Platoon (1986)

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

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Oliver Stone

Stars:

Keith David, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

Top 250 #143 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Chris Taylor is a young, naive American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers that his presence is quite nonessential, and is considered insignificant to the other soldiers, as he has not fought for as long as the rest of them and felt the effects of combat. Chris has two non-commissioned officers, the ill-tempered and indestructible Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes and the more pleasant and cooperative Sergeant Elias Grodin. A line is drawn between the two NCOs and a number of men in the platoon when an illegal killing occurs during a village raid. As the war continues, Chris himself draws towards psychological meltdown. And as he struggles for survival, he soon realizes he is fighting two battles, the conflict with the enemy and the conflict between the men within his platoon.

---

Plot Keywords:

vietnam | combat | soldier | battle | village | 

---

Taglines:

The first casualty of war is innocence.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [us]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

24 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Platoon

Filming Locations:

Luzon, Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$137,963,328 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hemdale Film, Cinema 86

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Val Kilmer auditioned for the production but was not offered a role.

---

Goofs

When the soldiers are celebrating in the tent early in the film, they are drinking Budweiser from two-piece stay-tab cans with UPC symbols. Container companies introduced the two-piece can in 1974, the stay-tab in 1975 and the UPC symbol in 1978. Budweiser introduced the can style used in the movie in 1981.

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

Referenced in L.A. Law: Splatoon (1991)
title reference

---

Soundtracks

"SITTIN ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY"
(1967) (uncredited)
Written and Performed by Otis Redding

User Reviews

Uncomfortable but very worthy view of war's impact on the young

At the height of the Vietnam War, America's teens are drafted into the war effort to find themselves in the middle of hell. One such young man is Chris Taylor. He is placed in a squadron where two sergeants have different approaches to the war – Elias is more about surviving without being brutal or cruel, whereas Barnes is crueller, more ruthless and more violent. During the course of his term, Taylor's very soul is torn between the two men as he deals with what he must do.

The first film in Oliver Stone's unofficial trilogy is arguably the best of the three. The basic story not only shows us what the war was like for those serving but also how the different personalities come out of those involved in it. As we follow Taylor we see him change as he is influenced by those around him and by his situation. It makes for an uncomfortable film but one that's worth watching. It's certainly a better war movie than things like Wild Geese or The Dirty Dozen, simply because it's a little more real to what happens than those ones.

Charlie Sheen has never been better than when he's acting for Stone. Here he gives one of his best ever performances as the innocent who is changed. Willem Dafoe is a great actor and here is no different – he also gives us one of the film's most enduring images so I'm a little biased. Berenger is another one for whom it's hard to think of a higher point reached than when he did this film. He is brutal and ruthless but he makes us support him in a strange way. The support cast are all good and contains a few famous faces (John C McGinley, Whitaker, Depp) however this is really a three man show.

Overall this is brutal and violent with no happy ending. At the end of the day isn't that what a war film should be?