Gardens of Stone (1987)

In the late 60s, during the Vietnam War, the idealistic soldier Jackie Willow arrives at Fort Meyer expecting to go to the Academy and then to the Vietnam War. Jackie is the son of a ... See full summary »

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Nicholas Proffitt (novel), Ronald Bass (screenplay)

Stars:

James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Caan	...	Sgt. Clell Hazard
Anjelica Huston	...	Samantha Davis
James Earl Jones	...	Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson
D.B. Sweeney	...	Jackie Willow
Dean Stockwell	...	Capt. Homer Thomas
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Rachel Feld
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Slasher Williams
Lonette McKee	...	Betty Rae
Sam Bottoms	...	Lt. Webber
Elias Koteas	...	Pete Deveber
Laurence Fishburne	...	Sgt. Flanagan (as Larry Fishburne)
Casey Siemaszko	...	Wildman
Peter Masterson	...	Col. Feld
Carlin Glynn	...	Mrs. Feld
Erik Holland	...	Col. Godwin

Storyline

In the late 60s, during the Vietnam War, the idealistic soldier Jackie Willow arrives at Fort Meyer expecting to go to the Academy and then to the Vietnam War. Jackie is the son of a veteran sergeant and soon he becomes the protégé of the former friends of his father, Sergeant Clell Hazard and Sergeant Major 'Goody' Nelson. Jackie is promoted and gets married with his childhood friend Rachel Feld, to recommend Jackie to the Academy. He is promoted to lieutenant and asks to go to the Vietnam, returning to the Arlington National Cemetery.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | sergeant | vietnam | vietnam war | military | 

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Taglines:

It was a dangerous time to be young. An impossible time to be a hero.

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Genres:

Drama | War | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der steinerne Garten

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$5,262,047 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ML Delphi Premier Productions, TriStar Pictures, Zoetrope Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The repartee between Nelson and Willow regarding asexual reproduction (see the "Memorable Quotes" section) is almost identical to that between David Lightman and his science teacher in WarGames.

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Goofs

In the beginning funeral scene, when the soldiers are folding Willow's flag, you see they are folding the blue field first, going to the red and white stripes. In the next scene, a pull-back, they are folding the flag stripes first. When a flag is folded, the blue field is always last so the triangle shows stars in a 1-3-5 configuration.

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Quotes

"Goody" Nelson: Clell, Old Boy, you mean you haven't told the lady? Why Madam,we are the Old Guard. We are the Nation's Toy Soldiers. We march with rifles that cannot shoot. We fix bayonets that cannot stick. We are the Kabuki theater of the profession of arms.Jesters in the court of Mars, God of War, do-da, do-da.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: The Fabulous Baker Boys/Breaking In/Crimes and Misdemeanors/Look Who's Talking (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Streets of Laredo"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Goody, Willow and Hazard as they return from the bar to the barracks after the fight.

User Reviews

forgotten film

This is a very underrated movie and belongs up there with some of Francis Ford Coppola's best movies. The movie has a great cast that includes James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, Dean Stockwell and several more people. Caan plays a solider who fought in Korea and Vietnam but is now in charge of Arlington national Cemetery and wants to train young soldiers going into Vietnam but is turned down. Huston is Caan's girlfriend and Jones is his friend who fought with him in Vietnam and now serves with him. Stockwell is the man in charge and D.B. Sweeney is a young soldier who can't wait to get to Vietnam. It's a really great movie that is one of Coppola's best films.