Full Metal Jacket (1987)

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow Marine recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting set in 1968 in Hue, Vietnam.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Gustav Hasford (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay),

Stars:

Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio

Top 250 #81 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Modine	...	Pvt. J.T. 'Joker' Davis
Adam Baldwin	...	Animal Mother
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Pvt. Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence
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

Storyline

A two-segment look at the effect of the military mindset and war itself on Vietnam era Marines. The first half follows a group of recruits in boot camp under the command of the punishing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The second half shows one of those recruits, Joker, covering the war as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, focusing on the Tet offensive.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | recruit | sergeant | boot camp | tet offensive | 

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Taglines:

In Vietnam The Wind Doesn't Blow It Sucks

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

26 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket

Filming Locations:

Norfolk Broads, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$46,357,676 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Natant, Stanley Kubrick Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gustav Hasford began working on "The Short Timers" (the book on which this film is based) while serving in Vietnam, and based many of the characters (and names) on soldiers he served with.

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Goofs

When Sgt. Hartman confronts Joker over his John Wayne imitation, Cowboy's shirt front is crumpled from Sgt. Hartman's grabbing it. Cowboy is standing at attention. Just after Hartman strikes Joker, the shirt front is smooth again, even though Cowboy has not moved.

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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: [In unison in a normal speaking tone] Sir, yes Sir.
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Bullshit I can't hear you. Sound off like you got a pair!
Recruits: [In unison, much louder] SIR, YES SIR!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying ...

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Connections

References The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

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Soundtracks

"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Performed by Nancy Sinatra
Courtesy of Boots Enterprises, Inc.

User Reviews

Paint It Black

"With flowers and my love both never to come back ... It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black". So sings the man whose throbbing song marks the film's end, merciless lyrics to describe thematically a story that is as wrenching as it is mesmerizing.

There are no villains in this film, only heroic victims. The villains are all off-screen, comfy behind mahogany desks, or dressed for success and giving shrill speeches about how maintaining peace requires war. Strange logic.

First it's boot camp, a dreary prospect at best, for an ordinary group of young American men. Here, a sadistic drill Sargent, in colorful language, barks out orders and insults straight from Hades. It's do or die, almost literally, for our greenhorns. It's an ordeal of blackness from which some may never recover. Still, the grunts learn a valuable lesson; namely, that life is mostly physical, not mental. It's a lesson some ivory tower college professors never learn.

But then it's on to an even blacker black ... Vietnam. Combat scenes are rendered believable by effective visuals and terrific sound effects: pounding percussion, amplified sounds of equipment and footsteps across explosive debris, and an always present, ever-so-subtle ... echo. Potent and torturous, these scenes convey a Zen-like immediacy, an impending sense of doom. And then at film's end, those lyrics ...

Composed of two, barely overlapping, parts, the script's structure is a bit unorthodox. But the film works, owing to an intensity that never lets up. R. Lee Ermey is of course terrific as the harsh drillmaster. Casting of the young lions is okay, though a tad weak in one or two cases. Insertion of pop songs of the era works well, to amplify the cultural disconnect between a war-torn Vietnam and an indifferent America.

Like reading a history book, watching an occasional war movie is good for the soul. It puts one's problems in perspective. For that reason, this particular war movie is better than most. It's riveting, intense. And the sense of impending blackness hovers ever present over the story's heroic victims, like the sword of Damocles.