Customer Reviews

Full Metal Jacket

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

One of Kubrick's master works.
An extremely graphic movie and the drill sergeant is particularly real.
This was probably because he was a Marine and from what I have heard, was originally hired as a technical advisor. Kubrick realized he had pure gold and put him in front of the camera.
The second half gives the viewer a taste of the Vietnam war and being in the "s***".
I enjoyed the film immensely and have added it alongside my other Kubrick favourites

This movie arrived in my mailbox well within the promised delivery time in new condition. If you haven't watched this movie you don't know what you're missing. A Vietnam war classic that brings out some of the horrors of war, including conflicts between the soldiers fighting it. Must watch for any war movie aficionado.

Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced, directed and co-written by Stanley Kubrick - an adaptation of Gustav Hasford's 1979 novel The Short-Timers.

Good movie, bad studio.
What the thought process behind having this DVD only include the pan scan version is what I keep asking myself.
Don't let the Stanley Kubrick Collection labeling fool you; or you might very well end up having to buy this movie AGAIN just to see it in widescreen.

Platoon is probably the best war movie ever but this one comes pretty close. The boot camp sequence in the beginning with Lee Ermy as the sergeant is priceless. The treatment and language used on the recruits is harsh and unbearable. You 're happy that it's not you going through this hell. When we are transported to Vietnam you sense relief for the soldiers that appear to be under less pressure here then at boot camp. There's even comedy relief that Kubrick allows in this midst of chaos. I love the way Kubrick uses the sniper in this movie. If you haven't seen the movie I won't give up the identity of the sniper but it was a nice surprise. I agree that it doesn't depict the Vietnam war as well as some other movies but it doesn't try to be a documentary. The purpose of a movie and with all of Kubrick's work is to entertain the audience. If you want reality watch the news. As with most of Kubrick's work this one was again overlooked at the acadmeny awards.

This is a fantastic movie, but please read other reviews regarding the acting, camera work, plot, storyline, etc. This review is only about the DVD version.

The DVD itself is a major disappointment. Poor transfer, no extras, no surround sound, full screen only, and hardly even a menu or chapter selection. Like the other Stanley Kubrick DVDs in this white-box series, this Full Metal Jacket is pretty much a VHS dub of the movie - only thrown together onto a DVD. I'm suprised that it's not double sided like the original commercial DVDs were.

Given the advances in DVD technology when this disk was released there was no need to sell such a lackluster product, besides trying to get as many Stanley Kubrick movies as possible into one big boxed set before Christmas of 1999. This movie, The Shining, and to a lesser extent, A Clockwork Orange all suffer from this same exceedingly poor DVD treatment.

Hopefully soon this movie will be re-released in a better DVD package, much like Goodfellas or The Shining needs. Until then, buy this DVD only if you're a huge fan or if it's laying in the bargain bin.

First of all....many Marines say that the first 30 minutes of the movie about boot camp is THE most accurate depiction of Parris Island in cinematic history. And of course Lee Ermey himself being a former Marine drill instructor tops it all....his profanity laced tirades are totally outrageous.

Second of all, the latter half of the movie deals with a subject not covered in Vietnam movies, a squad getting lost and having to face a lone sniper. Its a radical departure to be sure, but Kubrick in his usual cinematic mastery makes it very gripping.

So if you like Vietnam movies that are a bit different but still as strong as Hamburger Hill and Platoon, check this one out....its fantastic.

Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" is split firmly into two short movies. The first part is set in Paris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, where a bunck of kids are dropped off for Marine Boot Camp. This part details their training by the insane Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played with sadistic glee by R. Lee Emery, a real life Veitnam vet and former Marine D.I.). His main problem child is an over weight, screw up named Lawrence, also non affectionatly known as Gomer Pyle (played by Vincent D'Nonfrio). These two have a major battle of wills through out the sequence, finally ending correctly in tragedy. This is the best part of the movie, as it shows how young men are turned into mindless killing machines. The basic training brainwashing is very powerful, if very uncomfertable to watch. The kids are slowly dehumanized and turned into a thing ready for the war they are about to be dumped into a little later.

The second half is set in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. One of the kids from Basic, Joker (Matthew Modine), is assigned by Stars and Stripes Magazine to cover an infintry platoon and write a story about how they are handleing the suprise attacks. He gets to the units and immediatly meets another Marine he went through training with, Cowboy (Arliss Howard). Joker then gets involved in real combat for the first time in the war. Pretty much if you've seen "Platoon", then you've seen this. There really isn't a lot new here. I have to say, while this part was good, there just just didn't have the umph of the first part.

I was disappointed that the majority of the movie was filmed on Pinewood Studios in England, not in Asia anywhere, so it dosn't look as authenic as "Platoon" or "Apocalypse Now". (The basic training portion was filmed in Paris Island, South Carolina.) The acting is so so. This is an unusual Kubrick film, the characters seem much more warm and human than usual ("2001: A Space Odyssey"or "A Clockwork Orange", for example), but they still don't ring true somehow (no one should be that kill happy). The two most interesting characters are gone by the second half, so there really isn't anyone to root for in the second half. All in all, a split movie, but it's all good.

One of the great movies of all time. Essentially it is one story for the first 1/2 of the film and another for the 2nd half. But the two stories work so well together it is all the more effective.
The cinematography is beautiful and the acting and dialogue is superb. My only probelm is that this digital remastered version is full frame and not widescreen. Will be waiting for a proper edition, remastered and widescreen.

After watching the first three quarters of an hour set on Paris Island, the marine boot camp, the rest of the movie loses steam and much of its focus. Clearly Kubrick was the master of exploring the darker aspects man's psyche. What perfect vehicle to explore that further than in the counter-cultural world of basic military training. This part of the film has a sense of unity and purpose. Even the scoring is reduced to its basic military components derived from the marine corp hymn book. The brutality of this segment overshadows the final acts and the movie seems contrived and at times desperate to be profoundly ironic, which it never is. Kubrick spends much of the latter part of the film trying to mimic Coppola. He's so intensely aware of this that he purposely chooses a soundtrack which is less rock and roll (traditional for such films)opting for shcmaltzy pop tunes instead, which doesn't really work. Neither does the derelict English industrial estate used as the stand in for Hue. It just never looks convincing, although the final segment with the sniper is well done . Casting is a mixed bag. Lee Ermey (Paris Island DI) will stand out in cinematic history as one of the most remarkable characterizations ever filmed. Matthew Modine on the other hand is just too light weight to be convincing as Joker the "Born to KIll" journalist wannabe. Even as a narrator (a classic Kubrickian touch) Modine seems awkward and contrived. Compare that with McDowell's voice over in Clockwork and it shows just how weak he is. Unfortunately Kubrick or those around him just didn't pick up on these flawed elements. I personally believe that Kubrick only made this film because the opening segment was so compelling, which is why it shines. The rest of the film is just about tying up loose ends and fulfulling the three act formula. Too bad because it could have been a masterpiece.