A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 15 nominations total
- Gny. Sgt. Hartman
- (as Lee Ermey)
- Rafterman
- (as Kevyn Major-Howard)
- Doc Jay
- (as John Stafford)
- Da Nang Hooker
- (as Papillon Soo Soo)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the first part of the movie, in the sequences inside the barracks during the drill, a special lens was designed to keep every single Recruit in focus. Director Stanley Kubrick intended that no one was special and they all had the same treatment.
- GoofsOn several occasions, the word "repeat" is used while speaking on the radio. In the Marine Corps, the use of the word "repeat" on the radio is reserved solely for talking to artillery units to request a repeat of the last fire mission. The term used would be: "say again your last" or "I say again."
- 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 for war. But until that day, you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even human fucking beings. You are nothing but unorganized grab-asstic pieces of amphibian shit! Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on niggers, kikes, wops or greasers. Here you are all equally worthless. And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps. Do you maggots understand that?
- Crazy creditsEnd credits list a song performed by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs, misspelling the last word as "Pharoahs." This has not been corrected on any home video version of the movie.
- Alternate versionsOriginally the song Paint it Black played at a higher speed and higher pitch during the end credits but starting with the 2001 DVD re-release, whenever the movie was remixed to 5.1 (from mono) it was "corrected" to where it plays at the regular speed and pitch instead.
- ConnectionsEdited into EBN: Commercial Entertainment Product (1992)
This film has a ton of reviews, so my summarizing the film or going into any sort of in-depth analysis is probably a giant waste of time. And, Bob the Moo has done such a good job of reviewing it, I say you just go read his! In brief, here's what I liked or at least respected in the film: It had a very gritty realism and managed to pull the viewer into it very, very well. The first portion (in boot camp) and the second portion (in Vietnam) were very different but both were very tense and compelling. While it wasn't pretty, it was well done.
And, in brief, here's what I didn't like: The constant and clichéd use of rock and pop music. A few decades ago, this would have been innovative. Now, FULL METAL JACKET sounds an awful lot like GOOD MORNING Vietnam and APOCALYPSE NOW and other films. The constant blaring soundtrack was, I suppose, meant to be surreal and illustrate how ludicrous the war was. However, I just thought hearing "Surfin' Bird" was annoying and a cheap use of music. Apart from that, there isn't anything to say negative about the film.
Is this the greatest anti-war film? No. Its message (like the war) was rather mixed at times and lacked the same impact of films like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT or WESTFRONT 1918, but it sure did come close.
- planktonrules
- Jun 30, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket
- Filming locations
- Isle of Dogs, London, Greater London, England, UK(Da Nang scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $46,357,676
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,217,307
- Jun 28, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $46,361,894