Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1738 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English, Vietnamese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of a series of revisionist Vietnam cinema released in the late 1980s, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is essentially split into two stories linked by a number of characters. The film follows new recruit Joker (Matthew Modine) and his fellow soldiers through their basic training and into combat in Vietnam. The first half is a chilling portrayal of military brutality and de-humanisation, mainly at the hands of Sgt Hartman (played at a level of staggering intensity by ex-Marine Lee Ermey), that centres around the tragic character of Private Pyle, a young man pushed to the edge of his endurance. The tone of the film is no less harsh when transported to the combat zone as we see the results of the training process in action: the young men turned into unquestioning killing machines. Joker is perhaps the one exception, a soldier with "Born to Kill" written on his helmet who also sports a peace sign on his lapel. But the film finds itself caught in the trap of many of the war movies of the time--how to create audience empathy with characters who are essentially in the wrong. It's a dilemma that Full Metal Jacket never really solves, although as a spectacle the film is a masterpiece. Made in the days before CGI became the norm, the battle sequences--filmed, rather bizarrely, in London's Docklands before its redevelopment--are hugely realistic and are perhaps the key moments of the movie, heightening the disorientation and fear felt by the soldiers. By offering no more than a snapshot of the Vietnam conflict (the action deals with one individual skirmish), Kubrick cleverly leaves any judgement on the war to the audience, although clearly attempting to influence them. The fate of the characters who survive is also left in the balance, but we can perhaps imagine what awaits them.

On the DVD: Part of a series of Kubrick DVD reissues, Full Metal Jacket has been treated to the full remastering and restoration treatment. The battle sequences have benefited the most, gaining a new audio and visual crispness and clarity that adds to their already impressive sense of realism--you can almost feel the heat searing from the screen and the explosions detonating around you. Maybe not the best war film ever made, as some may claim, but certainly one to take you right to the heart of the action. --Phil Udell

Special Features
DVD Technical Information:

• Languages: English, French, Italian
  
• Sub-titles: English, French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Bulgarian; English for the hearing impaired

Synopsis
In this riveting look at military life during the Vietnam conflict, Stanley Kubrick, who made the powerful antiwar classics PATHS OF GLORY (WWI) and DR. STRANGELOVE (the cold war), once again explores the behavior of men in battle. FULL METAL JACKET, adapted from Gustav Hasford's novel THE SHORT TIMERS, is broken down into two very different parts. The first half of the film focuses on the training of a squad of Marine grunts on Parris Island, and more specifically on the troubled relationship between the brutal drill sergeant (a frightening Lee Ermey) and an oafish misfit (a brilliant Vincent D'Onofrio) who just happens to be a sharpshooter. The first half ends with a devastating, unforgettable scene, leading into the second half, which takes the grunts to Hue City, the climactic battle of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the turning point of the Vietnam War. The story is told through the eyes of Private Joker (Matthew Modine), a cynical aspiring photojournalist who is soon forced to fight for his life and the lives of his fellow recruits. The sniper scene, which takes place amid bombed-out buildings (rather than in the familiar jungles), serves as a microcosm for the Vietnam War--as well as war in general. FULL METAL JACKET is an unrelenting, intelligent, and challenging examination of war told by a master filmmaker.

Customer Reviews

Pedestrian recruits-into-soldiers film
Despite the presence of the outstanding Michael Herr in the writing team, this is one of Kubrick's least satisfactory films. The two halves -- recruits training and Tet Offensive warfare -- are linked only by a couple of soldiers. The ending (the killing of a female Viet Cong sniper) is inconclusive. The ubiquitous palm trees look artificial throughout the battle scenes, as indeed they were, stuck onto the concrete of London Docklands.

This never feels like Vietnam. 'Apocalypse Now' did that far better, and that was filmed in the Philippines. I just don't see why Kubrick bothered with this script -- there are several better recruit abuse films. And the subsequent 'Saving Private Ryan' contains much better battles scenes and sniper episodes.

It feels like Kubrick gave up at the end.

Disappointing
Perhaps, in its time, this film worked as a social commentary.
Perhaps in the 1970's U.K. this film tugged on our conscious, but I'm afraid post Iraq 'we are a bit more sophisticated.'
I've never understood that 'phrase' when politicians use it today, but now having seen this film I sort of understand where they are coming from.
Perhaps notable as the first 'war commentary' film
A valiant attempt of its era, but says nothing compared to today's issues.
There are far better Vietnam war films

Full Metal Jacket
There was no real purpose to this film, the beginning part (the training) was great but after that it went belly up..... not for people who wanna see things about the war, i have most of the war films, like black hawk down, saving private ryan, band of brothers, platoon 1987 and many more, this goes bottom of the pile :(