Full Metal Jacket (1987)Genre: War
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Written by Gustav Hasford (novel/screenplay), Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr
Starring Matthew Modine, R. Lee Emery, and Vincent D'Onofrio
Full Metal Jacket starts out with Marine Corps boot camp and we start following two Private's lives. Private Joker, Matthew Modine, narrates his life with the marines where he first met a struggling simpleton named Private Pyle, Vincent D'Onofrio, when he became squad leader. Private Pyle couldn't do anything right and Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, R. Lee Emery, refused to ease up on the boy, sending the Private Joker over to give him some individualized training, where they soon learned that he had a natural gift for shooting on target and taking care of his equipment. On the last night before basic training graduation Private Pyle finally cracked under all of the pressure everyone's been giving him clouded with misinterpreted phrases and commands given to him by his drill sergeant and he shot Hartman before putting his M14 up to his own face and pulling the trigger. Private Joker continued on with graduation and was sent to the journalism department where he would record the experiences and events of the Vietnam War through the eyes of the American soldiers. While reuniting with one of his old boot camp friends, Private Joker finds himself in the middle of a risky situation with a lone Vietnamese sniper tactfully placed and his friend's crewmen going in one at a time to their inevitable death.
What made this movie so amazing was how realistic it was, for instance the boot camp section was emotionally intense and helped give the viewer an idea as to what it was like to enlist in the military during the war. I also like how they showed that some people can't handle the pressure and eventually lose control like Private Pyle. One thing I didn't like however was that the platoon, more specifically the squad, ended up prevailing in the end but I suppose we can win some battles even though in the end we lost the war. This movie uses ideas such as tracking shots during the scenes where squads move position or if they're infiltrating a base, like a Western chase scene when an outlaw is trying to fight the law. At one point the camera angle did switch to a worm's eye view to represent the authority the drill sergeant had over Private Joker after Joker made a sass remark about the Sergeant's mother. The only other aspects in this movie that are similar to a Western are the wide landscapes and the overwhelming pressure to demonstrate patriotism and have the law always win. Very good movie and I think it falls under one of the best war movies out there only because I take a true appreciation in the psychological aspect where as the story itself is lacking in some ways from a completely linear start to end.
