A psychological study of operations desert shield and desert storm during the gulf war; through the eyes of a U.S marine sniper who struggles to cope with the possibility his girlfriend may be cheating on him back home.
Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girlfriend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks, an oil-drenched horse, and maybe a chance at killing. Where does all the testosterone go?Written by
<jhailey@hotmail.com>
The original screenplay contained a more pointed political stance which Sam Mendes stripped out. See more »
Goofs
When trying out for the MOS scout sniper, not all of the marines are of rank Lance Corporal or higher, the required rank necessary in order to obtain said position. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Anthony 'Swoff' Swofford:
A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle.
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the credits, Sykes can be heard calling out the following military cadence, with his platoon responding: 'All my life it was my dream/ To be a bad motherfucking U.S. Marine.' See more »
Alternate Versions
Military theatrical versions of the film remove some footage, including the scene where a soldier dies during training. See more »
Break on Through
Written by The Doors
Performed by The Doors
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing See more »
T the same time if you served in the marine Corps like me.
The actors do a good job of portraying the situation and the locals give it a realistic feeling.