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Full Metal Jacket (1987)
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Overview
User Rating:
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
26 June 1987 (USA)
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Tagline:
An Epic Story of the Vietnam War [Australia Theatrical] more
Plot:
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow Marine recruits from their brutal basic training to the bloody street fighting set in 1968 Hue, Vietnam. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 5 wins
&
5 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(43 articles)
Treyarch Building Story For 'Call of Duty 7' In Vietnam?
(From MTV Multiplayer. 6 January 2010, 3:00 PM, PST)
'The Bachelor': Channy's off-color 'landing strip' comment not appreciated
(From Zap2It - From Inside the Box. 5 January 2010, 2:51 PM, PST)
(From MTV Multiplayer. 6 January 2010, 3:00 PM, PST)
'The Bachelor': Channy's off-color 'landing strip' comment not appreciated
(From Zap2It - From Inside the Box. 5 January 2010, 2:51 PM, PST)
User Reviews:
The movies finally got Parris Island right
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Matthew Modine | ... | Pvt. Joker | |
| Adam Baldwin | ... | Animal Mother | |
| Vincent D'Onofrio | ... | Pvt. Pyle | |
| R. Lee Ermey | ... | Gny. Sgt. Hartman (as Lee Ermey) | |
| Dorian Harewood | ... | Eightball | |
| Kevyn Major Howard | ... | Rafterman | |
| Arliss Howard | ... | Pvt. Cowboy | |
| Ed O'Ross | ... | Lt. Touchdown | |
| John Terry | ... | Lt. Lockhart | |
| Kieron Jecchinis | ... | Crazy Earl | |
| Kirk Taylor | ... | Payback | |
| Tim Colceri | ... | Doorgunner | |
| Jon Stafford | ... | Doc Jay (as John Stafford) | |
| Bruce Boa | ... | Poge Colonel | |
| Ian Tyler | ... | Lt. Cleves |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (USA) (poster title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
116 min
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:PA (Manitoba) |
Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) |
Iceland:16 |
Italy:VM14 (re-rating on appeal) |
Italy:VM18 (original rating) |
Portugal:M/16 |
UK:15 (2007 Re-rating) |
Canada:18A (DVD rating) |
Hungary:18 |
Brazil:16 |
Ireland:15 (2007 Re-rating) |
Malaysia:U |
UK:15 (re-rating) |
Argentina:18 |
Australia:R |
Canada:13+ (Quebec) |
Finland:K-16 |
France:-12 (original rating) |
France:U (re-rating) |
Hong Kong:III |
Ireland:18 |
Israel:16 |
Japan:R-15 |
Netherlands:16 |
New Zealand:R16 |
Norway:18 |
Singapore:M18 |
South Korea:18 |
Spain:18 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:18 |
USA:R |
Vietnam:(Banned) |
West Germany:16
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
According to a 1988 interview in Playboy magazine, Bruce Willis was offered a lead role but was forced to turn it down because filming was about to start on the first 6 episodes of "Moonlighting" (1985).
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Goofs:
Continuity: Pyle's hat when he is being slapped by Hartmann.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor. From now on you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be sir. Do you maggots understand that?
Recruits: Sir, yes sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Bullshit I can't hear you. Sound off like you got a pair.
Recruits: SIR, YES SIR!
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Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor. From now on you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be sir. Do you maggots understand that?
Recruits: Sir, yes sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Bullshit I can't hear you. Sound off like you got a pair.
Recruits: SIR, YES SIR!
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Delta Farce (2007)
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Soundtrack:
Paint It, Black
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FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersWhy does Sgt. Hartman call Pvt. Lawrence "Gomer Pyle"?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
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Though I've read only a couple of dozen of the nearly 500 comments on this film, I didn't see any from ex-Marines who'd had the Parris Island experience. I went through PI in 1957. The time period in the picture would have been about 1967, since the in-country sequence includes the '68 Tet Offensive. Little had changed in those 10 years except the switch from M1s to M16s.
For the most part Kubrick got Parris Island right on the money. And why shouldn't he have, since his screen DI, Lee Ermey was in fact a real DI before he started acting (he played another DI in "The Boys of Company C," an earlier and lesser Vietnam flick)? He had a built- in technical adviser. The screams and insults and profanity and physical punishment were all part of the DIs armamentarium. When you're facing up to 75 young strangers you need to immediately establish absolute authority and hang on to it for 13 weeks. Furthermore, you want to break the breakable as soon as you can. My platoon had its Private Pyles and though none ended up as he does in "Full Metal Jacket," I remember that they simply disappeared from our ranks, never to be heard from again. Nothing Ermey as Sgt. Hartman does is exaggerated.
Kubrick, however, does exaggerate. Speaking of Pyle's ending, it's almost impossible for me to imagine that a recruit could manage to sneak a clip of live rounds away from the rifle range. Every shooter at the range has his own rifle coach, and every single round is very carefully accounted for. Kubrick started the killing one scene too early.
I've read that DIs nowadays are forbidden to use the time-honored f-word, and are not allowed to lay hands on recruits. I don't know if that's good or bad for training (I had my face slapped hard my first day of boot camp and that was just for openers), but then all of us old-timers like to brag about how tough it useta be!
A final note: It's interesting to compare "Full Metal Jacket" to another attempt at a portrayal of Parris Island, Jack Webb's "The DI," made around '55 or '56. Webb tries for authenticity, but as I was to learn a year or so later, his PI was a boy scout camp.