Platoon (1986)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Oliver Stone (written by)

Release Date:

24 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

The first casualty of war is innocence.

Plot:

A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Combat | Soldier | Battle | Fight

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Keith David	...	King
Forest Whitaker	...	Big Harold
Francesco Quinn	...	Rhah
Kevin Dillon	...	Bunny
John C. McGinley	...	Sgt. O'Neill
Reggie Johnson	...	Junior
Mark Moses	...	Lt. Wolfe
Corey Glover	...	Francis
Johnny Depp	...	Lerner
Chris Pedersen	...	Crawford
Bob Orwig	...	Gardner
Corkey Ford	...	Manny
David Neidorf	...	Tex
Tom Berenger	...	Sgt. Barnes
Willem Dafoe	...	Sgt. Elias

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Australia:MA (Special Edition DVD) | Brazil:14 | India:A | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R (original rating) | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #28241) | Vietnam:(Banned) | West Germany:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The cast and crew arrived in the Philippines in early 1986, almost simultaneous to the beginning of the Edsa Revolution of 1986 that toppled Marcos. Willem Dafoe said that a day or two after he arrived in Manila, he awoke to see a column of tanks rolling down the streets.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the patrol at the beginning of the movie, Staff Sergeant Barnes's helmet band has two sewn-on reflective patches. These "cat's eyes" were only adopted much later in the 1980s.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pvt. Gardner: [seeing body bags] Aw, man, is that what I think it is?
Sergeant: All right, you cheese-dicks, welcome to the 'nam! Follow me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rambo (2008)

Soundtrack:

SITTIN ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY

Perfection... or as close to it as we're ever likely to see

Its hard to know where to start with such a breathtaking film. Oliver Stone's Platoon is quite simply the best Vietnam war film ever made in my opinion. Everything about it is as close to perfection as we are likely to see. Charlie Sheen plays the lead, and Willem Defoe and Tom Berenger play the two sergeants that form a key part of the plot.

Chris Taylor (Sheen) is torn between the sergeants. Barnes (Berenger) is the battle hardened, brutal murderer, who uses the war as an excuse to tender to his sadistic pleasures. Elias (Defoe) is the other side of the spectrum. We get the sense that he has wrestled with his inner demons, but he has successfully come through to the other side. He has compassion for his fellow man, and he uses drugs as a form of escapism from this brutal war. The two symbolise the struggle that Taylor must face if he is to survive out in Vietnam.

Oliver Stone perfectly captures war. The shooting is frantic and impossible to follow. It perfectly disorientates us, just as the soldiers were. We have no idea who is being shot at, and neither do they. We follow the war at ground level, and see the brutalities first hand. Having served in Vietnam, the film is loosely based on Stone's time out there, and Taylor loosely based on himself.

Full Metal Jacket showcases how inhumane the war was, Apocalypse Now turns it into a story about life in general, and hopelessness, but Platoon has everything. Trying hard to avoid the old cliché, but if you only watch one war film, make sure it is this one. Nothing else can come close.