I stood in line with my father to see it first run.
I can honestly say that, despite years of hearing about body counts and other crap on Walter Cronkite and Huntley/Brinkley, Vietnam never crossed my mind.
If anything most people came out of the original feeling it conveyed a vaguely Christian message.
Good triumphs over even supreme evil. If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine. Etc.