- For the type of ammunition, see Full metal jacket bullet.
Full Metal Jacket (1987) is a film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford. The film is named after the full metal jacketed bullets used in military ammunition.
The film portrays the Vietnam War from the point of view of the US Marines. Recurring themes are the contradictions of war, a constant feeling of being out of one's depth, and the idea of combat in Vietnam being part of a different world, with its own rules and customs. The miasma of confusion and angst of the new world begins in boot camp, and spirals down into bloodshed before even landing in Vietnam.
In the aftermath of this film a series of policy changes came about in what was considered acceptable behavior by a Drill Instructor in the United States Marine Corps. All references to a recruit's family are absolutely forbidden, as is striking a recruit.
The movie is often said to have been shot on the Isle of Dogs, in east London, but in fact the ravaged city scenes were shot in a disused gas works in Beckton, further east. The open country is Cliffe marshes, also on the Thames, with palm trees imported from Spain. While this was reasonable for the urban nature of the Tet Offensive, it was also influenced by Kubrick's aversion to air travel.
Synopsis
The protagonist of the film is Marine recruit J.T. 'Joker' Davis (Matthew Modine), who is part of a group beginning basic training as a Marine on Parris Island, SC. The brutal command of Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by former Marine Drill Instructor R. Lee Ermey, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor) shows the harsh indoctrination of the armed forces during the Vietnam War era. The training is depicted as designed to eliminate virtually all trace of the recruits' individual personalities and transform them into killers (to "keep Heaven packed with fresh souls"). This first section of the film focuses largely on how the brutal treatment of overweight misfit Leonard 'Gomer Pyle' Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio) results in him losing his sanity. After this Lawrence murders the Drill Instructor, and then kills himself.
Crazy Earl expresses his views of the war.
The second part then takes place in Vietnam, focusing on 'Joker', who is now a Sergeant and a Stars and Stripes war correspondent, as he covers the Tet Offensive. The 'Joker' soon becomes familiar with both the horror and the absurdity of the war. His helmet decoration – the slogan "Born to Kill" – and the Peace symbol pin on his uniform exemplify his moral ambiguity. In one scene Joker is confronted by a Marine Corps Colonel (Bruce Boa), demanding to know why he has a peace symbol on his uniform and "Born To Kill" on his helmet. Joker mentions the duality of man theory postulated by Carl Jung; the Colonel questions Joker's patriotism and demands that he shape up, "or I will take a giant shit on you."
Joker joins his friend Cowboy and his unit on patrol near the city of Hué. A vicious battle breaks out and the city, already crumbling from previous battles, is practically leveled. One of the film's standout sequences shows the unit being interviewed individually by a news crew and expressing their thoughts on the war. They also stand over the dead bodies of two of their unit and comment on what freedom means to the Vietnamese.
Cowboy's platoon is called up for patrol again, this time north of the Perfume River (which divides the city of Hué), where Viet Cong forces are believed to be hiding. The platoon becomes lost and a sniper, hiding among some abandoned buildings, draws in two of their comrades with the intention of sucking more of them into the trap. As the platoon moves up to take defensive positions, the sniper shoots Cowboy. After evading more shots, the unit moves in. Joker finds the sniper hiding in a room. At the critical moment his rifle jams and the sniper, a young Vietnamese girl, opens fire, pinning Joker behind a column, making it impossible for him to escape or shoot back. Suddenly, the girl is rippled by shots and falls; Joker's savior turns out to be Rafterman. As Joker, Rafterman, and Animal Mother gather around the girl she begins to pray then begs the Marines to kill her. Joker does so after being egged on by his comrades.
The film concludes with the Marines' ironic rendition of the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club as they march back to their base. The film's end credits are accompanied by The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black.
Characters
Private/Sergeant "Joker" J.T. Davis — The main character of the film as well as its narrator. He is a conscientious marine who initially joined the marines to see action and to kill. He witnesses Pyle's insanity growing during boot camp. He later becomes a combat correspondent and links up with the Lusthog Squad to report combat incidents in depth. During his time with the squad, he witnesses the horrors of war. Frequently uses a John Wayne impression to diffuse tense situations.
Private/Sergeant "Cowboy" Evans — Cowboy is a marine from Texas. He met Joker at boot camp and befriended him. He becomes an infantry grunt and meets Joker in Hue City. He is killed in action when an enemy sniper shoots him from behind.
Private Rafterman — Rafterman is a member of Joker's journalism staff and serves as a photographer. He was eager to get into battle to see action and follows Joker into Hue City. He seems somewhat naive and also seems to believe anything.
Animal Mother — A wild and headstrong marine in the Lusthog Squad. He is armed with an M-60 light machine gun. At first, he seems to be contemptuous of Joker and remains a little scornful of him. He feels America should win the war. In the novel, it is revealed that he comes from New York City, and joined the marine corps as an alternative to prison (he stole a car). One of the most significant characters.
Eightball — An African American marine in the Lusthog squad. He seems to be sensitive about his ethnicity. He is a friend of Animal Mother and also one of the more lively members of the squad. He is also angry at the Vietnamese for not wanting to fight for freedom. He dies when an enemy sniper hits him multiple times.
Doc Jay — A navy corpsman serving with Lusthog squad. He is headstrong like Animal Mother and is willing to disobey orders under extreme circumstances. He is killed by an enemy sniper when he tries to save Eightball.
Hand Job — A marine in the squad known for his excessive masturbation. He is killed during an encounter in Hue City. He used his habit of masturbation to receive a section eight order to go home but was killed one week before being shipped out.
Donlon — Another African American marine in the squad. He serves as the RTO (radio/telephone operator). Along with Eightball, he feels the Vietnamese are ungrateful to the Americans.
Crazy Earl — Crazy Earl is the senior N.C.O. of the squad. He took over leadership when the platoon leader is killed. He is a gung-ho marine and feels that he belongs in Vietnam. He is killed by a booby trap bomb.
T.H.E. Rock — A Latino Marine in the squad. He is generally quiet and follows the squad well. He serves as the M-79 Grenade Launcher gunner.
Murphy — A marine in the squad who seems to be associated with tank coordination and support. During the final scene, he is unable to provide the Lusthog Squad with the much needed tank support. (Murphy's radio voice is provided by Stanley Kubrick.)
Lieutenant Walter J. Schinoski "Touchdown" — He is the platoon leader of the Lusthog squad. He played college football at Notre Dame, hence his nickname was named after that. He is killed during an advance into Hue City when several bombs go off and he is shot.
No-Doze and Stutten — Two marines in the Lusthog squad that go with Cowboy and his group to find the sniper that had killed Eightball and Doc Jay.
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman — The stereotypical, traciturn drill instructor from Parris Island. He is insensitive and abuses his recruits to turn them into ruthless killing machines. He is killed by a mentally-unbalanced Pyle in the head. The novel reveals that he was a veteran of the second world war, having fought at Iwo Jima (a particularly brutal, bloody battle. This offers some insight as to why he is so hard-hearted).
Leonard Lawrence "Gomer Pyle" — A large, heavy recruit that joined marines about the same time as Joker. He was heavily abused by Hartman for his incompetence and weight. After failing almost everything in boot camp, he begins to become the most disciplined recruit. Unfortunately, he goes mad and kills Hartman and almost shoots Joker before committing suicide by pointing his M-14 up into his mouth and firing.
Private Brown "Snowball" — One of the recruits at Parris Island when Joker was also training there. He was ridiculed for being African American and was given the nickname "Snowball" by Hartman.
Payback — One of the marines in Joker's journalism staff. He has been out in the "shit" (combat zone). He tells Joker and Rafterman about the "Thousand Yard Stare."
Chili and Stork — Chili and Stork are also marines in Joker's journalism staff.
Lieutenant Lockhart — The senior editor and leader of Joker's writing staff. He has some experience reporting on combat but refuses to go back because of the danger and bugs. His duties keep him where he belongs, 'In the rear with the gear' . He is often taunted by Joker and his wise-crack statements.
Pouge Colonel — A marine colonel that encounters Joker near the grave of executed civilians. He reprimands Joker about his peace symbol button and suggests that Joker be more enthusiastic about winning the war.
Theme
The movie includes a great deal of satire on the Vietnam war and the Marines involved in the war, though few would deem the movie a comedy. The main themes of the movie include the irony of war, and the comparable power of words and ideas in a war. This theme is crystalized first by the Drill Instructor, whose words hit as hard as his fists, and later in the scenes with Sgt. Joker's editor for "Stars and Stripes" (who insists that "search and destroy" missions against the VC be termed "sweep and clear", as this doesn't sound as violent), and in the scene with the colonel where the Colonel asks if Sgt. Joker is on "our side" and is waiting for "this peace craze to blow over."
Although often said to contain two distinct parts, the film can be categorized into three. The first part is the training of new US Marine Corps recruits, culminating with the deaths of the Senior Drill Instructor and Pvt. "Pyle". The second part of the movie establishes Joker's role as a war reporter, working behind the lines during the Tet Offensive of 1968. In the third section, the focus shifts to a patrol searching through the bombed out city of Huế to root out a sniper. The sections are bookended by scenes of bargaining with prostitutes, and each section ends with shocking violence.
Irony runs rampant throughout the film. In the first section of the movie, the recruit training is supposed to train Marines who protect the interests of the country and the military, but eventually it results in the death of the Senior Drill Instructor. The initially innocent and naive Pvt. Leonard Lawrence (nicknamed Gomer Pyle) ended up as a killer, exactly as the Drill Instructor wanted. The murder of the Senior Drill Instructor is ironic because his success in converting Pvt. Gomer Pyle into a killer results in his own death. The Drill Instructor's speech about famous assassins, provides more irony. Although each of his examples was a motivated Marine, each ultimately ended up insane and killing innocent people. Near the beginning of the second part of the movie, Sgt. Joker is told an irony laced joke about "how to kill women and children." The final irony is that the product of the US Marine recruit training, the professional killers, are wiped out one by one by a small school girl who snipes them from a damaged building. Having injured her, the Marines then kill her with a mercy shot.
The movie also presumes the irony of providing freedom for the Vietnamese people by taking away the freedom of the American people, and the allegation made by some of the Marines that the Vietnamese don't seem to want their freedom.
There are several references to religion. In one of the scenes the Senior Drill Instructor asks Pvt. Joker whether he believes in the Virgin Mary. Pvt. Joker replies that he does not, and the Senior Drill Instructor, offended, strikes the Private, and asks him again, getting the same reply. After repeated blows, the Drill Instructor asks Pvt. Joker if he is deliberately trying to anger the instructor by reiterating his answer, and Joker replies that he believes the Drill Instructor will beat him harder if he reverses his position in the face of the abuse. The Drill Instructor then promotes Pvt. Joker to squad leader, not because of his answer, but for standing by his beliefs in the face of adversity.
Music
All of the music used in the film was written and recorded before 1968, as to be accurate to the time period the film is set in. The music included in the film is as follows:
Quotes
- Private Joker (narration): Parris Island, South Carolina...the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot. An eight-week college for the phony-tough and the crazy-brave.
- Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (addressing new recruits): 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!
- Joker: I wanted to see exotic Vietnam, the jewel of Southeast Asia. I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture and...kill them. I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
Trivia
- Stanley Kubrick provided the voice of Murphy, the soldier on the other end of the radio communication in the latter part of the film.
- Vivian Kubrick, his daughter, had an uncredited guest role as a News Camera Operator at the Mass Grave.
- "Abigail Mead" contributes several tracks to the film's score - She does not exist, instead this is the working name of Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick.
- Ermey was originally hired to give another actor hired to play Gunnery Sergeant Hartman the basics of giving a realistic performance as a Marine Drill Instructor, but was quickly hired in the actor's place after Stanley Kubrick was fascinated by him.
- Despite the arguably anti-war stance of the film, Full Metal Jacket remains one of the favorites of US servicemen. Viewing the film before departing for recruit training is a widely-followed ritual.
External links
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