfully listening to the veterans’ experiences and advice regarding military recruitment. This film highlights the intersection of the civil rights and antiwar movements, and the ethics of whether to follow orders that one feels are immoral.