Gardens of Stone (1987)

A Sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Viet Nam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old Army buddy.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola (as Francis 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	...	'Goody' Nelson
D.B. Sweeney	...	Jackie Willow
Dean Stockwell	...	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:

vietnam | sergeant | soldier | vietnam war | arlington national cemetery | 

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Taglines:

The story of the war at home, and the people who lived through it.

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Genres:

Drama | War | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jardines de piedra

Filming Locations:

Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,262,047

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 film cast includes one Oscar winner: Anjelica Huston; and four Oscar nominees: James Earl Jones, James Caan, Laurence Fishburne, and Dean Stockwell.

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Goofs

During the parade field ceremony sequence, the Old Guard is commanded to fix bayonets to the traditional beat of the drum. During this section, the salute gun battery is firing for each of the positions of the "fix bayonets" drill. This is incorrect. The salute gun battery does not fire at this time - they fire as part of honors for the dignitary on the reviewing stand, but not as part of "Fix Bayonets."

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Quotes

"Goody" Nelson: You ever take biology in school, soldier?
Jackie Willow: Yes, Sergeant-Major.
"Goody" Nelson: How do worms copulate?
Jackie Willow: They don't, Sergeant-Major; they use asexual reproduction.
"Goody" Nelson: Mmmm-hmmmm! Interesting concept! Tell me, Willow - any idea who first came up with that notion: reproducing without sex?
Jackie Willow: Your wife, Sergeant-Major?

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Vietnam (2005)

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Soundtracks

Break on Through (To the Other Side)
Written by The Doors
Performed by The Doors
Courtesy of Electra/Asylym Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Coppola revisits Vietnam

It's the military funeral of Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney) as he recounts his journey. It returns to Jackie's first day at Fort Myer which provides soldiers for Arlington National Cemetery and he's gungho to fight in Vietnam. He's the son of a friend of Sgt. Clell Hazard (James Caan) who tries to talk him out of Vietnam. He helps screw-up Wildman (Casey Siemaszko) from platoon Sgt. Flanagan (Laurence Fishburne). Sergeant Major Goody Nelson (James Earl Jones) and wife Betty Rae set up Hazard with anti-war Washington Post reporter Samantha Davis (Anjelica Huston). Pete Deveber (Elias Koteas) is a clerk and Homer Thomas (Dean Stockwell) is the commander. Jackie marries Rachel Feld (Mary Stuart Masterson), the daughter of a colonel.

Francis Ford Coppola revisits Vietnam with something less epic and more traditional. There are great actors. The thing I remember most is the story of the Vietcons fighting helicopters with arrows. This is certainly not as iconic as Apocalypse Now. It doesn't mean that it's not a worthwhile watch. For a war movie, this surprisingly has little war action. That's probably what throws most people off.